When Love's Gone Country - By Merri Hiatt Page 0,24
my feet. Take your boots off, Brad, and I’ll rub your feet.”
“It took me half an hour to get ‘em on.”
“Boots are easier to get off than put on.” Courtney grabbed the loops on either side of the boots and yanked with all her might. She and the boot went tumbling down the stairs.
“Holy crap! I don’t know my own strength.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just injured my pride once again. Nothing new.”
“I sure wish I knew what was wrong with those cows,” Purity said. “You don’t really think it’s anything serious do you?” she asked Alex.
“What’s wrong with the cows?” Jacob asked.
“They’ve all come down with something,” Bobby said.
“Does anybody know what?”
“No. That’s the scary part,” Pure said. “I don’t want the baby catching anything.”
Jacob turned and began running toward the cow paddock.
“Where you goin’?” Meg asked.
“Look around.”
“If he’s just goin’ to look around, why is he running?” Court said.
Everyone looked at each other, but no one had an answer.
Chapter Fifteen
Jacob watched as six ranch hands discussed the symptoms the cows were experiencing. An older man with a black duffel bag was with them. He had a stethoscope and was putting something in the animals’ butt.
“Hey, Jacob,” Red said, joining him at the fence.
“What’s goin’ on?”
“Doc Williams is checkin’ their temperatures.”
“Does he have any idea what’s wrong with ‘em?”
“Not yet. Near as he can tell, it was something they ate, since all the cows were affected.”
“Could it be something in the water?”
“I don’t think so. We use the same water source for all the animals and none of the other ones are sick.”
“You said last night that you thought you saw someone down here at the paddock. Maybe whoever it was did something to ‘em.”
“I thought you were the person I saw down here last night.”
Jacob knew it was the moment of truth. If he told Red what happened, Purity and the baby might get hurt, but if he didn’t tell, and there was something in the water that could harm someone, the baby might catch it.
He felt trapped. Which decision would be the right one?
“Did you see someone down here last night?” Red asked.
Jacob made a fist with his right hand, trying to will himself to make a choice.
“Well?”
His lips felt dry, like they were made of dust.
“Did you?”
He glanced at his family and friends back at the gazebo.
“Yeah. I saw two guys. They put something in the water. I don’t know what.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this last night?”
“I didn’t think it was important.”
“You knew damn well it was important.” Red scowled, then headed toward the doctor. When he glanced back over at Jacob and pointed toward him, he felt about two inches tall.
The group walked over to Jacob.
“Tell me everything you saw and heard,” the doctor said.
“There wasn’t much. Just two tall guys. They were older than me.”
“How old?”
“I don’t know. They had families.”
“How’d you know that?”
“They said something about it later.”
“Did you have an entire conversation with these guys?”
“Sort of. Later. I mean, I saw them and heard them and then Red and Bart came down the path. The guys took off just before that. They said they heard someone comin’. Bart started countin’ cows and Red took off to look around. I headed down to the orchard. They caught up with me there and warned me not to say anything or they’d hurt my friends and family.
I ain’t proud of keepin’ quiet, but I felt I had to. You ain’t gonna tell my family, are you?”
“No,” Red said. “But you are.”
Red headed for the gazebo with Jacob following behind him at a slower pace. He wasn’t quite sure why he followed him. He could just as easily have headed the other direction and ran back to the barracks.
He respected Red. He had a quiet way about him that demanded it.
Red reached the gazebo first, then waited for Jacob without saying a word.
“What’s going on?” Bobby asked.
Red looked at Jacob.
Jacob met Bobby’s gaze directly. “I saw two guys puttin’ something in the water trough at the cow paddock last night and didn’t tell no one.”
“Jacob,” Meg said, disappointment encircling his name as she said it.
“Tell ‘em the rest,” Red said.
“That’s all there is.”
“Tell ‘em why you didn’t say nothin’.”
Jacob looked at the ground, their boot and shoe prints had left tracks in the dirt. “They warned me not to. Said they’d hurt you if I told anyone.”
“Oh, Jacob.” Meg flew from her spot in the gazebo and hugged him tightly. “I’m so sorry you had to go