Page 68 of Steadfast

She pulled in a deep breath, clenching her eyes shut as she steadied herself against the wall in the upstairs hallway. She felt her chest tighten, knowing her anxiety was taking the reins.

“Not today, Oaks,” she whispered. If they were going to leave her like this, she would just have to handle it all on her own.“I can do this,” she said with confidence as though she could will the courage into existence with her words.

The sound of the front door slamming came echoing up the staircase. Bounding down the steps, she grasped the railing as her boots threatened to lose traction on the water pooling from her dripping clothes.

“Paisley, I have been calling you guys—” She started in on the reprimand she had already been practicing in her mind.

Hitting the last step, she flipped around the corner.

It was Audrey, looking like a drowned rat with her wet bangs hanging down in her eyes like an old mop sloshed out of the bucket. Although she was soaked to the bone and shivering, she was somehow still smiling with the undefeatable cheeriness that only she possessed.

“Better than nothing, I guess,” Oakleigh muttered under her breath. She grasped Audrey’s shoulders, noticing she felt ice cold. “Audrey, where are the girls?”

Audrey swept the hair from her eyes. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”Oakleigh barked.

A clap of thunder shook the walls as the torrential rain drummed on the roof.

“They said they saw a calf take off that way,” Audrey said, pointing in the general direction of the East Pasture. “I told them we should wait for you, but they blew me off.” She pulled her arms across her chest to conserve her warmth. Her heavy, wet clothes were forming yet another puddle on the hardwood floor beneath her feet.

Oakleigh’s thoughts were firing quickly now.

“Grab whatever you need from my closet and get changed,” she ordered. “Stay in front of the fireplace and warm up.”

“Maybe we should stick together?” Audrey suggested through her chattering teeth. “I’ll call Miss Maeve. She always knows what to do.” She dug her fingers into her pocket, struggling to pull her phone from her sopping wet jeans.

Oakleigh turned on her heels, snatching the device from the poor girl’s hands. “Audrey, if you care about me at all, you will not call, text, or notify Maeve Callaway in any way. Do you understand me?” She made direct eye contact to drive her point home. “Do you get what I’m saying?”

Audrey’s eyes went wide, but she gave Oakleigh a little nod. “Okay,” she whimpered.

“I’ve got to find them, and fast,” Oakleigh muttered, “and Lil’ Slim better be with them, or I’mdead.” She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves before stepping from the warm safety of the ranch house and back into the deluge.

When Oakleigh hit the gas pedal on the quad, the tires spun in the muck, spattering her with gobs of sticky mud.

“Just terrific.” She clenched her jaw, swiping mud from the lens of her sunglasses, which were practically worthless in the weather. Pulling the walkie to her lips, she attempted to reach them again with fading hopes. “Paisley, Mia—checking in, please let me know your location.”

The only answer was the loud, fuzzy hiss of static.

She clipped the radio back on her belt. Grabbing a hair tie off her wrist, she pulled her own mop of sopping, wet blonde hair into a low ponytail. She surveyed the dark pasture, glancing with apprehension at the inky black clouds that hung low in the sky.

Oakleigh resigned herself.

At minimum, she prayed that she wouldn’t be struck by a bolt of lightning. The sharp realization hit her that the somewhat sarcastic prayer was her first all day amid the growing crisis.

Easing on the gas, she started slower this time with vain hopes of avoiding any more mud slinging. The driveway was noticeably becoming a lake, with the water line edging towards the front steps of the ranch house. She began to wonder if the possibility of a flood was one more concern to add to her list.

Oakleigh now understood why Maeve was stressing about the sandbags. She felt a pang of guilt for not taking it all more seriously.

First things first, Oaks.

She would worry about that when the time came.

Even though she was moving at a glacial pace across the open pasture, the quad’s wheels still spun and fishtailed in the slick grass. Raindrops pelted her face, which felt razor sharp against her chilled skin.

She hit the brakes, and the quad slid to a stop. Putting her hand out to the sky, she saw little translucent shards of hail collect on the palm of her glove.

Love this for me.

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