“Don’t mention it. You could have made it up there just fine without me, Quinnie. That mount was much prettier than your brother’s.”
She snorts at me. “I was always a prettier mount than Wes.”
“Ain’t that the damn truth,” I mutter as I pull myself into June’s saddle.
I lead the way to the pasture where one of the late-calving groups is grazing. Once we reach them, I pull the reins to slow June, and Cash sidles up beside us with Quinn on his back. She forgot to grab a hat,and her hand shields her eyes against the sun as she studies the herd. I should’ve thought to remind her before we left the house.
I feel bad for bringing her out on what I know is a wild-goose chase. There’s no cow that needs treatment. I grab the Stetson off my head. “Here, use my hat.”
I extend my hand toward her, and she stares at it, her lips tipping up at the corners in a smirk. “Slow down, Casanova. I just got here yesterday.”
I shoot her a confused look that makes her bark out a laugh. “I’ve been living in the city for a long time, but Idoremember the cowboy hat rule, Tripp.”
I roll my eyes. “For Christ’s sake, Quinnie. That’s not why I offered you my hat.”
“Too bad. I’m sure you’d be a fun ride,” she teases.
This is the kind of friendship Quinn and I used to have. Teasing, innuendos, and maybe some appreciative glances, but we’d never crossed any lines before, and I’m not about to start crossing those lines now. Not when her brother isn’t only my best friend but also my boss.
She's lightyears out of my league anyway.
“Hilarious. Here, let’s take the horses around to the other side so you’re not squinting at the sun. I don’t see the one I’m looking for anyway.”
Most can’t tell the cows apart in a herd just by looking, but I can. I know which calf belongs to which dam without checking tags, which dams will raise hell if you get too close, and which are a bit more tolerant. I can still pick out the ones bottle-raised a few years back, and I’ve got a good idea which calves we’ll sell once they’re weaned for breeding stock.
I squeeze June with my heels and click my tongue, sending her into a trot toward the west side of the pasture. We stay in the saddle, lookingover the cows, the setting sun now at our backs, heating my neck and making sweat drip down my spine.
“Do you see her?”
I keep my eyes on the herd grazing instead of on Quinn like I want to.
“I found her, but she looks okay this evening,” I say with a shrug. I ramble off the number of the cow I’m looking at, pointing my finger toward her to make her easier for Quinn to find.
She watches the cow I’ve pointed out for a few minutes, her brow scrunched up in concentration. “She looks okay, but she hasn’t moved much. Do you think you can drive her this way a bit?”
I take off toward the herd without a word and cut toward the cow I know is perfectly fine. I drive her—and a few others that were grazing nearby—toward Quinn so she can get a better view.
She studies the cow’s gait as they move past her before she shakes her head and shrugs. “She looks good to me,” she calls out.
I nod as June trots back to Cash and Quinn. “She’s lookin’ good now. Maybe I just imagined it this morning.”
Quinn takes a deep breath of what I know is manure-scented air. She doesn’t seem to mind the smell. The sun kisses her face as it dips lower on the horizon, bathing her hair in a golden glow. She looks nearly angelic right now. Peaceful.
I was gonna ruin the moment, but I didn’t know when I’d have the chance to talk to her like this again.
“So, you gonna tell me why you quit your job, Quinnie?”
She skewers me with a glare. “I told you I wanted to be here for Pops. And for Wes.”
“You might be able to convince Wes that’s the only reason you’re here, but I’m willing to bet there’s more to it than that.”
Her cheeks go pink as her eyes dart away from me, a clear indication that I’m right. She turns Cash and nudges him with her heels to get him moving.
“What happened?” I press, following on June.
Her shoulders slump in defeat. “What are the chances that you’ll give up on figuring it out and let me be?”
“Since you said that... no chance, Quinnie. Now I know there’s something real juicy you don’t want me to know.”
