Mystery at Brightfields

Chapter 10.

Zoe headed into the stable yard with a fake face. She had to be strong in front of everyone else at the barn when inside she was dying. 

Loss. Its the hardest thing to feel. But Zoe knew she had to help with the foal..with Laycee. 

Becky and Jade followed her to the stall that had a small group formed around it. The kids from the barn cleared a path to the door for them and they entered the stall. Vet Baker was feeding Laycee a bottle as she was curled up on the pile of straw.

Laycee was a dark bay filly, she had a wide white blaze down her head and ended at her pink nose. She was perfect. Marcus was rubbing a towel over her small body getting her the rest of the way dry. He looked up at Zoe and their eyes met. She looked away as she felt the tears coming back.  

"Alright baby, time to try standing up." said Vet Baker. Holding the milk bottle up and further away from Laycee's little lips. She reached for the bottle and soon realized she couldn't get it while laying down. Laycee started to stretch out her front legs and then shifted her weight back.

She stood up on the first try. Wobbling, the little filly drank up the rest of the milk from the bottle. 

"We have a fighter here at Brightfields, everyone!" exclaimed Vet Baker. "Jade, Zoe, and Becky. Lets talk outside, we have a lot to go over." She left the stall and turned the corner. 

The girls were silent as the vet went over the feeding protocol and care of the new foal. It was going to be a lot of work. The baby needed fed every few hours unless there was a nurse mare available. Vet Baker explained that there was a few horses on the island that might fit that criteria, but she would have to make some calls in the morning to see if that was even an option. For now, Laycee needed fed every two hours. 

It was going to be a long night. 

The girls looked at each other and nodded. They had promised Layla that they were going to care for her baby and that was what they were going to have to do. 

Vet Baker took the girls over to her truck and took out a few spare bottles and a 10lb bag of mares milk replacement. She wrote down the instructions of feeding and mixing the milk up and turned to the girls. 

"She will need to be kept warm through the night as the weather is dropping, I have extra foal blankets over at the clinic and I can bring one by tomorrow. For tonight just throw a medium thick blanket over her as she sleeps. She is going to be a tired baby tonight. As for Layla, there is not much I can do tonight. I will go and cover her and see if I can get her picked up early tomorrow morning. Don't worry about the bill for tonight, I will have that covered for your loss. I'm so sorry. But her baby will live on, and bring happiness. Foals are very sweet natured and will keep you on your toes. I have been paged for another call, so I am going to have to leave you for a bit. I'll be back to do another feeding in an hour or so" 

The girls thanked Vet Baker as she left. 

"I can take tonight" said Zoe. "I have been waking up at crazy hours anyway. I can nap in the tack room between feeds."

"Are you sure? We can stay with you?" said Jade.

"No, its fine. I don't mind. You guys go home and get some dinner and rest. We are going to be a bit more busy for a while." replied Zoe.

Zoe headed back to the stall everyone had cleared out for the night. Laycee was spread out in the straw taking a nap. Marcus was standing outside on the door watching her sleep. 

"Hey" said Zoe. 

"Hey"replied Marcus. "You okay? I know it got pretty rough back there."

Zoe nodded, she could feel the tears well up in her eyes again. She shook her head and looked up at Marcus. He pulled her into his left side and had his arm around her. Zoe wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest and started to cry. 

She could have done more for Layla. She should have spent more time with her and gave her treats and love. She should have gotten to know her more and bonded. She should have...

Marcus held her silently while she cried against him. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"There was nothing you could have done for Layla. You saved her, you saved her foal. She was so much safer here than in the middle of the woods somewhere. She had vet care and people that cared for her surrounding her. We gave all that we had to give."

"Laycee. We named her Laycee" whispered Zoe. She looked up and Marcus and he gave her a small smile. 

"I'll help you tonight. We can set up camp in the tack room and switch off on feedings. I'll do whatever I can to help." said Marcus. 

 "Can I run home and grab some things and shower? I'll be back in 30." Zoe asked.

Marcus nodded. "I'm going to go find a blanket for her overnight. It's starting to get cold."

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After Zoe's shower, she went into her room to gather somethings for the night. She stuffed a blanket and some extra clothes in her backpack along with and extra phone battery, some snacks and bottles of water. 

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

Zoe reached for her phone. No update from Pin about when he was going to be in tomorrow. 

He could of helped this. She needed him. He would have known what to do for Layla. He should have been here. He should have been here weeks ago. 

But he wasn't here. 

He hadn't even texted or called with more than 20 words for the last 3 weeks. 

She texted him anyways. 

Z: I needed you today and you weren't here.

Zoe shoved her phone in her pocket and grabbed her backpack. 

Laycee needed her and  Marcus was waiting.