Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Lincoln
“They’re so adorable!” Livvy cooed as she looked between the slats of the stall. One calf had just nudged the other away to take a turn at nursing. “What are their names?”
“We don’t name animals, we brand them,” I said which I should have known was not the thing to say to anyone who taught lullabies to pregnant bovine. I’d just learned it had been Livvy I’d heard singing during the storm.
“What? Everyone deserves a name! You’ve got to name them!”
“Honey, I hate to break it to you, but giving a couple of hundred head of cows names simply isn’t possible.”
She looked beyond me and tilted her head to one side. “Remind me, who is that?”
I turned to look thinking someone from town had dropped by but only saw Luther as Kate was sitting on the haybale beside Livvy, her head swiveling as if she were watching a tennis match.
Evidently it was my serve as both girls were looking up at me.
I looked back again but beside Luther, only saw my horse sticking his head out of his stall.
“Do you mean Zephyr?”
“Hmmm, Zephyr is quite handsome but he sure doesn’t look like any man I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s because he’s a horse.”
“So you do name animals!”
“Horses, not…” At the sound of Kate giggling, I knew I’d been set up. “You know what, you win. You can name the babies, I mean the calves.”
“Oh, can I name one?” Kate asked.
“I’ll make you both a deal,” Luther said as he approached. “Since MC seems to be having a little difficulty—”
“MC?” I cut in to ask.
“Momma Cow, of course,” Luther said as if he’d always called our cattle by name.
“Anyway, as I was saying, MC is gonna need a little help feeding her babies. Lincoln and I will take the first few turns until MC is more comfortable having people around her babies, but then you two can help with the bottle-feeding. Deal?”
“Deal!” both girls agreed with enthusiasm and huge smiles, hugging each other as if they’d won the lottery.
As they began to test out names, I looked at Luther. “You do realize that you just ensured they are going to try to name everything that so much as breathes on this ranch, right?”
“As long as they don’t start dressing them up and applying lipstick, I think we’re good,” he said with a grin as he passed me one of the bottles he’d prepared.
I chuckled and looked down at Livvy. “Okay, pixie, who exactly am I gonna be feeding?”
“Skeppy,” she said proudly.
“Um, is that the boy?”
“No, silly, Skeppy is a girl,” Kate said, pointing to a calf.
“And Skippy is the boy,” Livvy provided, pointing to the other one.
“Good grief. Skeppy and Skippy? What kind of names are those?” I asked.
“Perfect ones,” Livvy said. “I found MC when I was out looking for the bees to put into the skep but Kate thought I said skip so, this way she can remember the difference.”
I looked over at my brother who just shrugged. “Hey, don’t look at me. Until Livvy educated us, I thought bees lived in hives. What did you think?”
When Livvy giggled, I smiled. “Oh, I think there’s going to be a great deal of schooling in her future.” As I waited for him to open the stall’s door, I added, “Starting with not getting up from that haybale.”
“What do you think happens if I do?” Livvy asked Kate.
As I followed Luther into the stall and closed the gate, I heard Kate whisper, “I think you’ll find yourself sent to the principal’s office!”
“Come on, Papa, we’ve got some hungry babies to feed,” Luther said, then dropped his voice to a whisper. “Which one is which again?”
“Hell if I know.” I rolled my eyes but did so with a huge grin on my face. If giving cows silly names brought this much laughter to our lives, it was a price I was more than willing to pay.
By lunchtime, Livvy was ready to admit that using crutches took a lot more effort than she’d thought. I sure didn’t mind as that let me sweep her up off her feet and carry her up the porch steps and into the house. I settled her at the kitchen table with a glass of iced tea.
“How about you draw while I prepare lunch?” When she gave me a side-eye, I chuckled. “I was thinking about those hives you talked about wanting to build, but I’m pretty sure I know where your mind just went.”
She had the grace to flush and then surprised me when she didn’t come back with some quip, but instead said, “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.” When her glance skipped to the door, I scooped her out of the chair and sat before settling her on my lap. “What’s up, buttercup?”
“I remember you saying that when we were kids,” she said with a smile before laying her cheek against my chest. “It’s funny isn’t it?”
“What’s funny, pixie?”
“How much we’ve grown and yet things are the same.”
I’d given that some thought myself as I’d held her the night before while she slept.
“The passage of time assures we grow up, but I believe it’s God’s grace that allows the important things to stay the same.
We’re bigger and older, and you’ve gone through some things that no one should ever have to, but inside, you have the same heart, the same soul as that redheaded girl who climbed over that fence yelling that we were gonna be friends. ”
She lifted her head and smiled. “And you are that same boy who told me to get down before I fell and when I did, instead of telling me ‘I told you so,’ you ran over and picked me up. Do you remember what you said?”
“I told you that you were no longer a city girl, you were on my ranch so you needed to stop crying and…”
“Cowgirl up,” she chorused with me.
I chuckled. “I guess I could have been a little kinder.”
“No.” Livvy shook her head. “You said exactly the right thing. That was the moment I begin to learn that bad things might happen and I might get hurt, but I was strong enough to get back up.” She paused and then added. “It was also the moment I think I fell in love with a cowboy.”
My heart swelled to the point of bursting. “Good thing as I think I started falling the moment a citified redhead popped out of the woods.”
“Then how about we make a deal?” she asked.
Trust this woman to take a moment of such intensity and bring levity into play. “What sort of deal?” I asked though I knew I’d give her anything she desired.
“I’ll cowgirl up and let you spank my butt, if you’ll cowboy up and teach me how to ride.”
“Livvy, I’ve seen you ride this ranch a hundred times–”
The sound of her laughter cut me off. “Not a horse, silly, teach me how to ride a cowboy!”
I didn’t know whether to feel stupid or just feel like the luckiest damn man on the planet so I did the only logical thing. “You’ve got a deal if you promise I’ll be the last cowboy you ever ride.”
“Daddy, you seriously need to learn how to barter better. I already promised I am yours forever last night, remember?”
“Like I’d ever forget the most important promise ever made. Just checking to make sure that wasn’t a concussion talking.”
She rolled her eyes so enthusiastically, I knew she did so with every intention of being caught.
“And now that the deal is sealed, let’s go redden your ass, shall we?”
“You’re the Daddy.”
I was halfway across the kitchen when she said, “Wait, what about lunch?”
“Shit, okay, we’re gonna tag-team this.” I walked to the refrigerator and once she opened the door, I said, “Pick one.”
What happens when you ask a Little to pick from a variety? They don’t just grab one. Nope, they stare as if making the wrong choice might cause the destruction of the world. “Pixie, for every second you take, I’m adding a swat.”
“Daddy! I have to read the labels!”
“That’s another two!”
“Okay, okay!” Her finger began to move. “Eeny, meeny, miny , moe, catch a…”
“Casserole by its toe,” I provided, adjusting her in order to be able to reach in and grab the first in the stack before stepping back and shutting the door with my hip.
“Oven,” I instructed and between the two of us, we got the oven opened and set to 350 degrees, the casserole inside, and were once again almost to the door when she stopped me again.
“Wait, the timer!”
“Little girl, do you want my hand to fall off with all those extra swats you’re earning?”
She laughed and shrugged. “Better than burning the house down.”
I couldn’t argue with that and after setting the timer, she was the one who said, “What are you waiting for, Daddy? It’s time to saddle up and ride!”