Serenity Falls(78)

“Where did y’all get that big ass sheet?” I ask curiously. I had no clue a sheet that big existed.

“My parents special ordered it.”

I turn to look at him. A smile forms on my face when I see what he’s done. Pillows and blankets lie like a pallet in the bed of his truck. He’s standing on the hood, strategically placing a projector on the top of the cab. “Can I help with anything?”

“Naw… I’m good. Just sit your sexy, little ass in the bed of my truck and get comfortable.”

“Yes sir,” I reply as I climb onto the tailgate.

“That’s right. I’ve trained you well,” he jokes as he looks up at me from hooking up more wires.

A boisterous laugh escapes me as I settle back against some of the pillows. “You wish. Besides, I thought you like being called Daddy.”

“Daddy, Sir, God… it’s all the same.” He shrugs as I continue to laugh at him. “What movie did you pick out?”

“What Happens in Vegas. But are we able to watch it, you know, with the whole projector thing going on?”

He looks down at me with a puzzled look. “Yes. You don’t worry about this. I got it.”

Instead of making some snarky comment, I salute him. I can’t help but laugh when he rolls his eyes at me. Without any warning, he jumps into the bed of the truck, scaring the shit out of me. My hand flies to my chest as I try to catch my breath. Now, he’s the one laughing at me. “You think you’re funny?” I poke him in his side as he takes a seat next to me.

He nods. “I do. I’m glad you noticed. I was beginning to think I was lame.”

“You’re such a dork.”

“A dork you love.”

“I do. And lame? Never.” I curl up next to him as he pulls a blanket over us. We snuggle closer together as he turns on the movie.



At some point during the middle of the movie, I hear a sound coming from the barn. I rub my hand across Wes’ stomach. “Did you hear that?” I whisper. No response. I tilt my head back to look up at him, only to see that he’s asleep. I smile as I take in his sleeping form. His lips are relaxed and barely parted, eyes completely sealed shut, and breathing even. He looks so sexy, and all mine. I’m brought back to the present when I hear the strangled sound again. “Wes? Wes, wake up.”

“Hmm… What’s up?” he asks sleepily as his eyes flutter open. He squints against the brightness of the light against the cloth as it reflects back onto us.

“There’s something going on in the barn.” My voice is low. I don’t think someone’s in there, but you never know.

“What do you mean?”

“Listen.” He reaches for the remote to the side of him and mutes the movie. We sit in silence for what seem like hours, but actually, are probably only minutes or seconds. Hearing it again, I ask, “Tell me you heard that?”

“I did.” He nods. Wes tosses the blanket back and stands. He looks at me and says, “Stay here. I’m gonna go and check it out. It’s probably just a coyote.”

“What?” I ask with wide eyes.

“Stay here, Kenleigh. I mean it.” The sternness in his tone tells me he’s dead serious.

A part of me is left aghast because he’s never spoken to me like that before. But another part of me is kind of turned on, not that I would tell him that. Then there is another part of me, an argumentative part, that wants to tell him to go and screw himself, but I don’t. Instead, I sit there quietly and watch him walk away. Instinctively, I pull the blanket up, wrapping it tightly around myself like a shield of some sort.

I’m startled when I hear Wes shouting my name from inside the barn. Immediately, the blanket is thrown back, and I’m hopping out of the back of the truck, and sprinting toward the barn. Completely winded, I skid to a halt when I see him kneeling down halfway inside a stall. Autumn’s stall. “What’s going on?” I ask, worried that something has happened to her or her foal.

“She’s in labor, I think. Come here, and help me, please.”

Unsure of what I might see, I proceed with caution. I peek around the wooden beam and into her stall, only to see her lying on the floor. Piles of hay surround her large body. Autumn’s stomach tightens and releases with each contraction. I can tell her breathing’s labored, and it makes me feel awful because there is nothing I can do for her. Wes stands and pulls me back as he closes the stall door. “What do we do?” I quietly ask.

“I’m gonna go in the house and call my dad. Hopefully, they’re on their way home. Just stay in here and watch over her.”