Chapter 10
ten
Briar smiled at the snowman standing sentinel in her front yard as she jogged down the front steps and hit the sidewalk running. She wasn’t late, but no normal human being wanted to spend more time outside in frigid weather than they needed to.
She whistled at Wiggins and yelled, “Come on, you,” as she reached the back door of her SUV and pulled it open. She’d come out fifteen minutes ago to start the car, because while she’d grown up in Canada and did enjoy winter, she hated scraping her windshield.
Wiggins barked and ran in a full circle around the snowman before galloping through the wet mess to the SUV. He leapt into the back seat, and Briar closed the door behind him and hurried around to the driver’s side.
Blessed heat filled the vehicle, and she sighed as she reached to flip on the windshield wipers. They removed the melted ice, and Briar backed out of her cleared driveway and onto the dirt road that dead-ended at her house.
Nerves stampeded through her, because Tuck had said he would come find her that morning after he completed his morning farm chores.
He and Tarr fed all of the rodeo animals, which included nine horses, several cows, over a dozen calves, and a couple of bulls.
In addition to that, Bobbie Jo cared for more than one hundred goats of varying ages and breeds.
Despite being attacked there, Briar still loved going out to the Goatel, and she helped Bobbie Jo every morning with her herd. Then she’d walk through the stable and barns and pastures where the rodeo animals lived, checking on them as well.
Once upon a time, she’d aspired to be a farrier.
She’d even taken a couple of classes, but she’d given that up quickly.
Still, she could assess injuries and change horseshoes and do basic, minor things before she had to call in someone more skilled than her.
She only held a veterinary technician certificate, so she wasn’t a full-fledged vet and couldn’t prescribe medications and other things that doctors could do, but Tucker had Kristie Higgins on speed dial, as she was currently engaged to the foreman at his family farm.
She had come and done a few things here and there when the situation once again exceeded Briar’s expertise and ability.
“He’s going to hire you again,” she told herself as she made the turn and the big rodeo arena and barns came into view.
She automatically glanced left, where Tarr’s RV sat on the far corner of the parcel of land segmented by roads.
His truck wasn’t there, as he’d left earlier than her to do the feeding.
She hadn’t put an end date on when he would need to have somewhere else to stay, and since the power hadn’t come back on yet, they’d shared the couch bed again last night.
As she started to drive by the arena, she noticed the lights shining from above the doorways. “So the electricity is on here,” she said. It should be the same grid system, though she knew her lines were older and might need more maintenance.
The snow that had fallen had been filled with water—heavy and wet, perfect for making snowmen…
and taking down power lines. The main city hub of Denver and most of its suburbs had gotten their power restored yesterday morning, but Briar had checked the website and knew that crews were still working on some of the outlying areas.
She passed Tarr’s big black truck parked right next to Tucker’s white one and continued around to the back of the facilities where the Goatel waited.
Tucker also employed a facilities manager, and he and Bobbie Jo had just hired an agricultural specialist to help them plant the farm next year as well.
She put her car in park and took a deep breath, trying to soothe her worries with the fact that Tucker had said right to her face that he saw no reason to find someone else to take care of the animals.
They discussed her salary, both thought it was fair, and he said he’d draw up another contract and get it to her “soon.”
He’d texted a few questions last night about what her actual address was, and whether or not her last name had two Ts or one. A small smile touched her face as she recalled how embarrassed he’d been that he didn’t even know how to spell her last name.
Briar thought about names as she got out of her SUV, released Wiggins, and the two of them made their way into the Goatel.
All of the roads and walkways had been cleared by Ashton and the plow he attached to the front of the tractor.
Tarr and Tuck and even Bobbie Jo had been out with shovels to clear the smaller spaces, and someone had been in the Goatel with a four-wheeler to move the snow to the fences.
She found Bobbie Jo in the enclosure, talking to some of her goats as she fed them. “Good morning,” Briar said.
The blonde woman turned toward her, a smile quickly appearing on her face and then disappearing. “Good morning to you too.” She watched as Briar reached for a pair of gloves on the shelf next to the door.
Briar hated nothing more than being watched.
In general, she really liked Tucker and Bobbie Jo.
She’d been very worried about the sale of the farm and the transition to a new owner, as she didn’t always mesh with people.
But, as it turned out, Bobbie Jo possessed an incredibly salty streak as well, and she was as no-nonsense as Briar when it came to work, caring for animals, and employing her passion about something she cared about.
Only Tuck seemed to soften her, at least from what Briar had seen, and no matter how early Briar came out to the Goatel, Bobbie Jo always beat her here.
“How are things here?” Briar asked.
“Just humming along,” Bobbie Jo said. “The goats don’t seem to mind the snow at all.
” She turned back to them, a fond smile reappearing on her face.
Fine, the goats softened her too. “What about you? How are things at the cabin with Tarr?” She deliberately didn’t look at Briar then, but Briar didn’t mind the question so much.
“They’re fine,” she said. “We still don’t have power, but we’re making do with the fireplace and my gas appliances.” She joined Bobbie Jo in front of one of the pens. “Are we letting them out today?”
“Yeah,” Bobbie Jo said with a sigh. “I got a lot of the pasture cleared, and we’ll let them get out there and frolic.”
Briar nodded and dusted her hands together. “I’ll go outside and get the gate open then.”
“But you guys are doing okay with hot water? Your generator is still running?”
Briar met Bobbie Jo’s eyes then, and she did find care and compassion in the other woman’s expression. “Yeah, it’s running okay,” she said. “The furnace is the biggest energy hog, so if I can keep the fire burning to keep the place warm, it does great with the hot water heater and the fridge.”
Bobbie Jo nodded. “I’m glad. You let us know if you two need to come stay with us, okay?”
“I thought Rosie was coming.” Briar tilted her head and watched Bobbie Jo.
“She is,” she said. “She was supposed to be here today, but the storm that we got moved north, and she decided to postpone her trip a couple of days.” Bobbie Jo stuck another sheaf of hay into the feeder, though the goats had plenty.
“We’ve got seven bedrooms, Briar. There’s plenty of room for you, Tarr, and Rosie.
” She lifted her head and met her eyes squarely again.
“And us. Tarr doesn’t need to stay somewhere else. ”
“I know that,” Briar said. “And you know that. Heck, even he knows that. He’s just being stubborn.”
“I don’t get it,” Bobbie Jo said. “It’s not like me and Tucker are gross.”
Briar smiled at her and shook her head. “No, you’re not. I don’t know why he’s hung up on not staying with you.”
“Maybe you could talk to him about it.” Bobbie Jo looked so hopeful, and it almost seemed like her statement had a question mark at the end of it.
Briar blinked and then burst out laughing. “I don’t think that’s going to work,” she said between giggles.
Bobbie Jo grinned at her and leaned one hip against the inside enclosure gate. “Why not? He likes you and respects you and will listen to you.”
“Yeah, he likes you and respects you and will listen to you too,” Briar said. “I don’t think anything I suggest is going to be something Tarr will be raring to do.”
“That’s just not true,” Bobbie Jo said. “That man would bend over backwards to make you happy.”
The mood in the Goatel changed instantly, and Briar’s smile dropped from her face at the same time her giggles dried up. “I’ve never asked him to do a single thing for me.”
Bobbie Jo backpedaled as well, her eyes widening. “Everyone knows that, Briar,” she said. “Just like he made it abundantly clear that he was the one who was going to take care of you after you got hurt.”
Briar had no idea how to respond to that. She’d been in so much pain, she hadn’t paid attention to anything beyond the walls of her cabin.
“I’m just saying,” Bobbie Jo said. “Tucker’s talking to his momma to see if she can get him to move in with us, and I just think that if he had another woman he really respected saying the same thing…he might seriously consider it.”
Briar nodded and swallowed, trying to get her emotions to calm. Of course, she knew Tarr liked her. He’d said the words right out loud, and he held her with all the tender care Briar had ever wanted.
“If it feels natural, I can talk to him about it,” she said. “Though I’ve asked him before why he doesn’t stay with you, and he said it just doesn’t feel right.”