Page 13 of Fibre and Ink

If anyone had their eyes on my alpacas though... The thought made my jaw clench.

I’m not an angry guy, Harlow complains that I’m far too easy going, and as a younger sister, she has to work hard to wind me up.

But threaten something close to me, like my herd?

The anger flows easily.

I didn’t have any evidence of ill intention, though.

I walked up and down the lanes, finding more tracks here and there that matched the first one I’d found. They were entirely on the forest side of the farm, although some came alarmingly close to the farmhouse. My gut twisted, making me nauseous. What were they here for?

I went to the feed shed to get some hay for the alpacas, brooding about what I should do.

The best first thing would be to talk to my closest neighbors.

I definitely needed to talk to Hayes at the fruit farm, and check if he’d noticed anything. As the neighbor closest to the road, it would be good to alert him, if nothing else.

I grabbed the farm bike and made my way over, taking the road. It was mid-morning by the time I pulled in.

Hayes was in the front, unmistakable in his white cowboy hat. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him without it.

I pulled the bike up, and raised my hand to wave. “Morning, Hayes!”

He waved back, already walking towards me. “Morning Mickey.”

Hayes was tall and favored a Western style of clothing. Today he wore blue jeans and a plaid shirt. His beard looked particularly well-groomed and I touched mine self-conciously. I was overdue for a trim.

A dog started barking and bounded through the field towards me, a puppy.

“Easy Shadow, that’s just Mickey. He’s a friend.”

Shadow stopped barking but came over to sniff me as I came over the stile to enter Hayes’s field.

I wasted no time in explaining my visit. “Someone was walking around my place last night. Not sure how close they came to the house but there’s definitely evidence they were close to the herd. You see anything?”

Hayes shook his head. “I did hear Opie last night, but sometimes he gives a false alarm.” He glanced towards where the miniature donkey was grazing.

“Okay, that’s good.” I exhaled. “That’s good if they didn’t come close to you. Uh, you’ve got my number right?”

Hayes nodded. “Yeah, text or call if it happens again, I can come out and search with Shadow.”

A weight lifted off my shoulders. “Thanks, that’d be great. And you, too, if you notice anything, let me know okay? We gotta look out for each other.”

Hayes grinned and shook my head, sealing the deal. “That we do.”

Next I visited the guys at the Meadery and Taphouse, but they hadn’t seen or heard anything out of the ordinary.

Paxton thanked me for the wildflowers that had grown in the field closest to him. Apparently his bees had enjoyed them. I tried to smile and make small talk, but the shadows of the night hung over me.

Too many unanswered questions.

Aster

I’d driven the farm truck before. A few times, actually, when Harlow had driven us into town and then got too drunk to get home again, but knew she had to get home again and not just crash in town with me.

Driving it now was familiar, kind of a comfort.

And boy howdy, did it ever make me feel masculine.