Standing at the sink while I washed up the breakfast dishes, I looked out the window at the field of wheat blowing in the breeze. A long forgotten sensation of peace settled over me as it hit me, yet again, that I was home.

Even after six weeks, I still woke up every morning with a sense of wonder. And the kids were settling in just fine too, so that was good.

“Hey, kiddo. Got any of that coffee left?” I looked over to see Gramps leaning heavily on his cane as he grasped the back of a kitchen chair and began pulling it out to take a seat.

Turning off the water, I plucked the dish towel from my waistband to dry my hands before moving over to the coffee pot to pour Gramps a cup.

“What’s on your agenda today, boy? You get those kids signed up for school yet? Make sure you remember to put them down for the bus service, ya hear? Damn fools down there at that school don’t automatically think for themselves that the farm kids outside of town might need a lift, you know?”

For the third time this week, I answered him gently as I served his coffee. “Don’t worry, Gramps. I signed the boys up last week. Kiki isn’t quite old enough yet, I get a little more time at home with her still.”

Gramps nodded at the chair beside him. “Sit down with me a spell, Laurie-boy. I’ve got a question for ya.”

I slid onto the seat without hesitation. “All right, and I may very well have an answer.”

After he’d chuckled at my comment, Gramps looked pointedly at the slight bump where my three months of pregnancy was starting to make itself known. “When were you planning to tell me about the bun you’ve got in that oven, boy?”

I felt my cheeks reddening as I looked into my grandfather’s kind face. “I wasn’t not telling you, I just… I don’t know. I guess I haven’t been ready to come to terms with it myself yet, you know? This one is going to be just mine. I’m kinda nervous about it, to be honest.”

Gramps stretched his gnarled hand out to pat mine. “From what I’ve seen, your other kids are all just yours too. Don’t try and sell me a load of manure that the city boy had shit to do with raising those youngins.”

I shrugged sadly. “I suppose not. But at least when I had a husband, I could pretend to myself that I wasn’t alone.”

“Laurie-boy, you ain’t alone. You got me and these MacIntosh kids I’ve got here working for me. You’ll do fine, I know that much from looking at your other kids. You’re a good dad, boy. I know I get forgetful sometimes, so if I’ve never told you that before—I’m telling you now. I’m damn proud of you, Laurie-boy.”

My eyes watered as I stood and leaned down to hug the old sweetie. “Thanks, Gramps. You’ve always known just what to say.”

Gramps patted my back roughly, before he began to grump in my ear.. “Speaking of those kids, where are they? It’s awful quiet in here, don’t you think?”

“Kiki and Chris are coloring in the living room, you should’ve seen them when you walked through. And Matty is out helping Dean feed the animals; he loves doing that.”

“Laurie-boy, I just come through the living room. There ain’t nobody in there, and the front door was standing wide open,” Gramps said nervously.

“Huh, that doesn’t make sense. They know better than to run off outside without asking,” I said. I immediately jumped up and went around the corner to verify what Gramps had told me.

Sure enough, the living room was empty and the front door was hanging open. Coloring books and crayons had been abandoned on the coffee table, with a single page lifting up to flap back and forth in the breeze coming in through the open door.

“Be right back, Gramps,” I said loudly. “I need to go find a couple of missing kids—and then throttle the heck out of them for scaring me.”

I heard Gramps chuckling as I rushed out onto the porch. I leaned over the railing and craned my neck to look around the yard, but didn’t see hide nor hair of either child.

“Is everything okay, hon?” Tanya said, her voice startling me. I turned to see Tanya sitting on the porch swing snapping green beans.

“Did you see the kids out here? They’re supposed to be in the living room, but they’re not inside.

Tanya shook her head, her brows drawing together with concern. “I just came around from the garden, I was picking these beans. I like to snap them before I rinse them, you know? It doesn’t make sense to me to rinse them twice—once when I pick them, and again after I’ve handled them. Sorry, I’m rambling. No, I haven’t seen the kids. Are you sure they aren’t upstairs?”

I thought for a second, then shook my head. “No, I don’t think they are. The house is too still inside, if you know what I mean.”

Tanya immediately set the vegetables to the side and stood up, quickly wiping her hands on her apron. “Then let me help you look. Where shall we start?”

“Well, Kiki is fascinated by the baby chicks. Why don’t I go look in the chicken coop, while you go check with Dean?”

“Good plan, besides—Dean will want to know that we’ve got two kids on the loose.” Tanya and I rushed down the steps together, heading toward the outbuildings in search of my kids.

As I walked, I called out Kiki’s name. It was my assumption that wherever my daughter was, she had her brother with her. I noticed the pasture gate open out of the corner my eye, but I saw neither children nor cows within view so I kept on moving.

“Kiki-bug, where are you?” I yelled.

Kiki came running out from the chicken coop, cuddling a fuzzy yellow chick in her arms. She smiled up at me guiltily with an impish grin. “Here I am, Daddy. Am I in trouble?”

Dean and Matty came rushing out of the barn, with Tanya right behind them. Dean’s eyes swept over Kiki, then scanned the yard around us. “I see you found one of our lost sheep, but where’s Chris?”

“That’s what I was about to ask this one,” I answered before turning back to Kiki. “Where is your brother? Is he in there with the chickens?”

Kiki looked up at me and Dean and her plump bottom lip trembled as she asked her question again. “Am I in trouble?”

Dean pointed toward the chicken coop. “Go put that baby back with her mama. Now, I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re going to be in with your dad, but with me? I’m the boss of this farm and I say you’re grounded from visiting the chickens for three days. You need to learn to be safe, pretty girl. And not scare your daddy like you just did. We have rules around here, remember?”

Kiki nodded miserably. “I know. I’m supposed to ask before I go outside and have a grown-up with me when I go to visit the animals.”

Relieved by the casual yet firm way that Dean had handled the situation, I smiled at my daughter and pointed to the chicken coop.

“Okay, go ahead and do as Dean told you. Put the baby away and tell Chris to come on.”

Kiki looked back at me with confusion. “Chris isn’t with the chickens. He didn’t want to play with the babies today. He went to look for Mr. Dean.”

Dean and I shared a panicked look, while Tanya stepped in to help with Kiki. I went one way while Dean went the other, both of us frantically looking for Chris around the farmyard.

“Laurie! Do you know how long this gate’s been open?”

I looked over at Dean and shook my head. “It was like that when I came outside, but I didn’t see any cows in there, so I didn’t worry.”

Dean worked his jaw from side to side as he stepped through the open gate. “Something’s not right. This gate’s never supposed to be open, and there should be a handful of cows in here. I moved them in here myself not two hours ago.”

“Something wrong, boss?” I turned as our farmhand, Chuck, came wandering around from the other side of the barn. “I heard a lot of yelling, figured I should maybe check it out.”

“Yes, there’s something wrong. We need all hands on deck. We’ve got a missing five-year-old who’s completely deaf. Calling his name won’t help, so you’ll need to keep a sharp lookout. Look everywhere, leave no stone unturned,” Dean directed firmly.

Tanya came out with Kiki on her hip and her phone in hand. “I sent out a group text, reinforcements are on their way to help us search.”

We were still looking about twenty minutes later when the first car pulled into the the drive, with two more right behind it. I smiled to see Dean’s grandmothers, Dot and Libby MacIntosh, pull right up in front of the house and hop out.

Granny Libby was the first to reach me, wrapping her short arms tightly around my waist and hugging me tight. “And here I’ve been meaning to get over here to welcome you home, sweetie. I hate that this is what finally got my butt in the car. Don’t you fret, now. We’ll find your baby.”

Grandma Dot was right there to hug me next. “I’m not gonna hold you here, I can feel the tension in your body. I know you want to go look for that boy, I just wanted to sneak in a hug before you dashed off. Now tell me, is there anything I can do?”

I pointed over at the porch where Kiki was now sitting on the swing next to Gramps. “Keep an eye on those two?”

Granny Libby was already making her way up the steps. Grandma Dot winked and patted me on the shoulder. “My Libby has spotted herself a little girl to spoil, trust me—we’ll be right here.”

Before long, our farm was covered with a couple dozen people, all here to help me find my baby. Dean came running out of the gate right as the Sheriff walked up.

Sheriff Thompson had been in office longer than I’d been alive. He greeted me with a heavy hand to my shoulder. “Do you guys know you’ve got a couple cows and a calf wandering around at the end of your road? The EMTs are here, but they’re stuck between the cows and the cars of all your helpers.”

Dean answered before I could say fuck the cows. “Sorry, Sheriff. The cows aren’t the problem right now—“

Apprehension clenched my stomach as I realized suddenly how pale Dean’s face was as he broke off his words to look at me with a concerned frown. Turning back to the Sheriff, he spoke quickly.

“I’m not worried about the cows—I’m worried about the little boy that I just found lying unconscious in my pasture. Can you clear these cars out, and get that ambulance up here? He’s breathing, but you know I don’t dare move him until we know it’s okay.”

The world spun as I dropped to my knees, while the Sheriff quickly walked off to take control of the scene, all the while talking into the radio attached to his shoulder.

Several long, harrowing seconds went by before I realized that Dean had lifted me to my feet. His arm was wrapped firmly around my waist as he led me out to where he’d found Chris.