Page 55 of Rancher's Pride

The familiar dipping of the bed as he got up woke me up. He silently moved through the house until I heard him groan as he pulled on his boots. Tossing the covers off me, I jumped out of bed and ran to the front door.

He was sitting on the stairs, head bowed down, like he was willing himself to stand. “Nash, you’ve been out almost all night for the last three days. Let me go.” I putmy hands on his shoulders, the furnace humming and the wind howling outside the only sounds other than our breathing. Nash’s shoulders slump and I knelt on the stair in front of him.

As he looked up, I stared into the tired eyes and I wanted the light back in them. “No, I can, it's fine. I'm used to it.” He sighed, letting his head rest on my shoulder. I rubbed his neck, and he sighed against me.

“Lottie just ate, so she’ll be fine. Go to bed. Please.” I whispered as I pressed my lips gently to his. Nash moved his hands to my hips and drew me tightly to him. Kneeling between his legs, cradling his head felt more intimate than being intimate with him. He was being vulnerable, and not trying to be the tough cowboy all the time.

Breaking our kiss, he shook his head, our foreheads pressed against one another. “I can’t let you do that, Toots. What if there’s a problem?”

Arching my back, I lifted his head to look into his eyes. “You can and you will. If there’s a problem, I’ll call you.”

“Fallon.” He groaned.

“I’ve done this all my life. I’ll be fine. Go sleep on the couch. You’ll hear when I come back in.” Bending down, I pulled off his boots and tossed them back into the closet, then took his hat off his head. Thankfully, he hadn’t put his jacket on yet, so I pulled him to stand. Turning him, I directed him to the sofa and gently pushed him toward it.

“Fine, call me if you have trouble. The close ones are in the calving barn but…” I cut him off sealing my lips against his again. He pulled me down onto his lap and tried with all his might to make me not want to leave this spot. His tongue explored my mouth and brushed over mine. His soft lips felt like pillows against mine.

Pushing him away, I smiled, “check the ones out in the pasture too. I got it. This isn’t my first rodeo.” Standing, I walked out of the living room and I heard him flop back onto the sofa, groaning.

The cold air hits me harder than a slap to the face. Of course, I’d volunteer on the coldest night so far. Zipping my coat up to my chin, I flick on the flashlight.

I’ve never liked the pitch black that surrounds this place. My imagination has a tendency to get a little wild. Even the glow of the yard light wasn’t enough to stop the shadows from appearing around every corner.

The moo of a cow from the corral made me jump, and I pressed my hand to my heart, trying to calm it. It was no use. I took off running to the barn. See, that’s what you get for trying to do a good deed, Fallon. You scare the shit out of yourself. I could almost hear my dad’s laughter. Some nights I would come check with him when I was really small, and I’d hang onto his hand so tightly he’d tell me I was cutting the circulation off to his fingers. But those nights were my most favorite memories. Just him and me in the barn, quietly watching to make sure everything was going smoothly.

Reaching the barn, I breathed a sigh of relief, then gulped for air. It had been a long time since I’d run anywhere and the barnyard seemed to be bigger than I remember. Pulling open the door, a wave of heat flowed over me, turning on the lights. They flickered and buzzed as they illuminated the barn. I breathed a sigh of relief as everything appeared calm and there had been no animals in distress.

My heart raced as I walked further in the barn, ok maybe this wasn’t so bad. Wandering through the stalls there were a few newer babies, and I couldn’t help but smile. Calves were my weakness. I loved seeing them wobble and find their feet. Getting to the end of the aisle, I pushed open the door and walked out into the calving pasture and made a few laps. The cows' breath was visible in the glow of my light, but these girls were warm and toasty as they munched on hay or laid in the straw.

Taking one last deep breath in the cold, I went back into the barn. I didn’t know how long I’d been out there, but my fingers and toes were frozen. Meticulously, I checked the animals. I didn’t want to let them down. They relied on us for all their needs, really they were no different from babies. We provided them food, safety, shelter when needed, and treatment when they were sick, so not being conscientious wasn’t an option on this ranch.

As I wandered back to the opposite end of the big barn, my eyes caught the sight of a calf's hooves. Istopped and leaned on a stall wall. I’d be here if she needed me, and if not, then she wouldn’t ever know.

I felt his presence before he put his hand on my back. “You were gone too long.” He whispered in my ear.

“Sorry, I was taking my time, and then this.” I motioned to the cow with my head and leaned back to rest on Nash. His arms wrapped around me and we stood in silence with one another, watching the cow and calf, ready to step in if needed. Glancing down I saw the baby monitor in his hand and smiled as I watched our girls sleep.

The calf was born with a plop and just like she was supposed to; the mother turned to take care of it. Another perfect moment that I could witness. I’d believed for so long that this wouldn’t happen, but here I was standing in the barn, wrapped in his arms, content.

“Do you remember we had our first kiss in this barn?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at him, smirking.

Nash shook his head. “No Toots, we had our first kiss in that field you were partying in.”

“We did not.” I whispered aggressively, because I didn’t want to startle any of the cows.

“Yes, we did.” His low voice rumbled in my ear. Leading me out of the barn, he took my gloved hand in his and we started walking back to the house.

“Damn, Toots, my fingers might fall off. You wereholding my hand so tightly,” he said when he pulled his gloves off, flexing his hand open and closed for dramatic effect. “You hate the dark,” he said, as if someone slapped him across the face.

“It’s not so bad when I’m with someone I trust.” I smiled up at him. “Back to the kiss debate, please.” We moved through the house quietly and crawled back in under the now cold covers of our bed.

Nash leaned against the headboard, and I cuddled into his side as he wrapped his arm around me. “When I came back to get you, I hauled you out of the bushes and you wrapped your arms around my neck. And before I could stop you, your lips were on mine and that was our first kiss.” He smirked, and I stared at him like he’d grown another head.

“You’re lying.” I croaked, heat in my cheeks growing, despite the rest of my body being cold as ice.

“Nope, I’m not.” He kissed the top of my head. “It was memorable.” He snickered.

“Apparently not that memorable.” My grumble made him laugh.

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