by Jeannie Watt
* * *
“HEY, I HEAR that's some new roommate you got.”
Gus dropped the bag of grain he’d been carrying into the barn when Jess Hayward, one of his bull riding buddies, called. “Yeah. She’s a nice lady. Is that why you called?”
Jess laughed. “No. But I thought it might spice up the conversation.”
“I like things bland,” Gus replied as he walked into the barn and opened the grain bin with one hand. He eyed the grain bag and decided he couldn’t dump it in until the call was over. No sense pouring grain on his boots if the bag got away from him.
“Yeah, I remember that about you from the bar. How you blandly kicked Shelly out of the place. Blandly broke up that fight between the—”
“Hey, Jess?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you call for a reason?”
“Tyler and I are looking for a couple bulls. We’ve heard good things about yours.”
“Bulls for breeding, right?”
Jess laughed. “We’re not going to ride them.”
“Hey, with you guys that’s always a possibility.” The Hayward brothers both had awesome bull riding careers and only recently retired.
“Not this time. Tyler is putting his wife’s ranch back into production. We have the cows. Need a bull.”
“I have some decent prospects if you want to take a look.”
“We would. I got a couple wedding things I have to do, and Tyler’s got some commitments... How about next—” Gus could hear pages flipping “—Thursday?”
“Works for me. I’m fencing, so give me a call before you come.”
“Will do. Looking forward to meeting your partner.”
“Thad’s partner. See you then.”
Gus hung up the phone, retrieved the bag of grain and dumped it into the bin, then dialed Thad. They’d only spoken a handful of times since Lillie Jean had decided to stay awhile and the conversations had been guarded. They were both dealing with the fallout of Thad’s secret. Gus in a more direct way than Thad, who had his pub to distract him.
“Is everything all right?” Thad’s voice sounded older than it had before Lillie Jean had showed up, and it may have been Gus’s imagination, but he seemed to be moving slower, too.
“Yeah. Got the north side of the fence stretched between snow flurries. Only three cows left to calve, and the Hayward twins might buy a bull.”
“And Lillie Jean?”
“She’s doing okay.”
Thad cleared his throat. “Any idea how long she’s staying?”
“We haven’t talked about that.”
“You probably got to at some time.”
“Agreed.” Gus cleared his throat and studied the rafters again. “Last night I did research into Ag loans.”
“Yeah?”
“Problem is that I don’t have a down payment.” And his only income, now that he’d quit the pub, was his manager’s salary, which wasn’t all that much.
“Maybe I could apply.”
“You already have a small business loan, but yeah, we could give that a shot. Or maybe I could sell my interest in the bar to someone you’d want to work with. That would at least give me part of a down payment.”
He heard his uncle pull in a breath. “Yeah. It would.” Thad didn’t sound thrilled about the idea, but they weren’t in a position to wait for the perfect solution. Lillie Jean was only waiting for a few documents to be finalized and then she could do whatever she pleased with her half of the H/H.
“I’m not trying to mess up the bar. I’m trying to save the ranch.”
“Oh, I understand,” his uncle said quickly, in a voice that said he was well aware that they were in a mess that he’d made. “I’ll see what I can do on this end. I can meet with the Farm Service Agency guy when I go to Dillon for my dental appointment next week.”
“Okay. You talk to FSA. I’ll talk to Lillie Jean.”
Who would hopefully be receptive to the half-baked plan of a desperate former bull rider with no job history to speak of.
* * *
GUS WAS NOWHERE to be seen when Lillie Jean returned from town with four gallons of paint she’d got at bargain prices because they were on the clearance shelf of the Gavin hardware store. She’d already found paintbrushes in the utility closet of the old house and had decided to forgo a roller. Rolling was faster, but brushing conserved paint and her money would go farther.
She made two trips to the car to bring in her purchases, stopping on the last one to see if she could spot Gus. There was no smoke coming out of the chimney of his house, but his truck was there. He was working around the place somewhere. The guy never stopped working and Lillie Jean felt a twinge of guilt at not doing her part today, although honestly, her part wasn’t much.
After several days of morning chores, Lillie Jean’s role was still that of gatekeeper. She opened. She stood and waited. She closed. She wore two pairs of socks to help fight the cold. After feeding, she and Gus walked among the pregnant cows so that they could get used to her, then attended to some daily chore, which usually involved her standing and watching and learning as he changed the oil on the tractor or reset a fence post or tightened wire. She’d seen the extent of her property when they’d once again driven the perimeter, dropping off fence posts to replace the rotted ones. She’d even managed to return home from that trip without a head injury. She was, however, failing miserably in her quest to ride in the tractor cab without being aware of every move the man made, of how he smelled and how fascinating his hands were as they moved the gearshifts. And when his thigh bumped hers...well, that was good and bad. Part of her loved it. The rest of her was terrified at her reaction.
But maybe being aware of Gus as an attractive man was a good thing. A sign of healing and recovery, instead of the threat she perceived it to be. She’d been hit with so many things, so rapidly, that she’d been in full-time defensive mode. Maybe it was time to loosen up a bit. Stop expecting the direst of consequences. Acknowledging Gus’s hot factor didn’t mean she was going to blindly allow him to manipulate her into doing something she didn’t want to do. She was making a big deal out of something she didn’t need to.
After closing the trunk of the Cadillac, Lillie Jean went back into the house and, instead of doing her laundry as planned, spread newspapers, pried the lid off the paint can and stirred. It felt good to be doing something creative. Something with color.
Henry ambled up as she stirred.
“Oh, no. Not this time.” Lillie Jean had cleaned up doggy paint prints on her floors a number of times, and once had to use a washcloth to scrub dry lime-green paint off all four feet and the tip of his nose. She buttoned on Henry’s sweater and after making certain the front gate was closed, let him out to experience fresh Montana air. Then she went back inside to battle dank musty walls.
Lillie Jean gave the paint one last swirl with the wooden stick, then dipped her brush and stroked a broad swatch of color across the wall. The perfect shade of aqua. A cheerful, inspiring color. One of her favorites. It would look great with the sunny yellow and apricot she’d gotten for the kitchen. The old house would be awash with color when she was done. Bargain shelf color. She hoped she could find something fun for the overly white bathroom next.
Lillie Jean laid out another stroke of color. Two sweeps of the brush and the old house already felt better.
A knock on the door gave her a start and she set down the brush.
When she opened the door, Gus made no move to step inside, didn’t appear to notice the painting apparatus behind her. “I need some help.”
“Sure.”
He looked past her to the stripes of paint on the wall. “Nice color,” he said before heading back out the door.
“Thanks,” Lillie Jean called to empty air as he disappeared. She quickly wrapped the brush in a thin plastic grocer
y bag, stuck it in the fridge, then grabbed her coat.
She caught up with him where he waited near the gate. “What’s going on?”
“One of the heifers calved while I was gone, but another heifer stole her calf. We need to get the calf back with her mother, so she can eat.”
“Ah.”
“Unfortunately, the thief is pretty adamant about keeping the calf.” Gus stopped at the gate to the large pen where the remaining pregnant heifers were housed. Sure enough, there was a defensive-looking cow standing guard over a newborn who tottered around behind her, while the real mother, who was still dealing with afterbirth, stood a good distance away.
“Does the real mama know that’s her calf?”
“First-time mothers get confused, and heifers sometimes don’t produce as much of the bonding hormone as mature cows.”
The calf stealer snorted loudly and tossed some dirt over her back. Gus shook his head. “That’s a warning.”
“And here I thought cows were placid creatures.”
Now Gus snorted. “Right.”
“What’s the plan?” she asked as he reached for the gate. And more important, what was her role? Her heart was beating faster, even as she told herself that there was no way that Gus would put her into any kind of danger. Not unless he wanted to get the ranch the easy way.
“Not funny,” she muttered to herself through gritted teeth.
“I’m going to try to herd fake mama and the baby into that pen. Hopefully I can get the cow in the pen and the gate closed before the baby gets in. If not, then we come up with a different plan.”
“Kind of a ‘think on your feet’ operation?”
Gus smiled, his cheeks creasing. She was beginning to really love his smile. “Welcome to cattle ranching.”
“I think I’m only a landowner. What’s my job?”
“To telephone for help if that cow takes me out.”
“Excuse me?” Lillie Jean’s heart all but stopped.
“It won’t happen. You’re here as a precaution.” He picked up a sturdy round pole leaning against the rail fence. “Always have one of these if you go into a cow pen. If you ever get attacked, hit them between the eyes. Hard.”
He wasn’t kidding. So much for the placid cow myth.
“Do you really have to do this?”
He gave her a curious look which told her, yes, he had to do this. The real mother cow wandered toward the barn, where the gate to a straw-filled birthing pen was open, as he let himself into the pasture. The calf-stealing cow shook her head and tossed more dirt.
Lillie Jean watched, half fascinated, half afraid as Gus approached the cow with the baby, gently circling the pair. Once behind them, he raised his arms, gave a couple low whistles. “Come on, mama. Into the pen.” The cow shook her head at him, then made a noise at the calf and started walking along the edge of the fence. The calf trotted along, tripping a little, but keeping up. The fake mama automatically turned into the next open pen as a means to escape the man behind her and, slick as can be, Gus stepped between her and the calf and swung the gate shut. The cow spun around and shook her head, letting out a gusty snort as she realized that her kidnapped baby was on the other side of the rails. Gus gave Lillie Jean a quick thumbs-up, then took hold of the new calf and started guiding it forward toward the birthing pen where its real mom awaited.
“I need you to close the gate to the barn pen,” he called to Lillie Jean as he pushed the calf along. Lillie Jean let herself into the corral and followed Gus as he pushed the calf the last several yards. Meanwhile the calf stealer paced the fence, growing more agitated by the moment.
“You’ll have your own baby soon,” Gus muttered as he gave the calf one final push into the barn. He stepped back, and Lillie Jean closed the gate to the birthing pen.
“That went well.” Surprisingly well. “Now what?”
“Now we see if these two bond.”
“If not?”
“Bottle baby.”
“That sounds like a lot of—” The sound of rattling metal cut Lillie Jean off midsentence. She whirled to see the calf stealer hit the fence with her chest a second time before rising up on her hind legs and heaving herself over the gate, metal squealing as she landed with grunting thud on the other side. Their side. Gus grabbed Lillie Jean’s arm and pulled her to the barn gate, and then he half pushed, half tossed her over the metal rails, before scrambling over it himself, landing in a heap next to her in the straw.
The mother cow standing at the far side of the indoor pen gave a start, then turned and blinked at them. The baby slowly approached, sticking his wet little nose on Lillie Jean’s arm. The contrast between the unconcerned mother on one side of the gate and the rampaging cow from hell on the other was startling.
Lillie Jean scrambled to her feet, looking for an escape. “Please tell me she can’t jump this gate, too.”
“Too tall.” Gus took Lillie Jean’s hand and led her to the far side of the pen where he opened a smaller gate, allowing them into the barn proper. A shudder went through Lillie Jean as he let go of her hand. “This is not normal behavior,” he added.
“Cows don’t normally jump fences?” Watching that cow heave herself over that gate, which now had a healthy bow in the top rail from where she’d hit it going over, bordered on the surreal.
“No. That part is normal. I’m talking about the calf stealing. It happens, but not that frequently.”
Lillie Jean’s jaw muscles tightened as she considered the ramifications. “Are you telling me that every time I closed that gate while we were feeding and felt safe on the other side, that a cow could have come sailing over and...got me?”
“They don’t care about you unless they think you’re some kind of threat to them or their babies. During calving season, cows are a little more sensitive than the rest of the year.”
“Good to know.” Lillie Jean bit the words out as she scowled at him, but Gus didn’t scowl back. If anything, his expression softened as he reached out to take hold of her coat sleeve and gently ease her a few steps closer to him. Outside the barn, the calf stealer paced back and forth, while in the pen next to them, the calf started tottering closer to its mother who studied her baby as if it were from another planet. Lillie Jean barely noticed. The man standing in front of her, his hand still on her sleeve, commanded her full attention.
His voice was low, and utterly sincere as he said, “I wouldn’t knowingly put you in a dangerous situation. I didn’t expect the heifer to jump the fence.”
Lillie Jean gave a mute nod, unable to find her voice. Her heart still hammered, but it was no longer because of their near miss.
Gus’s grip briefly tightened and then he let go of her coat and brought his hand up to slide around the back of her neck and thread up through her hair. A shiver went through Lillie Jean that had nothing to do with renegade cows, and then Gus brought his lips down to meet hers.
Finally.
The thought rocked her and Lillie Jean stilled for a split second, stunned by how right it felt to be kissing the man. How perfect his lips felt on hers. All thoughts of her attraction to Gus not being a big deal disintegrated under the warm pressure of his mouth. This was a big deal. This was...incredible.
Her fingers clutched his shoulders, even though she didn’t remember moving her hands, and she found herself wanting to press closer instead of stepping back as sanity decreed.
When Gus lifted his head, he gently caressed her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
“I guess we both saw that one coming.”
Lillie Jean wanted to believe that she hadn’t see it coming, but as she stared into his clear green eyes, she found she couldn’t lie. To him. To herself.
“Yes. It had been coming.” And it was going to really mess up her plans if she didn’t get hold of herself. She pulled in a breath that was shakier than she wanted,
but her voice was firm as she said, “It’s not happening again. Right?”
Gus’s eyebrows pulled together, as if she’d just said the sun wouldn’t be coming up tomorrow. “Business partners and all that?”
“Yes.”
He stepped back, his fingers lingering on her cheek for a brief second before he dropped his hand back to his side. Lillie Jean felt an unexpected stab at the loss of contact, then gave herself a mental shake.
Distance is good. Proximity leads to unpredictable outcomes.
“I don’t want things to get weird.” There was a touch of irony in his voice.
“Then why did you kiss me?”
His eyebrows lifted. “Why did you kiss me back?”
“I—”
She wanted to protest, but he cocked an eyebrow at her, telling her she might as well save her breath if she was going to deny kissing him back. She had.
“Shall we call this a draw?” he asked.
“Yes.” Lillie Jean dusted her hands off in a “get back to business” gesture. “I have a room to paint.”
“I guess you’d better get to it.”
She gave a jerky nod, only then noticing that the calf had figured out what a mama was for, and the mama was licking and nosing her baby as it nursed.
“Now that she’s tasted him, things will be okay,” Gus said.
“Good. I would have hated to risk our lives for nothing.”
Gus didn’t have an answer for that, although Lillie Jean would have paid a goodly sum to know what was going on in his head.
CHAPTER TEN
THE CALF STEALER gave birth two days after jumping the gate and scaring the heck out of Lillie Jean. As Gus watched her gently clean her baby, talking to it in that special tone mother cows used when communicating with their young, it was hard to believe that forty-eight hours ago she’d been ready to kill anything that stood between herself and the calf she’d decided was her own.