Page 67 of Soldier Cowboy
For him, disarraymeant leaving a book on her bed that she wasstill reading. Said book belonged in the bookcase when not in her hands. Also, did she really need that many books? Not that her father was a fanatic about orderliness but um, hello, yes hewas. And she and Joe were his very own platoon. Once a month, Jennifer and Joe took turns cleaning floors with a toothbrush. Old school. Every day she told herself it would be different were her mother still around. She’d remind her father the children and house werehercommand, as she had been fond of saying.
But the experience of living with her father served Jennifer well now, staying in the home of a former military man, and knowing just how they liked things. Clean and sparkly. Orderly.
She went through the kitchen first, cleaning floors till they shined, wiping down counters and scouring sinks and the stove range. At lunchtime, she ate the breakfast burrito Colton had so thoughtfully left for her. Another thing she would do while here is cook…something. Ironically, it was the one thing her father hadn’t insisted she learn to do. It was probably too feminine of a skill in his opinion. Besides, he knew how to cook three things: a grilled cheese sandwich, canned soup, and hot dogs. Not surprisingly those were the only things Jennifer could cook.
But now, thanks to Delores, she knew how to make a succulent pot roast. She thought about the cut of meat she’d need, then looked out the window to see cattle roaming in the distant fields. This made her sad and guilty, so she ate her third piece of chocolate cake.
She showered after cleaning, dressed, and took her camera outside to wander the fields and take photos. Maybe she’d come across this river Colton said was good for swimming. Outside the day was clear and beautiful with only a scattering of white cotton-candy clouds dotting the heavens. Green pastures surrounded her as far as the eye could see. Cattle bayed in the distance and birds chirped.
She viewed everything better behind the lens, so she zoomed in on blue and yellow wildflowers, a black bird perched on the corral, the beautiful classic red barn. Walking farther past the cottage and Sean and Bonnie’s house, she noticed a sprawling ranch-style home in the distance and realized at once that this was the main house. The house where Colton had grown up with his brothers.
The metal clang of a fence startled her, and she turned to see Colton and Riggs behind her. Without realizing it, she’d walked so far that their cabin was like a dot in the distance. She’d wound up at the cattle operations. Colton and Riggs were talking, side by side, their backs to her, and they made a nice picture through her lens. There were several cows who were separated from the rest in a steel-looking contraption.
Riggs pointed in one direction and made motions with his arm. He then stuck one boot in the gated fenced rail while Colton, astride a horse, continued to separate cattle by herding down one enclosed aisle into another while Jennifer snapped away. The feeling of anonymity returned to her again, the pleasant rush of privacy with freedom to create.
Way before she’d been concerned with paying her bills and having a career to support herself, she’d wanted to document a life in pictures. It hadn’t worked out that way, but photography could still be a hobby. True, she didn’t make time for hobbies anymore since the podcast had become her everything. Social media and her phone had been her constant companions, and she would have thought she’d miss them more.
But the relaxation and complete detachment she felt at being allowed to let all of it go, of in fact being ordered to let it go, was freeing. In the past, she would have taken these photos and immediately posted them because why make the effort in the first place if it couldn’t be used for content. If you take a photo and don’t post it online, does it even exist?
Now, she made the effort for herself. For beauty.
These photos belonged to her and her alone, not for public consumption. For her eyes only as she watched the brothers work together, the definition of cowboys. Hardworking, rugged, and loyal to each other and the land. Great, she sounded like a commercial for a pickup truck. But hey, this was Americana at its finest and she snapped away.
Then, through her lens, she noted Colton turn in her direction. His hat partially shaded his face, and he still wore those aviator shades. But damn if she didn’t catch an eyebrow quirk through the zoom lens. Him and those eyebrows. She lowered the camera, then caught him tipping his hat to her. Like an invitation. She could already almost read cowboy code. The tip of a cowboy hat meant “hello” and also “please come here.” Unless she was reading into things. At first, she thought maybe she’d better let the men have their brotherly time but when Riggs also turned in her direction and gave a slight wave, she walked toward them.
She carried her camera in front of her like a shield. This whole country-vibe thing was cool, but she was so out of her element here. The smells were, well, not ideal and the closer she got the worse they became. She fought the desire to fan her hand in front of her face like she did when a friend’s dog farted. God, this wassomuch worse. It was like a thousand dogs had passed wind all at once.
“Hi,” she said to Riggs.
He gave her a smile that showed her in one split second exactly how he’d managed to woo a Nashville celebrity to give up everything and come live with him in the country. The man was devastatingly handsome.
“Hey, there. We’re separating cattle.”
By the looks of it, Colton was doing the work and Riggs was supervising. “How do you separate them? By color? Size? Sex?”
Riggs gave her a look. “These calves are being separated from their mothers for vaccination.”
“Oh, yeah. That makes way more sense.” After all, she watchedYellowstone,too.
Wonder if they also had a “train station” around here for the bad men.
“Sean was a bit behind on these so Colton is finishing up. I would help but he insisted he wanted to handle this. My wife and I had a rough night with sick kids.” He turned back to the gate, spreading his arms out. “How are you settling in? I hope you’re comfortable.”
“Absolutely. It’s wonderful. Except, well, the smell if I’m being honest.”
He chuckled. “Honesty is the best policy. Listen, if Winona could adjust to this lifestyle, I have no doubt you will, too. Even if you are from Los Angeles.”
He made this sound like, “Even if you are from Mars, you will grow accustomed to our ways.”
“Mm-hmm,” Jennifer said, holding up her camera to take a shot of Colton and his horse leading a calf. “You know, Los Angeles is still part of the United States.”
“So I’ve heard.” Riggs snorted.
The sound of a truck coming up the dirt road made them both turn in that direction. “There’s Eve now. She’s our veterinarian, just off maternity leave.”
It was the same brunette she’d seen with Jackson Carver at the wedding reception.
“Isn’t she the one married to Jackson Carver?”
