Page 55 of Due North
A flash of white caught my eye, and I smiled. Callie. It was always Callie and the spirit of Wicapiwakan that shone brightly on this land. It took Blaze and Heaven a long time to accept that she would want them to be happy, but everything on the ranches changed for the better once they did. She was always looking out for us, so tonight, I had to pray that protection extended to Poppy as well. I automatically arced the flashlight back toward the white light, and I almost fell off the horse in my scramble to get Dolly to stop.
“Whoa!” I called quietly, pulling back on the reins until the horse stopped with a disgruntled huff.
I flashed my light there again and froze. Poppy was in the pasture, standing in front of a bison, with her hand on the giant animal’s head. The hair from the cow’s bonnet fell over her tiny hand to make it disappear. I dismounted without a sound and dropped Dolly’s reins. I had nowhere to tie her, so all I could do was pray she stayed put until I could figure out how to get a three-year-old who couldn’t hear me away from an animal that weighed over one thousand pounds. I noticed a small hole in the fence, big enough for Poppy to crawl through but nowhere near big enough for me. I couldn’t cut the hole in the fence bigger to get in because I’d only serve to make a hole big enough for the bison to get through. The gate to this pasture was too far away for me to risk using it.
I debated calling over the walkie for help, but if I did that and the animals spooked, Poppy would get trampled. My options were null. I quivered with the knowledge that I had no control of this situation. All I could do was watch as my child stood together in harmony with something that held more power in its nose than I had in my entire body. If I moved wrong, I would shift that cow’s attention to me instead of Poppy, and I didn’t want that. There was no sense calling out to her. She wouldn’t hear me, but the cow would.
I took slow, even, and steady steps to the fence and stopped. I clasped the metal wire in my hands and closed my eyes, begging the power of our connection to reach Poppy. I focused on the yellows and reds that swirled behind my eyelids, trying to let the connection grow with each twirl of the colors. An exploding white light knocked my head back like a one-two punch. My eyes flew open, demanding an explanation.
Poppy had turned toward the fence and made eye contact with me. I stared, my mouth falling open when her eyes were nothing but pure white light. What I saw there in the span of a second left me breathless as I collapsed to the ground. Slowly, I lifted my hand and held up my finger. She held up two of hers and waited. I made the I love you sign, then motioned her to come to me. The cow raised her head and time stood still for me. I couldn’t watch another baby die!
The cow nudged Poppy’s bottom until she took a step toward me, her legs fighting through the heavy snow to get back to the fence. I kept my one finger pointed up for her to see, and she had her fingers up too, without mittens. I worried what condition her hands would be in when I got her back to the ranch.
“Ba!” she vocalized, tipping precariously before she righted herself and made it to the fence.
My heart was pounding in my chest as the rest of the bison moved closer to the fence, too, taking notice of the being not like them inside their environment. I had little time to get Poppy out before they found that hole. I pulled the metal back, reached in, and yanked her out, letting her land in the snow so I could twist the metal together before the bison took notice. I had no time to fix it. All I could do was pray it held.
I scooped up Poppy and threw her onto Dolly’s saddle, mounted the saddle behind her, and ran that horse down the mountain while screaming my fool head off for anyone who could hear me. “I found her!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “I found her! I have Poppy Rose!”
I didn’t know if I was making any sense, but I had my baby, and that was all that mattered. I had one arm around her and one on the reins as we barreled down that hill toward the lights of salvation. I noticed movement to my left, and another horse came into view. It was Blaze on Rapunzel, and he was breaking even with me just as Tobi flanked me on the other side with Sundance.
“Ambulance at the side of the barn!” Blaze yelled, his arm arcing out for me to slide in between the two buildings.
I ran Dolly as hard as I could, a sound of glee rising from Poppy’s chest as the horse’s cantor rocked her about back and forth like an amusement park ride. Her giggle relaxed my chest. She was safe.
When the ranch came into view, I saw the only other redhead I’d love for the rest of my life, right where I knew she would be.
“Poppy!” I screamed with my arms outstretched as Caleb brought Dolly to a halt. “Oh, my God, Poppy!”
“She’s okay,” he promised, handing her to me.
I cradled her into me, running as fast as I could to the waiting ambulance. I kissed her head over and over until an EMT made me lay her on the gurney. I got my first look at her, and she looked … fine? Her pajamas were wet, and her cheeks were red from the wind, but she giggled as the EMT tickled her belly while checking her temperature.
“Body temperature is ninety-five,” he said with confusion. “It should be much lower than that.”
He stripped off Poppy’s coat and cut her sleeper off, ripping away the wet pajamas and covering her with warm blankets while he checked her feet.
“I don’t understand this,” he said, shaking his head. He tucked the blanket around her feet and checked her hands and face, Poppy studying him intently.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, rubbing Poppy’s feet to warm them.
“Nothing. That’s my point,” he said, rechecking her temperature. “She should have the beginnings of frostbite on her hands and feet, and her body temperature should be much lower considering the windchill. We know she’s been exposed for at least an hour.”
“Shouldn’t we be on our way to the hospital?” I asked, smiling at Poppy like I always do to keep her calm.
“I have no reason to be. I suggest you take Poppy inside, give her a warm bath and wrap her up in warm, dry pajamas. Poppy’s adventure tonight has left her relatively unscathed. I would have her checked over by her family doctor in the next couple of days, but she looks fine to me. Unless you’d like me to transport her.”
“No,” I said on a whimper. “I want Poppy with me.”
The EMT wrapped her in several blankets and handed her to me. “Give the blankets back to Sheriff Nash when you’re done with them. She was a lucky little girl tonight.”
“Thank you,” I said, cuddling her close to me, and he laid pink blankie and her coat over her too.
He opened the door to two anxious faces, Heaven and Amity. “She needs a warm bath,” I said, and Amity took off like a shot to the back door to prepare it.
“How is she? She doesn’t need a doctor?” Heaven asked as we ran for the house.
“No, he said she has no frostbite, and her temperature is still in the normal range. He told me to give her a warm bath and put her to bed. I’m giving her the warm bath, but I’ll keep her with me. I’m never letting her out of my sight again!”
