Different Setting

Suspicious Minds

Back at the farm, it was once again Duck's turn on the swing after a few minutes, Kenny getting up to push him again. Sarah and Clementine sat on the tree stump and chatted together while Carlos looked on. He was glad that his daughter now had some new friends.

The sky was beginning to change color, and for once, things were peaceful. Carlos was lost in thought when he saw Mark and Travis approaching them.

"Hey, Katjaa says you guys can come into the barn now," Mark offered, giving the doctor a light smile.

Kenny heard this and turned his attention to Duck. "You want to go see the cow, boy?"

"Yeah!" Duck eagerly cried, and jumped off of the swing. Sarah saw that everyone was beginning to walk in the barn's direction and ran over to Carlos, knowing what was going on.

"Did you hear that, Dad?" she asked excitedly. "There's a cow! A real animal!"

Carlos chuckled. "I know sweetie. Do you want to go see it?" he asked.

"Yeah, right now!" Sarah nearly yelled, and she grabbed Carlos' hand and ran to the barn to catch up with the others. Once they were at the door, Sarah was holding her breath because of excitement. It had been a while since she had actually gotten to see a real animal, and she couldn't contain her happiness.

Kenny opened the door to the barn, and the small group saw Katjaa sitting beside the cow. "You figure out what was wrong with it?" Kenny asked his wife.

"Yes, it turns out that there was nothing wrong with her at all," Katjaa replied. She turned and smiled softly at the kids. "She's just heavily pregnant, and could have her baby tonight. We'll see, though."

At that, both Clementine and Sarah's eyes lit up in delight. They both sat down in front of the cow, Maybelle, and looked at her in admiration. Duck turned, and saw something that made him curious, and the little boy frowned.

"What's that?" he asked his father, pointing.

Kenny looked where his son was pointing, and raised his eyebrows. "Those are called salt licks, Duck. They're for horses."

"Salt licks?" Clementine inquired. She got up and walked over to them with a questioning expression.

Without hesitation, she picked one up and gingerly stuck her tongue to it. "Ew, gross!" she yelled, blowing raspberries and trying to get the strong taste out of her mouth. The others in the barn were trying to hold back their laughter.

"I guess we know why they're for horses now," Duck said with a small smile.

"You kids can pet her if you want," Katjaa said, referring to the cow.

"Really?" Sarah asked excitedly.

Katjaa nodded. "Just be careful."

Sarah crawled a little closer, and began to gently stroke Maybelle's head. She gasped in amazement; the cow was so soft! She looked over to Carlos and smiled widely. "Maybelle's really soft, Daddy. And pretty, too!"

"I'm sure she is, Sarah," Carlos nodded.

Andy walked in then, and gave the group a nod. He walked over to the back of the barn and inspected the door, and felt around. This caused both Kenny and Carlos to frown; what was he doing? Hopefully nothing suspicious.

"Clementine, can you close the door, please?" Katjaa requested kindly.

Clementine nodded and went to oblige her request, but not before she looked outside and waved. This meant that Lee was back as well. Mark walked forward and looked at the cow. "For a pregnant cow, she's pretty skinny."