I’m pretty sure this was bad, like really, really bad. I knew he loved hockey. Jude had told me he did and he had been playing since college.
“Hasn’t therapy been going well? You look better,” I said quickly. “They can’t just dismiss you without?—”
“I’m thirty years old, no one wants to spend money on my contract when there's a big chance that my knee might give out again,” he said, pulling away from my grasp. “My agent said he’s trying, but if the Yetis didn’t re-sign me there was a small chance that anyone else would pick me up.”
“But there’s still a chance, right?” I asked, trying to be hopeful.
“I think there is more of a chance of me sleeping with you than me getting a contract with a hockey team.” He tried to laugh, but it fell flat.
I stood up and pulled him to me. His head came up to my chest as I hugged him. It was more like a one-sided hug until he finally put me out of my misery and hugged me back. I ran my hands through his hair until I felt him slowly release his tension.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly.
“Me too,” he murmured into my chest.
“Come on,” I said, pulling away slightly so he could look up at me. “Let’s eat and let me take you to the ranch. I think you need to get some fresh air, plus we have a momma and her newborn close by.”
“I’ll eat, but?—”
“The goats just had babies,” I said quickly.
He stared at me blankly.
“One of the horses just had a fowl,” I said, trying to figure out what else would entice him.
“I grew up in Texas, aint nothin?—”
“Nova made green chicken enchiladas and I could steal?—”
“Fine, but I’ll stay with the goats while you steal the enchiladas for me,” he grumbled like it was such a hardship for him.
“Awesome, come on, Peaches, let’s eat and then we can go steal some more food,” I said, helping him up.
I slapped his ass as he walked out of the room. His gait was definitely better from the last time I had seen him, but I could still see a little stiffness.
“If you’re a really good boy, I just might suck your cock while?—”
“I draw the line at doing it in front of the animals,” he said and I laughed.
I almost thought I heard him laugh too. One day, maybe I'd figure out a way to get him and Jude in the same room. Then they could figure their shit out and maybe be friends again because mopey Sam was killing me.
I hated fixing fences, but it was the most important job out here. The land was vast and if we didn’t keep them on the land, well, there went all of our hard-earned money. We already had a few calves stuck out here since we had been trying to keep the herd out this way until the fires calmed down out west.
The more time that those fires weren’t contained, made me more worried that one day the wind would carry them out thisway. The bigger fires had been contained, but it seemed we kept seeing small fires popping up all over the state. It was only a matter of time before it hit a little too close to home.
We needed rain and we needed it now.
The sun was scorching today, I was wiping my brow every minute because I was sweating so much. I was finishing the last post as I heard the heifers mooing like they were spooked. I stood up; I had a bad feeling. A few of the heifers were still uneasy as I walked to the ATV to grab the gun I had brought with me. I looked around when I heard what sounded like a dirt bike.
I took a deep breath, putting the gun away to go back to the fence to finish my work. I got the post and the wire fixed and as I was packing all my stuff, the bike got closer. Before I left, I heard the loud rev of the engine. It was not one, but a few engines. The few cows around me got spooked. I knew what was going to happen before it did and no matter how fast I thought I was, one of the cows rammed me into the ATV. Extreme pain made my vision blur and out of sheer luck I got on the ATVand drove before I got hit again.
I was about to start shouting at the stupid bikes when they drove away. My ribs and my shoulder were throbbing as I drove away, each bump or turn was making the pain even worse. I was sweating and panting by the time I made it back to the barn, keeping my arm close to my ribs to minimize the pain.
“What the fuck happened?”
I flinched at Colt’s sharp tone.
“A few people were riding bikes close to the fence, spooking some of the ladies. One of them rammed me into the ATV,” I said, getting it off without grimacing. “I’m fine.”
