Stevie was glad that she was sitting down because her knees went all weak. When the kiss ended, her heart was pumping double time, and her pulse raced like she had just run a marathon.
“How many of those can you handle tonight?” Cody asked as he sat down on the other end of the sofa.
“As many as you can, Dr. Cowboy,” she lied. One or two more of those and she would be unbuttoning his chambray shirt.
“We’ll test that theory when you are completely well. Don’t want to overload your brain with too many endorphins,” he said with a grin.
“Or yours either,” she told him.
Chapter Thirteen
Glad to be free of the confines of the stall, Dixie and her adoptive sibling romped around in the corral while their mother, Maggie, kept a watch from a distance. Sonny sat in a lawn chair just inside the barn and kept an eye on all the alpacas plus the heifer and her newborn baby calf. Animals and humans alike seemed to be enjoying the nice warm sun and trying to ignore the breeze blowing down from the north.
“Can I get you anything?” Stevie asked as she dragged a couple more chairs over for her and Pearl. “There’s water, bottles of sweet tea, and apple juice in the tack room refrigerator.”
“I’m just fine,” Sonny said, “but thank you. Getting to come out here and see the new babies is all I need today. Jesse and Cody are turning the cows back out into the pastures where they belong since the snow has melted down to where we can see grass. But for a few hours, I can enjoy seeing them milling about out there beyond the corral. They seem to be as happy as I am to see the weather getting back to normal. Only trouble with that is that spring will be here soon, and it’s getting to where I can’t do a damn thing except supervise.”
Pearl tucked her scarf into her coat and zipped it up. “I’m just glad to see the sun and the temperature up in the forties today. Even the drifts in the shady areas should be melted pretty soon, and, Sonny Ryan, we’re of an age where all we need to do is supervise, so stop your bellyaching and enjoy the day.”
“You’re probably right, but it ain’t easy. We don’t like the snow when it’s here, but it sure helps the soil bring up good grass,” Sonny pointed out into the corral. “Look at that little girl, darlin’. She’s fitting right in with Maggie’s new baby. Pearl, darlin’, what are you going to name her?”
“I figured Mia would name her,” Stevie said.
“Nope,” Sonny sighed. “She thought she was going to sell the alpacas right along with her sheep, but I reminded her that I had paid for them, so they were mine. She’s done very well since she came home, but she doesn’t get to name the new babies. It’s a reminder to her that choices have consequences.”
“Tough love?” Stevie sat down on the other side of Pearl.
“I’m not sure who it’s the toughest on,” Pearl said, “Mia or us two old people who would like to step in and tell her that we’ll make everything all right for her.”
“I can’t even imagine how hard that would be on parents,” Stevie said.
“Letting them make their own choices, and then not rushing in and trying to make everything perfect when they make bad ones is probably the hardest part of being parents,” Sonny said. “Speaking about Mia, I want to thank you for taking her under your wing when it comes to this vet tech stuff. I’m glad that she wants to pursue that in addition to the business end of ranching. She’s going to make a good foreman someday.”
“Hey, where is everyone?” Mia’s voice floated across the barn.
“Back here,” Pearl called. “We’ve turned the heifer and her calf and all the alpacas out into the corral. They’re happy to be free of the stalls.”
Mia sat down on a bale of hay beside Stevie. “The road crew just phoned the house and said we can get through to town now. We’ll be weeks getting all the trees taken care of here on the ranch, and I bet they’re awful in town too, but at least we can get out if folks need a doctor or a vet. Are you excited to be able to go home, Stevie?”
“Yes, I am,” Stevie answered.
Who are you kidding? You or them? the aggravating voice in her head asked.
“But I’ll sure miss having folks around me all the time,” she admitted.
“You don’t have to leave,” Mia said. “Your van isn’t fixed yet, so you could just stick around here for another week.”
“I can use Mama’s car until I can get someone out here to put new tires on my van,” Stevie said.
“If you get bored, you can always come back and spend a few days with us,” Mia offered. “I talked to Dad, and he says whatever days are good for you are fine with him. So once you get home, just let me know when I can be your assistant. I’ll kind of be on call, like you are.”
“Sounds good to me, as long as Jesse can spare you,” Stevie said.
“I’m just so excited about working with you, and guess what?” Mia sucked in a lungful of air and let it out slowly. “Beau said he would love to go to church with me and come to Sunday dinner. Will you come too? It would help so much.”
“I’d love to,” Stevie said, and then remembered that she had a date with Cody.
He’ll have to understand, Stevie thought. Mia will want the whole family at the dinner so they can meet Beau, and Cody will want to pass judgment on the kid anyway.
“Great!” Mia said.
Mia went out into the corral with the alpacas. She petted each one, giving the babies even more attention by crooning to them like they were human. “Poppa, what are you naming the new cria?” she asked.
“That’s up to your nana,” Sonny said.
“Since her sister’s name is Dixie for that group and all these cats running around here are named for country music ladies, maybe we call her Patsy or Reba,” Pearl answered.
“Reba sounds more Southern, don’t you think, Stevie?” Mia asked.
“Kind of does,” Stevie answered. So much for tough love. She would bet dollars to cow patties that Mia had already said something to Pearl about naming the new cria Reba.
“Then Reba it is,” Pearl said.
“I should get on back to the bunkhouse,” Stevie said as she stood up, “and get all the things y’all loaned me washed and ironed.”
Pearl laid a hand on her shoulder. “Honey, you don’t worry with that. We’ll just throw them in with our stuff tomorrow morning after Cody gives you a ride home.”
“Thank you,” Stevie said with a smile, “y’all have been so good to me. I’ve enjoyed getting to spend time with you.”
A couple of huge icicles fell from the edge of the barn at the same time and broke into millions of pieces when they hit the barn floor right in front of the chairs, the noise sounding like someone throwing a brick through a glass window. Mia squealed and threw her hands over her head. Pearl jumped up and shielded Sonny’s body with hers. Stevie dropped to her knees behind the lawn chair.
“What was that?” Sonny asked.
“Just icicles,” Mia gasped. “Good thing you weren’t sitting outside, Poppa. If one of those things hit you, Uncle Cody would be sewing you up.”