Chapter 23
COLTON
“Hello,” I say, setting my guitar down to answer my phone.
“Hey, man,” Hayes answers. “How’s everything going at home?”
“Oh, everything’s good,” I reassure him, leaning down to pet Denise’s head from her spot at my feet.
After we closed the patch for the day, Lucy decided to run to the next town over to knock out some grocery shopping for the week, and I’ve been enjoying the quiet as I wait for her to get home to start our date.
“How’d the maze go yesterday?” Hayes asks, bringing my attention back to the present.
“It was actually a lot of fun. Did you get the picture of the obstacle course I sent yesterday?”
“Yeah, I gotta say, it looked pretty fucking epic. Was the maze at the end your idea?”
“Lucy and I came up with it together,” I admit. “How’s the season going? I know it’s been a few days since we talked, but Sam sent me a text last night that said you had a hell of a ride.”
“I’ve never felt like that before in my life,” my best friend responds excitedly. “I feel like everything’s finally clicking for me, you know?”
I nod before realizing he can’t see me, awkwardly adding, “That’s awesome, Hayes.”
“Thanks, man. You know I couldn’t do all of this without you,” he says. “I feel so much better knowing Mama and Lucy are in good hands while I’m out here.”
“It’s no problem,” I tell him truthfully, trying to ignore the stab of guilt I feel at the words. I meant it when I told Lucy I was serious about her, and I know I’m gonna have to figure out how to tell him the truth. But all that can wait until he’s home.
I hear a crash from behind the house, and I look up in alarm, trying to figure out where it came from.
“Hey, sorry man, but I’ve gotta go. Congrats again on your ride last night, and good luck at this afternoon’s competition.”
“Thanks, I’ll talk to you later,” Hayes says, and I hang up the phone. Standing, I look around the porch, searching for the source of the crash I heard.
Denise follows me as I head down the steps, making my way to the back of the house.
Turning the corner, I freeze at the sight in front of me.
Carla is frozen in mid air, half her body on the ground and the other half dangling from the railing on the side of the stairs.
Below her, Daryl and Knox stand beside her on the ground, looking guilty.
“What in the world have you gotten yourself into, girl?” I ask, moving closer to examine the predicament. “Did you try to squeeze in through these posts?”
The calf looks up at me, her hooves tapping the stairs as she tries to free herself.
“It’s okay,” I tell her, running my hand down her snout and sitting down on the stairs to get a closer look at how she’s stuck.
Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to have cut herself in the process, so I try to wiggle her gently out of the tight space.
She lets out a loud moo in protest, and Knox and the piggies move up the stairs to stand next to me at the sound.
“How in the world did you manage this?” I mutter, continuing in the effort to free her from the posts. “Were y’all playing chase or something? And how did you all manage to get out of your pens in the first place?”
The animals all blink back at me innocently, and I shake my head. “Y’all are something else.”
I stand and walk around to the other side of the stairs, looking at Carla’s hind legs barely touching the ground as she tries to back herself out from the space.
“Let’s try it this way,” I say, gently grabbing her middle and wiggling her again to try to get her free. But she doesn’t budge as she lets out another loud moo.
All four of the animals look up at me, waiting for me to figure out a way to solve the current predicament. “Oh, so you all can get yourself into this mess, but it’s my job to get you out, huh?”
Knox’s tail thumps the ground in response. “All right, I guess I’m going to find a saw. Looks like we’re gonna have to cut your way out.”
Over an hour later, I’m wiping the sweat from my brow and shaking my head at the sight in front of me.
After tracking down a hand saw from the horse barn, I managed to cut the posts, finally freeing Carla from her spot on the stairs.
She immediately licked my hand in thanks before turning to Knox and the pigs and starting another game of chase.
They almost took me down, hitting my knees in their haste to play and leaving me to figure out how to fix the spot in the stairs.
No more than five minutes after I’ve finished replacing the post, I’m admiring my handiwork as I hear another loud noise. “I swear to God, y’all are gonna be the death of me,” I groan, pushing myself up from the ground. My bad arm screams in protest, but I ignore it, hustling around the house.
“Y’all have got to be fucking kidding me,” I murmur.
This time, Daryl is stuck under the post of a chair on the front porch, and my guitar lies beside him, knocked over from where I left it when Hayes called.
Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be any damage, but every time he moves, Daryl’s short tail strums the strings, adding an extra layer of chaos to the predicament.
“Damn it, Daryl,” I whisper, hurrying up the stairs and moving my guitar to safety before looking down at the pig in front of me. “Now I understand why Hayes can’t stand y’all.”
Daryl looks up at me, giving the most pitiful look I’ve ever seen through the wooden slats of the chair, and I sigh. “Okay, I’m sorry. That was a little harsh, but damn do y’all know how to get yourself in a bind.”
I move the chair, freeing Daryl, thankful this seems to be an easier fix than the earlier situation with Carla.
The pig takes a moment to shake, making sure he’s really free, before he runs at me at full force, knocking me in the knees. “Damn, Daryl,” I mutter, bending down to pet him.
“All right, now that that’s over, I’m gonna set up for my date with Lucy, and y’all are gonna go in your pens. Not that I think it’ll do any good, but I’ve been looking forward to tonight for far too long to let your antics mess them up.”
I lead the pigs and the calf into their pens, as Knox whines from his spot on the porch. “I know, buddy, but y’all can play tomorrow,” I promise, petting the lab on his head.
Once the animals are securely tucked away, I pull out my phone to send Lucy a quick text.
Colton: Just so you know, these animals of yours are fucking nuts.
Lucy: Tell me something I don’t know.
Lucy: Sorry, I got held up in town, but I’ll be home soon.
Colton: Sounds good. You still down for a date night?
Lucy: I wouldn’t miss it.
Colton: Good I’ll see you soon. I’m jumping in the shower. Hopefully we can avoid any animal fiascos in the ten minutes they’ll be unsupervised.
Lucy: Not a chance in hell. :)
Tucking my phone back in my pocket, I head around the house, stopping by where I set up for the date earlier this afternoon.
After double-checking that everything is ready to go, I head inside, trying to hide the smile on my face.
I never expected to be this excited to paint pumpkins as a thirty-six-year-old man, but what can I say?
Lucy has a way of making everything more fun.