“What?”
Jared followed suit, swallowing the large bite he’d taken. “Do you fancy spending the day on the farm with me? The sheep are arriving, as is Anna, the shepherd. Thought you might like to be there to see them introduced to their new home.”
Surprised by his offer, I asked, “Are you sure?”
“Only if you want to. I know it’s not glamorous, but I’m starting to realize you don’t care about all that stuff. Do you?”
Pleased that he finally saw that, I shook my head. “No. I don’t. And I would really like to spend the day with you on the farm.”
Something unreadable crossed his face, and I thought he might reveal whatever it was. But instead, he nodded abruptly. “Good.”
It turned out Anna was a woman in her late forties who had her own sheep and hired her shepherding services out to a few farmers along the NC 500 (the North Coast 500). She used to work with Jared until he’d sold his flock last year. Anna was friendly but had a no-nonsense attitude, and she came with a beautiful border collie named Jess.
I asked Anna questions about her life as we waited for the sheep to be delivered. She was married to a woman named Rachel who worked with the Forestry Commission and knew Arrochar Adair. Arro was the only sister of the Adair brothers and we’d socialized, though weren’t especially close, but the connection seemed to make Anna warm up to me more. She wassurprised to learn I was Jared’s wife yet took the revelation in stride.
Soon a large truck appeared on the road leading to the field and the sounds of bleating sheep accompanied it. I stepped back to allow Jared and Anna to take control. I watched, entertained, as the sheep fled the truck and into the field. They followed one another, seeming happy to be out of the vehicle.
A few hurried back toward the gate just as Jared closed it. They were surprisingly cute. Why had I never noticed what adorable faces sheep had? They stuck said faces through the gates at me and I reached out to stroke one. “Hey, it’s okay,” I promised.
“I’m going in to get acquainted with them,” Anna said, slipping through the gate with Jess in tow.
I pointed to a particularly adorable sheep that had black patches around both its eyes. “We should call that one Zorro.”
Jared settled a hand on my lower back. A brief touch. But it made my breath catch. He gave me a softly chiding look. “Don’t name them. I made that mistake when I first started working with my grandfather.” He chuckled, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I threw up my breakfast the first time he made me drive a sick ewe to the abattoir.”
Oh. God. Right.
“Do you … don’t you feel bad?”
“It’s a part of life.” He gave me the side-eye as he teased. “Did you feel bad eating that bacon this morning?”
I shoved him, guilty as charged. “Okay, I get your point.”
Butterflies fluttered in my belly at his deep, masculine chuckle.
Attempting to ignore my reaction to him, that unbearable awareness that had heightened since our confessions last night, I leaned on the fence. “What now?”
“They’ll settle in. Anna will come by to move them from field to field when we need her to.”
“So what are you doing for the rest of the day?”
“I’m cutting hay for market.” He turned, his jade eyes glistening like pale green pools of water in the morning sunlight. “Do you want to ride on the tractor with me?”
“Really?” I beamed. “Because I have to tell you I’ve been wanting you to ask me that since we got married.”
Jared laughed again. “Apologies for the late invite. C’mon.”
Jared’s tractor had a small passenger seat because it was an instructional tractor. He didn’t need an instructional tractor apparently, but he’d gotten a deal on the mammoth vehicle. It meant I could ride along with him in my own seat without getting in his way. Kind of. Because it was still pretty cozy in that cab.
The sun beamed through the glass, and we were both more than sweaty by the time Jared was finished cutting the hay with the haybine in the field he called Little Ardshave. I marveled at how much he knew about the land, as if every piece of information his grandfather had ever shared had cemented itself in Jared’s brain.
It took hours. I chatted about everything and nothing, pestering Jared about his favorite movies, color (it was blue!), food, books, subjects at school. He answered every time and reciprocated the questions. However, he mostly just nodded and wore a small smile on his lips as I talked his ears off.
Once he’d finished cutting the hay, we headed in for a late lunch. Jared drove the tractor back to its barn.
“Wait there.” He jumped out of the cab first and then reached for me. His palms felt dry and attractively rough compared to my clammy ones as he pulled me toward the door. Then he gripped my waist, lifting me easily out of the cab as if I weighed nothing. Not expecting the maneuver, I fumbled for purchase and ended up falling into him like a heroine in a bad movie.
“Oof.” I face-planted inelegantly against his chest. He smelled of heat, grass, and that spicy cologne that made me want to lick his neck.
