Page 91 of Blue Jean Summer

“Let me get that,” I said as I set the drink on top of the hood and took the bag from her, stacking it up where Mason had been unloading his. “And why did you buy dirt? There’s no shortage of it around here.”

There was that damn smile again. “They’re different kinds of soil. I want kids to be able to experiment with growing conditions to learn what type of dirt benefits which kinds of crops and how it affects growing speeds, plant hardiness, and harvest outcomes.”

“And the cow?”

Catherine wiped her hands on the front of her shorts and leaned against the fence, watching as the calf took stock of its new surroundings. “She was abandoned at the ag supply. Marsha Garrison went to open up this morning and found her in a dog crate by the front door. No cameras, so they’re not sure who dumped her.”

Footsteps approached. Mason shoved his phone into his pocket. “I called Grey. He’s got some colostrum to spare. Said he’ll leave it down at the stables.”

“Yes!” Catherine said with a fist pump and a happy dance.

“So, you’re fostering a calf until you find it a home?” I assumed.

“I was thinking more like…this is her home now!” she said cheerily.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “And what on earth are you going to do with a single cow?”

Catherine beamed. “Get her a friend.”

I wanted to be mad. My god, I wanted to be furious. I loved my SUV. I kept it pristine. But one look at Catherine’s sheer giddiness over giving an orphaned calf a home and I was done for.

“You and your bleeding heart,” I murmured as I tapped a single finger to the center of her chest. “Take a trailer next time.”

Catherine peered over at the calf, who was snoozing in the sun like it didn’t have a care in the world. “I didn’t want to keep her in that crate or for her to get scared in the back of Mason’s truck.”

“Did she get scared riding shotgun?”

Catherine laughed. “Nope. She stuck her head out the window like a dog.” She chewed on her lip. “Are you mad?”

“No,” I said honestly. “I said you could do whatever you want with the land. Who am I to say you can’t rescue cows?”

“That’s the thing…” Catherine hedged. “I can’t exactly keep her up here. She needs to be dry and have shelter, and the cabin is a mess.”

“You know, when you butter someone up for a favor, you’re supposed to compliment them. Not give them a laundry list of problems.”

Catherine shot me a winning smile meant to schmooze. “I was hoping I could keep her in one of the spare stalls in the stable for now.”

“For how long?”

She glanced at Mason. “What do you think?”

He shrugged as he unloaded the last of his trailer. “I’d work on getting that second cow before you bring her back up here. And she’s gonna need a lot of attention. I’ll call the vet and have her come down here to check your girl out.”

“Do you mind taking her down to the stables and getting her set up?” I asked Mason, hoping he’d catch on that I wanted to have a little one-on-one conversation with my wife.

Catherine opened her mouth to protest, but Mason nudged her with his elbow. “She can ride up front with me.”

I waited until Mason had loaded the calf into his truck and was heading down the lane before turning to Catherine. “Do you know what the average lifespan of a cow is?”

“Production life or life life?”

“Life life,” I said. “Because I’m assuming you’re not going to breed her, milk her for five to six years, and then send her to slaughter.”

“Twenty years,” she said without skipping a beat. “Twenty years of teaching kids about livestock care, getting them familiar and comfortable with large animals and excited to do the work. Twenty years of helping them fall in love with these incredible creatures, teaching them to honor the way they fit into our food chain, and making them passionate about ethical and sustainable farming and ranching.”

“And you plan on staying here for twenty years?”

Her eyes cut away from me. “Ideally, I’ll have a few full-time staff and some volunteers to run the program in a few years. You said the land was mine. There was no end date on our agreement.”