After I caught my breath, I went to the next stall and was greeted with a litter of sleeping puppies. They had giant paws and judging by the size of their mom, they were going to be huge once they were older.
I didn’t want to wake them and stayed outside, even though I was dying to go in and pet them. They were adorable, and I was a sucker for puppies.
I eventually moved on and discovered a horse that seemed to be blind, a pony that had more hair than should fit on such a small body, and a few chickens who perched on stall doors and hay bales.
So Mason’s big secret was nothing big at all. Just a bunch of animals that looked healthy and well taken care of. Loki followed me around the barn as if we did this walk together every day. I liked it. When I was little, I always imagined having lots of pets. But I was only ever allowed expensive horses. Some of them cost more than a lot of people spent on a house.
And I didn’t get to ride them, that was left to the staff. I always wished for a pony that I could ride through the forest, one of my favorite places on my family’s farm.
And now I might not ever get to see the farm again. Especially not after the way things went down last night. I still didn’t think my mother would just give up. But at least she no longer knew where I was. That was one thing I was sure of. Because if she did, she would have already been here to get me.
I finished my tour at the end of the barn and peeked into the last stall. This time there wasn’t an animal living there but a beautiful motorcycle. An MV Agusta if I read the writing on the tank correctly. I didn’t know much about bikes, but I knew I’d want to ride on that one. Maybe Mason would take me one day.
No wonder he spent so much time in the barn. There were a lot of animals to take care of. He was so different from the person I thought I knew. And every time I discovered something new about him, I liked him a little bit more. And at the rate I stumbled over new pieces of his life, it would be more than like soon.
I went back to the porch and laid down on the couch that was pushed up against the side of the house. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep.
Loki woke me, his wet nose nudging my cheek. “Mi amor, stop licking me.”
The endearment had slipped out, surprising me. I didn’t remember much of my papá who passed away when I was five, but he always called me mi amor, mi vida, preciosa.
When he was gone, my mother banned everything from the house connected to him and that included the language. I wasn’t even allowed to learn Spanish but managed to learn a few words in secret. I didn’t just lose my papá but part of my heritage, part of who I was. So I held on to the few things that I still remembered. When Willa and Maisie found out how important it was to me, they started calling me Estrella, meaning star.
Shaking off a past I couldn’t change, I stood up and followed Loki, who ran ahead a few paces and waited for me, only to repeat the process again and again.
I went back inside the barn, hoping the puppies were awake. To my utter delight they were up and jumping around. I carefully opened the door and squeezed through the gap, keeping Loki outside and the puppies inside.
As soon as I stepped into the stable the little hellions jumped on my legs and bit my shoes, overjoyed at having a new playmate. I sank down on my knees and gently ran my hands along their fluffy coats. They were soft and happy, making my heart sing with joy.
“Hello, my precious babies. And hello, gorgeous mamá. Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle with them,” I said to the dogs.
I didn’t know how long I stayed, but when my knees got stiff and my top was soaked from the puppies sucking and chewing on it, I went back into the house. It was early afternoon, so I decided to waste the rest of the day with bad daytime TV and junk food.
The first part of my plan was easily set into motion, the second not so much, since Mason didn’t seem to have even the smallest amount of unhealthy food in the house. I did notice he ate very healthy, which explained his out-of-this-world body. That I hardly looked at. Well, only sometimes. Meaning every time he was in front of me without a shirt on.
I refused to give up my quest for unhealthy food and eventually found some expired marshmallows. Surely all that sugar would keep them from going stale, and I was desperate enough to take my chances. I took more painkillers and flopped onto the couch.
I was still sitting in the same spot, finishing off the last of the packet when Mason came back. It was after eleven and he looked tired. Luca and Lena must have been exhausting tonight. I still couldn’t wrap my head around him babysitting.
“Long day at work, honey?” I greeted him and popped the last marshmallow in my mouth.
“Something like that,” he said and collapsed on the couch next to me. The cushions gave way under his weight, and I was thrown to the side a bit.
“How are Nora and the kids?” I asked and held up my cup of tea to stop it from spilling. The health freak didn’t even have hot chocolate, so I had to raid his stash of herbal tea.
“They’re good. Luca didn’t want to go to bed and I had to stay up with
