“Yeah, but…” He shook his head and then glanced away. “Is that why you have two turkeys?”
“Gobble and Giblets.” She smiled. “Normally, they’d be Thanksgiving and Christmas, but since my parents won’t be back until after the New Year, one of them will be spared until Easter. I’ve was thinking of supplying the turkey and pig since Liz’s family has offered to let me crash their Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.”
When he made another loud sigh, she turned so she could see his face more clearly. She couldn’t understand why he was making a big deal about it. After all, he had more cattle, chickens, and pigs than they did. “You eat your cattle, right?”
“Yes,” he said quickly. “When I’m in charge, I want to change things up.”
“Are you going vegetarian on me?”
“No.” He frowned. “Just… a little more… humane.”
“I think we’re as humane as we can be. We keep the animals happy and fed. We allow them to graze.” She waved her arms around the land.
“Right, it’s just…” he looked back to Wilbur. “Why name him Wilbur? They didn’t slaughter him in the book.”
“It was my father’s idea.” She straightened and stretched. The large breakfast had her feeling lethargic. Normally, she didn’t eat as much before all her chores were done.
Nick seemed to realize that the conversation had changed and glanced around the paddock.
“What else can I help out with today?” he asked.
She thought about the list of items that she’d been putting off—chores she dreaded or outright hated—and smiled.
ChapterFour
Nick cursed as a large clump of black grease fell in his face for the second time. Was it even really one of her chores to grease the bearings on the old tractor that appeared to have not even been turned on in the past year?
To get to the right spot, he’d had to army crawl over the mucky floor in the old barn. He wiped the grease from his face and smeared it back into the tube that he shoved into the wheel axle joint. If he hadn’t spent a few years working on this tractor himself, he wouldn’t have known just how to push the grease into the hidden spots. But a few years back, his dad had sold Mr. Montgomery this old thing, so Nick knew all there was to know about how to maintain it.
When a pair of cowboy boots appeared next to his head, he glanced up.
“Is that you, Nick?” Liz Wilson asked as she knelt down to smile at him. Liz was Kara’s best friend.
He’d always thought that the tanned, carefree, bleached blonde would have blended in better on a beach somewhere holding a surfboard rather than wearing horse riding gear.
“Hey, Liz,” he said easily and scooted the rest of the way out from under the tractor.
“What in the heck are you doing to this old thing?” Liz asked, kicking the tire with her boot.
“Greasing it.” He wiped his hands on the rag he’d used to wipe his face.
Liz laughed. “I can see that.” She took the rag from him and wiped his chin. “There,” she said just as someone cleared their throat.
They both looked over to the barn door, where Kara was standing with her hands on her hips. “There you are, Liz. I saw your jeep out front.” Kara glared at Nick for a moment. “Ready for our ride?” she asked her friend.
“Sure.” Liz smiled at him as she handed him back the rag. “It’s a good thing Kara has you around helping out.” Liz patted his shoulder.
“Right,” he said as the two friends left the barn.
His days started to bleed into one another. By the ended of the third week of helping out around Kara’s ranch, he was beginning to believe she was just having him do the shit jobs no one around the place wanted to touch. Still, he enjoyed seeing her and spending time with her so much that he didn’t mind.
As with each day, he headed back to his property shortly before lunchtime to catch up on his own tasks for the day. Every evening, by the time he’d showered off the dust and dirt from the day, he was sore, tired, and, oddly, horny as hell.
Thanksgiving came and went. He enjoyed cooking a big meal for his dad and some of the employees who couldn’t be with their families. It was a tradition his mother had started, and he continued each holiday.
He was happy when he noticed that both of her turkeys were still in their paddocks after the holiday. He wondered if she had changed her mind about her Christmas meal as well.
He had taken a day to decorate the house, hoping it would lift his and his father’s spirits and keep his dad happy even as his health grew worse.