Page 41 of Touch the Sky

Shel isn’t even listening anymore. She’s off by the barn, trying to tempt Monsieur Fromage down from the hayloft.

I roll my shoulders back and push the thoughts of my dad aside, just like I’ve been doing for most of my life. I’m done with the brushing, so I duck under the rail and face Tess with my chest puffed out.

“It is a lot of work,” I tell her, “but luckily, I have the strength and courage of ten men combined in my body.”

She snorts first and then bursts out with a cackling laugh.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

I try to tell her she’s done enough and that I’ll meet her at the house once I’m done putting the horses away, but she won’t hear it. She helps me lead them to their stalls and get all the tack put away while Shel dumps the morning grains into the feed buckets.

Excited nickering and frantic gulping sounds fill the barn as the horses chow down on their breakfast.

“I don’t know why they always act like I’m starving them,là,” I say, shaking my head. “I’ll have you know I feed them very well.”

Tess chuckles. “I believe you. You don’t have to tell me how dramatic horses can be. My bruised toes will tell you that. I got squished by a fussy pony at work yesterday.”

I put on a sage expression. “Those ponies, man. They’ll fuck you up.”

Then I wince when I remember Shel is in earshot, pouring grain into a bucket just a few stalls down the aisle. I shoot Tess an apologetic look, but she just laughs at me.

“Sorry,” I say anyway. “I’m gonna have to get used to, uh, adjusting my language.”

Tess shrugs. “She’s ten. A swear word every now and then won’t hurt her. We’ve already had all the talks about appropriate language.”

I lean up against the nearest stall door and give Nana, who’s inside scarfing down her breakfast, a scratch.

“For me, it’s usually like eleven swear words at a time, but they’re mostly French, if that helps.”

Tess laughs again, shaking her head like she’s not sure what to do with me.

“I guess we should go up to the house,” I say. “Mamanmust be up by now. My uncle and some of my cousins will be here soon, and Natalie is coming too once she wraps up some morning art class she’s teaching at the inn, but I can at least give you the keys and stuff so we can get started.”

Tess squints at me like I just spoke another language.

“You know, the keys?” I say, miming opening a door. “For your new house? That you’re here to move into?”

She shakes her head, her forehead still creased with confusion. “Yes, but, um, people are coming over?”

Now it’s my turn to squint.

“Yes?” I say. “To help you move?”

Her eyes widen. “Wait. What? But they don’t—I mean, they don’t even know me. They don’t have to help. I thought—I mean…what?”

She sounds like a robot self-destructing, her eyes bulging like she’s about to explode. I try not to laugh.

“Did you really think you were going to move in all alone?” I ask. “That’s not how things work in La Cloche. The whole town knows you’re moving in today.Mamanhas been spreading the word like the good news of the bible or something. I’m surprised we don’t have a crowd on the lawn already.”

Tess shakes her head like she still doesn’t understand.

“They’ll say they’re here to help,” I explain, “which they will, but mostly, they’re just here to get gossip on the new town resident. Oh, and to bring you casseroles. I hope you’re ready to geta lotof casseroles.”

I wait for her to laugh or at least chuckle, even though it’s true that she will be drowning in casseroles by the end of the week.

All she does is blink at me.

“People are coming to help us?” she asks. “People want to meet us?”