Zero Forks - Cat Johnson Page 0,25

Of course you should help out.”

I heard Stone let out a snort as I accepted my mother’s compliment. “Thanks, Mom. And don’t worry. I don’t expect you to watch him. He’s going to do chores with me. He’ll be a legit farm boy by the time his mom gets back from deployment.”

And with any luck, I’d be way more than just the nanny to his aunt long before then.

Too many hours later, I glanced up and my heart stopped at what I saw. Stewie running full speed toward the bull’s pen. Romeo right on his heels.

“Stewie! No!” I took off at a sprint.

I reached him just as he was ducking under the rails and swung him up and out of the pen.

“No. You can’t do that. He’s dangerous.” I was as breathless from fear as from the sprint, my heart pounding as I envisioned all that could have gone wrong.

Thank goodness the puppy had the good sense to stay away from the bull so I didn’t have to rescue Romeo too. He followed me as I set Stewie on the ground.

As I kept hold of his hand and pulled him away from the pen I spotted my two brothers, both standing there laughing at me.

“Fuck you, assholes. It’s not funny. He could have been hurt.”

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck. . .”

“Stewie. Stop that,” I said, low but with feeling.

“Assholes.” His response had me drawing in a breath.

Stewie’s new words had Cash bent over at the waist laughing so hard he couldn’t stand.

He finally straightened, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Oh, man. That was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.”

Stone’s grin was wide. “How’s your plan to do your work with a three-year old in tow looking now?”

I didn’t need him to remind me. I knew I was fucked. Hell, even Stewie could see that was true, whether he knew the meaning of his new favorite word or not.

And shit, if he said it in front of Sarah, after spending the day with me—I hated to think what she’d do. Probably fire my ass.

I really needed to clean up my language. At least while the kid was around.

Looking at my smart-ass brothers, still amused at my dilemma, brought more choice words to the tip of my tongue and made me realize cleaning up my potty mouth would be easier said than done. But I planned to at least try.

And yes, I know. Man plans and God laughs. Best laid plans and all that. I’d heard all the clichés. I just never thought I’d be living one.

Stewie was adorable, no doubt. But by the end of the day the fact remained he was young and he wasn’t used to being on a farm. No fault of his own.

It was my fault I didn’t realize having him with me as I tried to get work done around the farm would be such a hindrance.

I was born and raised here. On a horse before I could walk. Riding a tractor not long after that. Driving one on my own when I could count my age on less than two hands. Working with animals. Working the land.

Stewie hadn’t had any of that experience. That was not only painfully obvious when he had run head on toward the bull because he wanted to pet him. It had been obvious all day as every chore took at least double the usual time to complete.

Stone and Cash didn’t help me. Not one little bit, not that I’d asked them to. I wouldn’t dare. I’d taken on the kid. I’d bragged I could do it all—my chores and his care. But damn, they didn’t have to enjoy watching me struggle quite so much.

I was too stubborn to fail. I’d get everything done with no help from them, even if it took me all day—which it had.

“You get that broken window fixed in the shed?” Stone asked.

“Fu—” I caught myself in the cuss just in time. With a glance at Stewie, wiggling in my grasp as he tried to pull his hand out of mine to go get into God only knew what sort of trouble, I drew in a breath. “No, I didn’t. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Will you?” The bastard cocked up a brow, looking doubtful.

“If I don’t get it done during the day, I’ll come back after Sarah’s home and can take care of the kid. Okay?”

“Boy, he’s crabby,” Cash observed.

“Guess the honeymoon is over already.” Stone grinned, talking about me like I wasn’t there.

“Well, to be fair,