Page 12 of Hometown Cowboy
She sighed and leaned against the counter. She’d even gone so far as to dress up a little. Just in case he might be tempted to revisit their previous night.
Some comfy, silky dress shorts in an understated black, and a lovely summer blouse she hadn’t worn yet. Nothing fancy mind you, justnice.
She wandered through to the lounge room and shut the front door, the evening breeze turning chilly after the slow-moving storm that had blown through that afternoon, chilling the air now that the sun had dipped below the horizon.
She rubbed her arms and headed for the wood heater. Spring in the mountains could be a weird season. Boiling hot in the middle of the day, frost the next morning. She’d put the heater on to take the chill off the room, then look for something to eat.
Her phone burbled out a familiar tune.
She stopped mid-stride and glanced at it.
Ryan.
Frowning, she picked her phone up off the hall table. Should she answer it?
Darby blew out a deep breath. Besides her taking leave of her senses the night before, nothing had changed. They were still friends.
“Y’ello?”
“Darb! I need your help. I have a cow stuck in the mud at the edge of Gabe’s big dam. I think it’s Marigold? She’s heavily pregnant and won’t budge. I called Vi but she’s in Bialga.”
Ryan’s breathless voice and strained grunting caught her by surprise.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just pissed that she won’t move.”
Darby bit down on her concern and nodded. “Okay. Give me ten minutes.”
She hung up and raced out the back to the cupboard she kept her gumboots in, shoved her feet in, and grabbed her knee-length oilskin coat. She didn’t want to take the time needed to change, she’d just toss the coat over the top of it all.
Pulling the coat up her arms, sheblippedthe garage and slid into the driver’s seat.
She pulled out into the street and took off toward her brother’s farm, hoping like crazy that Marigold didn’t decidenowwas the time to give birth, while stuck fast in mud.
*
By the timeDarby had gone through the gate behind the barn and entered the paddock with the big dam, darkness was licking at the edges of the day.
She could see Ryan clearly in the headlights of his four-by-four ute. He was hunkered down beside the stuck cow that lay half on her side in the mud, patting her neck with long, slow strokes. She couldn’t help the tinge of jealousy that spiked.
For pity’s sake. It’s acow.
She shook her head. Man, this was getting so messed up. She’d spent one night with the guy and now she was getting all possessive? Next she’d be tying him up in the bedroom so that he couldn’t get away.
That brought out a full laugh. It wasn’t such a bad idea…
As she walked up she could see a pile of ropes coiled on the ground beside him. The relief on his face when he spotted her threw her stomach somersaulting.
“If you’ll get in the ‘cruiser and turn ’er around, I’ll attach the rope and help on this end while you move forward. It’s mainly her back legs that are stuck.”
Darby nodded and climbed up into his truck, moving the seat forward. She’d driven it before, several times. It was a newer model than the one Gabe had, but essentially the same. She did as he asked and backed up slowly to make sure she didn’t panic Marigold, then shut off the engine.
She hopped out and hurried around to help with the rope. Marigold eyed her, a strange blank trust in her bovine gaze.
“C’mon girl. What are you doing, getting stuck like this, huh?” Darby murmured as Ryan looped a loose knot around the back of her head, being sure to seat the rope in the correct position to cause the least stress and damage. She stroked the cow’s head and neck, letting her know she was being cared for.
“Trust this to happen while Gabe’s away. Damned cows. Not a brain cell between the lot of them.”