Page 3

S ince she was in a motel room, Ashley didn’t bother making the bed. She changed into her last clean pair of jeans and a white tank top that she was pretty sure was clean. Then she blew her hair dry as fast as she could before tugging on a navy hoodie that she’d already worn once. It still smelled okay to her. She zipped her coat over it and promptly forgot about it.

She twisted her hair into a quick ponytail while stepping into her ankle boots. If Johnny agreed to hire her, she’d probably have to invest in some work boots, but she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

One of her suitcases was so full of dirty laundry that she had to sit on it to zip it shut. There was no way around it. She was going to have to make that long overdue trip to the laundromat today. She rolled her suitcases outside and tossed them in the backseat of her Camaro. Then she hurried to the front desk to check out.

“Leaving so soon?” The attendant looked surprised as she collected the room key Ashley was holding out to her. She was a motherly woman in a comfy red-and-black buffalo plaid shirt.

Ashley forced a smile as she slid her debit card across the counter. “I have a job interview today.”

“Oh, really? For what?” The woman typed busily on her computer before swiping the debit card through her card reader.

“Farm hand,” Ashley mumbled vaguely.

The woman’s expression grew notably less interested. “That’s nice.” She sounded so unimpressed that Ashley almost laughed out loud. The woman didn’t even bother looking up when she handed Ashley’s debit card back.

It was as if Ashley had become invisible to her. Working undercover had its clear perks. There was a skip in her step as she returned to her car. She was in a good enough mood that she plugged in her phone and turned on a playlist before she started driving. A country western singer belted out a favorite tune of hers.

That’s more like it!

She sang along as she cut through the downtown area of Heart Lake and set her course for the outskirts of town. Large grain silos rose on either side of the road. A dusting of snow covered the dead grass, rocky outcroppings, and mounds of dirt. All in all, it was a beautiful start to the day she had planned.

It wasn’t difficult to find the entrance to Johnny’s farm. She grinned as she approached the tall log archway and read the hanging sign — Johnny’s Dairy. It was short, sweet, and on point with his brand. It was a name that brought to mind a local, hardworking farmer. Someone a person wouldn’t mind purchasing a gallon of milk from.

The road leading up to his rambling white farmhouse and trio of barns was one of freshly graded gravel. She drank in the sight of the white painted fences outlining the pastures on both sides of the driveway. They were in good repair, and the black-and-white Holstein cattle grazing on the other side of them looked well fed and content.

The number of calves huddled near the full-grown cows drew a wistful sigh from her. A few were nursing hungrily. “Sweet babies!” There were at least a dozen of them out there — grazing, nursing, and frolicking among the bigger cows.

She parked in front of the entrance to the biggest barn, not sure where Johnny would be meeting her. Then she went back to gawking at his beautiful herd of cattle. The way some of them were bumping noses and rubbing necks, she could’ve sworn they were friends. More clusters of cattle formed huddles here and there, whether to share body heat or swap water cooler stories she had yet to determine. She smiled at her fanciful thoughts, finding it easy to dream up personalities and stories to go with the lively creatures grazing and flicking their tails in front of her.

She did a hasty count and determined there were more than a hundred of the creatures, maybe two hundred. For a guy who came across as a bit of a jokester, Johnny Cuba owned an impressive amount of cattle. How did he find time to care for all of them and work as a PI?

A knock on her window made her jolt. She swung her head toward the sound and discovered Johnny himself standing outside her door.

She cracked the window open. “Hi.”

“Hey, you.” He gave a low whistle as his gaze traveled down the side of her Camaro. “Nice car!”

“Thanks!” He opened the door for her, and she stepped out without bothering to tell him the car was currently doubling as her home. “Are you ready to give me that tour you promised?”

He gave her a cocky grin. “I was born ready, darling.”

Her eyes widened with humor. “I think I’ve heard that line before.” Only a thousand times.

He looked unperturbed by her assessment. “In my case, it’s true.” He angled his head toward the barn she was parked directly in front of, beckoning her to follow him. “According to my dad, I rode my first mutton at the age of two.”

A lamb? How cute! “Impressive,” she murmured and meant it. She had no earthly idea what she’d been doing at that age and didn’t have a smooth enough relationship with her dad at the moment to ask, though she suddenly wanted to.

“Glad you think so.” Johnny winked at her. “Because I happen to be trying to impress you, Ash.”

Uh-oh! Though her insides warmed over the nickname he’d come up with, she scrambled for a pithy comeback that would discourage any further flirting on his part. “Not sure why you’re in such a lather about impressing an out-of-work police officer. Most people wouldn’t bother.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “I’m not most people.”

No, he definitely was not. “We just met,” she reminded gently. “For all you know, I’m a washed-up has-been.”

He quirked one eyebrow at her. “Darling, I’m a country boy who cut his teeth on rodeo dust and made it to the top on sheer guts and determination. I learned to read people along the way, almost as well as I can read animals. So, I’m telling it to you straight when I say you’re as far from a has-been as they come.” His rumbly baritone made her heart race like a rebound lap across a basketball court. However, she tamped down on the feeling as he led her to a side door and held it open for her.

“Thanks for saying that.” Though she didn’t mean to, their arms brushed in passing. Trying to ignore the way his nearness made her pulse continue to race, she changed the subject. “I assume I’m allowed to ask questions on this tour?”

“Yup.” He looked pleased by the request.

“Okay, Wyoming Boy, here’s my first one. How many cows do you own? I lost count outside.”

His chuckle surrounded her, warming her from her head to her toes. “Just shy of two fifty, including calves. We milk over two hundred.”

As he pulled the door shut, she gazed around them. The barn looked bigger on the inside than it had on the outside. They were facing a long concrete walkway littered with hay. It stretched between two equally long gated areas. There were nearly as many cows standing behind the gates as there had been in the pastures outside. All of these, however, were full grown Holsteins. There wasn’t a calf in sight inside the building.

“Wow!” She slowly dragged out the word, trying to absorb the vastness of the place.

“Welcome to the milking parlor.” Johnny gestured at the perfectly lined up rows of dairy cows. He motioned for her to step closer to the row on the right and proceeded to point out the milking machines and refrigeration equipment, taking the time to explain how each item worked.

“Wow, Johnny!” At the risk of sounding like a woman with a narrow vocabulary, wow was the only word she could come up with to describe the operation. “This is fascinating.” Her gaze darted up and down the rows.

“As you can see,” Johnny continued in the same rumbly voice, “I run a humane facility. My herd grazes outside, enjoys the fresh air and sunshine, and nurses their own offspring.”

Ashley wrinkled her forehead at him. “Are you saying the mama cows make enough milk to nurse their babies and produce their milk quota at the same time?”

“Yep.” He jimmied with one of the pieces of equipment to tighten down a cord. “It’s called calf-sharing. Not only does it make the cows happier, it saves me the trouble of bottle feeding an army of calves. Most of them, anyway.”

He excitedly waved her onward through a side door. They stepped into a much smaller adjoining room. To her delight, three calves were frolicking around a pile of hay. A fourth one was curled up asleep in a corner of the room.

“Oh!” Her gloved hands flew to her mouth, making her wince from the resulting pulling sensation in her left shoulder.

“You okay?” Johnny’s gaze darkened with concern as he raked her features.

“Yeah. Just still healing.” It was taking longer than she’d expected. “No shoulder punching on this side yet, please.” She flexed her arm a few times, trying to work out the soreness, but it only made it worse. She blamed it on the biting cold temperature outside.

“Duly noted.” Still looking concerned, he moved across the room and pulled one of the biggest baby bottles she’d ever seen from a shelf. He twisted off the lid and held it up to a spout against the wall to fill it. “How are your calf feeding skills, city girl?”

She burst out laughing. “Nonexistent, but how hard can it be?”

“Let’s find out.” He screwed the lid and nipple on the bottle and held it out to her, giving her a look that was half-teasing and half-challenging.

“Let’s.” She boldly stepped forward to grasp the bottle with both hands. It was heavier than she’d anticipated. She lifted it in the air experimentally. “That’s a lot of milk.”

“Two whole liters, babe.”

“Thirsty little things.” Though Ashley kept her expression neutral, she was secretly thrilled over how easily endearments kept slipping off his tongue. He had no idea how starved her ears were for that kind of attention. Her ex had never gone out of his way to shower her with compliments or endearments. Martin had mostly called her by her last name, making her feel like a random side character in some B-rated police procedural show. Perkins. Just Perkins.

Not darling. Not Ash. Not babe. All of which Johnny had managed to call her within a twenty-four-hour period, and they weren’t even dating.

He cupped one large hand beneath hers on the bottle to wave it enticingly at the nearest calf. “Come here, Bossy.”

His sudden nearness made her catch her breath, which she attempted to cover with a cough. “Is that really her name?” Though her gaze was on the prancing calf, she was very, very aware of his gloved fingers curling around hers.

“It is.” He held the bottle steady as the hungry creature came bawling in their direction. In the end, the only real challenge to bottle feeding proved to be holding the bottle firmly enough so the wiggling calf didn’t pull it straight out of their hands.

The fuzzy little Holstein sucked on the bottle so noisily that it tugged every last one of Ashley’s heartstrings. “You sweet, sweet thing,” she crooned, crouching down in front of the frisky little creature. She had to keep adjusting the angle of the bottle while she danced and wiggled beneath it.

She quirked a questioning glance up at Johnny. “Do you name all of them?”

“Nah, just my favorites.”

Her curiosity spiked. “Exactly how many favorites do you have?”

“Over seventy.”

She started laughing. She couldn’t help it. The guy clearly adored his cattle. It was an unexpected and endearing discovery.

“Whelp.” He stepped back and folded his arms, grinning down at her and Bossy. “Not that you’re gunning to become a dairy farmer, but…” He let the words hang teasingly between them.

“But I’m out of work.” She finished the sentence for him, giving him a beseeching look. “And I believe you have a job opening for a farm hand.”

His eyebrows shot upward. “You’re joking, right?”

She shrugged. “What if I’m not?” During the drive to his farm, the idea of working for him had continued to grow on her, and not simply because she needed the income. There was something vulnerable about the former bull rider — something lurking just beneath the surface that she couldn’t quite define. Whatever it was, she couldn’t stand the thought of The Black Widow exploiting it.

He made a sputtering sound. “Don’t you live in Dallas?”

“Not anymore.” It was time to drip a few more details of her story onto him. She kept her attention on the wiggly calf as she confided, “I terminated the lease on my apartment before I left the city.”

He lifted his Stetson and ran his hand through his hair. “Be real with me, Ash.” His grin disappeared. “What are you really doing in Heart Lake?”

She didn’t dare look up again for fear of giving something away with her expression. “Like I said, I’m looking for a job.”

“I know what you said,” he pressed quietly, “but that’s not what I asked.”

She was both impressed and exasperated by his keen perception. “That’s the only answer I can give you right now. I’m not gonna beg you for an interview. If you don’t think I’m qualified to serve as a farm hand?—”

“Good grief,” he growled. “You’re way overqualified and you know it!”

She drew a sharp breath of relief. Overqualified might be stretching things, but she was a quick learner. “Then I don’t see the problem.”

“For starters, you’re a police officer, not a dairy farmer.” The initial protest in his voice was growing weaker by the second.

“I’m no longer a police officer.” To her dismay, a sheen of hot dampness prickled the backs of her eyelids. “I got tired of sitting on the bench, waiting to pass my psych evaluation, so I turned in my resignation. Are you happy now, Mr. I Gotta Have Every Last Detail of Your Personal Life?”

“No!” He jammed his hat back on his head. “The things you’ve suffered don’t fill me with a single ounce of joy. How can you say that?” He scowled at her for a moment before speaking again. “If you’re serious about wanting the job, it’s yours. I just…” His scowl deepened. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

She dashed the back of her gloved hands over her eyes. “I guess that’s a fair question.” She sniffled, hating how weak she must look and sound to him. “The truth is, I don’t know what’s next for me. The only thing I’m sure about right now is that bottle feeding your calf is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.” It was true. There was something peaceful about slowing the pace and feeding a farm animal. Something restful. Something that soothed her deepest, darkest, most tormented thoughts. She needed this every bit as much as he needed her protection from Caro Madison.

She flicked another glance up at him and found him studying her with an arrested expression. “I’m a quick study, Johnny,” she coaxed. “It won’t take me long to learn the stuff you need done around here. You won’t regret taking a chance on me. That I can promise.”

Bossy finished her bottle, sucked on air for a moment, then let the rubber nipple go with a noisy popping sound. Ashley couldn’t resist throwing an arm around her neck and hugging her for her display of cuteness.

The calf nuzzled her neck for a second or two, then took off to play with her buddies.

Johnny shook his head in bemusement. “If I was worried about your work ethic, I would’ve never offered you the job. Man!” He swung away from her to pace the short room. “This is the last thing I expected to happen during your tour this morning.” He didn’t get far before one of the other calves ran bawling up to him, butting his knee with its nose.

“Yeah, I got you, Short Stack.” He moved across the room to the bottle filling station.

Ashley shot to her feet, waving the empty bottle in her hand at him. “Let me do it, boss,” she begged cheerfully.

He spun her way, eyes widening in mock alarm. “I can’t believe you just called me that.”

“If the shoe fits.” She nudged him out of the way with her good shoulder, swiftly filling a new bottle to the brim and capping it.

He watched her closely. “Look at you, acting like you’ve been a dairy girl your entire life.”

“Told you I was a quick study,” she bragged, spinning around to face the next calf. He pounced on the bottle so quickly that she lost her balance and tumbled backward.

Johnny caught her against his chest, but that didn’t stop the calf’s momentum. He pressed closer to Ashley, nearly pulling the bottle from her hands.

A breathy chuckle escaped her over how quickly and effectively her new employer had prevented her from landing on her backside. “Okay, I’ll admit my technique might need a little work, but I’ve got the basics down.”

“I can’t argue with that.” Johnny’s hands lingered on her elbows to steady her. She could practically feel his strength seeping into her.

As unexpectedly nice as it felt to be held by him, her better judgment told her to put some space between them, which she did. It wasn’t easy, though, with how hard the feisty little calf was leaning into the bottle.

“I can do this, Johnny.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to convince him further. “It’ll give me something worthwhile to do while I get back on my feet.” After the kindness he’d shown her this morning, she felt a little guilty about all the secrets she was still keeping from him. “Don’t worry. I work cheap,” she added, making a comical face at him.

“Whatever.” He made a grunting sound. “I’m not gonna lowball an injured cop.”

Seriously? She was too stunned and gratified to fire back at him with another pithy comment.

He irritably rattled off an hourly wage that was much higher than she’d been expecting. “Plus, you can bunk in one of the staff cabins.”

Her jaw dropped in pure astonishment. She wondered if she’d heard him right.

His voice grew slightly muffled as he filled a third milk bottle. “It’s not fancy, but it has all the essentials.”

She finally found her voice again. “You want me to live on site?” If her hands hadn’t already been full, she would’ve pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“Of course.” He shot an assessing look at her over his shoulder. “Is that gonna be a problem for you?”

She gulped. “I, um…no.” On the contrary, being offered a place to stay was the perfect solution to her current state of homelessness.

“It’s not fancy.” Johnny wrestled down the third spirited calf to pop the bottle into her mouth. “Just a single bedroom, bathroom, combined kitchen and living area, plus a washer and dryer.”

“A washer and dryer,” Ashley breathed. Bye, bye, laundromat!

“Yep. The last guy left all three cabins furnished after selling the whole kit and caboodle to me.” He waved a hand at her. “Feel free to do whatever you want with the stuff you find in there. Rearrange it. Get rid of it. I don’t care.”

“Sold,” she said quickly. She resisted the urge to run across the room and deliver him a bear hug. “Thank you.” He hadn’t yet brought up the subject of rent, so she wasn’t sure if it would be included in her new benefits package. Either way, she’d be able to afford it based on what he was paying her.

“Welcome.” He sounded eager. “I’ll take you to see the place after we’re done feeding the calves. You can move in whenever you want, which brings us to the most important question. When can you start work?”

She trained a mocking look of indignation on his shoulder blades. “I thought I already had!”

He snorted out a laugh. “You’re something else, Ashley Perkins.”

She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “I’ve been called worse.”

He guffawed and kept nursing the calf.

As soon as Short Stack finished his bottle, Ashley moved to the filling station to draw up the fourth and final bottle. To her disappointment, the last calf in the room hadn’t so much as stirred from her nap.

“I’ll handle Brie.” Johnny’s voice grew sober.

She studied the sleeping calf. “Brie, as in cheese?”

“Yep.”

“Why can’t I handle her for you?” Thoroughly puzzled, Ashley sought out his gaze again.

He angled his head sadly at the sleeping calf. “She’s not thriving.”

Concern clutched her insides. “By not thriving, I assume you mean…”

“She may not make it, Ash.” Resignation glinted in his eyes. “Welcome to the world of farming. The good, the bad, and the ugly parts of it.”

“What’s wrong with her?” She was nowhere near ready to accept that the scrawny little creature curled up on the floor couldn’t be saved.

He shook his head. “She was born premature and has struggled ever since. To make things worse, her mama rejected her. Wouldn’t let her nurse,” he sighed. “Probably knows she’s not long for this world.”

Ashley bit her lower lip, moving closer to the small creature. “Hey, Brie,” she called softly, not wanting to startle her.

The sleeping calf didn’t move. Half afraid the critter had already passed over the rainbow bridge, Ashley reached out to run her fingers over the soft downy fur on her head.

The calf shuddered and gave a pitiful moan.

“That’s right. Wake up, little one.” She leaned closer to brush the fat red rubber nipple against the little heifer’s mouth.

Brie shuddered again. Then she lifted her head to stretch and yawn. Her limbs looked way too thin, like mere twigs that could easily be snapped in two.

Though Ashley’s heart ached over the calf’s fragility, she took advantage of the tiny animal’s yawn to pop the nipple in her mouth.

Brie’s eyes popped open. Seeing Ashley’s unfamiliar features hovering over her, she pulled back in alarm, but she didn’t stand or attempt to scramble away.

Ashley followed the calf’s mouth with the bottle, tipping it up and gently brushing the nipple against her tongue. A few droplets of milk leaked out. It was enough to coax the tiny creature into latching on.

Ashley ever so slowly took a seat beside her on the floor, stretching her feet out in front of her. After a suspicious staring match, Brie snuggled closer, dropping her chin against Ashley’s leg while she continued to drink.

“Well, I’ll be!” Johnny finished up with the other calf and moved across the room to crouch down beside Ashley and Brie. “A woman’s touch,” he added in a quieter voice. “Who would’ve thought?”

Ashley met his gaze and found it harder to breathe with the way he was looking at her — with new respect, utter fascination, and that same awareness that always seemed to be there between them.

“Just earning my keep.” Like him, she kept her voice down, not wanting to startle the little calf. “She’ll be my special project until she starts thriving. You have my word.” It felt good to be a part of something bigger than herself. This was more than learning the nuts and bolts of dairy farming to better position herself to solve a case. This was making a difference in the world, one tiny calf at a time. Maybe to some folks it wasn’t much, but Ashley longed to feel needed right now…if only by a motherless baby cow.

Her words raised a wrinkle on Johnny’s forehead. “Not every animal makes it, Ash. No matter how hard we try.”

“This one will.” Way down deep, she was confident she could save the calf. It was unfortunate she’d been born premature and even more unfortunate that her mother had rejected her, but Ashley knew a thing or two about rejection. Her dad hadn’t approved of her attending the police academy and had barely spoken a kind word to her since. Her new stepsister, Blaire, had been quick to capitalize on their rift, spreading half-truths to make it worse. It was clear she was jealous of Ashley and anxious to take her place in her father’s affections. She even acted jealous about Ashley’s engagement to Martin. Ashley honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Blaire made a play for him now that he was back on the market.

Not my concern anymore.

She had bigger fish to fry these days, starting with the little calf whose head was still resting on her knee.

As her hand crept down the animal’s soft neck, a surge of protectiveness filled her. Like Brie, she’d suffered her fair share of losses —her mom, her career as a police detective, and her engagement.

She was tired of losing. So very tired! “You’re just gonna have to live, sweet thing, you hear?” she whispered.

Though she could feel Johnny’s gaze on her, she couldn’t bring herself to lift her head again just yet. Too many new emotions were zinging through her. Emotions she couldn’t even begin to sort out.