The weather is gorgeous, cool but clear.
It’s a good day for a ride into the hills.
As we climb, I think about Hope, and Bellamy, and wedding bells. Even though she laughed at me, she didn’t recoil at the idea. She might not think that’s in the cards for her, but she doesn’t hate the idea.
And I really do want to see her with a ring on her finger. My ring.
When we get to the cattle, it’s not hard to spot the errant bull. He’s on top of a willing cow.
“God damn it, you fucker,” Ridge snaps.
“Might as well let him finish,” I say dryly.
He scrubs his hand over his face.
“What’s the plan?”
He gestures to the fence between the two pastures, where there’s a gate. “Let’s open that, and get him and that cow in with the heifers. Once they’re done, of course. We’ll use her to motivate him to move with the heifers up to the western pasture, and then once they’re all moved over there, we’ll bring her back. She’s not going to be too hard to move back on her own. But worst case, we could just leave her up there, too.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
That cow turns out to be our best asset. Ridge has a bucket of range cake, the nutrient-dense pellets the cattle go bonkers for, and she likes that even more than she likes the grass in the pasture, so she follows him, and the bull follows her, and the heifers all follow behind them both because they’re young herd animals. Which leaves me tobring up the rear and encourage grazers to keep moving.
By the time we get up to the western pasture, I’m fucking starving.
“Let’s break for lunch before we take the cow back down the mountain.”
Ridge grunts and nods at where the bull is mounting her again. “Gives him time to finish another stab at that job, I guess.”
I smirk and pull out the sandwiches I made.
Ridge drains half his water bottle, then wipes his forehead as he looks down toward the ranch. “It’s looking good and green this year.”
That reminds me of the picture Bellamy drew of Froggie. Good and green. I laugh under my breath.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
My phone vibrates. Speak of the devil. “It’s Cash. I asked him to swing by the ranch to have lunch with the girls. Hey, buddy, how’s everything there?”
“Quiet. They’ve finished their kale harvest. Mom’s sending some back with me into town.”
“Oh, that’s perfect. Tell them we’ll be back in two hours, probably.”
He relays the message. “I’m heading out with the kale, then. See you later.”
“Yep.”
I put my phone away.
Ridge gives me a hard look. “You have him doing a lot for you lately. You sure that’s wise?”
“He picked up kale from Luna today.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it.”
“There’s nothing illegal about keeping an eye on things. Not even close.”
