Chapter 72: Miranda

It didn't take long to remind me of why I'd hated doing this stuff most of my life. The flies drove me insane, and even in the early morning hours, the heat was oppressive. The stench of the wildfire's destruction produced a headache less than thirty minutes after I walked out the kitchen door. The only decent part of the tasks were the animals. They'd always been the bright spot in the chores around here. Daddy had always been fond of paint horses. He swore they were the best for working cattle. Personally, I'd never cared what breed they were. I loved them all. But I didn't know the names of any of the ones I'd seen. Daddy hadn't had them when I was here last, which seemed odd. Everything was different in a town so small that nothing ever actually changed.