“That’s great. What can I do to help?”
“We’ve got a couple new calves I think they’d like to see. Everyone loves a baby animal, right? But I was hoping you might be able to introduce them to the rescue horses. Show them what you’ve been doing and how you work with them. Maybe even tell them a little about horse shoeing and how you got into that profession. Stuff like that.”
“Sure. I can do that. Happy to.”
Gosh, it had been so long since she’d shod a horse. She honestly missed it. The work left her back aching, her hands lined with permanent creases of grease and dirt, and her muscles begging for the warmest bath she could draw, but there was satisfaction in readying a horse for its job. And the sound of a full set of shoes clomping across a gravel road was its own sort of music. A hoof beat felt so close to a heartbeat that Josie often sensed they were one and the same.
When she turned and her eyes found Seth’s, that heartbeat suddenly became a thundering stampede, trampling whatever hopes she had of keeping things platonic. There was a tension that tugged at his brow drawn tight over half-uncertain, half-expectant eyes. Josie wondered if she leaned over and kissed him right then, if he’d taste like the vanilla that met his lips earlier. A flush of awareness pulsed through her and she shook her head and body to keep it at bay.
It never occurred to her that playing pretend with Seth Ford might prove to be more dangerous than the horses she’d been hired to train.
13
Seth
“Git on, cows.” Tanner flapped his lanky arm at his side like a one-winged albatross. “Git!”
Seth galloped up behind the stubborn herd that bunched as one unit, refusing to move pastures. “Come on, now! Let’s move, cows!”
“I need you on this side, Seth!” With two heels dug into his horse’s flanks, Tanner jolted forward, nearly pitching out of his saddle. The cow and calf closest bolted for the open farm gate and several other groupings followed, but the majority remained stuck in place like their legs were trapped in quicksand. “Gotta help me funnel them this direction. You’re no good way over there. Need to put pressure on them from this side to get them to move on out. Help me out a little, would you?”
Seth knew exactly what he was doing and didn’t need his brother’s instruction. But Tanner had always been bossy. Not like that. You’re doing it wrong, and Would you just do what I tell you to? was all he had heard growing up. Now it was just noise, not advice.
“You know, I managed just fine when you all were gone last week.”
Yanking his reins to the side, Seth cut off a calf that attempted to break loose from the herd. Scout’s dexterity was unmatched, something Seth didn’t take for granted in a ranch horse. That gelding could often anticipate a bolting cow before Seth’s reflexes were even able to kick into gear.
“You managed,” Tanner sneered. “That’s the operative word here.”
It wasn’t worth arguing with his brother. Seth could move a hundred herds, deliver twice as many healthy calves—heck, he could even discover millions worth of gold in their foothills—and it wouldn’t change a dang thing about the way Tanner viewed him. That man’s over-inflated ego didn’t leave room for anyone else to have any sort of success. He just couldn’t see around his own self importance.
“Come on, cows! Move on. Git on, girls.”
The brothers spent the better part of the morning rotating pastures, refilling mineral tubs, and taking stock of their herd’s overall health. For the most part, it was repetitive busy work, but in the next week or so, things would undoubtedly get more exciting. It was fall calving season and while most of the time things went off without a hitch, there was always a stubborn baby or two that wanted to enter the world butt first, too early, or not at all. And then there were the ones who gave them trouble even after they were on the ground. A calf that had difficulty latching on made for a precarious situation. Getting colostrum within the first few hours of life was essential. Seth couldn’t tally the number of times he sat out in a cold, wet pasture, nudging a wobbly-legged, newborn calf toward its mama’s full udder. On rare occasions, he would bring them into the barn to bottle feed, but the best case scenario was a strong and sturdy calf, a healthy mama who knew what to do, and a pair that bonded up nicely.
“We gotta remember to check on this gal later today. She’s looking ready to pop, in my opinion.” Seth tipped his hat toward the big bellied heifer that stood close to the fence line. Her breath labored, heaving in and out in huge swells, and she had a look in her eye Seth could easily read. By this time tomorrow morning, she would have a calf at her side, no doubt.
“She one of our new girls?” Tanner kept one hand on the saddle horn while he stretched over to secure the gate behind them. It swung closed with a clang.
“Think so. This’ll be her first time calving. Hoping she can figure it out on her own.”
“Well, that’s something you’ll have to deal with if she can’t. I’ve got the boys’ flag football game tonight down in Hawthorn and I’m coaching. Mom and Dad will be there, too. You’ll be on your own when it comes to the cows.”
“I think I can manage.”
Tanner sneered. “Yeah. I’m sure you can.” He swung his horse around in a full circle. “Looks like we’re all done here. Let’s get the horses put away and head in for lunch.” He sidled over next to Seth and Scout to join up. “Mom’s making Sloppy Joes. Your favorite.”
“Definitely not my favorite, but I’ll have to pass anyway. I’m meeting Josie and the vet to see about vaccinating and gelding some of the rescues.”
Seth couldn’t read his brother’s face initially, but the eye roll helped clarify things. “You’re really serious about this woman, huh?”
“I don’t know. I mean, maybe. Things appear to be moving that direction.”
“I just think it’s so strange that you’ve been dating for so long, yet you never bothered to bring her around, much less even talk about her. I don’t know. If it were me, I would’ve at least introduced her to Mom and Dad before offering to let her live on their property. Feels like something they should’ve had a little input in, is all.” Tanner cut Seth a judgmental glare. “That’s just me though. You and I have always done things differently.”
When put that way, Seth could almost understand Tanner’s point of view. The hostility tacked on, though, that wasn’t entirely necessary. Expected, but not necessary.
“I only moved her out here because the land she rented was being foreclosed on. She had no other options, Tan.”
“None, huh? I find that very hard to believe.”
Their horses had slowed to a snail’s pace, almost like they were eavesdropping on the brothers’ heated discussion taking place upon their backs. The sputtering snort Scout made in response to Tanner’s comment nearly made Seth snicker himself.
“Listen, she’s my girlfriend. I’m going to look out for her just like you would look out for Amy. Josie needed a place to park her trailer and we have plenty of room here at the ranch. It’s not like she’s staying totally rent-free, anyway. She’s working with the rescues.”