Page 33 of A Cowboy's Convenient Marriage

“If I truly thought that you were in a great deal of danger, I wouldn’t be letting you do it.”

“I think that should be me saying that to you.” Maybe Ada was a little bit too tough for him. He wanted to marry a woman who needed him. Not someone who could face down a killer cow and laugh while she was doing it. Although, he did want a woman who was brave and not afraid to go wherever God wanted her to. Maybe this was just what that looked like.

“You can give the shots. I have more experience keeping cows away, so like I said, this one’s not going to be hard. There are some that can be pretty scary, but this old girl will give us the five seconds we need.”

“I’m going to trust you on this,” he said.

“Good.” They were about halfway to the cow. “What you’re going to do is get your cattle prod and keep her back. You might have to snap her nose with it if she gets a little close. She’ll back up and probably try to run in a circle, getting around you to be able to get to her calf. You’re just going to look big and mean and scary, and you’re not going to let her get around you to get to her calf, because I’m going to be there. And I really don’t want her ramming into my back.”

“No. I don’t want her to do that either.” He felt that the cow would have to plow him over in order to get to Ada. He could do at least that much.

“All right. It’s always a little easier if you get to the calf before the mama does, but she’s still standing right there beside him. But since this one’s down, we won’t have to worry about catching him or him running away.”

He couldn’t even imagine running after the calf as the mama cow was running after them, trying to catch it. It seemed like it would be the kind of video that got posted on social media and made everyone involved look silly.

Not that he would mind looking silly for Ada, if it meant she didn’t get killed by a cow.

“All right. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve never actually been in a pasture with a cow before today.”

“Wow. I really did throw you in the deep end, didn’t I?” Ada said, like it was her decision to have him out there, instead of him insisting that he could do it. What was he thinking?

He felt his feet dragging as they got closer and closer to the cow, but Ada didn’t slow down. She seemed to speed up, waving her hands over her head and yelling at the cow. It took two steps back, although it obviously did not want to leave its calf.

“You think you can do that?” she asked as she glanced at him. “The other thing is, I wouldn’t turn your back on her. A lot of times, a cow will run from a face but will go right past your back. But when she’s a protective mom, she will charge your back.”

“Good to know,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as sarcastic as he felt.

She had uncapped both syringes and had them in her hand. “All right. It’s all yours, I’ll give this fella his shots as soon as you get between her and me.”

He supposed that was his cue. So, he said a short prayer, telling Jesus that perhaps they would be meeting soon and asking Him to help him at least be brave and protect Ada if nothing else. And then, with a shout, he took two lunging steps forward and raised the cattle prod, waving it around. He figured that he probably ought to at least pretend to be confident and know what he was doing.

Even if it wasn’t the slightest bit true.

To his surprise, the cow stepped back and stood staring at him, her head lowered, her nostrils flaring as she breathed out. There could have been flames coming out of her nostrils or smoke or something.

Then, Ada said, “I’m done. Step backward until you’re beyond the calf, then you can turn around.”

He listened to her, almost tripping over the calf. Ada put a hand on his arm to help him, and he appreciated the gesture. His heart was racing a million miles an hour, and he was breathing like he had just run a marathon. His legs felt weak, and he wasn’t sure if he could walk the entire way to the fence.

“You did great. I think you’re a natural,” Ada said, like she had no idea he was so flustered and scared.

“I wasn’t entirely sure I wasn’t going to pee my pants,” he said, and he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. That wasn’t exactly a manly thing to say.

But it made Ada laugh. “I felt the exact same way. Not just now, but at different times. That’s a really good way to put it.”

He wasn’t sure he realized that she would understand so completely, but they shared laughter, and it felt good.

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