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“We’re going to what?” Her arms that were folded at her waist dropped and so did the corners of her lips.
“You don’t drink milk? Oh, wait, that’s right. You like almond milk.” He slung the rope over his shoulder and strode for the shed.
“What’s wrong with almond milk?” She trudged after him. “It’s healthier than milk.”
He unlatched the door to the shed. “Says who?” He stepped inside and swept his gaze over the equipment looking for what he needed to mend the fence.
There was a noticeable hesitation before she said, “Nuts are good for the body.”
After looking across the abundance of shovels, hay grapple, rope, pitchforks, brooms, and a dozen more things, he found what he needed and took them to the fence. “Have you researched how much water it takes to turn almonds into milk?”
She frowned. “I have a feeling if I was advocating drinking cow’s milk you’d still find a problem with my opinion.”
Maybe she had a point. He wasn’t quite sure why but when he was around her the hair on his nape lifted. “I would ask if you’ve ever fixed a fence before, but I think I know the answer. Did you grab yourself some gloves like I told you to when we were in town?” Then she continued to stare. He sighed. “There are gloves and muck boots inside the house.”
“But I have these boots.” She struck a pose in the new cowgirl boots.
“Right. Those are great for riding and simple tasks, but not for what we’re about to do.” She opened her mouth as if to argue but must have changed her mind. He was grateful she decided against an argument.
He watched her stomp up to the house and despite all the warning signs going off inside his head, he watched the gentle sway of her bottom. Although anyone who had dealt with life working on a farm would have never picked a pair of jeans with holes, but they looked good…real good.
What the hell are you doing?
The last thing he needed was to start sniffing around some fancy pants who didn’t know the difference between a cow and an almond. He shook his head, swiveled, and headed for the fence. Half tempted to mend the damn thing himself, he was reminded that it’d do Parker some good to learn how to use her hands for more than writing numbers. If she wanted to be respected around here and wanted to prove she had Bonnie’s best intentions in mind, then Parker needed to get to know people and what they did for a living in Second Chance.
Finally, she came strolling down the path, a little slow as if she had all the time in the world on her side.
At least she’d taken his suggestion and had on gloves and knee-high muck boots.
“It’s about time,” he snorted.
“It took me a while to find the gloves and boots, grumpy. You could have started without me.”
She had a valid point, but he didn’t. “And miss the chance to teach you how to mend a fence? No way.”
“I think I’ll just be in the way.”
He met her gaze. “On a farm, there’s always something that needs fixing, or an animal that needs care. Here there are just chickens and a cow. Betsy is a notorious escape artist so just in case I’m not around you’ll know what to do next time.”
One corner of her mouth twisted. “I’m not here to farm and fix fences.”
“Yes, you are. If you’re here to tell Bonnie what to do with her land then you’re here to get to know what’s involved with working a farm.” Realizing his words came out a little too harshly, he backed off. “Don’t worry. Mending a fence is easier than it might look. If you have the right equipment, which we do, we can get this done in a jiffy.” He bent down at the break and pulled the weeds away from the fence.
“What’s next?”
He gave a ridiculous jerk when he realized she had joined him. “Grab the fence stretcher.” She looked across the equipment on the ground. “The farthest one,” he muttered. Now he wished he would have listened to reason and did this himself before she came back out.
Working diligently to stretch the fence, removing barbs, and adding fencing sleeve, she’d been more help than he would have bargained.
She wiped the back of her glove across her nose. “That was a lot easier than I thought it would be.” Her smile lit her eyes.
“Glad you think so because now we’re onto the good part.” He grabbed the tools, took them back to the shed, and led the way into the barn.
Chapter Twelve
Parker followed Raven through the tall, rough wooden doors and glanced across the walls at the equipment hanging on hooks. “This seems like a lot of items for a farm that has only one cow and a handful of chickens.”
“Things used to be different around here.” Raven was already across the straw strewn floor.
