He marched across the floor to the door and opened it. “And lots of babies.” His voice broke and he stepped through the door, slamming it.
She stared after him. He was saying good bye. She started for the door to stop him, but half way to her destination she paused. She could bring him back, but for what? More torture? If she truly loved him, she would let him go. Let him find someone who wasn’t interested in having children. Someone like Lori.
The idea was like a blow from a club. Her knees buckled and she slumped to the floor, wracked by ragged sobs. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a nightmare. If only she could wake up.
More than an hour later she was pouring herself a cup of coffee and wondering if a person could get dehydrated from crying. Whenever she seemed to be getting herself under control, a fresh bout of sobs would begin. There had to be something they could do to salvage their relationship. How could she go on without him? When did the house get so empty - so lonely?
By evening she was exhausted. After chores, she went to bed and cried herself to sleep. But that was no escape, either. Alex was there, looking at her in that tortured way again. She woke and prayed fervently for an answer, and then fell asleep again - to the same nightmare.
She woke abruptly, not knowing what had disturbed her sleep. She waited breathlessly, straining to hear the least noise. The night was unnaturally silent. The clock ticked thirty long seconds away and then the silence was ripped by a ferocious growl. Brutus.
She leaped from the bed and struggled into her jeans, tucking her nightgown in while she grabbed her boots. All pandemonium broke loose outside. One of the goats was voicing a terrified cry and with it mingled vicious snarls and anxious barking. Obviously something was attacking the goats.
She raced down the hall tugging her boots on, hopping first on one foot and then on the other. At the door, she paused only long enough to flip on the yard and barn lights. Bursting through the door, she immediately spotted Brutus, who was waging a battle against a pack of wild dogs. She raced for the barn, for the first time wishing she had invested in that rifle Josh wanted her to buy. There must be something she could use in the barn - a pitchfork, anything.