Page 25 of Home Hearts Hooves

“Idiot… genius… tomato, to-mar-to. Oh, that reminds me, the goats somehow climbed the Royal’s garden fence this morning. I got them out before they did too much damage, nothing, a few gallons of fresh milk and one of Sally-May’s pies won’t smooth over.”

“Their garden fence is like six feet tall.”

“Yeah. Their farm hand thinks he left the tractor too close, and they jumped.”

“Great, well let’s get Perry to check our fences to stop them getting out in the first placeandhopefully they’ll be back to normal, hanging out on the roof again before long.” I huff and shake my head in a laugh. “I can’t believe I just referenced goats on my roof as the normal I hope to see on this ranch.”

“See, everything odd becomes tame eventually, look at us.”

“You, brother, will never be tame. Come on, let’s get these cabins sorted. I want to get up to the stables to check on Loki and see how Atlas and the doc are going with him.”

“Preston was here about an hour ago.ApparentlyLoki managed to stay on his feet in front of him but was still stiff as a dead horse. But it’s progress.”

“The doc was already here?”

“Yeah, you and Conner were unhooking the girls. I guess he was in a rush to get back to the clinic or something, cause as soon as they were done, he was off.I can check with Atlas when he’s coming nextifyou need to talk to him about the new app and monitoring tech?”

“No, it’s fine,” I say, trying to hide my disappointment that I missed catching Preston on the ranch again. I just wish I knew what I did wrong.

For days, I replayed the night over and over, trying to see what I said or did that could have sent him screaming for the hills, but I was halfway normal before he kissed meandthen after…. Well, after he took the lead, I was just along for the incredible ride.

I thought maybe it was getting caught in the morning, so I shot him a text just letting him know that the guys didn’t pick up on anything, or if they did, they aren’t saying, and all I got back was a “Thanks.”Thenwhen I asked how things were going with Loki, he texted back, “Good.” Like really? I thought I was the king of one-word answers.

I can’t invite him to the fair because he’ll already be there. There’s a flyer up in the clinic window promoting his pet adoption booth. He’s got a few vets from neighboring towns bringing some extras. I hope he warned them about the murder twins.

***

Another week passes, and I’ve still missed Preston every time he’s been here. I need to stop thinking about him and focus on something else. I pull out my phone, open the music appandhit my favorite playlist.Most Wantedby Beyonce and Miley Cyrus starts to play, and I slip the phone back into my ass pocket. The tune is loud enough not to spook the cowsbutstill gives me a backing track to sing along. I have to admit music was never my thing. It was actually watching my younger brother Alan’s Banana Ball games that brought on my new appreciation. They sing and dance to old and new songs throughout the baseball game, hyping up the crowd and recording for clips they can post online later. He loves it, and Nial and I try to get down to Savannah when they play, but it isn’t easy with all the ranch work that needs doing.

Now I love listening to music when I just want to shut out the world or switch off my brain. Right now, I want to do both.

I keep working, unhooking the girls, one by one, bouncing on my heels, singing awayandthen the chorus kicks in, and I belt it out, then turn my head and spot them. Nial, AtlasandPreston all stood in the doorway watching me. My teeth come down on my tongue hard,painshoots through it as a metallic taste fills my mouth. I stumble a little, pulling Frey’s milking hoses, and then she lifts a leg and kicks me in the chest, and I fly back right onto my ass.

“Oh shit,” Atlas says, and even though my chest is tight, and I’m gasping for breath, I raise a hand.

“I’m othay,” I say, and Nial starts laughing his fucking ass off.

“Fuck, I wish we had cameras in here,” he gasps, slapping his hand on his thigh a few times.

“You sure you’re okay, boss?” Atlas asks, and I can hear the smile in his tone.

“Thine,” I say, my tongue thick in my mouth, and I swallow down what I’m sure is blood. I climb up to my feet, turn away, and grab out my handkerchief, spitting into it. Yep, blood. It isn’t much, though, and the taste is already starting to dilute.

“I’lljuthbe athec,” I say, feeling my face grow warmer with each passing second. I brush off my hands on the front of my jeans and then look for my hat. It went flying when I fell back, too, but when Iturn, the only thing Ifind isa scattering of straw and hay because Preston is now right there in front of me, and he’s holding out my favorite hat.

“Here,” he says, his soft smile growing.

“Thanks,. Umm, is everythingothay?” I ask, trying to ignore my messed-up speech, but Nial is cackling in the corner, mimicking everything I say.

Preston rubs the back of his neck with his hand. He must be worried about something. Maybe he’s worried about talking to me. He’s been avoiding exactly this moment for two weeks. So, me falling on my ass has to just solidify his decision to forget all about the mistake in the mini barn.

“It’s good news, actually,” he says, and Atlas nods behind him.

“Othay,” I say and shake my head, swirling my tongue around in my mouth to try to force it to heal faster and stop making this interaction even more awkward than it already is.

“You’ve got three more calves on the way.”

“Now?” I ask, but it’s a silly question. Ofcoursehe means now. With the dairy cows, they have to keep getting pregnant to keep the milk flowing, and we’ve got about twenty-five more due to drop over the next monthaccordingto the new planner app thing I set up with Preston.

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