Page 18 of Forever His Brat

Her eyes widened as she flicked a glance his way and then she stopped breaking off pieces of bread and began to eat.

Sam kept the smirk off his face as he finished his own lunch. He’d made a start on putting her in the right headspace. By the time he was able to deal with her, she’d be ready to accept it.

There was quiet as they finished eating, but he could feel her eyes on him from time to time. When he looked at her, they would flick away quickly, but her expression was pensive, thoughtful.

After lunch they went out to check the livestock. Sam drove the truck. He needed to plow the lanes anyway, and the back was piled high with supplies just in case they needed anything while they were out there.

Charlie took a snowmobile, like the other hands. Once they got close enough, he would park the truck and double up with her as they went over the pastures. They went to the closest first. The heavily pregnant cows barely bothered to stir as the machines roared by.

They parked them at a distance to keep from spooking them and had to slog through the deep snow on foot.

The cattle mostly huddled together behind the windbreak, complacently chewing from their supply of feed. The calves pressed close to their mothers. When they got near enough to check, everything seemed fine and all of them appeared healthy.

The three-sided shelter was intact with more cattle inside keeping each other warm. They found one newborn calf who appeared to have been abandoned. It was tucked into the corner shivering and making low crying sounds.

Sam sighed and went over to check, but as soon as he got close one of the mothers moved over to block him. The calf skittered under her and began to nurse. False alarm, he’d probably just gotten turned around and lost his mother for a moment.

Relieved, Sam moved off to check the troughs. They were fed from an insulated underground tank that was protected, but the water in the trough itself could freeze. It had a thin skin of ice across the surface, but that was easily broken through and removed.

He couldn’t find the ball that was meant to float in the water and keep it from freezing. From time to time a curious cow would pull it out to investigate, but he had a replacement with him. He pulled down some more hay, made one last check and then he gestured to Charlie to head back to the snowmobile.

They were too bundled up to actually talk easily. Their faces were covered until only their eyes were visible. It was necessary when traveling by snowmobile. The loose powder was kicked back into their faces as they zoomed toward the next pasture. Luckily, they wore goggles and had scarves pulled up to cover their skin, so it was just an annoyance.

They were all freezing by the time they were done, but it had been a good day. Nothing needed fixing. They hadn’t lost any animals, and there were no new babies needing to be saved.

While the rest of the snowmobiles headed towards the barn, Sam, with Charlie riding behind him, went to retrieve the truck. He pulled up alongside and gestured for her to jump off. “Charlie, you’re taking the truck in.”

Her arms tightened around his waist. “It’s okay. You take the truck, Sam. I’m fine riding this back.” She had to pitch her voice to be heard over the wind.

She was trying to mother-hen him again. Trying to make sure he was in the warm cab while she rode out in the cold. Partners protected each other and he expected a certain amount of that even from a submissive, but ever since his hospital stay it had become a habit with her to try and overrule him when he was taking care of her.

He was going to work on that.

“Charlie, I’m not arguing with you, girl. Get in the truck before we both freeze sitting out here.” The words were snapped and impatient. He was eager to get back to the warm barn and she was holding them up.

She snarled something as she swung her leg over and got off the back. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew it had attitude from the tone. “That’s one, Charlie.”

“One what?”

Sam didn’t answer. He gestured at the truck again and waited for her to get in.

“Sam, onewhat?” she repeated. There was a tremor in the words that wasn’t from the cold.

He had no intention of filling her in. “If I have to tell you again it’s going to be two,” he said in a flat tone. “You don’t want it to be two, Charlie.”

Even with the wind it was clear she understood. Every submissive knew that a Dom counting was never a good thing, and he’d just confirmed that for her.

Charlie quickly hurried to the truck and jumped in. Once she was inside, Sam turned the vehicle around and started back towards the barn. He checked over his shoulder a few times to make sure she was following, but she was right behind him.

CHAPTER5

Charlie’s nap was shorter than she’d intended. As nice as it was just lounging in the bed, making breakfast had her too awake. After a while she got up and started on one of her projects.

Or at least she opened her computer andthoughtabout working. In reality she ended up wasting hours by surfing the web and accomplishing nothing. She should have been doing something productive, but it was like rescheduling had just shoved it all onto the back burner.

Then a thought occurred to her. It was nearly ten by then and she still had some time before she needed to report to the barn. Wouldn’t it be neighborly to swing over to the foreman’s cabin and check in on Nick and Katie?

It wasn’t too early for a visit. If Nick was anything like Sam, he would definitely be up by then anyway and Katie with him. She’d stocked the kitchen with things she thought would be useful, but it would be polite to check.

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