The Sisters of Nowhere

t e n : b e t h a n y

Wyatt had to wash his hands three times to get the stench off of them after unclogging the Penny's kitchen drain. He hadn't known how to do it, exactly, and had caused the bottom pipes to explode, which sent all sorts of sludge onto his clothes.

He was drying them off on his jeans as he made his way back to the barn when two Penny girls ran out to meet him, looking flushed and terrified.

Ophelia grabbed Wyatt's hand desperately. Her fingers were covered in red liquid.

Wyatt instinctively tried to withdraw, but Ophelia's grip was like a vice.

"You have to help us!" she gasped. "Bethany McFarlane got attacked, Wyatt. Attacked!"

Wyatt straightened. "What? The goat?"

"Something must've gotten into the chicken coop earlier," Birdie said. She was still maintaining her cool, but Wyatt could tell she was panicked.

"She's the best goat we've ever had," Ophelia pleaded, her large eyes filling with tears. Wyatt could see why she was such a good actress. "Marigold would be devastated if she died."

"Where is Marigold?" Wyatt asked.

"At the shop," Ophelia replied. "Working on some motorcycle or something."

"Let's take a look," Wyatt said, and followed them into the barn where Bethany McFarlane was lying on her side in a bed of hay.

Wyatt grimaced when he saw the long gash in her side that exposed pulsating muscle.

He knelt beside the goat and surveyed the wound. It was deep and messy. "The good news is that another animal didn't do this," he said.

Birdie knelt on the other side, her brow bent low. "What did?"

"She cut herself on that broken post outside; I'd bet on it. Probably trying to get away from whatever it was."

Ophelia paced back and forth, wringing her hands. "Will she die? Marigold will be so upset! I couldn't live with myself if--oh, I can't even think about it!"

"What do we do?" Birdie asked in a low voice, not meeting his eye.

Wyatt did not consider himself to be medically inclined, but he said, "Do you sew?"

Birdie squinted at him. "I can. Why?"

"I guess it's sort of the same thing to do stitches?" He shrugged.

Birdie rolled her eyes, but got up to gather her supplies and came back with a needle and thread.

"I'll..." Wyatt swallowed down the knot in his stomach. He was suddenly wishing he was back in California, where his only worry of the day was whether or not the surf was good. "I'll hold the skin together while you sew."

Birdie nodded, but her face was as pale as the ghosts in Hal's backyard and her hands were shaking.

Wyatt firmed his chin and bunched the skin and fur at the end of the wound together so Birdie could work.

She wordlessly inserted the needle and began sewing the gash shut.

Bethany McFarlane gave a pitiful bleat and Wyatt reached over with his left hand to pat her head.

"You're doing just fine," he assured her.

"I can't take this," Ophelia moaned. "She should in ground unsanctified been lodged

Till the last trumpet."

"If you quote that stupid play one more time," Birdie muttered through gritted teeth.

After a few more painful minutes, the deed was done and both Wyatt and Birdie sat back.

"She'll be okay," Wyatt said.

"Really?" Ophelia gasped, leaning against the wall for support. "I'm so relieved."

Birdie wiped her bloody hands on her dress. "Thank you."

Wyatt's mouth twitched into a smile. "Any time. I guess that's what I'm here for."

"You'd better be careful," Birdie replied. "Now every time we have an animal that's mortally wounded, we'll know where to come."

Wyatt chuckled. "I'll be here as long as you don't ask me to wring a chicken's neck or anything."

Birdie smiled then and Wyatt knew he'd done something to show the skeleton Marigold had mentioned. Was it because he'd helped with the goat? He didn't have much choice in that and felt a little guilty if she'd interpreted it as heroic.

But Birdie's smile disappeared as soon as it came. She stood up. "I'll go tell Marigold."

That left Wyatt with a wounded goat and Ophelia.

He offered an awkward nod. "So...do you often have your chickens slaughtered like that?"

"Only on Wednesdays," she said simply.

~~~~

That night, after he'd finished dinner with the Penny's, Wyatt went back into the barn to get his hat and found a plate of chocolate chip cookies balancing precariously on the post that connected two animal stalls.

Curiously, he picked up the plate to find a note on top.

They're not poisoned or anything.

-Birdie

He laughed quietly to himself. Was this her way of a peace offering or a thank-you or both? He couldn't gather enough information from the note, but he appreciated it all the same, knowing that it was a big deal for Birdie, whatever the motivation.

There was a small sense of relief in knowing that he was alright with the Penny girls now.

He tucked the plate into the sack he carried to and from Hal's and made his way back to the greenhouse.

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Hey everyone! I FINALLY GOT TO GO BACK TO DISNEY AND I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT IT CAN YOU TELL???? Ahem, anyway, did you enjoy the chapter? XD

~Are you glad Bethany McFarlane survived?

~General thoughts?

Thank you SoOoooOO much for reading! {Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!}