Page 50 of All I Need

“She does seem pretty pushy,” Brett agrees with a serious look on his face.

“You guys. Shush. You’re going to make her run away.”

“Nah, she’s too smitten with me to leave me now,” Walker jokes, dropping an arm around my shoulders.

Part of me wants to rest my head on his chest, lean in close and let him know that he’s absolutely right. I am one smitten kitten.

But the bigger part of me… “You’re so freaking full of yourself Walker Paul McKinstry.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. First of all, how the hell does she know your middle name and I didn’t? Second—your middle name is Paul? As in… basically the same name as the actor in all those car movies who every woman in America still gets wet panties from after all these years?”

He pinches the bridge of his nose and drops his head, but not his arm. That tightens around me and pulls me in even closer. “You’re in such trouble,” he mumbles into my ear before lifting his head.

Yes please.As long as trouble comes in the form of a spanking.

“My guess is that Linda or Polly has a big mouth,” he starts but I don’t tell him that it was actually Grayson who was the tattle tale. He mentioned his middle name being Paul, the same as Walker’s. “And yes. Unfortunately, my middle name is Paul. Thank goodness my name wasn’t swapped.”

“Why? He was freaking gorgeous!”

“And what am I? chopped liver?”

No. He’s even sexier than the actor was before his passing.

“Brett. Will you please bring me to your cows?”

We all laugh at Walker trying to distract us.

Following the guys, I continue to look around the property. I’ve never lived anywhere so—free—before. I’ve always been in an area that’s in the middle of everything. It would only take me ten minutes to get to the nearest Target, Starbucks or shopping center. There have always been plenty of restaurants or bars to go for a quick drink close enough that I never had to make a big plan.

Here in Liberty, it’s different. Life moves at a different pace. And I can’t say as though I hate it a single bit.

We step into a barn, the ground beneath us covered in dirt. There are wooden boards crisscrossing each other to make beams above us. There are several stalls and as we walk past them I notice that three of them have hay on the floor and a very large cow in it.

I thought cows grazed… or something. I mean, I’m not exactly a farm girl but this isn’t what I expected.

“Why are they in here?” I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me. “I thought cows were usually out in fields?”

“They’re far enough along that we wanted to have their environment controlled when the time comes.”

“Wow. I had no idea. I thought they just kind of gave birth on their own.”

“They can. But this one here, she’s overdue by about a week, which puts her at risk. And her?” he points to a large black cow that looks like if the other one is overdue, she’s gotta be pregnant with at least four babies. “She’s carrying twins.”

“What about this one?”

“She’s my baby,” he grins. “She gets special treatment.”

“I’m not sure what that means but okay. What do we need to do?”

“Well, we’re gonna check out Maribel here first. She’s not due for a bit with the twins but we need to make sure everything is okay with her. And Stormy, we’re gonna get her going.”

I point to myself then raise my hand. “Lots of questions happening in my head.”

“I bet,” Walker says with a smile.

“You name them?”

“Of course,” Brett says like that’s obvious.

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