by T M Morris
Dusty laughed. “You have no idea. Eli doesn’t even know how she managed to come home with him.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. The boy doesn’t know what he’s in for.”
When the laughter died down, she said, “I guess I better get going. What?”
Dusty shook his head. “Nothing. You’d better go.” He turned to look out the front window. He turned back to face her. “You know what? Maybe I should give you a hand this first time?”
“If you think it would be better. I’ll see you at the house.” Lilly reached over and squeezed his hand that was resting on the manual gear shifter as she opened the door. She slid out of the cab and opened the door of her beat up work truck. He was still sitting there staring out the front window as she pulled away.
Dusty watched her from his peripheral vision. His insides were all knotted up. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he kept hearing Erik telling the boys at school to leave Lilly alone. She was off limits to the likes of them. It was eating him up inside to keep his distance. For that matter, he was doing a terrible job of it. He was going out of his way to spend as much time as he could with her. He needed to email Erik and schedule a Skype. He needed to talk to him.
Dusty pulled his truck to a stop beside Lilly’s and jumped out. “What should we do first? I’m assuming the back pasture cows will be fine to graze until tomorrow. Let’s check on the pregnant ones and then the calves. Do they need hay?”
Lilly looked at him blankly. “I have no idea. I’ve been taking care of the horses.”
Dusty studied the toe of his boot. “Well, I suppose since it’s kind of late we should put a load of bales in the bed of my truck, just in case.”
“Fine. Let’s head over to the hay barn.”
They climbed into his truck and drove down the track. At the barn, they threw as many square bales of hay as the truck bed would hold and made their way to the middle field. There they cut the baling wiring on two-thirds of the load and made a quick survey of the herd. Everyone looked healthy and nowhere near delivery, so they moved on to the calves.
After dumping the rest of the hay, they checked each of the calves for any signs of illness. Dusty said, “Otter’s right. These yearlings are ready for market. They all look strong and healthy too.
Lilly tilted her head. “If you say so. How can you tell the difference?”
“Oh, you can tell. It’s just like when anything else is sick.”
She sighed wearily. “How am I going to do this? Dad’s right. I haven’t a clue how to take care of cattle. They’re not horses. I know horses.”
Dusty rubbed the back of his neck. “Don’t say that. You know more than you think. Don’t let him destroy your confidence. You can do this, and I’ll help you as much as I can.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded. “Let’s get to the horses, then.”
Horses were Lilly’s bailiwick. Dusty could tell she was much more confident with them. She moved between the stalls talking sweetly to each and giving them as much attention as she could before having to move on to the next one. All he had to do was the heavy lifting.
When they finished with the last horse, Dusty said, “It’s kind of late, Lilly, but do you want to go with me to get a pizza or something over in Perry?”
Lilly’s stomach growled loud enough for him to hear. She smiled broadly. “I guess that’s your answer.”
He smiled. “When we get to the house let’s wash up and head out. I don’t know about you, but I want to get there before they close.”
“Is it that late?” She looked at the dashboard clock. “I guess it is. I had no idea how quickly the time passed after it got dark. We were incredibly busy.”
He pulled up to the house and killed the engine. “Let’s get moving.”
They rushed into the house. Dusty went into the downstairs bathroom, and Lilly took the upstairs one to wash up quickly. In no time they were leaving the farm and racing down the road to supper.
Chapter Seventeen
“I am stuffed to my eyeballs. Dusty, why did you let me eat that last piece? That’s one of the things I liked about New York. You could get pizza by the slice. Of course, it was the size of two, but you only ate one.”
Dusty tried to act nonchalant as he asked, “Do you think you’ll go back?”
Lilly was silent for so long he figured she was trying to formulate a diplomatic answer that wouldn’t crush him—not that she knew it would devastate him if she left. He offered up a small prayer, ‘My God, please. She’s back. Don’t let her leave again.’
Lilly finally cleared her throat. “I haven’t decided one way or another. I know I will have to go back for a few days to tie up loose ends and do something about my stuff that I have in storage. As far as staying in New York, I haven’t decided. I’m not sure I can stay here and put up with Dad’s attitude. Honestly, Dusty, I can’t fathom for the life of me why he hates me. You would think as his only daughter he would love me and spoil me, not openly tear me down.”
The pain in her voice broke his heart. “Maybe one day he will change and realize how wrong he is.”
“I’m not holding my breath,” she muttered.
His heart broke for her. He pulled over to the side of the road. “Come here. You need a hug.”
She slid across the seat so fast it surprised him. She clung to him as if he were a lifeline. He held her tight and stroked her hair. He kissed the top of her head. When she looked up at him with surprise and her lips slightly parted he was dumbfounded, completely undone. He bent to capture those lips with his and abandoned his sanity if only for a moment.
They parted breathlessly. Dusty senses returned and let go of Lilly reluctantly. He watched her scoot over to the other side of the cab and buckle her seat belt. He faced forward and put the truck into drive. As he pulled back onto the road, he sighed heavily. “I’m sorry. I only wanted to comfort you, and instead, I kissed you. I had no right to.”
“Shut up, Dusty. I don’t want your apologies. I kissed you back, and I’m not sorry.”
Stunned into silence, he drove on toward the farm without another word until he almost struck a cow. “What the—”
Lilly braced against the dashboard waiting for the impact that never came. The vehicle fishtailed to a stop barely missing the stunned cow. “Is that one of ours?”
“I’m not sure, but probably. There must be a break in the fence.”
“I’ll have to find it and fix it before any more of them get out. Is that a pregnant one? That will help narrow down which fence is down.”
“She looks pregnant,” he said.
“Let me out, and I’ll lead her back to wherever the gap is. Surely it’s not too far.”
“I’ll help you by driving on this side of her so we can keep her off the road and closer to the fence.”
Hopping from her seat down to the ground, she sighed, “Okay.”
It didn’t take long for them to find the gap and only one other cow wandering the verge. Dusty positioned the truck so that the four headlights shown on the work ahead of them. He climbed out of the cab and reached over the side of the bed to retrieve his tool box. He dug around until he found some pliers, a hammer, gloves, wire, and staples. He walked over to where Lilly was to find her untangling the wires in as dainty a manner as he had ever seen. He chuckled.
Fury blazed in her eyes as she glared at him. “Just what are you laughing at?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I have never seen anyone untangle wires so…gingerly.”
“I don’t want to be shredded to ribbons, okay?” She stood and dusted her hands on her behind.
“I apologize. Let’s just get this done.”
Lilly returned her attention to the task of untangling the wire. After yet another barb impaling the soft flesh of her forearm she cussed. Dusty raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re going to get your mouth washed out with soap if you keep talking like that.”
Glaring at him, she tos
sed the pliers she’d been using on the ground and walked away. “Whatever, Dusty. I’m tired. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I don’t need your commentary on me using a cuss word.”
Dusty stood and stretched. “You better hope I can find those.”
Lilly turned and marched back to where he stood. “I don’t care if you find them or not. I think we’ve done as much as we can for now. Let’s go home.”
“We can’t. We only have one wire done. Now get over here and help me find those pliers.”
“You’re—you’re impossible.”
“You’re acting like a spoiled brat.”
Lilly knelt in the grass where they were working and felt around. Her hand touched metal, and she lifted the pliers and handed them to him. “Here are your precious pliers. Now let’s get to it.”
Ill-equipped and irritated with one another it took more than an hour to mend the small gap. Both were sore and bled from numerous scratches on their hands. Lilly yawned. “I’m glad were done. I’ll come out here in the morning and do a better job, but for now, it will have to do. I’m about to drop, and I’m sure you are too. You still have to drive home. I can walk back from here if you want to go on.”
“Are you kidding me? Now is the perfect time for you for an attack from a coyote or a big cat. No. I’m taking you back to the house, and I don’t want to hear any more arguments from you.” He was so tired he didn’t bother to be nice about it.
If she weren’t about to fall over from exhaustion, she would have argued. Instead, she walked over to the truck and climbed in. Dusty slid behind the wheel and revved the engine. Pulling onto the road, he said, “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re right,” she yawned again.
“I’ll have you home in a few minutes, and you can get to bed and sleep until noon if you want.”
“No can do, my friend. There’s work to be done and parents to visit in the hospital. There’s just not enough time in the day. I’ll get it done, though. I have to. I do appreciate all your help.”
“Don’t worry about it, Lillian.”
“You know, you are the only one that ever calls me Lillian. Why?”
“It’s your name.”
“Whatever. Lilly is fine with me. Lillian means lily, so whatever.”
“You’re making no sense at all.”
“Whatever.” She yawned.
Chapter Eighteen
The alarm clock began blaring all too soon for Lilly. She slammed the snooze button, rolled over, and sighed. No point in dawdling. She threw off the blankets and went into the bathroom. After brushing her teeth, she changed out of her nightgown and into jeans and a sweatshirt. Over that, she donned her lightweight coat. Pulling on her new work boots, she looked at them in the full-length mirror on the back of the bedroom door. Not that it mattered, but they looked good, for work boots.
Locking the kitchen door, she strode to the barn to saddle Misty. She liked the way the palomino sat, and her stride was smooth. Before long she was riding away from the barn and toward the far pasture. She would check the expectant cows first then the calves on her way back. She nudged the horse into a canter.
The way was easy, and the palomino seemed to know where they were going so Lilly let her mind wander. It made no sense to her why Dusty wasn’t acting normal. She wondered what was bothering him. How could she still have an awkward teenage crush on him? Though she wasn’t awkward any longer, she still was attracted to him. Could she possibly get his attention now that she’s grown up?
Slowing Misty to a walk as they neared the pasture gate and pulling her to a stop she dismounted and tied her to the post so she could open the gate and lead her through before closing it again. Remounting the thought occurred to her that maybe he was still under the impression that she was off limits to him. Could Erik still hold that much control over her social life in Rebel Creek? It didn’t make sense.
Lilly rode through the pasture until she came to where the little herd of forty or fifty pregnant cows was beginning to bed down under a small copse of trees. Everyone was still pregnant and appeared to be in good health. She dismounted and threw the reins over a low branch. Walking around each one of the cows she spoke to each one, and she neared the lone white face in the bunch she said, “You must be Bessie. I was told to check on you most carefully. How are you feeling today, Miss Bessie?”
The young cow gave a low moo. Some of the other cows bawled also. Lilly smiled. She rounded the back of the heifer and lifted her tail. As far as she could tell everything looked fine. Guessing Bessie would wait another week or two to deliver Lilly dropped her tail. However, knowing she was no expert she decided to go back to the house and find some of the books her dad had on the shelf in his study and read up on calving.
She gave the cow a pat on the rump and said to the herd in general, “I will see you, ladies, tomorrow. Don’t do any birthing while I’m away, okay? Unless of course, it’s one of you more experienced ladies.” Remounting Misty, she turned toward the barn followed by a couple of cows lowing at her until she got back to the gate. She wished she knew what they were saying.
Once in the calf pasture, she circled the calves into a cluster for inspection. They all looked relatively healthy. Leaving them, Lilly went to gather the necessary equipment to repair the fence properly from the workshop. She would much rather be going back to the house for breakfast and a hot shower, but losing any of Otter’s precious cows through a gap in the fence line would be unforgivable. The last thing she wanted was to give her father a reason to disapprove of her any more than he already did.
Lilly slid out of the saddle and hit the ground ready to get to work. Pulling the saddle bags off, she nearly dropped them. “I’m sorry, Misty, I didn’t realize how heavy these tools were since I put them in one at a time. Let’s get to work.”
Dumping the tools, wire, and staples on the ground she studied them and then the fence. The fence, then the tools. She sighed heavily. “I’m going to do the best I can, and that’s all I can do.”
“Oh goodness. My back hurts, Misty.” Lilly began a series of stretches and yoga poses. “Don’t tell anyone,” she grunted between stretches, “but I’m not sure I fit for fencing. Hopefully, it’ll hold up for a while.”
Sighing she stood from her last pose and began to stow the tools in one of the saddlebags and reminded herself of the shower and hot breakfast she would enjoy when she finished and then a trip to the hospital to visit with her parents. She might even see Dusty. Not that she was anxious to see him again or anything.
Once Lilly was back in the saddle and guiding the palomino toward the pasture gate, she decided she would take a short ride before going to the barn. They rode over some of the smaller hills on the property until they reached the summit of the highest hill. Pulling Misty to a halt, she gazed out over the pastures and woods that made up Otter Caldwell’s farm. From where she sat she could almost see Tommy Meadows’ house. She could at least see the peak of the red roof.
From what Dusty had told her Tommy had sold sixty acres to her father. Lilly did a little math, “When I left home the farm was four hundred acres. He bought sixty from Tommy, and he bought Uncle Clayton’s hundred from Lucy when her parents died. Wow, five hundred and sixty acres. I wonder if he’s trying to get Uncle David to sell his acreage. If he keeps it up and buys Uncle David’s and the Caffey acreage he’ll have a farm bigger than Central Park. With all the hills too that’s a lot of acreage.”
Deciding it didn’t matter to her she took in the view and felt at peace. She hadn’t realized how much she missed the mountains.
Chapter Nineteen
The rest of the week continued uneventfully. Lilly checked on the pregnant cows and the calves. So far there was no trouble. She mucked out stalls and fed the horses in the mornings. Then she spent the midmorning and early afternoons at the hospital. When she came home, she would take out a different horse to ride out to check on the expectant mothers and the calves. She spent her evenings reading about
cattle care from one of the many books in the bookcase next to Otter’s chair.
Dusty would check on her every afternoon and when he wasn't busy he would come out and help her. Lilly would cook dinner for him on those nights. She liked how comfortable they were each other. He was teaching her a lot about cattle care too.
Lilly smiled as she prepared to go to church. She was happy. She hadn’t realized just how unhappy she had been in the modeling industry. She supposed it was because she was always so busy running from one photo shoot to another or from one catwalk to the next. Lilly surprisingly felt rested for the first time in ages even though she was up before dawn and she worked all day doing things she hadn’t done since she’d left home.
She turned from side to side in front of the full-length mirror. Even though she religiously maintained a fitness schedule she was beginning to look more sculpted and healthier. She was pleased with the changes. She glanced at the clock and was startled by the lateness of the hour. Dusty would be there in a few minutes, and she was still standing in her bedroom in her bra and panties.
Quickly she threw a dress over her head and jumped around the floor as she shimmied into the black tights she chose to match the dress. She was pulling on the second black pump when she heard the crunch of gravel coming closer. Feeling a frisson of excitement she rushed down the stairs of the old Victorian farmhouse that she loved so much. She was so happy to be home. Taking a calming breath, she waited at the bottom of the stairs. She didn't want to appear too eager.
Dusty knocked on the door. She counted to ten as she stood there before she moved to answer the door. Lilly was not going to give him any indication that she was anxiously awaiting his arrival. They were friends, nothing more. She unlocked the door and opened it on Dusty's back. "I hope you don't need to hurry back, I—” Dusty stopped midsentence after turning around. He stood there with his mouth agape staring at every inch of her. He gulped. "Wow. Wow." He shook his head quickly as if to clear the fog from his vision. "Wow."
