Page 14 of The Cowboy Who Came Home
“So it’s already flooding,” he said. “Whether the river breaks the bank or not.” Hurrying through the mud and muck to the facility down the lane a bit, Finn began to pray. Not only for his parents and himself, who were all out in the storm, but for everyone who lived here at Three Rivers Ranch.
For the horses at Bowman’s Breeds and Courage Reins. For their chickens, the barn cats, the dogs, the bulls, their cattle.
“Dear Lord.” He sucked in a breath. “What is this going to do to our cattle?”
Raising and selling cattle was how the ranch made money. Would they be wiped away in floodwaters? What about their crops? Would they survive under feet of debris-riddled water?
Finn arrived at Bowman Breeds and as he reached for the door handle, a locking mechanism whirred. Brynn Greene said, “Thank you, Squire. The switches are to your left, up high, almost to the top of the doorframe.”
He wasn’t his father, but he didn’t correct her. Finn slipped inside and turned left. Sure enough, up high on the wall sat several switches. He flipped them all on, and more light joined the rainstorm.
The intercom beeped again, and Brynn said, “Back in my office, there’s a single button that will open all the stalls for the horses. Would you activate that? If the waters come through swiftly, I want them to be able to swim or run.”
Finn’s throat closed. “Sure,” he said. “Will you guide me? Oh, and this is Finn, by the way.”
“Oh, Finn.” Brynn’s voice pitched up. “Thank you for going over.”
“Dad thinks it’s gonna flood. I’d get out now if you’re worried.”
“Ethan’s getting the kids up.” She sighed and said, “Down the hall to your right is my office. It’s got a big red door. The button is on the wall about as high as the switches you just flipped.”
“And I don’t need to check them?” Finn looked down the hallway, where some of the light pouring in from outside reached. “The horses, I mean.”
“Their stalls will open, and they’ll be able to go out into the paddocks and pastures. If the flood comes in fast, they should be able to swim or run. In their stalls…they’ll be trapped.”
He swallowed. “What about the horses at Courage Reins?”
“Beau’s on it.” Ethan Greene’s voice came through the intercom this time. “Work fast, Finny. Get your siblings and get over to Courage Reins.”
“I have to sound the sirens,” Finn said. “But I’ll get everyone up once I’m back to the homestead.”
“God bless you,” Brynn whispered, and those three words alerted Finn once again to the seriousness of this situation.
He strode down the hall and into the office on the right. He found the button and pushed it. He had no idea if it worked or not, but he had to trust Brynn. He had to trust God.
Outside, the standing water on the dirt and gravel seemed to have risen in the five minutes he’d been inside Bowman’s Breeds, and Finn ran back to the homestead this time. He closed the garage and sprinted up the steps and into the house. Dripping, dripping, dripping, he started calling for Libby, Mike, and Sam to get up.
“You’ve got to get dressed and get over to Courage Reins,” he said. “It’s flooding. Everything’s flooding.” He heard the desperation and worry in his own voice, and thankfully, none of his siblings argued with him.
“Do they need food?” Libby asked. “Clothes? Blankets?” She peered out the window and then over to Finn. “Where’s Momma and Daddy?”
“Whoa,” Sam said as he pulled a T-shirt over his head and entered the main living area of the house. “It’s pouring.”
“They’re out there,” Finn said, nodding to the rain and chaos in front of him. “Momma’s at Courage Reins, prepping for everyone to arrive. Daddy’s at Uncle Pete’s, watching for a river surge.” He faced his younger siblings, a fierce need to protect them coming over him. “Mike, you make sure Libs and Sammy get across the street. I’m staying here until Daddy calls, so I can sound the siren.”
He moved into the living room and flipped open the shallow cupboard where their emergency system sat. He flipped a switch, and the red light came on. Now, all he had to do to send the wailing, warning siren across the world was press a button.
Finn looked over to his siblings, and they’d frozen. “Mike,” he barked. “Libby. Sam. Get moving.” They all flinched, and Finn marched over to them. He gathered each one into his arms, spanning them as wide as he could. “Third floor, guys. Momma’s there. Get goin’.”
Libby sniffled, then nodded. With her head high, she led the way toward the exit. “Come on, boys.”
“Love you guys,” Finn called out.
“Love you too,” came back to him three-fold, and then Finn watched them all step into the rain. It rained and rained and rained, and Finn marveled at it.
He took up his post by the siren, and he looked at his phone. Only twenty-four minutes had passed since he’d come upstairs to talk to his father. How much could change in such a short time.
His mind whirred, and before he knew it, he’d tapped to call Edith. “Come on,” he said. “Please, Lord, wake her.”
