Page 22 of There I Find Happiness

She could make up a question to ask, text him, and get him to come. She’d done that multiple times over the last two weeks. But it got to the point where he had said to just write down all of her questions and he’d come in fifteen minutes before she was ready to leave and answer them all.

She felt like he was doing it right before she left so that she wouldn’t be tempted to drag the question-and-answer sessions out. And he wouldn’t have to spend any more time than necessary with her.

Pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, she looked out at the field. She actually asked Peter three times now if he needed any help on the farm besides what she was doing as his accountant.

Every time, he brushed her off. But she wanted to work with the animals. Actually, no. She wanted to work with Peter. How was she supposed to get Peter to like her if he refused to spend any time with her?

She pursed her lips again and looked back at the desk. She could make up another problem, or...she could go open that gate and let the cows out. She wouldn’t have to tell anyone that she let the cows out herself, and when Peter came, she could run out and help him. That way, they’d be spending some time together, and maybe he’d see that she wasn’t afraid of the cows, and he’d let her help him on the farm.

She almost rubbed her hands together in anticipation as she grabbed her puffer vest and beanie hat and threw them on quickly before she hurried outside.

It didn’t take any time at all to open the gate, but then she stood there for a moment, wondering how she was going to get the cows to see that the gate was open and they could go ahead and walk out.

But she couldn’t stand by the gate long, because she didn’t want anyone to know that she was the one who opened it.

On that thought, she practically ran back to the little building that housed the office and hurried back inside.

She wanted to stand by the window and watch to see when the cows got out, but she would be better able to pretend surprise if she actually was surprised when someone showed up. So, she took her hat and vest off and went back over and sat down at the desk.

She got immersed in spreadsheets, in balancing everything and checking the receipts off. She truly did love that kind of work, and time just flew by as she worked the numbers.

So, it really did surprise her when she heard a shout outside. It took her a few minutes to come back to reality before she remembered what was going on and jumped up.

She looked out the window first and saw Peter’s hired guy, she thought his name was Miles. He’d been in the office several times, twice to get his paycheck and once to turn in a few receipts. He was nice, handsome in a ruggedly cowboy type way.

Of course, he wasn’t the boss, and that was who she wanted.

Still, he was rounding up some cattle and shouted something to Peter, who worked further over across the driveway as she watched.

She couldn’t hear what he said, but her eyes were drawn to Peter, and immediately her heart stopped and her hand went to her throat.

A cow, one that was bigger than all the rest of them—could it be a bull?—was running straight toward Peter

“Oh no. What have I done?” she said to herself as she ran outside, completely forgetting about her hat and vest.

She stopped on the porch. She didn’t want to get hurt, and that animal was big. With its head lowered, it looked mean too.

Peter, looking up at Miles to see what he was yelling about, didn’t have time to turn around and see what Miles gestured toward.

The animal hit him before he had a chance to even try to get away, and the impact made him fly through the air, crashing into a heap on the ground.

Norma Jean’s legs wanted to take her there, but fear held her to the porch, because the large animal was not yet contained. She put her fist in her mouth as her horrified eyes seemed to be frozen on Peter, who had not moved from the spot where he lay on the ground. The bull, at least that’s what Norma Jean had decided it must be, seemed to lose sight of him for a moment before it lowered its head and charged at the still form.

This time, a sound escaped from Norma Jean’s mouth as she realized Peter’s leg had been crumpled at an unnatural angle. She saw that, just before the bull drove his head into Peter’s side.

She’d forgotten about Miles, but he sprinted from the other side of the driveway to the unfenced field where the bull was with Peter.

At his side was a small dog, which made Norma Jean want to run forward just to grab the dog and get it out of its way, but to her surprise, the dog darted toward the bull, getting in front of him and grabbing onto his nose.

The bull shook his head and lifted the dog off its feet. But the dog was able to get the bull to move backward, away from Peter’s body.

That’s when Norma Jean realized she should call the ambulance.

Running inside, grabbing her phone off the corner of the desk where she set it earlier, she dialed 911 as she ran back outside.

By that time, the bull had slammed the dog to the ground, but as Norma Jean watched, the dog popped right back up and ran at the bull again. This time, it came in from behind and kept the bull moving forward and to the side.

The bull had apparently forgotten about Peter, so the dog had done a good job of distracting it, and then as Miles shouted a few commands, the dog herded the bull back into the pasture.

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