New Year's Eve Read Online Free Page B

half-second.
    Daisy swung gently at the end of my left arm. The buffalo ran on, and the wind went with it.

Chapter Seven

    Jade took the car seat, and Sharla grabbed me before I fell down. The buffalo could have— Daisy could have been killed.
    “Fucking shit,” Sharla said.
    My legs were shaking. I could still feel the pounding in the road.
    “I guess the guys didn’t get them penned after all,” Sharla said. She told Jade about Ron and Grady going out to help the buffalo rancher.
    “The fence could have been down somewhere else,” Jade said. “Buffalo are smart.”
    “I wouldn’t raise those things for anything.” Sharla was right, they ought to be left wild. They always were wild—even behind a fence.Even when I was so scared, the buffalo had been amazing. To see one so close. I was shivering, but I was not cold.
    Jade said, “Everything’s okay, Dixie. The baby’s okay, you did good. They’re gone.”
    “Yeah. Now all you have to do is walk to the house,” Sharla said. “Look, it’s, like, twenty more steps.”
    I thought they might have to carry me. But they wouldn’t be able to. I patted at Daisy’s blanket and pulled it down to see her face. She opened her eyes and laughed.
    “Do it again!” Jade said. “She’d like another ride.”
    Okay. Okay. We made it up the driveway.
    “The thing is,” I said, “Grady would kill me if anything happened to Daisy. I mean, I’d kill myself. But he’d come along and dig me up and kill me again.”
    “She’s fine, she’s fine,” Sharla said. “I’m fucking freezing, though, if you want to know. Come on, come inside.”
    I stumbled up the steps between the other two and got inside. Now I really wanted a drink.
    The house was hot. All the lights blazing. Sharla put the oven on and shoved in a couple more trays of M&M snacks.
    Jade and I got our coats off slowly. Daisy sat and bubbled at me. She reached out her arms for me, wanting to nurse. I could feel the milk flooding down into my breasts because of being scared.
    I picked Daisy up and went to the velour couch. I sat still, nursing her, stroking her silky hair. The buffalo’s thick, curling fur had looked so soft.
    Jade said to Sharla, “Looks like you had a party on tonight.”
    “Not really,” Sharla said. “We thought maybe the guys from Smoky Lake detachment would come down. But the snow...”
    Sharla seemed a little embarrassed. Like she should have invited Jade, but she hadn’t.
    They both came and sat on the long couch.
    “Over at the dance—what was that fight about?” I asked.
    “Who’s sleeping with who, of course,” Sharla said.
    “They were really mad,” I said. I felt stupid for saying that. Of course they were mad.
    “My kids said it’s the new teacher at the high school,” Jade said. “She wasn’t there, but they say she’s having some kind of thing with a student. One of the boys wanted to report her, get her fired. They got worked up. Donna was part of it all, too. She’s got a talent for setting people against each other. But she doesn’t mean any real harm.”
    “That girl is a raging bitch,” Sharla said.
    “Her dad is smart. He’s got Donna taking the rest of the kids over to their place. He’ll keep them occupied. No more fighting tonight. Just lots of talk.”
    Sharla got up to make drinks. White Russians this time. Brown Kahlua in the bottom, cold milk on top. Lots of ice. They looked so sweet. My mother didn’t nurse me at all, and look, I’m alive. But the books all say you should breastfeed for a solid year. And nursing is easier than washing bottles.
    “I do have some powdered baby formula in the diaper bag,” I said. “The nurse gave me some free samples and a plastic bottle. I carrythe stuff around, just in case, but I’ve never tried it before.”
    I looked at Jade. She would know, having two boys.
    Jade nodded. “Finish nursing her now, then have a couple of drinks with us. We’ll make Daisy a bottle for the morning. You don’t