The Maltese Terror by Deirdre O'Dare

Author:Deirdre O'Dare [O'Dare, Deirdre]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2018-08-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

Nick found Caleb’s snowmobile did have room for two, but only if they didn’t mind snuggling pretty close. Sitting behind, his knees bracketed Caleb’s hips and his crotch was right against Caleb’s butt. The layers of clothing somehow did little to dispel his awareness of just how intimate their positions were.

The wind had begun to pick up again, which made their speed seem greater than it was. Caleb steered over the drifts and hollows with practiced skill. Although the cold was sharp, Nick found it exhilarating to skim along as they did. Since he only had to hang on, he could look around. The area was picturesque in a subdued way. The rolling hills, dusted with snow like white frosting on a strange cake, faded into the distance. Here and there a stark bush or the stalk of a yucca-like plant stood up, dark against the dominant white and pale grays of the landscape. The black and red coats of Caleb’s Angus and Hereford cattle made startling splashes of color in the snow.

Between the roar of the machine and the wail of the wind, there wasn’t much use trying to talk. Still, Nick could partially gauge Caleb’s shifting moods by the set of his shoulders and whether his movements were smooth or jerky. When they found one heifer down in the snow, near her obviously dead calf, Caleb shook his head, his strong face marked with poignant sorrow.

He really cares for his animals, like each one is a family member. Nick found that a stunning revelation. He hadn’t expected a rancher to feel that way, maybe worry over the lost value if an animal died, not to be truly sorry.

After a moment, Caleb edged close enough to Nick to explain. There was not much he could do for either of the animals now. The heifer should be all right if the storm broke soon. Right now there was no way to get her back to the barn. Some losses were inevitable. Range cows had to be hardy to survive. If the storm didn’t clear by mid-afternoon he’d drag a wagon load of hay out to scatter. That way he’d be sure the cattle had some nutritious feed to keep them going.

Fortunately, there were no other cows down. The rest seemed to be finding some grass under the thinner patches of snow and would be all right for a day or two, unless the weather got much worse. They headed back to the house after about a two-hour tour of the ranch.

On the route back, Nick held on tight because Caleb drove faster, swooping up and down over some higher hills and deeper hollows with almost boyish exuberance. That was fun, taking Nick back to some of the more enjoyable parts of his youth. He’d thought the rancher staid and stuffy, practically grim. This made him approachably human.

When they were back inside, he looked at Caleb as they both struggled to get out of the stiff coveralls. “I’m sorry about the calf, but the rest was fun.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.