“I loved those trips,” Cooper said, remembering how Haleigh had shrieked as they chased the pigs. “You would have caught that piglet if the other one hadn’t tripped you up.”
Haleigh grinned. “I had the taste of mud in my mouth for a week.” Wrapping her fingers around the chicken wire, she said, “I can’t remember the last time I thought about those trips. Feels like a lifetime ago.”
“A couple decades,” he said. “Not so long.”
“Leave it to you to put a positive spin on us getting twenty years older.” Moving toward the entrance to the run, she said, “Can we go in?”
“Sure,” he said. “I don’t normally feed them this late, but you can throw down some scratch. First, I need to tell you a little about them, so you’re prepared.”
She stared at him as if he’d offered to explain why water is wet. “They’re chickens, Cooper. What else is there to know?”
“The pecking order is very important,” he pointed out.
“Is that supposed to be a pun?” she asked.
Cooper had half a notion to send her in uninformed and let her find out for herself. “Do you want to get closer or not?”
Haleigh sobered, but struggled to keep the smile from her face. “Yes. Of course. Teach me, old wise chicken-tamer.”
“You’ll thank me for this.” Pointing through the chicken wire, he said, “You see that darker one there? That’s Mabel. She rules the roost.”
A snort escaped through her smirk. “You’re doing that on purpose.”
Ignoring her, he continued. “The other two with lighter feathers around their necks are Trixie and Dixie. They try to ruffle Mabel’s feathers now and then, but she rules with an iron beak, so they pretty much stay in line.”
“You really need to get out more,” Haleigh drawled. “You’ve been cooped up way too much.” She found her own joke hysterical, but Cooper kept a straight face. Barely. “So you’re the only one who gets to play with puns?” she asked. “Fine. Where’s this scratch stuff?”
“I’ll get you a bucket.” After retrieving the treat from behind the coop, he said, “Toss it on the ground in front of you and they’ll come get it.”
“I’ve got this,” she said, a look of determination on her moonlit face. In a moment of sanity, she said, “You’re coming in with me, right? In case they attack me.”
“What am I supposed to do if they attack you?” he asked. He knew exactly what to do, but Haleigh didn’t need to know that.
“They’re your cockamamie birds, Cooper. I don’t know. Yell and wave your arms.”
“They’re chickens, Haleigh, not grizzly bears.”
“Whatever.” As if sneaking up on a sleeping tiger, she tiptoed to the latched door. “Here we go.”
Cooper let Haleigh enter before sliding in behind her. The girls were used to him coming in during the day, but a night visit was unusual. He wasn’t sure how they’d react. “No sudden moves. Start scattering.”
“Wouldn’t scattering be a sudden move?” she asked, backing up against him as the chickens approached. “They don’t look happy to see me.”
“They always look like that.” Though they didn’t usually crowd him into a corner. “Toss the scratch already.”
“I’m tossing,” she said, throwing handfuls of corn and oats on the ground. “They’re getting closer.”
“You dropped the scratch at your feet,” he reminded her. “I told you they’d come and get it.”
Dropping the bucket to the ground, she said, “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
As he reached for the bucket, Mabel pecked his hand hard enough to draw blood. “Dammit,” Cooper hollered. “Get over to the door.”
The minute Haleigh stepped right, Mabel came off the ground like a raging demon bird. Cooper used his arm to protect Haleigh’s face, careful not to swing at the hen, and prodded the panicking woman along until he could reach the latch. Trixie and Dixie raised a racket, as if cheering Mabel on, while Haleigh’s screeching nearly drowned them out.
The old bird landed another bruising peck on Cooper’s thigh before he swung Haleigh out and latched the door behind them. They stood face-to-face with Haleigh’s back against the run, both struggling for breath, until an unexpected cackle split the night air. For a second, Cooper feared Mabel had gotten out during their escape, only to realize that the sound wasn’t coming from the chickens at all.
It was coming from Haleigh.