Page 93 of The Science of Attraction

I crouched beside him and gently shook his shoulder. “Hey there, Sleeping Beauty.”

He startled awake, hitting his head on the corner post. “Ow... shit. What the—” He blinked to clear his eyes. “Liam? What are you doing here?” He pushed himself up with his back against the railing.

“Move over.” I shooed him over so I could grab the warm spot he vacated, then pulled the blanket over us both. “I got your text.”

He stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “And you thought you’d come freeze your arse off with dozens of smelly sheep?”

“Dozens of smelly sheep... and you.” I kissed him soundly. “Besides, I thought you might be lonely.And—” I held up the knapsack. “—I brought rations.”

A grin split his face. “Does that include you?”

“It could.” I picked some hay from his jersey and ran my fingers through his knotty hair. “Depends on how safe you think we are.”

He grimaced. “Not safe enough.”

I kissed his cheek. “Kind of what I thought. So, how about we stick with hot chocolate and sponge cake? If anyone comes, I’ll tell them I wanted the full lambing experience.”

“The full lambing experience, huh?” He reached for the thermos while I delved into the knapsack to find the mugs.

“Well, that explanation is likely to go down a lot better with your father than telling him I was after the fullshepherdexperience, don’t you think?” I held the mugs while Jules filled them with steaming chocolate and then we both took a sip.

“God, that’s good. Thank you.” He threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. “Here’s to the full shepherd experience.” We clinked mugs and continued sipping on our hot chocolates.

“So, which ones are we watching out for?” I asked, scouting the pens.

He pointed to a couple of cattle in the furthest one. “One of those steers went down with bloat last evening. We caught him just in time but the other one looks a bit dodgy so we’re watching him too. Plus, there’s this girl here.” Jules pointed his mug in the direction of a ewe on the other side of the railing we had our backs against. “She’s one of our best, and she’s late. Ten didn’t like the look of her today and brought her inside along with a few others. Normally I’d leave the three of them to take turns keeping watch, but they’re all walking around with their eyes dropping out of their sockets about now, so I figured the least I could do was give them the night off.”

I nodded approvingly. “Something I bet your dad didn’t do in his day.”

Jules huffed. “Hell no. AlthoughIdid my fair share of it as a kid. Then again, Iloved it. I still do. Being alone in the shed with no one needing my attention and no father breathing down my neck, it’s a special time.”

Shit.“And then I arrive and fuck it all up. I’m sorry. I should’ve asked first. I can go after we’ve finished the drink. It’s not a problem.”

He tightened his grip. “Don’t you dare. I love that you’re here. Look, I must’ve known you were coming.” He stood and walked behind the hay bales at our back, returning with a small bundle wrapped in a shirt, which he placed gently in my arms.

“Oh my god.” I stared down at the wriggling lamb still half asleep and blinking up into the light. “It’s beautiful. He? She?” I wrapped the shirt firmly around its body and tucked the tiny creature under my arm, shielding it from the light.

“She.” Jules handed me a half-full bottle of milk from the floor beside him. “You can try her with some more.”

I offered the bottle and the lamb almost leaped out of my arms to get to the teat. Then she started chugging the contents back like there was no tomorrow. “Whoa there, sweetheart. Slow down.” I adjusted my hold on the bottle, but it made zero difference. The lamb was on a mission.

Jules chuckled. “She’ll be fine. She’s from one of our best ewes, but for some reason the old girl didn’t accept her. We’ll bottle feed until we can wean her onto the multi-feeder with the others.”

“She looks small, or is that just my ignorance showing?”

Jules frowned. “Good eyes. She is, and we’re not sure why. But she seems healthy enough.”

“Andveryhungry.” I leaned back against the rail and smiled at the little creature who was still gulping madly from the bottle with milk dripping from both corners of her mouth and onto my jeans. Like I gave a shit.

When she’d polished the bottle off, Jules had me return her to the hay pen with another couple of orphans and a bundle of old fleeces for company. The lamb snuggled down with the rest and I couldn’t stop smiling.

We settled back on the hay bed and Jules’ arms slid around my waist from behind, his legs on either side, and his chin propped on my shoulder. I rested back into his warmth and marvelled at how my life had taken such a dramatic turn in a very short time.

“You’d make a great little mother,” he whispered into my ear, and I immediately elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow!” He jerked back. “That was a compliment.” He pulled me around and I straddled him, pushing him back onto the hay until I was looming over his body.

I ran a finger down his forehead and nose, snagging that full lower lip. “I want to kiss you.”

He smiled against my finger. “Then kiss me.”

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