Page 85 of Prodigal Son

The more Anna spoke, the stranger Destiny found her voice. It wasn’t accented like the others’ and sometimes she used slang. Her hair was also uncovered. Perhaps it was a pregnancy thing for comfort.

But there were other oddities as well. The lobes of Anna’s ears bore tiny holes as if they had once been pierced. Most peculiar of all, as Anna poured drinks, she hummed the tune of what Destiny swore was the old Beatles song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

The song stuck in her head all morning. When they made it to the barn, Gracie asked, “What’s that you’re singing?”

Destiny hadn’t realized she’d been singing out loud. “It’s just an old song.”

Gracie smiled. “Will you teach it to me?”

“Um, sure.” She started awkwardly and off key, “Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies…”

Gracie’s face knit with confusion as she went on. “That song makes no sense.”

“Well, I didn’t write it.”

She laughed. “Anna loves music, too.”

“Does she?” Did she also love Cain?

Ugh, Destiny had to stop thinking of him with any sort of entitlement.

The barn wasn’t quite what she imagined. She’d pictured something more along the lines of Charlotte’s Web with less of a manure odor. The animals were louder than expected and she never saw so many flies in winter. The reality was redeemed, however, by Grace’s “eight maids a-milking” presence. Then Destiny remembered that she was dressed the same.

“The first thing we do,” Gracie said after she led a cow to a trough filled with feed and sat on a stool, “is wash the udders. This is just gentle baby soap.” She cleaned the underbelly of the cow and Destiny hunched her back, protectively supporting her own breasts and empathizing with the animal.

Once the cow’s udders were clean, Gracie moved the bucket of soapy water away and replaced it with an empty metal pail. “Then you just pull.”

She demonstrated, and milk whizzed into the pail, echoing against the metal walls of the canister. With each tug, another steaming stream shot into the bucket and soon it was full.

“Want to try?”

Destiny hesitated. Cows were much larger in person and she found them intimidating. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

“I have another job that’s less daunting.” She filled a quart-sized container with cream and screwed a lid with a big red nipple on tight. “Follow me.”

Inside a small pen sat a sweet baby calf, and Destiny fell in love at first sight. “Oh, my goodness! What’s her name?”

“I call her Maribel. She’s been milking from the bottle for almost two weeks now, so when she sees it, she knows it’s time for food. Would you like to feed her?”

“Really? I’d love to!”

Gracie passed her the bottle. “Hold on tight. She’s strong.”

The calf knew exactly what to do and made the most adorable sounds while drinking. She tugged for all of three minutes, and then the bottle was empty.

“You’re a little piggy,” Destiny teased.

“They all are at that age.” Gracie laughed and corralled the calf back into the pen. “We’ll collect some eggs from the coop, then I’ll show you how to make Shoo Fly Pie.”

CHAPTER 26

Cain enjoyed laboring in the sun more than he had in quite some time. Vito proved to be good company and a hard worker, even as he continuously mentioned that modern tools required less effort and could get the job done twice as fast.

“You know you can get a gas-powered saw. You guys can use gasoline, right?”

“We even ride in gasoline vehicles from time to time,” Cain teased.

Vito mopped the sweat from his brow. “So why not invest in a chain saw or a chipper?”

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