“Where are the gardens?” Maisie squinted, biting her lower lip like she expected to find full-grown pumpkins growing out of the snow.
“Behind these fences. They’re patches of nothing until spring comes. But the high tunnel”—Drew pointed out a domed structure made of PVC and plexiglass—“is where we can grow vegetables in winter. I think she’s got carrots, tomatoes, and spinach going right now.”
“Not only do you have a fire truck, but you grow a lot of your own food.” Maisie’s eyes swept the gardens.
“Closest grocery store’s almost an hour away,” Drew pointed out. “It’s a long way to go for salad.”
“I had no idea.” Maisie took another look around her, and Drew wondered if it was hitting her how remote the ranch truly was. No doubt that would take the shine off ranch living for a city girl like her. Just as well, even if Drew didn’t like the prospect of seeing the admiration for the place slowly drain from the woman’s eyes. Drew had seen it happen before, but hollowness inside from thinking about it told her with Maisie it would hurt even more. “It must take a lot of work to get everything done here.”
“Yep, but there’s something to be said about hard work. Almost everything that goes on our table, comes from our labor. It’s an honest way to live.”
“I like that. An honest way to live,” Maisie repeated, nodding along. Drew couldn’t tell if she meant it or was just being polite. Before Maisie could say anything else on the subject, her attention was drawn to something that clearly shocked her even more than seeing a fire truck. With eyes bulging, she pointed. “What the heck is that?”
Drew looked over her shoulder. “Oh, that’s Frank. He’s our peacock.”
“It’s really a peacock.” Maisie squinted to get a better look. “I didn’t know they were a staple on ranches.”
“I’m not sure they’re a staple,” Drew said with a laugh. “The sheriff found Frank wandering along the highway last summer. God knows why. When Hannah heard he’d been taken to the animal shelter, she begged for us to adopt him.”
“Like a puppy?” Maisie seemed tickled by the thought. She gave Frank a sympathetic look. “Poor guy. Wandering alone on a highway had to have been scary.”
“Don’t feel bad for him. He’s a pain in the ass. At first, we adopted two peahens to keep him company, and he chased them both off. But the recent one seems to be sticking with him.”
“Sounds like he takes after you.”
“How so?” Drew turned to Maisie in surprise, wondering if she was implying she planned to stick around. That was news to Drew.
“It seems like you’re the type who does her best to chase girls away.”
“Who says they get close enough that I have to? This isn’t the kind of life many women really want or can handle.”
“You keep saying that, yet you’re happy with it,” Maisie pointed out. “Grumpy as hell, but I can tell it’s in a happy way. And, Hannah loves the ranch.”
“She’s going to college.” Realizing she’d clenched her body, Drew did her best to relax. It was hard when every mention of Hannah and the ranch lately led to a fight.
“Won’t she come back after she graduates?”
For what?Drew wanted to ask. To waste her education and struggle for a living, clinging to hope for their dying way of life, even when failure was almost inevitable?
“I hope not. This isn’t an easy way to live.” Drew, done with this conversation, said, “Let’s meet the cows.”
“You don’t call them the girls?” Maisie bumped her shoulder into Drew, and try as she might, Drew couldn’t stay mad.
“Technically, that wouldn’t be correct. We’ve got some boys, too.”
“I thought the bulls stayed in their swinging bachelor digs.”
“They do. I’m talking about the steers.” Drew climbed into the cab of the Gator, rolling the windows down to take advantage of the beautiful day.
Maisie got in the other side, asking, “What’s the difference?”
“Steers are castrated.”
“Oh.” Maisie seemed to ponder this for a while. “If they can’t make babies or produce milk, why do you keep them?”
“We mostly don’t, but the ones we do perform a job. At least until I can get feminism to catch on with the herd.”
“What do you mean by that?”