Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 83379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 334(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
I smirked as I imagined her giving Kerry the cold shoulder or a quick snap of her tail.
Once the milking was about finished, Kerry explained how the pumps would naturally fall away from the teats, and then pointed out the filtration system up above us, which was essentially a series of pipes where the milk was siphoned to a drum for other purposes, like feeding some to the calves and getting the rest ready to sell. After he rubbed lotion on her udders and gave her some apple slices, I watched him move down the line to the next cow, whom he referred to as Butter, and again found myself snickering at the names.
“And business is good?” I asked after a couple of minutes of silence. Not that I minded the quiet right then, just that I found my curiosity getting the best of me.
“It’s decent, which is why Sienna had the idea for the silo store. We could sell fresh eggs and dairy and pump the profits back into the farm. Sienna’s goat-milk soaps and lotions have become popular round these parts too,” he explained. “Plus, kids like goats and calves, any farm animal, really. The past couple of years, we had an unofficial petting zoo around here.”
“I bet that’s a hit,” I said with a smile, imagining families lined up, little ones running about, especially after seeing how excited Ainsley was last night.
We were quiet for a stretch again as I watched him move to another cow, and I found myself wondering about the business they’d set up. It obviously wasn’t a large operation like the ranch, but it seemed to suit them.
“You want to try it?” He motioned to the stool.
“Sure,” I replied instantly, not giving it a moment’s thought. I sat down and looked up at him. “Just tell me what to do.”
When he squatted near me, I got a good whiff of him, which was the exact wrong thing to be focusing on right then. I had smelled plenty of men’s sweat in the barracks, some riper than others, but Kerry’s scent was more pleasing. Earthier somehow. Like grass, maybe hay, if it even had a scent? Who knew, and why the hell was I thinking about how the man smelled? Would I even be having these thoughts if he were still married to Sienna and hadn’t come out of the closet?
Of course you would. At least in passing. He was an attractive man, after all.
Kerry placed a bucket underneath the cow’s stomach. “Give her teats a couple of good squeezes to get rid of any residual dirt or bacteria before we hook her up to the machine.”
Guess teats was a word for the cow’s nipples or whatever, but every time Kerry used the term, I was basically transported back to junior high, squashing the urge to laugh and make fun.
It took me a couple of tries, as well as Kerry reaching over my shoulder to show me how, before I got it down. I found myself smiling like some fool who’d just won the lottery instead of someone who’d learned to milk a cow. Ridiculous.
Once the machine was on her and we stood back to give her space, I marveled again about the fact that I was on a farm in Wyoming, when only yesterday, I was getting a hot dog from a street vendor in Columbus Circle.
“I remember visiting you, on your ranch, when you and Sienna still lived there,” I said out of the blue, and I noticed the slight tightening in his jaw. “I was only a teenager.”
“I remember. You were a skinny, awkward thing.”
“Thanks a lot,” I scoffed.
“But look at you now. You could probably take me in a fight.” When he grinned, I couldn’t help grinning back, shaking my head in the process because he was likely right. But he’d give me a run for my money with those hard guns, that was for sure.
He had a nice smile—straight teeth, except the very front one was slightly crooked, which only made him more real. Appealing too.
“You miss it—life on the ranch?”
“In general, no.” He shrugged. “It’s hard work, but there’s a certain camaraderie you develop when you’re on horseback together moving cattle all day. It’s like a common goal, and being with my family all the time…well, it had its perks as well as its faults.”
“I can see that. I developed the same sort of solidarity with the guys in my squad.”
He nodded. “Bet you refer to them as your brothers?”
“I do.” I felt that familiar pang in my gut that some of them were still serving our country and I was stuck here. It was a special sort of guilt, and I wondered if Kerry ever felt a similar sort of pang. Though it wasn’t so black and white. I could feel two things at once, and so could he. A deep nostalgia about certain rituals and also relief that it’s come to an end. But what did I know? I would certainly never put words in his mouth.