Out of everyone, it was Gabe who had the most command of the situation, talking to the cows in a low, quiet voice that calmed them. Finally, I dragged myself out of the mud and glanced towards the parking lot, where Luke, Wren, Aunt Beth, and Uncle Troy were all busy herding the cows away from customers and the CheeseCo entourage back towards the pasture…. I could still hear excited voices and the lowing of innumerable cows. I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand, expecting that at any moment Luke or Wren or someone would come to help me. “Eeuw!” I shrieked, sputtering as I tried to keep the mud from trickling into my mouth and eyes. With a repugnant Squelch!, I landed face first in a giant mud puddle. “But I’m only trying to hel-” The rest of my words were lost as my feet slipped out from under me and I became airborne. I blushed indignantly and tried to keep pace with him as he stepped in long, purposeful strides towards the cows. Then he focused his attention back on the cows, ignoring me entirely. “Unless you want a stampede.” He turned his piercing, steel gray eyes on me, and for the first time since I’d met him, his patient smile was gone. “Don’t shout.” His voice was quiet and firm. Suddenly, Gabe was running towards the pasture from the equipment barn, and seconds later, he was stepping in front of me, barricading me from the cows. “No! Stop!” My voice sharpened desperately. “Come here, girls! Come on! That’s a good cow!” “Get back here!” I whistled, trying to keep my balance on the slippery, mud-riddled ground. I broke into a run, waving my arms at the cows still heading for the gate, hoping I might be able to corral them to keep them from getting out, too. And-oh no!-at least twenty cows had escaped through the gate and into the creamery parking lot! Open! The gate! I’d forgotten to latch it behind me when I’d walked into the pasture. I gulped, my pulse ratcheting into my chest. I glanced up just in time to see three Holsteins trotting past me, making a beeline for the open pasture gate. I was halfway through signing my name when a chorus of elated “Moos,” much too close for comfort, sounded to my right.

Careful not to move the phone from its position lest I lose the reception, I texted Leila. Keeping my eyes trained on the phone, at last, I saw one bar flicker to life on its screen. There were several dozen cows grazing a few hundred feet away, but they didn’t even glance up at me.

Macarons at midnight by suzanne nelson