Chapter Two
Two long, long, long days later, I was going to see the man who made me woozy.
After bringing the cows in from pasture, we then separated the calves from their mothers.
Not an easy job for those little cows did not want to leave mama.
Still, it had to be done. The calves had to be weaned to give the cows time to recuperate a little then be inseminated.
So we put the young steers in one pen after driving them from their own range and the heifer calves in another just in case.
It was possible to miss a testicle when banding, which would result in a young, fertile male being with the heifer calves who were too young to breed.
So the young steers were kept far away from the young heifers.
The steers would be sold next fall after reaching a market weight of about fourteen hundred pounds.
The heifers would be bred next year to calve at two years old.
Lots of cows in lots of pens that would require lots of feeding throughout the winter and early spring.
Farming was exhausting. Way harder than my construction work, and that had been hard labor.
At least we got weekends off. Ranchers and farmers worked seven days a week, no matter the weather or how damn exhausted they were.
Today was vaccinations and worming for the young calves and the goats. Different shots and wormers so lots of caprine handling. The calves would be driven one by one into a small cattle pen while the goats were herded into their own small pens.
Amid all of this, we were going to be moving Dodge and Dahn into Ollie Ahoka’s house.
School was starting in two weeks, so the crunch was on for them to get settled in town.
Dahn was slightly tiffy about the move. Most kids his age were tiffy.
Granny liked to say he was moody as a June day.
But I could understand his upset. He’d just started to settle here on the ranch after being yoinked from his life in California.
Now he was moving again. Not as far sure, and still in the same school, but his goats had to stay here.
So yeah, Dahn was prickly. Dodge and Ollie were thrilled, obviously.
We were all happy for them. I worried they were moving too fast, but that was me.
Cautious was my middle name. Good thing, too, or Bella and I would have never made it out of New York in one piece.
The ringmaster for this chaos would be Aiden Hennessee, a local large animal veterinarian and the man who made my heart beat out of sync.
The vet was tall and whippet lean, with dark eyes, scraggly brown hair and scruff for days.
So incredibly sexy, and he knew it. And when he pulled out those tortoiseshell glasses to read over the fine print on medicine bottles, I drooled.
How could one man be so damn beautiful? Assured of himself, bold, outgoing. Everything I wasn’t, Aiden was.
In preparation for his arrival, I had all the goat records out, open, and ready for him to place his signature on each entry for each goat treated, what day it was, the time, and the weight and overall health of each animal.
People—my brothers—said I was more than a little overzealous with my records, but if we wanted to sell any or add to our herd, then records were important.
Also, every time Aiden saw them, he complimented me on my bookkeeping.
Those kind words always made me hot in the face.
So now I was reading over the pages in the looseleaf folder, each one with tattoo numbers and photos of each goat on Bastian Acres Ranch property.
Just to make sure everything was in order.
I really disliked mayhem. Mom said I was particular.
I just thought I was tidy. Things belonged in order so you could find them.
When they were in disarray, it made me edgy.
That stress made me irritable, which made me want to withdraw from the world.
So what some people called obsessive, I called focused.
The honk of a horn grabbed my attention.
Closing the folder, I jogged outside the goat barn to see Aiden’s arrival.
He pulled up in his large white pickup, parked beside Baker’s beat-to-shit farm truck, and sat there for a moment doing something on his phone.
His hair fell into his face, but he didn’t seem to notice it dangling down to brush his whiskery cheeks.
My dreams were filled with his soulful eyes and scruffy chin.
I waited in the doorway of the goat barn, anxiously plucking at the rivets on my denim jacket.
Waiting was hard. What was he doing? Shouldn’t he be getting out of his truck to come see the goats?
Was he texting a man about a date? Shit.
He glanced up to catch me staring. He flashed me a smile that turned my breakfast to goop. My gut tightened, my skin got itchy, and I felt a telltale rush of blood to my dick. Turning from him, I ran back inside to get the folder. This way I could hide my boner.
“Morning, Ford,” he called as he exited the truck. Long, long legs in worn jeans. Slim torso in a pink tee that read REAL MEN ARE FEMINISTS. Work boots he would remove to slide his big feet into waterproof boots. “You and your goats ready for me?”
God, yes. I was ready for him. I was so ready for him, I was afraid I’d blow a nut just watching him reach into the space behind his front seat to pull out some dark green overalls. The wind blew in my face—a cold wind that did little to cool me off. That would take a hand job and a cold shower.
“Yes,” I finally coughed out, pressing the folder to my crotch to hide my erection.
“I figured. You’re always ready. Not like Baker, who’s always dicking around,” he teased then toed off his boots to pull his overalls over his sock feet.
His hair shifted forward as he toyed with the ties around his ankles.
My fingers longed to comb it back from his face.
Was it possible to come just by watching a man pull on ugly rubber boots?
He straightened, caught me gawking, and gave me a wink.
Shit. Fuck. Close to bolting, I made myself stay put so I would not look like an idiot.
“I heard that,” Baker growled as he came around the side of the goat barn covered in mud, sweat, and cow shit.
“Good. I was hoping you would,” Aiden fired back and zipped up his overalls with flair.
Granny exited the house with Bella, both coated in flour.
Baking day was today. Bella would be a champion baker soon, and I wasn’t going to complain.
“Mrs. B, Bella, lovely day. Are you two ladies making those cherry tarts that won you a blue ribbon at the fair this year?”
“We might be,” Granny replied with a wide grin. “Bella won the ribbon for the tarts. I won for my pickled beets and for my lemon-buttermilk pound cake. Beat Felisha Buckman’s strawberry peach pound cake for the third time.”
“Your lemon-buttermilk pound cake is food for the gods,” Aiden called over the hood of his truck.
“You’re a silver-tongued devil, is what you are, Aiden Hennessee.
” Granny giggled like a schoolgirl. Bella laughed along with them, her emerald gaze moving from me to Aiden then back to me.
She gave her head a small jerk. I shook mine.
I wasn’t going to run up to Aiden and make a fool of myself.
I’d say something stupid. I always did. “When you’re done here for the day, you come inside, and we’ll get you something to eat.
Same for you boys,” Granny tacked on when she saw Dodge and Linc appear in the side yard looking just as grimy as Baker.
“But you all wash up good at the hose first. Any of you track calf shit into my house is getting a spoon to his backside.”
“She’ll do it too. Ask me how I know,” Baker commented before Aiden joined him and the others to disappear from view. Damn it. I’d wanted to show him my folder. Later. We could do that later. Now it was time to catch muddy calves in a shitty muddy pen. What a glamorous life we led. Not.
***
It took a long time to run fifty-two calves through a chute.
They were not happy about being wormed or vaccinated.
The mama cows were not happy about losing their babies.
The day was filled with bawling cattle. And pooh.
Lots of pooh. Seriously, cows shit a lot.
Sure, they eat a lot and so that all has to exit in due time, but they’re just such messy shitters.
Now the goats were tidy poopers. Little berries didn’t splatter up on your legs when they hit the ground.
I much preferred goats. So I was super proud to lay my binder out on top of my grain bins for Aiden to read.
He was very tidy, like me, having changed his overalls before entering the goat barn.
Some diseases could be transmitted from cattle to small ruminants, so we were always careful.
Standing beside him, I noted he was about the same height as me. His profile was easy to admire.
“I have to say,” he said as he turned one page, then another, slowly.
“These are the most well-documented goats in Oklahoma. Your record-keeping is exceptional.” He glanced my way, his dark brown eyes warm.
My face heated instantly. That made him smile in a way that caused me to feel tingly in places that shouldn’t be tingling right now.
“But I’ve come to expect this. Your care of these animals is above par.
The barn is always spotless, and the goats are well fed, clean, and happy as popcorn in a pot. ”
“Thanks. I like to make sure they’re all taken care of.
They’re special. I added a small note to each of the new doelings with their tattoo numbers and hoof trimming.
On the back—” I reached over to turn the page, my fingers brushing his, which made my cheeks even hotter.
I yanked my hand back. “Sorry. Did I contaminate you?”
“No, you’re good. I saw you washing your hands outside.”
“Good. I did wash them well. And changed my clothes too,” I rushed to say as he gently turned a page in the folder.
“Right, so on the back there’s spaces for breeding and reproduction, which they won’t use until next fall.
We’ll have to get a new buck or take them to someone with a male with a different bloodline. ”
I bit down on my lip. I hated to think of selling Willy. He was a good friend and a great listener, even if he did make rubber lips at me on occasion.
“There are quite a few people with breeding bucks in the state. Keep an eye on the Boer goat boards online.”
“I will. So, do you want a blue pen or a red one? I have both.”
“Blue. I like blue. It matches your eyes.”
“Oh. Sure. Yep.” I wasn’t sure how to take his comment. Was he flirting or just telling me something I already knew? “My mom’s father had blue eyes and blond hair. Her grandmother met him when he was stationed in Italy. He was from Idaho. I think that’s why I like goats so much.”
He turned to look at me. His brows tangled in amused confusion. “Do people in Idaho have a known love for goats I’m not aware of?”
A soft wind blew through the barn windows that were left open for ventilation. Good thing, for I was overheating badly. His bold attention was unsettling but also wanted, so I wasn’t sure how to reply.
“No, I don’t think so. He was a farmer. So maybe it makes me genetically destined to be on a ranch.”
“Ah, I see. I really enjoy the way your mind works.”
“Thanks. Some people say I’m too shy or I talk in circles.”
“They just need to get you talking about goats,” he teased, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “Seriously though, your notes are immaculate. I wish my notes were this tidy. Would you be willing to come to my office once or twice a week to—”
“Yes.”
He laughed out loud. My face burned hotly. Had I fucked up? Should he be laughing? Damn it.
“Perhaps you should find out why I’m asking you to drop by. Maybe I want you to scrub the floors with a toothbrush.”
I picked up on the joke now. “My name is Ford, not Cinderella.”
“Noted.” He folded his arms over his chest, making the material of his overalls stretch tightly over his biceps.
“I have a cleaning service. What I need is a secretary of sorts. Wendy, who works the desk, is great but has her hands full with scheduling and payments, shit like that. What I need is someone who can transcribe my notes then hand them off to Wendy to add to the medical files.”
“They have AI programs to do that.”
“Yeah, no, I’m trying to not use anything that will result in a water-sucking, noisy, fossil fuel-reliant data center being built anywhere in the state. I’d rather pay someone to do it for me.”
“Wow, okay, that’s cool. Sure, I’d be happy to arrange your notes.”
“Great. Stop by anytime and—”
“Tomorrow?”
He chuckled. “Such an eager man. I like it. Sure, I can be in the office unless there’s an emergency. Stop by, and I’ll give you a tour of the place. Just text first. You have my personal emergency number.”
“Okay. Yeah. I’d like that. Are there any dogs there?”
“Not generally. My focus is large animals, but if someone has a pet in a bad way, then I’d surely have them bring them in.” Willy ambled over to push on the fence with his head. I reached back automatically to rub a sweet spot between his horns. “He’s got you well trained.”
“Yeah, we’re close,” I replied as I got a little lost in his gaze. God, his eyes were pretty. Such a dark, dark brown. Nearly black.
We both turned when the barn door rattled open. My brothers filled the doorway, all in clean clothes.
“We doing this or what?” Baker asked, his exhaustion clear on his face.
“Yes, we are. Just going over Ford’s orderly notebook. You could learn a thing or two from him, Baker. Your papers look like someone went apeshit on them with a leaf blower after they crumpled them up and sat on them.”
“I never took secretary classes in high school,” Baker tossed out. “Can we get a move on? I have a group of birdwatchers in the High Winds Cabin that are looking forward to a twilight bird sighting ride with Hanley and me.”
“Well, who are we to keep folks from viewing whip-poor-wills and barred owls. Let’s get to it.
Granny promised me a hot meal and a cold beer at the end of the day.
” Aiden gave me a pat on the shoulder then strolled off, leaving me enjoying the sight of his ass in his overalls.
They looked tighter than they should be, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Working with Aiden all day had been amazing and flustering, but mostly amazing.