Indigo blues, p.8
Indigo: Blues, page 8
Fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, which helped her to see. She searched around for Eli but didn’t find her anywhere. With her lip planted firmly between her teeth, she regretted taking the risk to come down there. A dark black horse snorted at her as she walked by, and Sarah grabbed the edges of her jacket and pulled them tighter around her as she stepped around the horse.
“What are you doing down here?”
Eli’s voice made her jump, the accusation in her tone running deep. Sarah spun to her side and stared into Eli’s angry eyes. Her lips parted in surprise, and she wasn’t sure what to say or do. All she knew was she wanted to run the opposite direction.
“I...I’m sorry. I’ll go.”
“No.” Eli reached out but didn’t touch Sarah before she jerked her hand back. “No, I’m sorry. You just scared the crap out of me.”
“I scared you?” Sarah’s voice wobbled, because truthfully, Eli had scared her more than anything even though she’d been the one to show up unannounced.
“Yes. I don’t usually have people coming into my barn in the middle of the night unless they’re up to no good.”
“D-does that happen often?”
“Only when the mischief-makers in town get the wrong idea, but this place is usually far enough out they don’t bother me much. Was there something you needed?” Eli sighed.
Sarah shook her head. “No. I uh...I saw you bring something in and was curious what you were doing.”
“You saw from the house?”
Sarah nodded.
Eli eyed her suspiciously. “I brought a calf in. Mom rejected it.”
“What?” Sarah’s eyes widened.
“It happens, especially with first time moms. I’ll try to reunite them tomorrow and the next day, but if that doesn’t work, then I’ll end up keeping it here and bottle feeding it.”
Sarah turned to look around the large barn. She’d never been in one before. She’d seen videos and whatnot, but she’d never actually stepped into a real working barn before. “C-can I see it?”
“Sure. Tomorrow, if you want and Carmen still rejects it, you can feed it too. It’ll give me a break.”
“Like with a bottle?”
Eli snorted. “Well, I don’t expect you to whip out your boob to nurse it.”
The look Eli gave her was definitely a look of lust. Sarah swallowed, her stomach dropping and sending tingles even lower. Her breathing picked up as she stared into Eli’s eyes, trying to figure out what the hell to say in response. Nothing could hide the fact that Eli’s look was beyond one of friendship or of patronship. That was pure desire.
“Who’s Carmen?” Sarah asked, trying to break up the moment.
“What?” Eli had confusion flash across her face. “Oh! Carmen’s the mom. My cow.”
“You name your cows?” Sarah let out a giggle.
Eli raised a single bushy eyebrow in Sarah’s direction. “Of course I do. Don’t you name your animals?”
“Yeah, but mine are pets.”
“You think I don’t love my cattle?”
Sarah lifted one shoulder then dropped it. “Guess I never thought about it. I’m used to just cow farms.”
“Feed lots.”
“Yeah, those.”
Eli clenched her jaw. “They’re a pro and a con. But I like my cattle. I don’t want to wish them harm.”
“Okay.” Sarah let out a breath. “So what are you naming the calf?”
“Not a clue. Don’t know him yet.”
“Can I see him?”
“Sure.” Eli moved around Sarah, giving her a wide berth, before she stepped down the long row of stalls. Sarah followed, her boots on the dirt inside making a scuffing sound as she went.
When they reached the low wood of the calf’s stall, her heart melted. She leaned against it and grinned broadly at the small creature inside. He was so much smaller than Sarah thought he’d be.
“It’s a bull,” Eli commented as she hung her elbows over the edge of the wood and stared down at the black calf.
“Oh.” Sarah swallowed and bit her lip again as her gaze was locked on Eli’s thick forearms and biceps, which were stretching the fabric of her shirt. She couldn’t quite figure Eli out, if she was butch or femme or what. Her own chest rose and fell, and she skittered her gaze back to the calf when Eli turned to look at her. “So it’s a he.”
“Yes. I’ll keep him until he’s weaned and then take him to auction.”
“You don’t keep them?”
“I keep a couple, but usually I auction the males off.”
“Why?”
Eli raised a brow at her again, and Sarah’s heart gave a patter of excitement. “It’s how I make my money.”
“What do you do with the cows?”
“Breed them for bulls.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Eli swallowed, and Sarah had to erase the thought of wanting to lick up the line of Eli’s neck. But it didn’t work. “Carmen is one of my first-year cows. I thought she’d do better than this. I might try her again next year, but if she does the same, I won’t breed her again.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t be wasting my time taking care of her calves if she’s not going to do it. I don’t breed to take care of them. I breed to sell. If all my time is spent here bottle feeding her calves every year, I lose out elsewhere and potentially miss other babies with complications.”
“I...I didn’t realize how complicated farming is.”
“Ranching.”
“Right. Ranching.”
Eli rocked on her heels as she leaned over the wood wall and put her hand down, clicking her tongue to get the calf’s attention. Immediately, the calf came over and tried to suck on Eli’s fingers. Eli jerked her hand away, scolded the calf, and then put her hand back in, brushing her fingers over its nose.
“I’d offer to let you scratch his head, but he’s a bit nasty right now. Might want to wait a few days until either mom cleans him up or I end up doing it.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Really?”
Sarah nodded and set her jaw. She didn’t mind. She wanted to see how soft his hair was, or if it was wiry like it looked.
Eli let out a heave. “Careful of your fingers. He’ll try to suck them off.”
“All right.” Sarah reached down and rubbed the tips of her fingers over his head, surprised to find him sticky. But she was correct in her assumption. The hair on his face was wiry and stiff against her bare fingers. She laughed and then turned to look at Eli as she continued to pet the calf.
“You should name him Buddy.”
“Buddy? Really?”
Sarah shrugged. “Why not? He’s cute, and if you only have him for a year, then why not name him something you don’t necessarily like.”
“Fine. Buddy it is.”
“He’s so cute.”
Eli laughed and slapped the edge of the wood as Sarah continued to keep her hands over the edge of the stall. “You pet him all you want. I’m going to finish up before heading in for a shower.”
“Umm...will you let me know when you go back?”
“Why? Scared to walk on your own?”
Sarah shook her head. “Not scared, no. I slipped on my way down. I’d rather not fall on my way up.”
Eli grinned broadly, her eyes dancing with humor. “The streak of mud on your ass is a dead giveaway.”
Sarah’s cheeks flushed hot under Eli’s stare, and she had no quick comeback for it. But she didn’t even have a chance to say anything as Eli turned and walked back to where Sarah had originally found her. She turned to Buddy and gnawed on her lip as she scratched behind his ears.
“What do you make of that? I have no idea either.”
She couldn’t believe for one minute she was talking to a cow, but there she was, standing in a barn at four in the morning, talking to a cow, a cow she had named nonetheless. Kara would never believe it.
Sarah pushed away from the stall and moved to the barn door. Eli was already waiting for her, and they walked together in silence up to the house. As soon as they were inside and Eli pulled the door shut, Sarah stopped in the kitchen. Eli’s lips parted in surprise before she nodded at Sarah, said nothing, and headed down the stairs to where Sarah assumed Eli lived.
Her belly tightened with tension as she moved to the kitchen sink and washed the mud from her fall and the grime from Buddy off of her hands. She still couldn’t figure Eli out. One minute it was all heated looks and the next it was sharp and annoyed retorts. Not to mention, Sarah couldn’t decide which she preferred.
Ultimately, she’d prefer the heated looks to being made feel like she was an inconvenience, but the back and forth took her by surprise every time. Still, getting out of the house and seeing a new side to Eli had given her a warm feeling in her belly. At the very least, she hoped to have a new friend by the end of her two weeks. If she was going to be stuck in the house alone with Eli for that time, they’d have to figure out how to communicate and get along. Sarah was pretty sure the dinner she had made that night had gone a long way to bridging that gap.
As she went up the stairs after taking her boots off by the door like she’d seen Eli do, she felt her ass and grimaced. Sure enough, it was covered in a thick layer of mud. She’d have to beg Eli to let her use the washer when she got a chance because muddy clothes were not something she wanted to wear again.
With a smile on her lips, Sarah threw all her clothes into a pile on the floor where she kept her dirty clothes thus far and crawled into her bed naked. She closed her eyes, leaving the curtains open so she could see the snow continue to fall outside. It had been a nearly perfect night, and it was exactly what she needed. Something new. Something different. Something to break up the monotony of her life in Dallas. A rest, a break, something that gave her new things to learn and new things to think about.
A farm—no, a ranch—had been the right decision. Thank God for Kara making the reservation even though Sarah had been so hesitant to begin with. With the covers pulled over her legs and chest, Sarah drifted off into sleep with a smile on her lips, and no ache in her stomach for the first time since she’d stepped off the plane and gotten into her rental car.
Chapter 8
Sarah had spent half the day walking around the property and enjoying the fresh air after sleeping for nearly eight hours straight. She’d even gone in to check on Buddy twice, which Eli had told her she could do. When Eli got home from her morning chores, she slipped into the barn with Sarah.
“Hey there,” Eli called as she moved toward the front.
Sarah stepped around the stall and walked down the long barn until she reached Eli. “Hey. Cows okay?”
Eli snorted. “Right as rain. Carmen didn’t want nothing to do with him this morning. I’ll try again tomorrow.”
“Poor Buddy.”
The grin on Eli’s lips took Sarah off-guard and warmed her belly again. Sarah nodded toward the bottle. “Is that for him?”
“Yup. Here.” Eli handed it over. “Mix this with that and then shake it up.”
“Okay.” Hesitating, Sarah dumped the water and then the formula into the bottle as Eli watched her carefully. With a little more direction on when to stop with the formula, she closed the lid, put her finger over the top of the nipple, and shook.
Eli was doing something with papers, writing something down. When Sarah leaned over to see what she was writing, she noticed the time and amount written onto the chart.
“Keeping track?”
“Got to. Otherwise I forget.”
“How much does he get a day?”
“A lot.”
Sarah sighed as she continued to shake the bottle. Eli put her hand out, covering Sarah’s to stop the shaking and sending shots of delight through Sarah’s arm and up into chest.
“Let’s see.” Taking the bottle from Sarah, Eli studied it before handing it back. “You get to feed him.”
“W-what?”
“You named him. He’s yours now.”
“I...what?”
Laughing, Eli grabbed Sarah’s free hand and dragged her down the barn and back toward the stall where she’d already been a couple times that day. “Come on, you get to feed him today.”
Sarah’s insides were in knots until they reached the door and Eli let go. Eli slipped inside and beckoned Sarah forward with a wave of her hand. Sarah followed carefully, not quite sure where to step or what to do, but Buddy knew, clearly. He saw the bottle and came right up to her.
Her shoulders tensed as he got right up in her business. Eli chuckled again and stood next to Sarah, grasping the bottle with both of her hands. When Sarah glanced over at Eli, there was a grin on her lips, one side pulling up higher than the other as her eyes danced with delight.
“Hold on tight. Both hands.”
Eli’s much larger hands covered hers, holding them firmly to the bottle as Buddy mouthed the nipple. The first tug caught Sarah by surprise, and her arms jerked forward from the strength of the calf.
“Sarah, tight.”
“I got it,” Sarah muttered.
“Good.” Eli’s voice was gruff and sharp, but her breath was warm on Sarah’s cheek as they held onto the bottle together, their shoulders brushing.
Sarah had to swallow hard when she looked from Buddy to Eli, their gazes catching. Turning back to Buddy, she focused on him and clenched her jaw when he gave a particularly hard suckle on the bottle. Eli eventually let go and let Sarah finish feeding him on her own, no doubt once she felt Sarah wasn’t going to mess it up any.
Buddy sucked the bottle dry, and when Sarah straightened her shoulders she was surprised when he tried to find some more. Laughing and grinning she turned to Eli but was stunned into tense silence by the look she received. Eli’s face was withdrawn, her brows furrowed together, and her jaw clenched tight.
“Did I do everything right?”
“What?” Eli was shaken from whatever she was thinking. “Yeah, yeah. He’s just selfish and wants more.”
“He’s not selfish. He’s a growing boy.”
Snorting, Eli rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Growing.”
Eli took the bottle and stepped out of the stall. She held open the door just enough for Sarah to slip out and shut it right when Buddy tried to follow her. “He likes me.”
“You feed him, so he likes you. Kind of goes hand in hand,” Eli grumbled.
Sarah narrowed her eyes at Eli, trying to figure out what she’d done to offend her. Giving up, she followed Eli to front of the barn where she cleaned up the work area. “You ready?”
“For what?” Sarah asked.
“Head to town. Get your car. Then you can drive around freely without me.”
Sarah couldn’t figure out why that thought made her stomach churn and sadness pull at her insides. She’d enjoyed the little bit of time they’d had together, however little it had been. Helping out with Buddy would no doubt be the highlight of her weeks spent there, and she looked forward to feeding him again the next day.
“I guess,” Sarah answered. But she wasn’t sure she wanted less time with Eli. Eli was such a conundrum to her. On the one hand, she lived in a very conservative part of the country, and while she seemed to fit in from the outset, Sarah got the impression that she didn’t at the same time.
“Elijah.”
Sarah jumped at the male voice as it boomed through the barn. Eli turned with wide eyes and grinned. “How’s it going, Bill?”
“Good. Cassie.”
“You’re kidding. I was just out there.”
He lifted his hand and shook his head. “She’s smart.”
“I’m going to kill that cow, murder her in her Goddamned sleep,” Eli muttered. “I’ll go get her.”
“You going to town later?”
“We were just about to leave.”
“We?” He raised his eyebrow at Sarah.
“This is my guest, Sarah. I thought I’d bring her in for the sausage supper, give her a good first impression of our tiny little town.”
Bill laughed. Sarah’s gaze bounced back and forth between the two of them, confused as to who this person was. “It’ll be good.”
“Sure will. Tell me. Same spot?”
“You know it.”
“For crying out loud!” Eli clenched her fists.
“You going to fix the fence?”
“It’s on the list for next week.”
“Get to it,” he grumbled. “See you in town.”
“Yep. See you.” Eli let out a sigh as Bill left.
Sarah twisted toward Eli, her eyes wide. “What was that?”
“Cassie, one of my cows. She’s stubborn as stubborn can be. We’ll have to go get her before we go into town if you don’t mind.”
“Sure. Where is she?”
“Bill’s wheat. She thinks the grass is always greener on the other side.”
“What?”
Eli laughed. “Just come on.”
“Now?”
“Good a time as any. Why?”
“I’m not really dressed to go wrangle a cow.”
Eli’s laugh echoed in the barn. Sarah’s cheeks heated as Eli continued to laugh at her expense. When Eli brushed tears from her cheeks, Sarah crossed her arms over her chest and glared.
“You are not wrangling the cow. Not this cow.”
“Why not? Don’t think I can do it?”
Eli’s gaze moved slowly up and down Sarah’s body, and Sarah’s skin heated under her keen look. Swallowing hard, Sarah regretted asking the question. “Maybe you could, but not in that, and not this cow. She’s mean when she’s mad.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Bites.”
Eli took Sarah’s hand again and led her toward the truck. She opened the passenger door for Sarah and waited for her to get inside. Sarah slipped into the seat and bit her lip. Eli shook her head, laughing again and muttering, “Wrangle a cow. Ha!”
The old truck was still warm from when Eli had been out earlier, but it rattled in a worrisome way. It didn’t seem quite ready to make it to the field and back, or perhaps it had done it too many times. She worried the wheels would fall off, but sure enough, they made it out to the pasture.
