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Then the sound of a cow bawling behind Luke had a small cry issue from her expectant lips….and the moment was lost.
Luke blinked—almost as if waking from a trance—and pulled away, dropping his arms from around her and taking a step back as he turned around.
A calf was standing behind them, his neck outstretched as he let out another loud bawl.
“Sorry, pal,” Luke told him, laughter back in his voice. “I got nothin’ for you. She’s the one who was carrying that bag.”
Kaylee’s hand fluttered to her mouth, her lips still tingling at the hope of being kissed.
Had Luke really been about to kiss her? Or had she just imagined that? And was she imagining the fact that he couldn’t seem to look at her now?
A couple of other cows wandered closer to them, and she shrank back against the ATV.
“Hey now,” Luke said, reaching out to touch the side of her arm. “Don’t be scared. They’re big. But they aren’t going to hurt you.”
“I’ve never been this close to a cow before.”
He walked to the calf and scratched it behind its ears like it was a dog. The calf leaned into his hand and butted his head into his palm. “Maybe you should come over and see this one then. He’s only about half a cow.”
She hesitated, her heart pounding in her chest. Sure, the calf wasn’t that big, but the cows standing behind him sure were. She peered around at them. “Where’s his mom? Won’t she get mad? Try to fight us to protect him?”
Luke grinned. “Cows aren’t really big into fighting. Granted, there are some bulls that can get pretty ornery, but these cows are fairly mellow.”
She took a deep breath, stood a little taller, and forced her feet to move toward Luke and the calf.
“See? They aren’t so scary,” he said, as she stuck her hand out and gingerly touched the cow’s forehead.
“No, this one is even kind of cute.” She gestured to the other cows in the field. “Are all these cows yours?”
He nodded.
“Wow. What are their names?”
“Their names?” He scratched his head then pointed to several of the cows. “Well, let’s see. That one over there is called Ribeye, and that one by the tree, his name is Filet Mignon. The one you’re trying to pet is named Ground Beef, but we all just call him Chuck for short.”
Kaylee’s eyes widened in horror.
“I’m just kidding. I don’tnameany of them, unless you count me calling them The One over There by the Tree or That One with the White Spot on His Shoulder.”
“Well those names are better than Ribeye and Chuck.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, City Girl. But that’s what they are. These cows are how I make my living. I can’t think of them as pets.” He rubbed his hands together. “Speaking of making a living, I’d better get back to the fence. I can see another spot across the pasture where it looks like a tree fell.” He pointed to the ATV. “Why don’t you get back on the four-wheeler, and I’ll take care of that feedbag?”
She called for the dogs and had them all settled on the ATV by the time Luke grabbed the abandoned sack. He made a show of emptying any leftover crumbs out onto the ground then crumpled up the bag before returning to the four-wheeler and cramming it into the corner of the dog box.
A few cows followed him over, but most had realized there was no food and lost interest. Luke climbed onto the ATV and drove them around the perimeter of the pasture. Kaylee watched for other damage but didn’t see any until they got to the spot Luke had pointed out on the other side of the field.
A tree was lying across the top of the fence and had knocked the fence post sideways.
“Dang,” Luke said, cutting the engine and climbing off the quad to examine the damage. “This was a pretty nice tree. Too bad. Looks like it’s going to be firewood now.” He grabbed the chainsaw and held it out toward Kaylee. “It’s a little bigger than an electric knife, but I think you can manage it.”
“Me?” Kaylee took a step back. “You wantmeto use the chainsaw?”
“Sure. Why not?” He pulled a pair of gloves from his back pocket and handed them to her. “I’ll show you how.”
She slowly pulled on the gloves, coming up with a million excuses in her mind as to why this was a terrible idea. But one small voice kept telling her she should go for it.Sassy’s voice. She swallowed then nodded her head. “Let’s do it.”
He took a pair of plastic glasses from his pocket and passed them to her. “Safety first.”
