He saw five little fighters. "All right," he said at last. "But nobody wanders off alone. You stay close enough to see each other at all times." "Understood?"
"Understood?" All five answered together. They wrapped blankets around their shoulders like makeshift raincoats and stepped out into the storm. The rain slapped against their faces. The wind nearly knocked them off their feet.
Still, they kept moving. By the time they reached the center of town, everything had gone wild. Animals ran everywhere. Neighbors shouted over the thunder. Velma Rusk was chasing soaked chickens through the mud.
Bram Sutter was struggling to control a terrified cow. Creed Talbot, drenched from head to boots, was racing after his runaway horse. "Spread out!" Yara called above the wind. "Children, take the smaller animals.
Ryland and I will handle the bigger ones." The five siblings nodded and moved quickly, making sure none of them disappeared from sight. Kea spotted three chickens hiding beneath a wagon. She dropped to her knees and crawled through the mud, speaking softly to them in Apache. Her voice stayed low and gentle.
Little by little, the birds stopped flapping and fighting. One at a time, Kea gathered them into her arms. Then she carried them back to Velma Rusk. Reco found Doc Calder's dog huddled beside a fence, soaked through and shaking. He scooped the frightened animal into his arms and ran through the rain toward the doctor's house, returning it safe and sound.
Meanwhile, Sonnie, Darrow, and Merie worked together to round up Zayn Pruitt's goats. Using long sticks as guides, they moved around the animals carefully, just as they had watched herders do before. Step by step, they pushed the goats toward a sturdy shed until every last one was undercover. Yara, meanwhile, was doing something that made half the town stop and stare. She approached frightened horses slowly without forcing them.
She spoke in a calm voice, touched their necks with steady hands, waited for them to feel her presence. Animals that had been wildeyed and nearly impossible to control only moments earlier began to settle. One after another, Yara guided them toward safety. It was as if she could sense what they were feeling before they moved. Ryland watched her in amazement as she calmed yet another horse and led it into shelter.
Unbelievable. Creed Talbot breathed while working nearby. I've never seen anyone do that. The storm raged for two long hours, two hours of mud, danger, exhaustion, and relentless work. Not one member of the Voss family backed away.
They moved from one neighbor to the next, one animal to the next, helping anyone who needed it, saving whatever they could. At last, when the final animal was secured, the storm began to weaken. The pounding rain softened into a gentle drizzle. The black clouds slowly broke apart. Then the first golden shafts of sunlight pushed through.
The seven members of the family gathered in the middle of the square. They were drenched, covered in mud, exhausted to the bone, but they were smiling. Then they pulled each other into a tight embrace. Around them. The entire town stood watching in silence and then something happened no one expected.
Doc Calder began to clap slowly at first. Then Hester Wyn joined him. A moment later, Eliza Maher did too. One by one, the people of Dusty Creek followed. The applause spread across the square.