So damn ridiculous.
Who the hell gets cursed to be a chicken? Agnes is crazy. Actually crazy.
The house falls silent, and I keep staring at the stars, wondering what it’s like up there. I loved the stars when I was younger and wished I could have been born to a different family. A family of scientists and not big-dollar farmers who cared more about their image than happiness.
Agnes wasn’t that type of woman, from what I’ve gathered. She just wanted to live her life on her family’s land. That’s all. So why the hell did our grandfathers have to go sticking their noses where it didn’t belong?
I hope their afterlives aren’t peaceful, because despite everything around me, I haven’t felt peace my entire life.
I wake in the coop with Rhett, both of us having laid an egg for Daisy. I glance at Rhett, tilting my head to the side, silently asking where Gus is. He gives me a look back that says he doesn’t know.
I hop off my nest and walk to the door, pushing it open with my weight. The only reason it stays closed is to keep the foxes from getting us. No one is worried about us running off or anything. Can’t freaking go anywhere.
The back door bursts open the moment I step over the threshold, my foot gets caught, and I trip, stumbling out like a baby lamb.
Gus is barreling out of the house, grinning a mile wide while looking crazed. I right myself and mentally prepare for whatever is about to happen… but nothing could have prepared me for what he is about to say.
He yanks the door open, running to me and stopping a foot in front of me. I look all the way up at him, craning my neck back.
“I slept all night in human form.”
My head tilts to the side again, so confused.
He’s nodding, still smiling. “All night. I woke up like this.” He gestures down his body. “I swear. I didn’t changeat all.”
I shift into human form, which is a lot easier now than it used to be. It’s also no longer painful… the only thing painful is when I get frustrated and sprout feathers at random. It feels like pulling a hair out. Annoying.
“What are you talking about?” I bark.
“I fell asleep inside the house, and I woke uplike this.”
“You’re sure?” I ask, glancing at the house.
“So sure.”
Daisy comes out of the house next, her hair a damn mess.
“Are you okay, Gus?” she calls, shielding her eyes from the bright sun.
“Never better!” he calls back. “This is amazing. I told you she would fix this. I told you.” He runs back to her, picking her up and spinning her around. She laughs, and they both head back into the house.
Rhett is beside me a moment later, also in human form.
“You think it’s the house?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No, it’s not the damn house.”
I think they did something.
Chapter Thirteen
Daisy
Idon’tknowhowor why things changed for Gus. He can still turn into a chicken at will—he’s done it a few times just to make sure—but for some reason, when we woke up, he was still human.
Now, I have no way of knowing that it’s impossible for them to wake up in human form. I don’t know anything about this curse, and I have no way of witnessing it—I can only believe what they’ve told me. Even if they are chickens out there every morning, they could be doing it on purpose. Or maybe it has something to do with dreams, or the way they let their guard down when they sleep. I can’t begin to explain it. It’s hard to believe that I knowthree men who turn into chickens in the first place, never mind digging deeper into the hows and whys.
But the excitement in Gus’s eyes? That is not something that can be faked. It can’t. He’s been beaming all morning, ever since he woke up human and scared me half to death by jumping out of bed. He ran outside to tell Wade and Rhett—to celebrate—even though Wade didn’t look too happy. In fact, he gave me a look that made it seem like this is somehow my fault—like I have bad intentions. He looked at me like this is a bad thing.
