eyes looked so intently up at him, it was as if they actually understood what he was asking.
I found myself smiling again. I liked Kerry. He seemed kind and generous, and was good company. If I could even say that after only one day.
Kerry spent a couple of minutes pampering the two of them along with one of the goats, who had insinuated himself into the situation. Then he slipped them some treats from the bag before we moved on to the next animal in line, sometimes hooking up two to three cows at once until the chore was finished.
After that he showed me how he dumped some of the milk in buckets to feed the calves, who were in their own enclosure, and damn, it felt…freaking good to do something useful. Something with my hands. I enjoyed myself this morning, and I hoped it was a sign of things to come.
6
Kerry
“Thanks for your help,” I said as we finished milking the last of the girls.
“No problem. I enjoyed myself. Does that sound crazy?”
I cracked a smile. “Not at all. Hope you feel the same by the end of your stay.”
“Guess we’ll see.”
Julian seemed more solemn and cautious than the skinny, happy-go-lucky kid who had visited the ranch as a teen. Suppose losing your father and a couple of deployments would do that to you. He still seemed like a bundle of energy, though, but in a different way. Like he needed to keep moving or he might…what? Fall apart at the seams?
Okay, I was making huge leaps here. I barely knew him, and hoped our arrangement worked out and was mutually beneficial. It didn’t help my practical celibacy that he had cheekbones for miles and muscles in all the right places, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen other attractive guys out there. I did work in the ranching industry, after all, where there were plenty of beefy men. Straight, homophobic beefy men. But I didn’t get the same sense from him as I did from others, like he wanted to steer clear because of my sexuality. In fact, I got a certain other vibe from him that I needed to ignore—a sort of curiosity and openness. Maybe he was simply the type of guy who scrutinized stuff a little more closely. That made sense.
“Guess I overslept,” Sienna said, stepping inside the barn. She usually tended to the goats a bit later than I did the cows, especially if she heard Ainsley stirring early. Ainsley didn’t like being alone in the farmhouse, even though she was getting to the age where she could fend for herself with cartoons and cereal until Marta arrived for the day or one of us got her off to the school bus. But since summer had arrived, her anxieties seemed to be getting the best of her again, and she was tied to our hips most mornings until she got her bearings. Some days I wasn’t sure I could wrap my brain around it, but then I’d squeeze a smile out of her, and relief would instantly flood me that at least I could still hold my baby girl in my arms.
“I was just giving a lesson on milking cows,” I replied as we stepped out of the stall.
“Already?” she said in a flustered tone. “Julian just got here.”
Before I could explain, Julian held up his hands. “Oh, I didn’t mind at all. I actually liked jumping right in.”
“Well, if that’s the case,” she replied with a grin, “you’re more than welcome to help with the goats before breakfast.”
“Perfect,” he said with a gleam of excitement in his eyes before looking back at me. “Thanks again.”
“No problem.” I waved and made my way to the door. “Off to the chickens. See you at breakfast.”
When I glanced back, Hamlet was circling Julian’s legs, along with a couple of goats, and he looked highly amused. It was a good look on him. It softened the lines on his forehead.
And then the morning flew by like it always did as the sun came up. There was always work to do on a farm, and during our birthing season in the spring, it was nonstop action. I let the chickens roam free inside the enclosure while I collected the eggs, making sure to separate a dozen for Marta. I waved to George as he headed to the horse stables, and then I went inside the house to wash up.
Marta had breakfast going, and Ainsley was at the table