Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
KAREN
I woke early and turned my head to look out the window. It wasn’t snowing—thank God. I had my fill of the snow. I was sick of wet feet and being cold.
The thought of spring felt like a distant dream. It was all anyone could talk about but just when it looked like there was actually going to be a spring, it would snow. I sat up, stretching, trying to shake off the chill that had settled into my bones overnight. I had taken to sleeping in a T-shirt. I never knew if I was going to find myself in the barn in the middle of the night. I wanted to be better prepared.
I got dressed, thinking about the work I had ahead of me. I knew my uncle was expecting me to pull off some kind of miracle, but I had no idea how I was going to do that. I just didn’t see a way out of the hole. We simply needed to bring in more money to cover expenses.
I made my way down the stairs. The scent of coffee and bacon welcomed me. I had quickly become used to the big, hearty breakfasts served every morning.
I got some fruit and poured myself a cup of coffee. The lodge was fairly empty these days. I took a seat at an empty table and pulled out my phone to scroll through my social media. I sighed looking at the pictures from my old roommates. I missed home, but I knew I wasn’t ready to go back.
“Karen, can I talk to you for a minute?” Uncle Don asked.
I looked up from my morning coffee. He sounded serious. “Sure.”
I grabbed my cup and followed him to his office. He gestured for me to sit down and closed the door behind him. He was acting strange. I would be worried he was going to fire me, but I didn’t work for him.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’m sure you know Ginny broke her ankle.”
“Yes. How is she?”
“Cranky.”
I had to laugh at that. “I’ll go by and see her. See if I can cheer her up.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to be too busy for that.”
I frowned. “I am?”
“Karen, I’m going to need you to step up and help out while Ginny is down.”
I shrugged. “Sure. Whatever you need.”
And then he told me exactly what he needed. I stared at him like he’d just asked me to bring him the moon. That would have been a lot easier.
“You want me to do what ?” I asked, trying to keep the incredulity out of my voice. The idea of me wrangling chickens and brushing down horses felt about as foreign as juggling chainsaws. I couldn’t lift a bale of hay, and I was pretty sure my hands would fall off if I had to muck out stalls every day.
“I need you to help out on the ranch for a bit,” Uncle Don said as if it were no big deal. “With Ginny laid up, we don’t have anyone else who can take over her duties. And you’ve seen the books. We can’t afford to bring in someone new right now.”
I folded my arms. “I’m an accountant, Uncle Don. I do spreadsheets and expense reports. I’m not cut out for—” I waved a hand toward the barn outside the window, where Cassidy was unloading hay bales. “Whatever that is.”
He leaned back in his chair, unbothered by my objections. “Ginny’s duties aren’t complicated. Feed the chickens, check the coop and fence lines, muck the stables, feed the horses, clean their shoes?—”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.
“—brush them, polish the saddles.” He shrugged, casually ticking off the list. “You’ll just follow Cassidy’s lead.”
I blinked. This was a disaster. He was watching me, waiting for some sign of compliance.
“You’ll be fine,” he added. “And hey, you might even enjoy it.”
“Uncle Don, I don’t think you understand what you’re asking of me. I could really screw something up. What if I hurt one of the animals?”
Uncle Don chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Karen, I’m not asking you to perform surgery on them. It’s basic care. Cassidy will be there to guide you. You won’t be doing this alone.”
I sighed, feeling the weight of the inevitable settling on my shoulders. “And if I say no?”
“I wouldn’t ask if we weren’t in a bind. Ginny’s accident threw us all off balance.”
I sighed. “I arrived an esteemed accountant with credibility and dignity,” I grumbled. “And now I’m a crazy chicken lady.”
He chuckled. “You’ll figure it out. You always do.”
I didn’t know who was crazier. Him for asking me to do it or me for agreeing to do it.
I went upstairs to my room and put on my boots. I had put on one of my favorite cashmere sweaters when I got up this morning. I wasn’t about to wear it to do chores. I pulled on an old hoodie and prepared myself for a day of hell.
I snatched my coat off the hook and headed downstairs. I already had a feeling I was going to regret agreeing to do this.
I went outside and stomped across the parking area. Cassidy was gone, but another ranch hand was there to give me orders.
All those years in college learning to be an accountant and then managing to get to the top only to be kicked right back to the bottom. I was the low man. I was going to be getting all the shit jobs.
By the time lunch rolled around, everyone had heard about my new position on the ranch. Bodie found it particularly amusing.
He was grinning like he’d won the lottery. “The trick with the chickens is not to look them in the eye,” he said.
I raised an eyebrow. “What, do they challenge you to a duel or something?”
“Pretty much.” He pointed at me with a wooden spoon. “Those ladies will take it as a challenge. Keep your head down, move fast, and you might survive.”
I snorted but remembered how they’d swarmed me before. Bodie might be onto something.
Kenny walked into the kitchen and sat at the bar with a plate of food.
“You’ve also got to milk the horses,” he said, casually biting into his sandwich.
My blood ran cold. “I beg your pardon?”
Kenny nodded as he chewed and then swallowed. “For their comfort. Not much business selling horse milk, but the mares that’ve had foals need a little help. They get all backed up if they’re not milked. Don’t worry, they only get nippy the first few times. Once they’re comfortable with you, they’ll let you get in and out quick.”
I stared at him in horror. “You’re telling me I have to?—”
“Just like Cassidy does with the ladies?” Kenny said with a wink.
Ginny was sitting at the breakfast bar, her foot propped up on another stool. She and Bodie tried to hold back their laughter, but the corners of their mouths were twitching. I glanced over at Cassidy, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He shook his head slowly. I could see the amusement flickering in his eyes.
“You’re pulling my leg,” I said, the realization dawning.
Bodie took pity on me. “If you tried to milk a horse, you’d get a swift kick and a severe case of amnesia. And maybe a visit from the animal protection people.”
I whipped my head around and glared at Kenny.
He roared with laughter, clearly enjoying his little prank. I couldn’t stop the heat from rising in my cheeks. The mental image alone was mortifying. I should have known you didn’t milk horses.
Cassidy finished his soda. “You coming, city slicker? We’ve got work to do. I’ve been told I have to keep an eye on you. It’s feeling a little like deja vu .”
I groaned, but there was no backing out now. Reluctantly, I followed him out into the cold. It was peaceful. Quiet. So, unlike the life I’d built in Dallas.
“Alright,” Cassidy said, stopping beside the chicken coop. “First up, we’re feeding these ladies. While they are eating, we’re going to snag the eggs.”
I hesitated, staring down at the feed bag. “Okay, I can handle that.”
“You sure about that? I seem to remember a certain someone getting chased last time.”
I shot him a glare. “That was an accident. I didn’t know what to expect, now I do.”
I opened the coop door and cautiously spread the feed on the ground. The chickens eyed me suspiciously at first, but after a few seconds, they shuffled forward and started pecking away. I picked up the bucket and walked around to the nesting boxes to collect the eggs.
Cassidy leaned against the fence, watching with a half-smirk on his face. “Not bad.”
“I guess I’m not completely useless out here.”
He pushed off the fence. “We’ll see about that. Hand off those eggs and then meet me in the barn. We’ve got stalls to clean.”
This was going to be a long day. I took the bucket of eggs to Bodie. Then it was back to the barn. Cassidy handed me a pitchfork.
“Remember how to use it?”
I rolled my eyes. “I still have the callus to remind me.”
“Just scoop the muck into the wheelbarrow. We’ll take it out to the compost pile.”
“Got it,” I muttered. I hadn’t signed up for this when I came to Rocking Horse Ranch. I was kicking myself for complaining about being locked up in a stuffy office.
I started scooping but couldn’t help but think of my cubicle back in the city. It was easy back there. Easy and boring but also predictable. I used to enjoy balancing books or solving a math problem. Unfortunately, the joy had gone. Which was why I was here now. The ranch was physically demanding, but there was something oddly satisfying about seeing a dirty stall transform into a clean one.
Cassidy worked beside me in silence for a while, the only sounds the scrape of the pitchfork and the occasional shuffle of hooves from the horses in the nearby stalls. Cassidy made the job look effortless. I, on the other hand, was pretty sure my arms were going to fall off by the end of the day.
“Why’d you agree to this?” I asked, finally breaking the silence. “To take me on as your charge again. You could’ve just said no, you know.”
Cassidy shrugged. “It’s my job and we need the help.”
“I’ll try not to be such a pain in the ass,” I said.
He laughed. “You’re not a pain in the ass.”
“You thought I was when I was dragging you around in search of kittens.”
He chuckled. “If you want to look for cats, you do that on your own time. You’re old enough to do it on your own.”
I grinned. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”
He smiled. “After chores.”