He actually had to think about it before answering her question. She had distracted him enough that he’d forgotten why he’d come to get her. “I need help giving cake to the cattle.”
Her hands dropped from her hips. “I’m sorry, did you say cake? I suppose I did used to work in a bakery, so I’m pretty skilled at frosting things. Seems kind of weird, though.”
“It’s not literally cake.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s what I call their supplements.”
Kyra sat down to put her boots on. “Is that because it’s a kind of treat for them?”
Adam shrugged. “They seem to like it.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s adorable! I’m going out to give treats to cows. This is the best day ever!” She leapt up after her boots were on and followed him out the door, her boundless enthusiasm making him want to roll his eyes again. But he resisted the temptation.
She wasn’t yet comfortable on a horse, so Adam added that to the list of things she would need to learn. Instead, they took a four-wheeler out with large bags of pellets. As soon as the cattle heard Adam calling them, they came running.
“They really do like this stuff, don’t they?” Kyra said.
“Yep,” Adam answered. “Now drive a bit slower. We’re going to pour it as we drive. Make a long trail for them to line up at.”
Their positions were the opposite of what Adam would have liked them to be. Kyra was in the front, driving, and Adam sat behind her, feeling mildly useless. When they reached the pasture, he turned around so they were back-to-back, picked up a bag with one arm, and pulled the string that opened it with his teeth. Then he poured the pellets off the back of the four-wheeler as they drove. The cattle followed, vocalizing their excitement asonly cattle can do, stopping only when they reached the trail of pellets to eat.
As expected, some of the cattle were more aggressive than others. They trotted up and made demands, mouthed Adam’s boots, and got a little too curious about Kyra. He could tell she was overwhelmed at first, but after she got used to all the attention, she started to relax.
“Hey, that’s not food,” she said to a cow who must have gotten too close. Adam couldn’t see what she was doing, but she was happy to give him the play-by-play, whether he wanted it or not. “Oh, she didn’t like that!” she shouted back at Adam. “Now she’s yelling at me.” More laughter tugged at Adam’s heart, but he did his best to ignore it. “The insides of their mouths are so weird, aren’t they?”
“I’m sure they would say the same about you, if they could talk,” Adam said.Too much?he asked himself.
But she just said. “True! I bet we look weird to them too, huh? Good point. What do you think, cow?” He heard her open her mouth and stick out her tongue because she actually said, “Ah,” the way a doctor might instruct a child to do. “Is my mouth weird to you, cow? Hey, I don’t think I should call you cow, though. It sounds rude. Do you want to be Josie?”
To Adam’s surprise, the cow mooed in response.
Kyra elbowed backwards, nudging Adam gently on the back. “See? See? She likes it! OK, Josie, it is. The brown-and-white spotted one is called Josie. Enjoy your cake, Josie! It’s on the house. Free brunch. Chat with the girls.”
“Do you never stop talking?” Adam asked.
She seemed to think about it for a moment before deciding on an answer. “Not when I’m excited. Sometimes I even talk in my sleep.”
He slapped a hand to his forehead. “I bet you do.”
“Mom says it’s cute,” she argued.
Adam kept himself from saying,I bet it is, the way he wanted to. Instead, he instructed, “Stop for a second.”
“Stop talking?”
“No,” he snapped. “Stop driving.”
“Got it,” she said, applying the brakes. “Stop driving. Never stop talking.”
“I did not say that, and you know it.” While they were stopped, Adam secured the empty bags on the back of the four-wheeler and turned around so he was facing forward again.
“I think we should call the black one Midnight,” Kyra went on.
“Call it whatever you want,” Adam said. “It won’t know the difference.”
“Now, I don’t think you’re giving them enough credit. What about that black-and-white one over there? Domino?”
“Get us back quickly,” he said, pretending he hadn’t even heard her. “There are things I still want to do before lunch.”
“OK, boss, but you’d better hang on tight.”
