Page 44 of Touch the Sky

“Cette fille,” she said, shaking her head. “She’s strong like a bull, but she’s stubborn like one too.”

I watch Jacinthe’s truck pull into the farmyard instead of coming up to the house. She hops out in her usual ensemble of jeans and a plaid shirt, latching the gate back in place before pulling her phone out of her pocket.

She’s too far away for me to make out the details of her expression, but I see the way her shoulders droop when she looks at the screen. A second later, she drops down to squat on her heels, stuffing the phone back in her pocket so she can cradle her head in her hands.

I lunge for the door.

“Mom?” Shel says, twisting in her chair to cock her head at me.

“All good, honey,” I tell her as I stuff my feet into my boots. “I forgot there’s something I need to talk to Jacinthe about. I’m gonna go catch her while she’s outside. Be back in a few minutes. Finish your snack, okay?”

It’s cold enough outside that the air nips at my bare arms when I pull the door open, but I don’t stop to grab a jacket. I take off jogging across the yard, my footsteps loud enough that Jacinthe lifts her head when I’m still a few meters away.

I brace to see her with blanched skin or maybe even a couple tears sliding down her cheeks, but instead of distraught, she just looks tired.

Exhausted, actually.

There are deep purple hollows under her eyes. Her cheeks look gaunt, and her pupils have this hazy, glazed sheen, like she’s only barely conscious.

“Jacinthe!” I call out, barreling the rest of the way over and then skidding to a halt in front of her. “What’s wrong? I saw you check your phone and…”

I trail off and motion at her hunched pose down on the ground.

“Ah.” She bobs her head, blinking at me like she’s waking up from a dream. “Ben, it’s nothing. I just got a text that a family at the inn wants to go for a sunset ride tonight. It’s good news.”

She tries to force a smile, but it’s like even the corners of her mouth are too heavy to lift.

“Didn’t you do a sunrise ride this morning?”

She nods. “Sure did.”

I plant a fist on my hip. “Did it maybe occur to you that working from four in the morning to eight in the evening is going to literally run you into the ground?”

She glowers at me. “Yeah, ya know, it did occur to me, but who else is gonna do it?”

She winces at the bite in her tone. I see her gearing up for an apology, but before she can get another word out, I take a step back and cross my arms over my chest.

“I am.”

She tilts her head. “Quoi?”

“You obviously can’t do this ride, and I already know you won’t cancel it. I don’t want you falling on your head off the edge of a cliff out in the woods, okay?”

She huffs a laugh. “Falling off a cliff? Where do you think I take these people?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, but you better tell me, becauseI’mtaking them.”

Jacinthe narrows her eyes and looks me up and down, like she’s sizing up a new challenger in the ring.

I keep my arms crossed, my feet planted wide. After a moment, she blows out a breath and shakes her head.

“You’re not insured.”

I dig my fingertips into my biceps to keep from crowing in victory.

She thought about it. She actually thought about letting me help her.

I can work with that.