I step outside, and a mooing sound fills the night as I maneuver through the crowd and find Sam and Izzy leaning into the back seat of Sam’s car.
“What’s going on?”
“I found a calf,” Sam explains.
“You found a calf? What the fuck Sam?” I shove him aside and look at Izzy.
“It’s true,” she says. “She’s just a baby. I glance into the vehicle and find a small calf in the back seat. She sticks her tongue out and licks me.
As I wipe the saliva from my face, Sam laughs, and so does everyone else. “What is it with you and cows, anyway?” Sam asks. “It’s like you’re a big salt lick.”
“Where did you find her?” I ask, ignoring his question.
“We were just driving down the street, and there she was, wandering down the sidewalk like she was patrolling or something.”
“Patrolling?”
“We found her outside the ice cream shop,” Izzy says.
Sam snickers. “Think she wanted to see where all the milk was going.”
“And you decided to put her in your car and take her to the Anchor?”
“We couldn’t leave her there,” Sam explains.
“We have to get her back home,” I say. “Wherever that is.”
Sam frowns. “We can’t keep her?”
“No, Sam, we can’t keep her. Let’s head to the Veinot’s and see if they know where she might have come from.” I turn to Albert. “I’ll meet you for that beer later.”
The crowd disperses, and I hop into the passenger seat. The muffler roars as Sam starts his car. “You need to get that fixed.”
Ignoring the comment, he peels out of the parking lot, and a few cars follow. “I thought I’d call her Lucille?”
“She’s not yours to name, Sam.”
“She looks like a Lucille, though, don’t you think?”
Since I have no idea what a Lucille looks like, I shake my head. A car comes up behind us, flashing its lights for us to move over. Sam adjusts his rearview mirror.
“Fucker,” he says. “That’s Benny. He’s up my rear end so far he’d better be wearing a goddamn condom.”
I can’t help but laugh at that. “Slow down. Let him pass.”
“Like hell.”
“Jesus Christ, Sam,” I say and hold on as he guns it. Poor Lucille, hits the back of my seat, and I turn to check on her. “You okay, girl?” I ask, only to get another tongue across my face. Sam keeps zigzagging to prevent Benny from passing. “Stop drawing attention. Cops find you with a stolen cow in the back seat, and you’ll find yourself locked up for the night.”
“I didn’t steal her; I rescued her.”
“Can’t argue with that logic,” I say, and pull my phone from my pocket. I take a picture of the calf and shoot a message off to Kira, thinking this will be a good story around the campfire. She texts back with a laughing emoji. I grin and tuck my phone way.
“Kira?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“She’d let me keep Lucille.”
“No, she wouldn’t.”
“Her friend is kind of cute, eh?”
“Yeah, she is.”
He taps his steering wheel to the song on the radio, and I glance at him. He’s a joker, but I think he hides behind his humor and sarcasm. Has Sam been hurt in the past?
He pulls into the Veinot’s driveway and hops from the car. Jack comes from the back door, and I call him over. “Any idea who might own her?” I ask.
“Let me make a few calls.”
Sam and I follow Jack into the house, and the scent of freshly baked cookies fills my nostrils. “Hey guys,” I say when I spot Brett and Liam in the room playing video games.
“Martha,” Sam says as he gives her a big hug. She beams up at me, and I grin. “Do I smell cookies?”