“Oh! I used to love going to the county fair. I’d play all the games and watch all the competitions. As much as I enjoyed showcasing my 4-H projects, it was a lot more fun to take it all in and eat way too much fair food,” Julia said.
“And then go on the rides,” I added, although that wasn’t always the best idea if anyone happened to eat too much of the deep-fried offerings.
“Do you remember the time the Ferris wheel got stuck and the auto shop teacher climbed down from the top to help the poor carnie get it restarted?”
“Dan Hayes was everyone’s hero for weeks after,” I said. It happened a few years after I graduated but his Spider-Man skillsscaling down the frame was immortalized on video. It actually made the national news.
We lapsed into a companionable silence and my mind drifted over to the things that weren’t going well. I still hadn’t found a stallion to buy, despite expanding my search parameters up into Wyoming and Montana, as well as parts of Texas. I thought I was close a couple times, but none of them could hold a candle to Twister, which was frustrating.
“Look,” Julia said, pointing upward as a shooting star crossed overhead. “I love seeing those. I used to spend so many nights outside as a kid.”
“After climbing down the trellis?” I asked, remembering our conversation from the cabin.
She laughed. “Sometimes I used the door.”
I tapped her elbow with mine. “So, what good things happened to you today?”
Julia shifted, so her head was resting on my shoulder and I tried not to read anything into it. “Well, the furry freeloaders have been enjoying having my undivided attention whenever they want. And I have to admit, it’s been nice slowing down a bit and taking a break, even if it is a forced one. I even managed to read a couple books that have been sitting on my nightstand for far too long.”
“I can’t remember the last time I read a book for pleasure. Care to share the titles?” Most days, I collapsed into bed as soon as I finished with work.
“Well, one is on equine genetics, which you might find interesting. The other was a medical thriller,” she said.
“Huh, don’t think I’ve ever read a medical thriller. What’s it about? A doctor doing bad things?” As a veterinarian, I could imagine Julia enjoying a technical book like that though I was sure it would go completely over my head, even as fiction.
“There are a lot of books like that out there. This one is actually a veterinary medical thriller. The lead medical investigator is a small town vet. The author does a great job doling out the details so readers learn what’s going on the same time as the vet.”
“So, did you figure out who the bad guy was before the grand reveal?”
She bumped her head against my shoulder and I could feel her smile. “I did, but only just.”
I rubbed my chest. “I don’t know if I could read a book where animals die inhumanely. I think that might be a hard limit for me.” I couldn’t stand seeing anything in distress—humans or animals. While Thorne Ranch bred and raised livestock to sell, we didn’t sell them for food.
“I can understand that. You care a lot about the animals you breed. It shows in how you care for them. Thorne Ranch might be a smaller, more boutique operation compared to the larger organizations around here, but you are a hands-on rancher. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” Julia said. I was touched that she would say that.
“I’m not as hands-on as I’d like to be—not like I was when Dad and Luke were running the place, and I was free to just work with the guys. When I took over the ranch…” I slowed, remembering those days after the car crash. Then I felt her hand slip into mine and give it a squeeze. Her simple touch made it easier for me to go on.
“I worried about not knowing what to do. So much of my time was spent buried in paperwork and trying to figure out what was going on that I felt disconnected from the day-to-day operations. So now I hold these meetings so we can all check in with each other. That way nothing falls through the cracks. I’ve got some older guys who have been with us for years, and I rely on them, but sometimes I’ll get a fresh-faced kid with the solution to a problem.”
“Is that what happened today?” she guessed.
“Yeah, we’ve been struggling with drainage in one place. We’ve tried ten different things, and nothing’s worked. This kid had a suggestion that made us all go ‘now why didn’t any of us think of that?’” The solution had been a simple one, too.
“These meetings that solve problems on the ranch were your innovation?” Her question was thoughtful. “That’s interesting. You keep insisting you need to do things the way Luke would have, but you’re clearly deviating from his plan with success.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way before. For a moment, her comment made me second-guess the meetings. No, they were good. I was keeping them. Luke, if he’d lived longer, would likely have come up with the idea himself. Or would he? Luke taking suggestions from the hands, especially young ones? That was tough to picture.
“I didn’t say that to badmouth Luke,” she said when I’d been quiet for several seconds. “I meant it as a compliment to you. You should trust yourself to make the right calls. You’ve got good instincts when it comes to ranching.”
She kept talking, but I was too distracted to focus on what she was saying. All I could think about was how badly I wanted tokiss her. Finally, I couldn’t hold back any longer. I rolled toward her and kissed her, stopping her flow of words. I felt her slight hesitation, and then she was kissing me back.
FOURTEEN
JAKE
This kiss was even better than the ones we’d shared at the cabin. I smoothed my hand over her curly hair, loving the feeling of shared intimacy. Her arms locked around my neck, bringing her body against mine. We fit together in a way I’d never experienced before.
Kissing her felt right. She moaned and deepened the kiss, her tongue rubbing against mine. I lifted her leg and she draped it over my hip, pulling us ever closer. Stroking my hand down her back, she arched against me and already, I could feel my arousal growing.
