Chapter 40

CHAPTER

40

‘I hope you enjoyed your afternoon,’ Bree said as she unlatched the gate.

The chorus of agreement was very satisfactory. Bree held the gate open while the walkers led their animals through. ‘Just head back towards the stables,’ she told them, catching Maggie’s eye to tell her to walk with the lead alpaca. The others would follow. They’d done this a few times and already knew that once they were back at the stables and released from their duties, there would be feed waiting for them.

‘And after, if you’re heading back through Wagtail Ridge, don’t forget to stop at the shop. There are all sorts of souvenirs there, and some alpaca socks that I highly recommend for those chilly nights. If any of you knit, there is yarn spun from these alpacas to purchase. And if you tell Rose which alpaca you walked, you might be able to buy some yarn from the fleece of that animal.’

She was greeted by a second approving murmur. That was when she heard the noises coming from the direction of the stables. She glanced over. All the girls in the nursery paddock had gathered as close to the building as they could get. They were leaning over the fence, looking towards the stables, and they were purring. That could only mean one thing.

‘Let’s head on to the stables,’ she said to the group. ‘Follow Maggie.’

As soon as the last walker and her alpaca were through the gate, Bree latched it then joined Maggie.

‘Keep them all at this end of the stables. I’ll go on ahead to check on Sky,’ she said.

‘Do you think it’s time?’

‘It might be. Try to keep everything calm, but moving along. I’ll check Sky and come back. We should get everyone on their way as soon as possible. If they realise what’s happening, they’ll want to watch.’ And that was not possible. She wouldn’t want her customers, some of them children, watching if the crias did not survive. Equally important, this birth had to be quiet and devoid of stress—for Sky, at least. She wasn’t sure she could say the same for herself.

The phone in her pocket buzzed, but she ignored it. Whatever it was, she didn’t have time now.

Trying to appear unhurried, Bree walked to the far end of the stables, where Sky had been settled into a safe, straw-filled stall that opened onto a small grassed yard. Normally the dams stayed with the group for a birth, but there wasn’t anything normal about this impending birth. Giving Sky all the space she needed, Bree edged around the stall to look at the animal from all sides. She wasn’t displaying any signs of stress and there was nothing showing beneath her tail, but her sides were tight and Sky was restless, her ears constantly flicking back and forth as she moved around in the deep straw.

There was no doubt. It was time.

Stepping back from the stall, Bree pulled her phone from her pocket and rang the vet surgery.

‘Anna’s out on a call at the moment.’

Bree cursed under her breath. ‘As soon as you can get hold of her, tell her the twins are coming. I need her here.’

‘I will,’ the nurse said. ‘I know how much she wants to be there. I’ll get her on the way to you as soon as I can.’

Bree thanked her and hung up, ignoring the voicemail notification flashing at her.

At the other end of the stables, the alpaca walkers were milling about, chatting and laughing as Maggie took each animal and let it into the yards. The walkers had obviously enjoyed their afternoon, which was great for business, but right now, Bree needed them gone. She went over and, as politely as possible, encouraged the group on their way.

As soon as their cars were pulling down the driveway she rang Rose. ‘The walkers are heading your way,’ she said.

‘Hopefully they’ll feel like shopping.’

Bree smiled. Since Rose had opened the shop, she’d proved very good at selling souvenirs and yarn to anyone who ventured inside, especially the walkers.

‘Sky’s started to unpack the twins,’ Bree told her.

‘How is she?’

‘So far, so good, but it’s barely started. I’ve called Anna. She’s on another call but she’ll be here soon, I hope.’

‘If I can do anything—’

‘I’ll call. And I’ll let you know how it goes. I still think there’s a good chance of two live births.’ Bree tried to sound confident, but now the moment had arrived, she wasn’t sure.

As she ended the call, her phone rang again. She didn’t bother looking at the caller ID. ‘Anna. Are you on the way?’

‘Bree, I’ve been trying to get hold of you.’

‘Matt?’ He sounded awful. Her heart clenched. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘It’s Vicki. She’s gone.’

The shock stopped Bree in her tracks. ‘What do you mean, gone?’

‘I came to school to pick her up. And she’s gone.’

‘Are you sure she didn’t go home with a friend? To Kelly’s place, maybe.’

‘No. I went there. Her kids think they saw her with Sally.’ She could hear that Matt was struggling to keep his voice calm.

‘They weren’t sure? So maybe that’s not it. Did you check with Rose? Vicki might have walked down to the shop.’ She knew this was unlikely and that Rose would have mentioned it on her call, but Matt needed to check every possibility.

‘I didn’t. She wouldn’t do that without talking to me.’

‘Or she might have walked home. Or stopped at the playground near the hall with her friends.’

There was silence down the phone.

Bree was clutching at faint hopes, and they both knew it, but right now, Matt needed a voice of reason in the hell his world must suddenly have become. She agreed that Sally had probably taken Vicki, but she wasn’t going to say that. Not yet. And not over the phone. Nor was she going to mention the police, despite the fact that her solicitor’s instinct was crying out for Matt to call them.

‘You go to the shop. Check the playground. And the house,’ Bree urged. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can.’

‘Thank you. I—’

‘I know. Just go look for her.’ Bree ended the call.

While she was still trying to gather her wits, she heard a call from the stables, where Maggie was standing watch over Sky. She hurried to her and saw that the first twin was coming. Her farmhand couldn’t be left alone to face this. It wasn’t fair on her, and it would risk the lives of the crias and perhaps their mother.

Bree felt as if she was being torn in two.

She cast a hopeful glance at the drive, but there was no sign of the vet.

‘I have to go,’ she said, making a decision.

‘What? I can’t do this alone.’ Maggie’s face went white at the prospect.

‘I’m sorry. Someone I care about needs me. You’ll be fine. Anna’s on her way—she’ll be here any minute.’ She hoped that was right, but Matt and Vicki had to be her first priority.

She sprinted for her car. She was halfway down her drive when a car turned off the road and came to a stop in front of her. She pulled up next to it.

‘Anna. Thank goodness you’re here. There’s an emergency. I have to go. The crias are coming. Maggie is at the stables.’

Her face must have told the vet everything she needed to know. ‘You go do what you have to. Maggie and I’ve got this.’

Heaving a sigh of relief, Bree threw her car into gear, pushed her foot flat to the floor and headed for town.