Behind the Stars by Leigh Talbert Moore Page B

you, my lady.”
    She laughed, and I couldn’t help admitting it was a sweet sound. “Well, that won’t be for a while. For now I’m still Cato, and you’re still my little brother.”
    He exhaled, and she continued. “And tonight I’m ordering you to take a break. I’ll take your shift here. You go rest or better still, I know Shubuta wants to discuss other options for if we’re detained longer than was planned.”
    “Shubuta.”
    “She often comments about you. She seems to enjoy your sense of humor.”
    “She’s old enough to be my mother.”
    “Mother was quite a bit older when she had you.”
    “I have no interest in Shubuta.”
    “Then do what you like. But Gallatin.” Her voice was serious now. “Do not let me hear you’ve been in the woods again. It isn’t safe.”
    My heart jumped. I had to learn more about that. What was going on in the woods and why wasn’t it safe?
    “Imprisonment,” he grumbled.
    “Thank you.”
    I listened as he left the barn and then waited a few moments before creeping back and then reentering as if I were just getting there. Cato smiled and nodded when she saw me approaching. She wore the same gray coveralls as me tonight, but her white-blonde hair was smoothed back in its usual twist. After overhearing their conversation, I was sure now she was a princess or something. She definitely looked the part with her long slim neck and regal features.
    Her eyes appeared almost white from a distance, but now that we were close, I could see they were very clear blue like two drops of water. She was beautiful, and she and her brother couldn’t look more dissimilar. Where he was fiery and unsettling, she was cool and soothing. But I’d also learned they had different fathers.
    “I’m here to help you,” she said, with an odd sense of anticipation in her voice, like milking cows was a special treat.
    I nodded. “Thanks, I guess.”
    She surprised me with a little laugh. “You guess? So you’re like the others? You think I shouldn’t be in a barn working?”
    “I don’t think anything, ma’am.”
    She pressed her lips together and studied me. “How were you able to work with a livestock vet? Being so small, I mean.”
    She’d been observing me since our first day in the field, but I couldn’t begin to guess why. And since Yolanda’d told me the story of what happened to Russell, I’d been more careful than ever against any slip-ups about Jackson’s being out there or my plans to find him. I certainly wasn’t going to tell her I’d started working with Dr. Green because Jackson’d dared me to do it.
    “I needed the money, and it was the best paying job I could find,” I said.
    That answer at least had a grain of truth in it.
    “I’m surprised he didn’t question your ability.” She picked up a bucket and handed it to me.
    I walked over to the larger cow Yolanda had worked earlier, sat down, and stroked her udders. I hoped the milk would come down quickly so we could hurry up and finish. She wasn’t the one I’d planned to talk to, and I wasn’t good with fast changes.
    “He made me do a test run,” I said. “Then he let me help him.”
    “What was your test?” She watched me working the cow.
    I wondered why she was being so friendly, or if I should tell her the extent of my knowledge. I figured I’d be using it before long anyway, so I let my guard down a little.
    “I had to prove I wasn’t afraid to examine a pregnant cow.”
    Her pale brows pulled together. “How does that prove anything?”
    “Well, most people don’t take to reaching inside a cow’s butt.”
    The princess or whatever she was froze like I’d squirted fresh milk in her face. Her jaw dropped, but she closed it just as fast. Then her gaze turned to the large animal before her.
    “You reached inside... But why? Why not perform a blood test?”
    “Blood tests are expensive and they take too long. Besides, farmers’ve been sticking their arms up cows’ backsides since, well,