Page 52 of When It Burns

I shake my head at her while unwrapping the sandwich the girls brought me and glaring at Petunia. The donkey makes eye contact with me before walking over to one of the shrubs I had just planted. Letting out a loud snort, Petunia grabs the bush with her teeth and tugs hard enough that the entire plant comes out of the ground. I start to walk towards her, but she starts kicking out her back legs and turning in violent circles. Why the hell did I let Willy talk me into a donkey? I didn’t know shit about the animal and it has become increasingly clear that Petunia isn’t the most amicable creature I’ve ever met.

I scarf down the sandwich and decide to try my luck with the horses first. I’ve always loved horses. I can do this. After my mental pep talk, I walk towards one with my hand out, trying to show the creature that I am not going to cause it any harm. I have just gotten close enough to pet his snoot when Will’s truck comes flying into my driveway causing all the animals in the vicinity to panic.

“Holy shit man, this is a mess!” Seth calls out as he jumps out of the truck.

“Yeah, I’d say so,” I say, not taking my eyes off the spooked horse as he jumps in place and bucks from left to right.

About that time, the girls pull back up to the front of the house with the buckets. I move slowly over to my tailgate in an effort to prevent them from startling the animals any further.

“Here you go, Cowboy,” Caroline says, holding out the bucket, and I open the feed bag and pour some of the cow’s pellets into the bucket. After it's about half full, I take the bucket from Caroline’s hand and shake it hard.

“Come on,” I holler while making as much noise with the feed as possible. “Come on!”

The cattle finally look up from their grazing on the grass beside my front door and slowly start to make their way towards the gate that Petunia had broken them out of. It takes about twenty minutes, but with everyone’s help, we manage to get all ten cows inside the fence. When I go to close it, I realize that Petunia’s kick damaged the post that held the gate in place and I let out a low groan of frustration.

“What’s wrong?” Will asks as he looks over my shoulder at the fence.

“Damn jackass knocked the post loose. If I try to close the gate, we’ll be back rounding them up before dinner. I swear, I’ve done cows and horses before but this donkey shit is for the birds,” I reply.

Everyone laughs as Huey pulls up in the drive and jumps out of his Ford pickup before declaring, “Sorry kid, I got stuck helping Mrs. Mabel move some furniture around this afternoon, but I came as quick as I could after Will texted me.”

Huey looks around, quickly assessing the situation before letting out a loud laugh, “Damn son, don’t tell me Willy convinced you to take Petunia!”

“What do you mean? He said she would help keep the coyotes away from the pasture,” I respond defensively.

At this point, Huey is almost doubled over in laughter as the rest of us watch, all of us with obvious looks of confusion on our faces. “He- You- He-” Huey wheezes as he tries to explain through his fit. “No wonder you had to send out an SOS. That thing right there is the meanest little bitch I ever did meet. Willy’s been trying to get someone to take her off his hands for at least a year.”

“And you didn’t think that was something you should warn me about?!” I ask, throwing my hands up in the air.

“Well, no. I thought the whole ‘jackass’ name kinda stood for itself when it came to these animals,” Huey says, causing the rest of the crew to titter with laughter. “Come on, let’s get the horses sorted and then we’ll figure out what to do with ole’ Petty Petunia.”

The girls and Huey work together for the next hour, slowly winning the trust of the horses together and leading them back to their pen while Will, Seth, and I mix up a sack of concrete to pack around the posts Petunia had knocked loose. While we wait for it to set, Margaret goes inside and comes back out with glasses of fresh lemonade a bit later.

Finally, once the other animals are settled, the men help me install a sturdier lock on the gate, and we all team up to lead Petunia back into her newly reinforced pasture.

“Thanks, y’all. I appreciate your help,” I said to the friends standing around us.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Caroline says as Will responds with, “No problem, man.”

“Do y’all want to come inside? It’s almost two-thirty so the Alabama game is about to kick off and I can throw some snacks together.”

The group lets out a chorus of agreement before Huey says, “Well, I am gonna leave you young folks to it. See you all later!”

Huey drives off as Margaret leads the way back into the house. We all collapse on the couch as Will grabs the remote and quickly locates CBS where the Tide is about to kick off against Arkansas.

I feel a quick pang in my chest remembering the game my brother had played against this team. His eighty-yard catch in 2008 had garnered him more attention than he ever could have dreamed of, and I take a breath expecting to feel the panic clawing its way up my throat until I can’t breathe. But instead, Caroline reaches over, squeezes my hand, and throws herself across my lap.

“Let’s watch some football, Cowboy,” she suggests with a wink, and just like that, the panic I expected to feel is nonexistent. “By the way, Chief Johnson, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say it looks like you might not be enemy number one around here anymore.”

Blowing out a breath, I turn to look at everyone who had dropped everything and came running for my sister and me. Hannah and Will are arguing over the difference between crimson and cardinal as the teams take the field. Seth returns from outside carrying a small case of beer he’d had in the cooler on the back of his truck before handing one to each of us. Margaret scurries around the kitchen cutting up crescent rolls to throw together some pigs in a blanket while the mixer beats together cookie dough. And Caroline leans forward to drop a kiss to my mouth again before turning her attention back to the screen.

I have to admit, Caroline is right. Springside might not be perfect, but I can’t deny that after the last month it is starting to feel like home.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CAROLINE

After watching the Tide defeat the Razorbacks, Hannah and I run to my apartment to get ready for the night at the fair. After years of last minute events, Hannah has a drawer in my dresser stashed with extra clothes and makeup, to keep from driving the extra twenty minutes out to her house.

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