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She quickened her pace toward the baby goats and saw the small, fragile bodies. She carefully hovered over them at first, then slowly lowered her large, thick-furred body around them. She folded her legs around them like a big hug and let her stomach lie against their backs. Even at almost a year old, her body was large enough to wrap them into a cocoon of warmth.
Delilah’s presence stopped their despair bleating. They quietly grunted in relief. Her body heat slowly thawed them from winter’s kiss.
Oh, you poor things, she whispered as she licked their heads clean.
Minutes later, she carefully rested her head on top of them. She didn’t move her body, but her eyes were alert. Watching. Waiting. They were safe from the elements and safe from hungry predators. For now.
Chapter 1: Surprise Delivery
Chapter 3: Trust Me
Six years. Six amazing years, Surprise called the quiet, suburban barn home. Somewhere between San Diego, California, and San Juan Capistrano, California, a tiny paradise of homes hid a nested barn, a horse, and a pony. Surprise and his mother were the only horses in the neighborhood. They were the treasure to the families that lived there. They were the secret people kept or whispered to their best friends. Their existence brought a little something extra, something special, for the residents.
...
Six years of trusting humans now shattered.
This is not ok, Surprise mumbled. This is not fair! Surprise whinnied. Although the humans could only hear the shrills of his voice, his mother heard every word.
....
Chapter 9: Mothering the Unmothered
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“Meet your temporary roommates,” Kevin said, pointing to two large, round boulder-like objects.
Rocks? My roommates are rocks? the young zebra twisted his ears in confusion.
Kevin adjusted the room’s bucket and straw, rearranging a few things to make room for the new tenant. He undraped the pants from his arm and quickly snapped them to a hook just above him. The pants rhythmically swayed again, as if waving hello to the new home.
The zebra appreciated Kevin’s care to bring them; he walked over and weaved through the waving denim. But he suddenly stopped, eyes wide with fear. For the love of stripes…his sentence trailed off.
One of the rocks moved. On its own.
