“It means that her temperature is a little elevated, but not a fever yet. I’m going to tag her and quarantine her just to be safe.”
She looks at me and then points to the heifer. “Can you move her over to that pen over there, please?”
“Sure thing,” I say quickly as I lead the cow to the pen she requested. I can hear Frank snort behind me, but he doesn’t say anything.
Sutton moves to the next cow, and I follow, handing her tools and taking notes when she asks. It’s a rhythm we fall into easily, and for the first time, I see just how good she is at what she does.
“You’ve got a good system,” I say as she finishes up with the last cow.
She glances at me, then quickly back down. “Thanks.”
Her dad clears his throat, drawing our attention. “You two done?”
“For now. I’ll check back tomorrow. I’ve got them all listed and tagged according to what antibiotics and steroids I’ve given them. I’ve also written down the times, dosage, and when started. You cannot introduce any meds or anything else to them without my knowledge.”
“Okay,” Frank answers gruffly. His eyes dart to me before he lowers his voice and leans closer to Sutton. “Were you able to go through my papers?”
“No, I’ll do that when Wade isn’t with me,” she says quickly.
“Do what you need to do.” I shrug. “I’m actually pretty intrigued by your dad’s irrigation system out here. Would you mind showing me what you’ve got going on, Mr. Bishop?”
The old man’s eyes flash with pride as he nods. It’s like his angry mask falls off and he is transformed into a decent human being who doesn’t resemble Scrooge.
“Tuck and I came up with it. We needed something a little better than what we originally had.”
He gestures for me to follow him, and I jump and do so.
“Okay then,” she says, her ponytail swaying behind her as she cleans up and starts for the house.
Frank takes me out to show me the irrigation system. He’s in his element as he explains it all. His eyes keep darting up to the house as if he’s expecting Sutton to come out any second.
He tilts his head slightly. “How’s she doing, Wade?”
I blink, caught off guard by the question. I sit back on my heels as I watch him carefully for a second. Frank Bishop is naturally a crotchety old man who seems to always have a chip on his shoulder. This question from him is out of the blue—it’s like he has different personalities.
“That’s something you’ll have to ask her,” I reply, holding my hands up in surrender.
He lets out a dry laugh, shaking his head. “Yeah, well, she won’t talk to me. Can’t say I blame her. I didn’t think she’d come back, but she did.”
“You should be proud of her,” I say, my voice steady. “She’s doing everything she can to figure out what’s going on with the herds. She’s smart, loyal, and strong-willed.”
“Nance called me a bit ago and told me that she went toe-to-toe with Sheriff Clark and some Ag bigwig. Said she was full of fire, didn’t back down, and that—” He pauses for a second andmakes a face. “—you sure as hell couldn’t tell that she’s only five-two. She looked ten feet tall.”
“I have no doubts.” I smile proudly back at him. “I heard she went there, but I don’t know what happened. I do know that she’s not scared of much.”
“Good, I did something right,” he says roughly before I watch him disappear into the barn.
I cock my head to the side, seeing Frank in a completely different way. For as long as I can remember, he’s been rude and hard on everyone around him. Even growing up, I never understood how Miss Caroline could stand to be married to him.
The screen door on the house slams, and I see Sutton rushing outside. She’s got fire coming out of her ears practically as she goes directly to where her dad is coming out of the barn.
“Did you…” she starts angrily.
I clear my throat louder than I intended. I hold my hands up and gesture toward the truck.
I do not need to be present for their family issues.
“Never mind, I have another herd to check on. I’ll be back later, Dad.”
