If she could keep herself from causing a bigger one. She was feeling too close to Cole lately. She couldn’t explain it, but when her eyes closed last night, she wasn’t thinking about West. No, an image of Cole in his overalls had flashed through her mind.
Instead of giggling, she’d sighed.
Eva had shot up in bed in dismayed shock. No, no, no! She was missing West, that was all. His youngest brother was just watching out for her and she was just keeping an eye on Cole while he faced his momma’s surgery, but from that moment, she vowed to keep her distance from him. Well, besides hugging Cole when he got stiff with worry. Sisterly hugs didn’t count. She was scared for Lily too.
In sudden concern, she went back to her praying.Hey, real quick, it’s Eva again. If I’m being too greedy with all my requests, God, please just watch over West’s momma. That’s our top priority.
Feeling like she was wrecking this whole religion thing, she stopped praying before she accidentally turned insulting. Besides, those waffles she’d made were probably frozen solid by now.
Kissing Dopey’s fuzzy head, she left in search of Cole again. She stopped short when she spied him milking a cow. She about died with excitement. Clutching the wooden railing, she called over to him. “You milk cows, too?”
Cole glanced up from his work. She hid a grin when she saw what he was wearing—he’d grabbed some basketball shorts from West’s belongings that were clearly too short and a yellow soccer shirt that was too small. The cowboy boots were the perfect touch.
She should probably give him back his load of laundry.
The muscles against his strong shoulders moved under that too-tight tee shirt as he squirted the milk into the bucket.
All thoughts of trying to keep her distance fled her mind as she scrambled around the stall to join him. “I want to try it!” It wasn’t as if she couldn’t handle Cole showing her how to survive out in the country without turning all weak in the knees.
She’d just been out of it last night. That’s all. And she really wanted to milk that cow.
Cole turned to her. She noticed that the deep circles under his eyes looked like bruises. He hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep. He was out of his mind with stressing over his momma. Lily hadn’t gone into surgery until the early morning hours, and they still hadn’t gotten any updates. They might not for a few hours.
Eva quickly switched into cheer-up mode. She turned over an empty bucket and sat on it. “I heard that milking a cow is a whole lot harder than it looks.”
“It is,” he grumbled out. His voice sounded like it was just waking up with the rest of him. He handed her the teat.
Her eyes widened. “Just like that? You want me to try it?”
“You’re not going to learn by watching.”
Really? She handled the soft skin, feeling like she was doing everything wrong. “I just squeeze?”
He laughed gently, his hair falling forward as he watched her. “The milk comes from the udder, so you’re squeezing it down to fill the teat with it and then you pull it to release the…” She tried it and nothing came out. “—the milk,” he finished.
His hands went over hers. She tried not to jump at the current of awareness that ran through her. “No, gently,” he said, “like a water balloon. You’re guiding the milk out.”
If anything, after yesterday he wasn’t afraid to touch her, and she was more afraid. But this was insane, she touched everyone and there was never a problem. She should be able to be normal with her soon-to-be brother-in-law. They were family, almost. She steadied herself, trying to concentrate on what he was saying while his warm hands enveloped hers.
“Guide the milk out,” she repeated. She tried and failed again and again, until finally, he practically did it for her.
She let out a squeal, knowing that she was in no way responsible for doing the milking. “Okay, okay.” She nudged his arm away with her shoulder. “Let me try it by myself.”
He pulled back while she concentrated with all her might. She got out a squirt, a tiny one, but still, it had worked! She tried again and accidentally pelted Cole with it. He scrambled back. “Save some for Dopey,” he called.
“This is for Dopey?” she asked.
“Definitely. It’ll do in a pinch. We’ve got to fill these baby bottles.” He held up a container that could hold two quarts. It was definitely bigger than the run-of-the-mill baby bottle. “We have to feed Dopey twice a day.”
“Not at night?”
“Nope, he sleeps at night. Calves are a little easier than human babies.”
Was that so? Eva had never really dealt with a baby close up, despite how much she’d wanted to get her hands on all that cuteness.
After trying out a few more squirts, she let Cole take over. His practiced movements put hers to shame, and he soon had the bucket full. Trying to be helpful, she brought over the oversized bottle and helped him fill it.
Distantly, she was cognizant of the fact that she kept touching him as they worked together, but she wasn’t the type to let him do everything. After getting the bottle finished, she carried it to Dopey. The calf bleated out at her in greeting. She smiled over at Cole. “Okay, how do I do this one?”