They circled back to the hay barn and completed the procedure several more times at other pastures.
“Next we’ll do the round bales. You know how to drive a tractor, and spear round bales?”
“Yep. Unless your tractor drives much different from my dad’s.”
With Jethro giving instructions, Rob speared and delivered four round bales to pastures farther out. Windmill pumps refilled the water troughs in those pastures. Rob counted cows, and reported the numbers to Jethro, letting him know which numbers were cows, and which were calves in the fields that held both mothers and their offspring. He received an approving nod from Jethro each time.
“How many cows still need to drop their calves?” he asked his boss once they headed back toward the hay barn.
The man leaned back in the seat, thinking. “Seems like about eight left.”
“Do you bring them in when the weather gets cold?”
“If it’s close to their time and it’s below freezing, or if there’ll be a problem.” He leaned over and spit into the weeds. “If they’re predicting snow or ice, I move them into a holding pen inside. Mostly they’re able to do the job without help from me, but now and then there’ll be a breech birth, and I like to be close enough that I can get to them.”
“Makes sense.”
“You up for doing some riding? I’d like to get out and check fences.”
“Sure, I’m game.” Thank God, his knee had recovered enough to ride. He didn’t want to gimp out on a seventy-eight-year-old.
“Why don’t you ride Daisy? I know you’re not a beginner, but she’s pretty settled. I expect you don’t want to be fighting your mount with that knee of yours not healed a hundred percent.”
How did he know? Maybe Tyler had mentioned it.
As if he’d voiced his concern, Jethro answered his unspoken question. “Nobody told me. I noticed you favored it now and then. Seems like a bum knee, right?”
Rob nodded. “Yes. I got shot during my last tour. They shipped me stateside and discharged me. I’d planned to stay in a while longer, but that was no longer an option. I’ll get the full range of motion and strength in it again. I’m very determined when I set a goal.”
“I hear you, son. Half of success is determination, ain’t it?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve got plenty of that.”
“Appears you do.” Jethro leaned over and spit into a straggly bush as they came up to the barn.
They spent the rest of the morning riding on horseback around Jethro’s ranch, checking the fence line for breaks. Several times, they dismounted and did repairs, but Rob recognized one area that would need new wooden posts to shore up the fence where cattle had leaned into the existing ones.
Once they’d finished the main part, they headed back to the farmhouse and had a lunch of sloppy joes from the Crock-Pot, along with corn chips and a three-bean salad. While they ate, they talked about afternoon chores.
“I think we should go into town for supplies. It’ll go faster to unload them with two of us,” Jethro said.
Although Rob didn’t know what they needed, he helped Jethro think through what they should buy. It took them several hours to get it all, but they arrived back at the ranch with a truck full of supplies and tools.
“Let’s call it a day,” Jethro said once they’d unpacked the truck.
Rob looked at his watch. Three-thirty. That’d give him plenty of time to clean up before his date with MJ. “Will you need me tomorrow, boss?”
“Not likely. Take the day off. I’m not used to having help. Come on in Monday morning.”
“Seven again?”
“That’ll work.”
“Anything you’d like me to do before I leave? Throw some hay down from the loft?”
“Actually, that’d help. It’s getting tough for me to lift and pitch them and then stack them up again. If you pitch them onto the floor, I’ll stack them tomorrow morning.”
Rob nodded and headed off to the barn. Twenty minutes later, he was on his way home. A hot shower would help soothe his tired muscles.
***
MJ sighed as she pushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes. She’d bought enough groceries to fill the refrigerator, and stuff the pantry shelves. She’d spent the last few hours cleaning and tidying up the house. It would need last-minute dusting and vacuuming before the holiday, but at least she’d washed the kitchen and bathroom floors and done some needed deep cleaning.
She’d showered and dressed in jeans and a turtleneck sweater. She heard Rob’s truck pull into the driveway. She reached the back door just behind Maverick.
“How was your first day of work?”
“Tiring, but good. Jethro really needs the help, I think. He doesn’t have the strength to ranch all by himself. It took a couple hours just to feed livestock. Throwing hay and stacking bales is a better job for a younger man.”
“Did you invite him for Thanksgiving?”
“Yep. He’ll come. His kids don’t come around much. I can understand the one in California, and maybe the one in Maine, but the girl lives in Atlanta, and that’s only four hours away.”
“That’s sad.”
“I know. Not everybody has a family as close as yours. I’d better head to the shower. I need to get ready for our date.” He blew her a kiss and headed toward the bathroom.
“Can’t wait to find out what we’re doing,” she called over her shoulder after him. What had he planned?
An hour later, she found out. They drove to a tourist area in the next county. She couldn’t help wondering which of the attractions he’d picked. The closer they got, the more excited she became. Once they got
