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“I never realized how peaceful being on a ranch could be. I always thought it would be boring or busy.”
Ian laughed. “It can be those things too. It can also be chaotic.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his. “Yeah? Like when?”
As if in answer to her question, one of the cows in a nearby pasture mooed. Ian turned his head in that direction, his ears straining.
Jessica’s eyes widened, and she turned to follow his attention. “What’s the matter?”
“The cow is mooing.”
“Aren’t they supposed to do that?”
He shook his head. “Our cows don’t tend to moo unless they’re in distress or they’re hungry.” Ian tightened his hand around hers and pulled her toward the pasture. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the far side. Then he turned a wide smile toward her. “Come on, you’re going to love this.”
They stepped between two wooden bars of the fence, one foot then the other, bending down to get through.
As soon as they were on the other side of the fence, he started running. Jessica let out a short laugh as she trailed behind him. She held a hand to the hat on her head as they both traipsed through the ankle-high grass. “What’s going on?” she called out to him.
He tossed her a look over his shoulder. “We’re going to see a calf being born.”
She stopped suddenly. Ian took a few more steps, and her hand managed to come loose from his grip. When he turned around, her eyes had grown even larger. “What?”
Ian closed the distance between them. He leaned in close, his voice lowering. “It’s the miracle of life, Jessica. Now, are you coming or not?”
She swallowed. Her eyes flicked behind him. The mooing got louder. “Are you sure I should be here?”
He tossed his head back, laughed, and took her hand again. “There’s no rule that says you can’t. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” He turned and strode forward, pulling her behind him.
“Not for you. You see this all the time.”
“True. But it’s still amazing every time.”
Ian slowed their pace when they got close enough for him to get a better look. Intervening was only a good idea when there was a problem. Usually his cattle didn’t have any problems with birthing their calves.
When he turned to take a peek at Jessica, she was staring at him. On her face was a crooked kind of smile. “You’re something else, Ian Baker.”
He pulled her around in front of him and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Yeah? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“The jury is still out.”
Ian chuckled. He lowered his face closer and pressed his forehead against hers, nearly making her hat fall to the ground. “Well tell that jury of yours not to take too long to decide.”
