Page 13 of This Time Around
“Without my help?”His tone was teasing, and yet it irked me.Those were chores I always did.
I turned to him, twisting my neck so I could see where he was now standing behind his chair.His face was lit up from the fire, but all I noticed was the twist of his brow as he looked back at me.“I need to get eggs from the coop first and check on some pregnant goats.Not much to help with.”
“Pregnant goats?”
“Yeah.”I couldn’t stop my smile.Paisley and Gizmo had been presents.Joseph bought them for me for our second anniversary once we took over the ranch just because I’d always wanted goats.They were a silly expense since they’d been more like pets, but eventually, we added a buck, Gus, so we could breed them.Now we sold them to members of FHA or the 4-H Club.We had over thirty, but my first two were still my favorite.
“Gizmo and Paisley are pregnant, but Paisley hasn’t been acting quite right.I just need to check on her.”
“You name your goats?Do you name your cattle?”
I pushed past the flash of pain of how Gizmo got her name.A ridiculously silly drunken night with Joseph, celebrating my present and our anniversary.We’d laid in bed talking about favorite movies and both of us had loved Gremlins, even though I’d had nightmares for weeks after Jordan had made me watch the movie with him and some of his buddies.
They still teased me about eating after midnight.
I didn’t answer his question about the goats.“We have two hundred cattle, can’t name them all, but the bulls we use for breeding are Frank, Ed, and Bill.”
He pressed his lips together like he was choking down a laugh.I couldn’t blame him.“Strong names.”
I all but rolled my eyes.“Honestly, there’s not much to help with while I do it, and I’m sure Paisley is fine.I just worry about her.”
I was worried about a goat.I doubted it was something he heard often.
His pressed lips softened along with his expression and I looked away.Compassion and understanding were hard to handle.
“Then you’ll see me at six-thirty.Goodnight, Rebecca.”
I tried to focus on the campfire as he walked away, rather than the sound of his boots on the patio, or the creak and slam of the door when he went to the kitchen and came back out.He walked behind my chair, his shadow falling over me as he passed by me without a word, and for some reason, he was at the stairs to the patio, one hand on the railing when I called his name.
He looked back at me over his shoulder.“Yes?”
I lifted my wineglass I was holding in the hand he’d bandaged.“Thank you for tonight and for your help.”
My voice sounded like I’d swallowed some of the glass shards he’d already cleaned up.
“It wasn’t a problem.Enjoy your night.”
He turned and hustled down the steps.As he passed in front of the patio, he kept his gaze on the guesthouse but lifted a hand in a waving gesture without looking at me.
I tried to ignore him.Tried not to watch him walk away and head back to his place for the summer, but every time I pulled my eyes away, I caught them drifting back to his retreating figure.
I refilled my wineglass and closed my eyes to erase that visual.Then, I did what I did best.
I made a plan.I organized.And I determined, while I had the help offered to me, I’d take as much advantage of it as I possibly could, and when Cooper left, I’d be in a better position to know how to move on.
