I smiled with my back turned to him. It was good to have him back, but I wasn’t just going to jump into his arms. We had bigger fish to fry.
* * * *
I appreciated the family for how they didn’t really make a big deal out of Jack being back. The only one who couldn’t contain herself was Mona, because of course she couldn’t.
She squealed and ran to him and hugged him around the neck before she could reel herself in a little.
“Never, ever leave again, you hear me?” She looked at him seriously. “Never. Ever.”
“Never ever,” Jack promised, hugging her close.
Madden glared at Jack from behind his sister and I could see them making eye contact. Madden wouldn’t forgive easily, not about this. Mona had been really upset for a couple of weeks after Jack left. Nobody had told Jack that, because what would he have done? Come back forher?
Somehow, I’d mostly missed how much Mona looked up to Jack and how much he meant to her and vice versa. I think part of it was because he was naturally very protective and just treated her like he would’ve any other well-behaved kid living in the same house.
I knew that when River brought her to the rescue that night when Toby had to take Madden to the hospital, Jack had been the first new person she met in this house. I guess her brain and heart had latched onto him, and I could relate.
Jack was just…good. He had the kind of presence that told anyone he’d protect his people to the last breath, but he’d never start a fight. He felt stable and kind and so very present in a way not many people did.
“I’m gonna go out for a while,” I told everyone collectively.
“Can I come with?” Jack asked in a hesitant tone.
I shrugged. I didn’t have strong feelings about that whatsoever.
I pulled on my boots and warm jacket, and stepped outside just to almost bump into Ben who was coming in.
“Oh, hey,” he said brightly, juggling their two kittens.
Panda and Dusty were awesome; they’d grown up a lot since Ben and River found them and now they were getting to that gangly young cat phase.
They had a catio between the cabin and the outdoor arena, and they traipsed in and out of the window Ben’s desk was butted up against.
River and Ben ferried them between the cabin and the house whenever they were going to spend any more than half an hour away from their kids. They were totally tail-whipped.
“They’re so big now!” Jack said behind me as I let Ben pass so the kiddos wouldn’t escape.
Not that they went far, they’d been in the yard a few times, and the dogs kept them corralled. On one memorable occasion, Dorothy had carried Panda in her huge jaws when the kitten had slipped away from everyone.
I started toward the new stable. The food was ready to be put in the oven for whomever wanted to start cooking it—I’d even left a Post-it with instructions—and I bet that Jack would start the first two batches before he came out of the house. Double ovens ruled.
I patted the dogs and picked up Mollie the stable cat when she came to brush up against my legs. She wrapped herself around my shoulders and dug her claws into my jacket.
The new Twin Star Rescue sign attached to the freshly painted wall of the stable made me tilt my head.
“Might as well, right?” I asked Mollie. She purred into my ear, so I took that as a positive sign.
I got my phone out and took a picture of the sign. Then I logged into my old Instagram account and posted it.
If I knew my dad at all, he’d be in Chicago already, trying to find me. I also knew that he wouldn’t arrive in the evening, he preferred to make his points in the morning for some reason.
He might’ve been a bad guy, but he had manners.
I sighed as I opened the stable door. I loved the new space. The old stable was nice as well, but there was something in the way the less used building felt.
But the reason I now wandered here a couple of times a day was one of the horses we’d gotten most recently.
I walked along the aisle, peering into the couple of stalls that had animals in them. Most everyone was outside, but my new friend had to stay indoors for another week or so.
