Mekaila's aunt is coming out onto the porch, just as Mekaila and Cowgirl arrive back at the house. She immediately sees the baby deer, holds out her hands, and takes the baby deer in the house with her. Mekaila quickly follows her, after putting Cowgirl back in her dog run.
"Where did you find her?" Mekaila's aunt asks her.
"In like a small cave opening." Mekaila says, joining her aunt in the kitchen. She strokes the baby deer softly; her aunt has put it in a small cardboard box with a blanket.
"I'm heating up some goat's milk for her." Mekaila's aunt says, stirring a small pot on the stove.
"Great, I'll go get the nursing bottles."
Mekaila brings back the nursing bottles and her aunt fills one and hands it back to Mekaila. Having helped raised baby animals on the ranch, Mekaila knows what she's doing. She offers the nipple to the baby deer and she immediately grabs onto it and starts suckling.
Her aunt looks at them and says, "great. This is so sweet."
"What do you think happened to her?" Mekaila strokes the deer while feeding her.
"Well, a number of things. Her mom could've abandoned her because she's so small or her mom could've gotten killed by a hunter or another animal. We probably will never know what happened." Her aunt gives her a small smile.
"Yeah, I guess we won't." Mekaila shrugs a little as she continues to feed the baby deer.
Soon, the bottle is empty and the deer has drifted off to sleep.
"What should we do about her leg? Will the vet see her?" Mekaila looks concerned.
"He might, but I've also learned a bit from your grandpa about veterinarian terms and practices. I'll take a look at her leg when she wakes up." Her aunt gives her a hug.
"Okay, what should we name her then?"
"Mekaila, I don't want you to get attached. She'll either have to be released back into the wild or go to a wildlife sanctuary." Her aunt gives her a stern but gentle look.
"I know, I know, but I love naming animals and you know that."
"Alright, give her a name." Her aunt sighs.
"Hmmmm.... how about Flower? I found her near a bunch of flowers." Mekaila smiles and gently strokes the deer's back.
"That sounds perfect. Now it's feeding time, let's go." They head outside to feed all the animals; from their dogs to the horses.
****
"Meatball! C'mon!" Parker tugs on the end of the leash, but his dog refuses to move.
"Woof!" Cocoa comes running up to him, with his leash in his mouth.
"See? That's the motivation you need!" Parker shouts at Meatball, who looks at him, but just plops down on the floor and starts panting.
"Fine, I give up. I'll take Cocoa instead." Parker unhooks Meatball's leash and grabs Cocoa's leash.
As they're walking out the front door, an idea pops into Parker's head and he pulls out his phone.
The person answers on the third ring, "hello."
"Hey."
"Is she awake?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, I'm gonna surprise her. Can I come by in like five minutes?"
"Of course."
"Thanks, bye."
"Bye."
****
YOU ARE READING
Boyfriend Stealer
Teen FictionIt's the first day of high school for Codie and Madison, who are BFFs. They can't wait to meet some of the cool girls & make friends with them! Most of all they can't wait to meet some hot guys, as they've been told by other girls that there's a lot...
