Page 71 of The Lilac River

"Thanks for letting me. That girl is special, Nash. Reminds me a lot of your mama."

That made my heart thud unevenly. I looked away.

Felicia squeezed my arm and headed off just as Gunner and Wilder pulled in front of the house, dragging a trailer behind the ranch truck. The metallic rattle echoed over the land like a warning.

Wilder jumped out before the engine even cut, hollering, "Gotta piss!" as he took off toward the house.

"Classy," Gunner muttered, climbing out slower, slipping his phone into his pocket.

I nodded toward the trailer. "Thought you were taking him straight to the cattle barn."

"Figured you’d want a first look," Gunner said, jerking his chin at the trailer.

Curiosity piqued, I stepped up to the half-door, peeked in, and whistled.

The new bull was massive. Pure black Angus, muscle rippling under his glossy hide, eyes hard and suspicious. He looked like he was already calculating the quickest way to break out and destroy us all.

"Second fertility test came back okay?"

Gunner’s grin was obnoxious. "Our boy’s shooting fire out of those gigantic balls."

I crouched for a better look. "Jesus, Gun. You’re not kidding. They’re bigger than a pair of footballs."

"Natural breeding only," Gunner said proudly. "And no way in hell am I helping that beast along. No hand jobs for him."

Wilder returned, zipping up. "What do you think?"

"He’s a monster. We’ll get some good calves out of him."

"What are we calling him?" Gunner asked.

"You know who gets that honor," Wilder replied, winking.

"Bertie," we all said in unison.

Ray, one of our hands, strolled up, saluting lazily. "Heard you got a bull for me."

"Take a peek," Wilder said, tipping his hat back.

Ray did and let out a long whistle. "Hell of a beast. Got a name yet, or are we waiting on the little boss?"

"Waiting," I said. "She’ll name him when she’s up for it."

Gunner tossed Ray the truck keys. "Careful with him. Wilder almost lost his manhood this morning."

Ray laughed, climbing into the truck. "Oh, and heads up. A storm warning came through the radio. Looks like we’ve got a summer squall brewing."

I glanced at the horizon, still calm. Too calm. "Great."

"I’ll get the guys checking the lightning rods," Ray promised.

Once he was gone, Wilder glanced toward the house. "Lunch?"

"Yeah," I said, suddenly hungry. "And I’ll tell you about the creek while we eat."

"Fuck," Wilder hissed, pushing his plate away. "You know what the fines are like for environmental violations? We’d be bled dry."

"Don’t want to think about it," I muttered, still chewing.