Chapter 12 #2
After dinner, my prediction suddenly came true. Out of all of us, Dad told me to take her with me to feed some of the animals, and she fell into step beside me, our footfalls as silent on the grass as we were. Even though neither of us was saying anything though, I could feel that pull to her.
It was a constant, so powerful that I found myself drifting closer until there were only a couple inches left between us—and I wasn’t the only one who’d drifted. I didn’t mention it, though. No good could come of that.
“This is where our dairy cows live,” I said when we finally reached the barn. “They’re primarily grass fed, but we supplement them to make sure they get all the minerals they need for a healthy body condition as well as the production of healthy milk.”
Olivia nodded slowly. “Alright. Is that specific to you, or is it a general feeding strategy for dairy cows?”
I shrugged. “A little bit of both, I guess. The strategy people use depends on a few different factors. Your geographic area. Climate. Objective.”
“Objective?”
“Some people don’t care as much about the general condition of the cow as they do about the amount of milk they get.”
She glanced up at me. “And you?”
I frowned. “We care more about the general condition of the cow.”
Annoyance flickered through me. Who the hell does she think we are? Why even ask that question?
I crossed the barn to ready the buckets for the feed. I heard her behind me but I didn’t turn to look at her. Instead, I focused on getting some food into Mary, one of the cows we’d had for years who hadn’t been doing so well recently.
She stood with her head hung over the railing, her warm brown eyes watching as the clatter of feed pouring into my metal bucket filled the air.
Supremely aware of the fact that Olivia was right behind me, I did my best to just keep doing things the way I always did, but it was tougher than it should’ve been to ignore her.
As soon as I had enough feed, I strode over to Mary and hooked the bucket over the bracket I’d installed here especially for her last week. “Hey, girl. How are you feeling?”
I reached out to stroke her neck, giving her a little pat. I wondered if she was feeling warmer than usual. Before I could come to a conclusion about a possible fever, Mary turned her head and licked the side of my face, her slobbery tongue hot and wet on my cheek.
I groaned and yanked my face away, but when I glanced at Olivia, I saw that she had her phone out and my heart sank. “Did you get a picture of that?”
“I did,” she said happily, giggling. She walked a little closer to Mary and me. “It was such a beautiful, candid moment.”
“You’re not posting it,” I replied firmly. “I don’t want that on the internet. It might’ve been a beautiful, candid moment, but it was also a real-life moment and I want it to stay just that. Real life.”
“I’m planning on writing a post about the animals,” she explained slowly, as if that would make me change my mind. “That’s such a perfect picture to show your relationship with them.”
“I’d rather keep the marketing about the production side of things and leave the animals and their care on the personal side. With the other stuff that we keep private.”
“Your dad specifically wanted the way you care for the animals to be included in the marketing,” she said. “You know that. You’re the one who said it in the meeting.”
“Yeah, but I was referring to the way we care for them in the production process. Like a posed photo showing me leading them into the milking parlor. That kind of thing.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what your dad wants, Charlie. Authenticity, remember?”
“I thought you said you’d respect my need for my family’s privacy in all this. Mary here? She’s part of the family.”
“Which is incredible.” She hesitantly reached out to stroke the other side of the cow’s neck, giggling and snapping another quick picture of her hand in Mary’s coat. “This is exactly the kind of thing your dad wants, so we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one.”
Shit. I knew she was stubborn, but so am I.
“What happened to making sure we were comfortable with everything?”
She glanced at me, those green eyes reflecting both happiness and determination.
“Within reason, Charlie. Ultimately, your dad is my boss. Not you. I think he’ll tell me to go ahead and post that picture, especially considering that you and I both know he wants the animals included as more than just being part of the production process. ”
My features tightened into a scowl, but I spun and fed the rest of the cows without another word to her. For the next hour, we didn’t speak. She just followed me around, taking random snapshots of this and that while I did all the work.
So much for her working the ranch. Looks like she thinks taking pictures counts as working.
Just as I was about to say as much, Wyatt appeared from around the corner with yet another big grin on his face. “You guys done? We’re going for a night swim in the creek. Want to come?”
“No way,” Olivia said immediately. “I wouldn’t mind a swim, but I’m not getting in dirty water. Who even knows what’s in there?”
A grin spread my lips. “Oh, is it too country for you, City Girl? I’m so sorry, but our infinity pool has been under construction for the last hundred years. We don’t have cabana boys serving cocktails either.”
She scrunched her nose, put her hands on her hips, and turned back to Wyatt. “I’ll meet you there. Let me just go change into shorts and a T-shirt.”
“I would prefer a bikini!” he called after her when she started jogging away, but when he caught the scowl on my face deepening even more, he cringed and cocked his head at me. “Man, what is with you when it comes to that girl? I swear, bro, she really is bringing out the caveman in you.”