Page 41 of Stray

“Hello?” I hear Indy’s light voice in my ear.

“Hey, cupcake, I wanted to talk to you about Wyatt, Carter’s son. Pediatrics is your area.” I then explained his symptoms and his lack of fluids.

“If the place has sugary juice, give him little bits at a time. I would use a syringe if need be. Then, you should run to the store and get some oral rehydration solutions. Monitor his fever, and if it doesn’t improve or worsens, head to the hospital.”

“Alright, babe, thanks. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Call me later.” I disconnect the call before relaying the instructions to Carter.

“Why don’t you guys go back to the house, and I’ll run to the store?” I offer while putting Wyatt in his car seat. I grab some fruit punch and fill a clean syringe I got from my medic bag with it.

“Hi, Bubba!” I grin as I lean over Wyatt, who gives me a grumpy look. “Want to take a sip? It’s sooooo yummy!” He whines and moves his head. “Look! Your daddy will drink it!” I put the syringe in Carter’s mouth, and he makes a show of liking the juice.

“It’s sooo good, Wyatt!” he beams. Wyatt looks from me to Carter and whimpers.

“Daddy do.” He whines, and I watch Carter freeze.

“D-did he just call me Daddy?” He whispers in astonishment. Until now, Wyatt hasn’t called Carter anything. He looks from me to the boy. “Yeah, bud,” Carter’s voice takes on a watery tone as he climbs into the back of the cab. “Daddy will give you the juice.” I hand him the syringe and the bottle.

“Don’t force it; just try little bits, and I’ll be back at the ranch soon.” Carter nods, only half listening to me, all his attention on the small boy in his arms.

I walk over to Jackson, who is closing the hitch up and making sure Jensen and his helpers can handle the rest of the evening. “I’m going to go grab some stuff for Wyatt,” I say softly while giving his hand a squeeze.

“I wish I could go with you, but I doubt Carter is moving from the backseat.” I laugh lightly. “It’s alright. I’ll be there–”

“Oi! Rowe! Come here and have a look at this Brumby!” The stranger’s Australian accent and the word “Brumby” is the last thing I hear before a high-pitched whine fills my ears, and my heart rate explodes. Then, my world goes black.

* * *

“GET OFF ME!” I scream as I grab Hugh by his scraggly hair and rip it out.

“You fucking whore!” He spits and backhands me so hard that I fall onto the table. “Weeks, and you still putting up a fight?” I hear Patrick’s cold, sickening laugh.

“You know, in my country, we have a name for feral horses,” I watch as he continues to look at the fireplace, where I see five glowing orbs sitting on the rack in the fire. “A Brumby.” He says while slipping some heavy-duty gloves on. I wince as Hugh grips the leash, causing the collar around my neck to squeeze and pinch my flesh while he holds me down on top of the coffee table.

I go to move, but Hugh grips me tighter as Patrick rips my underwear apart before walking to the fire and pulling a long poke with one of the glowing orbs off of it. I stare at it as he comes back. Is that one of those branding irons they use on ranches? I look closer. It’s a backward ‘B.’

“Every now and then,” he smirks while pinning my leg down. “You get a Brumby that is just a little wilder than the rest, a little harder to break. Luckily, I know that with the right amount of patience and the proper punishments, any Brumby can be broken.” I scream as the iron hits my mound. The sizzling sound and rancid smell of my burning flesh make me want to vomit.

“One down, five to go.”

* * *

“Ozzy?” Is that Jackson? What happened? Opening my eyes, I look around the room. It’s Jackson’s room. I blink at him several times.

“Jackson,” I cry out as I sit up and pull him to me, hugging him as tightly as possible.

“Baby,” he coos, and I feel him wrap his arms around me softly. I cry at the sweetness. “What happened? You were going to go to the store for Wyatt, and you passed out. I barely caught you before you hit the ground.” Pulling back, I look up at him, worry etching his beautiful face. Deciding to listen to Lois, I sit up to look at him better.

“Did Wyatt–” Jackson waves me off.

“He’s fine. Derek went to the store, and his fever is already lowering, though he’s extra clingy on Carter, not that I think he really minds.”

I give him a small smile and a nod. “I heard one of the other guys yelling for you. Said he wanted to show you something.” Jackson thought for a moment before it must’ve hit him.

“James? The one with the accent? He’s a horse tamer. He wanted to show me the new girl he got in. That’s what Brumby means it’s like–”

“Stop!” I snap louder than I mean to. “Don’t say that word again… please,” I whisper my plea as I look into his nervous gaze.

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