Till the Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens

Author:Judy Clemens [Clemens, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General
ISBN: 9781615950287
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Published: 2011-09-30T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

I jumped out of the truck and stood face to face with the cow. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She regarded me with her gentle brown eyes as if I’d just told her she was my blue ribbon winner.

For a moment I allowed myself to wonder how she got onto the road, but the possibilities were many, and in every scenario the quicker we got her home, the better. I looked back and forth from the cow to my truck, knowing I was going to have to entrust Nick with one of them. I figured it wouldn’t be fair to saddle him with the cow, so I told him to take the truck the rest of the way home.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I have driven a truck before.”

He slid into the driver’s seat and backed up the truck, keeping the lights on me and the cow. He flipped on the hazards and stayed there to warn any other traffic, showing more sense than I had at the moment. I waved him my thanks and began to try to get the piece of meat in front of me to move toward the farm.

After about five minutes of pulling the cow’s chain, smacking her hind legs, and pleading uselessly, the cow decided on her own it was time to move. We paraded home slowly, me at the front, the cow taking up second, and Nick with my truck, backing us up.

We got into the farmyard to find barn lights blazing and Howie’s truck parked in front of the paddock gate. I kept a firm hold on the cow and gestured to Nick to get out of the truck. He jumped out and trotted toward me.

“Find Howie, will ya?” I said. “See what’s going on.”

He was gone about five minutes before he came back. “Howie’s in the feed barn. It’s a mess in there—sacks everywhere, stuff all over the ground. He’s got a cow cornered and is trying to pull her away from a pile of grain she’s inhaling.”

“Oh, that’s just grand. What about his truck?”

“He said to move it to get this cow in, then put it back. Somehow the hook got broken off and the door swung open and he hasn’t had a chance to fix it yet.”

Somehow.

Furious, trying to keep a rein on my growing fear, I held onto the stupid cow while Nick moved Howie’s truck out of the way. I somehow persuaded her she wanted to be back in the barnyard, and she slowly and deliberately walked in. I went back out into the driveway and Nick replaced the truck.

I jogged toward the feed barn and could hear Nick following me. I guessed that was good. He could help with the stubborn cow Howie was wrestling.

“Nice night, eh, Howie?” I said, trying to make light. “Glad you stayed home from the dinner?”

Howie gave the cow a good smack on the back, at which she merely tossed her head toward her shoulder.

“I’ve been working on her for a good fifteen minutes,” Howie said.

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