Chapter 4
When Brynn and Wes arrived at home, it was time to bring the girls in—Petunia, Marigold, and Buttercup. Brynn had taken Marigold out of the milking cycle, as Marigold was now expecting a calf. It concerned Brynn because Petunia had lost a calf and it took a long time for her to get over the loss. She selected Marigold because her vet advised her to give Petunia’s body time to replenish and recover. But even so, Brynn wondered if the other cow having a baby would affect Petunia.
The sun was dipping low against the mountain and splayed out soft Creamsicle orange and pinks. Brynn paused in appreciation. She opened the barn door, and the girls filed in, with the ever-growing Freckles tagging along. When would she stop growing? A Saint Bernard–collie mix, Freckles was getting bigger by the minute.
After the evening milking, Brynn rambled back to the house where Wes was happily cooking dinner. The place smelled of fresh tomato sauce, crafted with just-picked tomatoes and oregano from the garden.
Wes stirred the sauce. “I can’t get Josh off my mind. Or Evan. What a messed-up situation.”
“I agree.” Brynn reached into the cupboards and pulled out a few plates. “I’m sure there’s a lot more to the story than we grasp.”
“Must be.” He held up a spoon. “Taste?”
She took the spoon from him and blew on the sauce, then slid it into her mouth. Swallowed. Her taste buds came alive. “Heaven!”
Wes grinned. “Good. The pasta is almost done.”
Brynn set the table, all the while enjoying the aftertaste in her mouth. “Fresh tomatoes make such a difference. I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah, fresh everything is best.” He strained the pasta and placed it in a bowl on the table.
Brynn took in the table—sauce, pasta, bread, grated Parmesan cheese, wine—an Italian feast. Her stomach growled. As she thought about it, she realized she’d not eaten since breakfast.
“Man, I’m hungry.” She sat down. Wes followed suit.
In the middle of their supper, Brynn’s phone rang. “Damn. I need to get this. It’s a contestant.” She wiped her mouth. “Hello.”
“Hi, Brynn, I’ve a quick question for you.”
Brynn recognized Freda’s voice on the line. “Sure, Freda.”
“Is it okay if I switch my cheese?”
“What do you mean?”
“My cheddar soured. I don’t know what happened. I’d like to enter my farmstead cheese.”
“No problem,” Brynn answered.
“Okay, thank you.”
“Sure.”
“I heard about that awful tractor accident. Do you know anything about it?” Freda asked.
Brynn’s pulse escalated. “Not really. I’m sorry.” The grapevine was already humming. “Have a good evening.”
“Thanks, you too.” Brynn hung up the phone.
“She switched cheese, then asked me about the accident,” Brynn told Wes before returning to her plate of spaghetti.
“People love to gossip.” He grinned. “I know Gram did.”
Brynn laughed. “Yes, she did.”
“She knew everything about everybody in our hometown. I assume she was like that here, too.”
“Yes. Well, she tried. She found the people here puzzling. She couldn’t understand why they didn’t like her plans for a farm shop.”
Wes twirled his spaghetti on his fork. “She’d have been all over this Chelsea business.”
“Do you mean about her sleeping with the older guy?” Brynn took a sip of her wine.
“Yeah, she had strong feelings about young women. But Chelsea . . . well, I’ve heard that she was no innocent.”
Brynn thought a moment. “I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s still considered statutory rape, right?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. And in any case, it was definitely on him. He should have known better, I suppose.”
Brynn wondered if he was thinking about Tillie, one of their neighbors. She decided not to pry. She knew the two of them had become good friends. But Tillie was young and busy with school and her band and they didn’t see each other often. It was comforting to learn he had strong feelings about the Chelsea situation.
Brynn remembered having crushes on older boys. None of them gave her the time of day. Which was just as well. High school was fraught with enough drama to last a lifetime and her parents were strict with her, which would have added to the drama.
Her ex-fiancé was a few years younger. They met while learning to make cheese and soon formed a partnership, which culminated in finding the farm. Then they broke up because he cheated on her. She kept the farm and said good-bye to him.
Her phone buzzed. “Hey, Schuyler.”
“Hey, got a question for you.” Schuyler was not one for pleasantries, a spitfire of a petite redhead who practiced veterinary acupuncture.
“Okay,” Brynn said.
“Can you take another cow?”
“What?”
“Yeah, there was this old woman living up in the hollow. She recently died. She had this cow. I’m trying to find a home for her. It’s a Highland cow. You know, one of those shaggy cows? Can you foster her until I can find a her a home?”
Brynn’s first reaction was yes, but then she thought about her own cows and wondered how they’d react. “I have the room for her. I’m not sure how my girls will take it, though.”
“We’ll introduce her slowly and see what happens. How does that sound?”
“Good.”
“Okay, I’ll bring her by tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Brynn said loud enough that Wes’s eyebrows shot up in interest.
“Yep. See you in the morning.” Schuyler clicked off.
“What’s going on?” Wes asked.
“We’re getting a new cow tomorrow.”
“You can’t say no to Schuyler.” He grinned and shook his head.
“Can anybody?” Brynn said, shrugged, and laughed.