Page 36 of Forever Ink

“Hm, I think Cal and I should try and follow the high path and cut them off near the waterfall. You think you could come up on them from behind?” I eyed the steep path warily.

Mouse leaned over his handlebars and looked at the barely–there trail. “Piece of cake, cleared steeper paths than this when I was competing.”

The smell of cigarette smoke caught my nose as Callum walked up between us. He rolled his eyes at my look. “I only smoke occasionally. Believe me, it’s the least destructive of my bad habits.” He turned his grey eyes on Mouse, his lips pulled in a thin line. “Can you really do this safely? Or is this trying to prove something to your brother and I?”

“Have you been told to fuck off lately?” Mouse asked, smiling.

“You’re such a fucking brat,” Callum shot back but Mouse ignored him, pulling his helmet down. I didn’t miss the slightly wild grin he gave before the helmet slid into place.

“Better mount up, Cal. We’ll meet you by the falls. If you catch up to them, try to herd them towards the gully. We can lead them back to the farm,” I said. Mouse nodded once before gunning his engine and dropping over the edge. I could hear the revs of his bike drop low as he made his way like a damn mountain goat down the slope. My stomach dropped when I saw him bounce his bike from one bolder to another until he was finally at the bottom of the gully.

“I swear he gets off scaring the shit out of us,” Callum growled, stomping his cigarette out and climbing back onto his bike.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Callum looked fit to burst when Mouse dropped off the side. I sometimes wondered if Callum still saw Mouse as that annoying scrawny kid who’d pestered us in the shop all day. “I think he just loves getting a rise out of you.”

“Well, he can damn well find another way to do it. That shit is dangerous.”

“If I didn’t know you better, I’d say he’s pinging your uptight daddy instincts. Actually no, forget I said that.” I shook my head in mock disgust. “I do not need that shit in my head.”

Callum’s barking laugh echoed. “Sy, you’re so loved up and in daddy heaven right now, you want to see everyone happy like you are. You’re just a big sappy muppet.”

“Fuck you, but you’re right. I’m happier than I have any right to be.”

“You found your one, which I’m happy for. You and Rhys deserve all that’s good. Just don’t start trying to fix and meddle in things that don’t need fixing.”

I nodded. Whatever the fuck was going on with Callum and my brother was none of my business. For now, I had to find Dad’s damn ram. I had a cuddly boy waiting back at the farm for me, and I’d rather be there than freezing my nuts off out here.

* * *

We followed the trail and came out at the top of what Mouse and I as kids had named the waterfall. Back then it had looked a lot bigger to us. It was probably about ten feet from top to bottom, and the rocks were all covered in moss and bracken. It was a favourite spot for swimming during the warm weather, the pool at the bottom surprisingly clear. I knew from experience just how cold it was this time of year. Mouse was on the other side of the creek looking downstream. I followed his gaze and saw the ewes, but I just wanted to know where the damn ram was. A little further up I saw a black woolly lump laying on the edge of the creek.

“Oh no!” Dad would be gutted if anything had happened to him. I rode slowly past the ewes who just blinked at me with placid eyes then returned to eating the sweet grass along the creek’s edge. Coming closer, I could see Ragnar laying on his side, a long snarl of old fencing wrapped around his back legs. He was a large ram with not two but four horns atop his head. My dad said it wasn’t strange for this breed of sheep to have them.

I turned the bike off and slid off the seat. What the hell would I tell Dad? He was a farmer, sure, and knew losing stock came with the job—between the weather and sickness there were always risks—but Dad had a soft spot for this damn ram.

He lay half in the creek, and I was pretty sure Dad wouldn’t want me leaving him out here, so I waded in. As my boots kicked up water, Rag lifted his head and gave me an unfriendly glare.

Thank fuck the bastard was alive. I swore the sheep sneered when he saw me. He tried to stand, but fell back over.

“All right, you stroppy bastard. Hold still.” Splashing behind me let me know Callum had gotten off his bike and was headed towards us.

“Do you still carry that fancy pocketknife on you?” I asked, praying he did.

“Yep.” Callum dug through his pockets and pulled out a Swiss– knife– looking– thing. “Think it got a pair of tin snips, or something close to it.”

“That’s what we need to get this wire off his legs and see what the damage is. Might have to radio dad and get him to bring the UTV up here to take the woolly sod back.”

Callum eyed Ragnar nervously, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d heard enough of my stories about the bad-tempered ram and me ending up on my arse in the pen.

“I’ll radio your da, you deal with him.” Callum backed away towards the bike casting a worried look over his shoulder. “He’s not going to lunge at you or anything when you free him is he?”

I gave Rag an appraising look and the ram just snorted tiredly. “You’re not going to make me regret this, are you?”

The look the sheep gave me was what my mum would have called and old-fashioned look, somewhere between fed up and unbelieving.

“Alright. Going to get you out of this water first then we’ll try and get this wire out off you.” Lifting a hundred and thirty pounds of wet ram was not an easy feat, but I managed to get him on the grassy edge of the creek just as Mouse got over to us.

“Wanna give me a hand, bro?”

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