I felt like I’d been caught stealing.
“I’ll… uh… replace the loaf of bread.”
Marisol smiled gently, then walked down the hall toward me, her daughters trailing behind her.
“You made french toast?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I was going to take it over to Aspen’s.” Now, looking over the multiple platters of food, it was far too much for two people. I might have gotten carried away.
“She’s still asleep?” Autumn asked as she not-so-sneakily snatched a slice of the french toast. One of her hands rubbed her expanded belly as she moaned with each bite. “This is delicious, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
Marisol drew my attention once more. “Is she sick? Aspen has never slept in.”
“Yeah.” Unsure how much to disclose, I hesitated. “She got a small injury last night while out in the fields, repairing a fence.”
“What?” Marisol’s face turned an ashen hue just as Nash walked into the room through the back door.
“Aspen got hurt last night,” Marisol told him, not looking at her husband, who was loading up a plate with the french toast, but at me. “Is she okay? What happened?”
All eyes of the Easterly family were on me. All except Nash’s. For some reason, I had a feeling he already knew what was going on. Nothing took place on this farm without him knowing. My mother and the medical assistant driving through the main gates would have been on his radar.
Thankfully, I was saved by the pixie in question as she walked casually into the room. “I’m fine, Mom. Just a nasty scrape that needed stitches.” She showed her wrapped arm and went into a Cliff’s Notes explanation of what happened. I watched Nash out the corner of my eye. He nodded slightly as he smothered his breakfast in a month’s worth of syrup.
Turning to her father, she told him she’d fix the fence this morning after moving Carrie the cow to a different field.
“That dang cow has had it out for you since she came to this farm,” Marisol inserted as she started filling her own plate with the toast. Her other daughters did the same. “Should we look at rehoming her, Nash?”
“Mom, she’s fine. I just need to make sure she’s not in a field where I’m working. It’s not her fault. She thinks I’m encroaching on her territory.”
I could tell there was more Marisol wanted to say. Even I had a few thoughts, but I kept my mouth shut. This was family business, and I was just a fly on the wall.
Aspen filled a plate, and then I finally grabbed some breakfast for myself. Before I knew it, all the toast was gone, and Nash was cleaning dishes.
Marisol and Aspen’s sisters had been out at the hair salon that morning, and I noticed how Aspen deflated at the knowledge. Even though I liked her long waves, I knew she felt passed over next to her sisters.
In my quest to take her from the house, I thanked the family for allowing me to use their kitchen and then ushered Aspen away. I was pretty sure I even saw Alex crack a knowing grin in my direction.
I was still in my clothes from the night before, but I didn’t mind, as Aspen and I loaded into the UTV parked at her house. We stopped by the main barn to restock the wire, and then we were off to repair the fence she’d been working on.
This time, she used a pre-barbed wire, so all we had to do was wrap it around the posts and pull it taut.
As we were finishing up, a large brown cow with a white head meandered over to the UTV, her eyes trained on Aspen.
“That’s Carrie,” she said as she tossed the spool back into the UTV.
“Well, aren’t you a pretty girl?” I said to the cow, pulling her attention away from Aspen. It was as if the animal had just then noticed my presence. She cocked her head to the side, then strutted closer.
“Don’t let her nibble on you. She’s been known to bite.”
Nodding, I let the cow get within a foot before I stood straighter. Carrie was large, but I was taller. I could see how she wouldn’t be intimidated by Aspen, but she seemed curious around me.
Reaching out, I stroked the top of her head, and I swear I heard her purr.
“God, you even put Carrie under your spell. How is that possible?”
“It’s a talent. What about you? Do I have you under my spell?”
Giggling, she smacked my stomach gently with her good hand. “You wish, Casanova.”
Carrie turned her head toward Aspen, and I wasn’t sure what the cow was thinking, but her eyes followed every move she made.
“Hey, girl, you have to be nice to my friend. She’s here to take care of you and keep you safe, okay?”
The cow looked at me and stared for a minute before her head dropped once, then she wandered away.
It was fucking weird, but maybe I made things easier for Aspen. Or worse. There could be a jealous cow on the loose at Sunny Brook Farms now.
Back at the barn, we dropped off the UTV and walked back to Aspen’s house, where I gathered up my few things and stored them in my car. We stood on her small porch like nervous teens finishing up their first date. I’d never been anxious around Aspen until now.
“About last night,” I started. “I don’t know why I came over initially. I just…. I don’t know. I wanted to see you. You’re the only one who will treat me like a normal person. And our truce has been a nice change of pace.”
“I get it. The last couple of days have been… nice. Weird, but nice.”
“Maybe we can hold up the truce whenever I come back to visit?”
She laughed and made no promises.
