Free Crashing Into Tess by Lilly Christine Page B

operation in full swing, so I’m ready for
calving season in spring.”
“Good for you. Every bit of experience helps,” Doc
said approvingly, putting a five on the table.
*****
    Thursday morning, long before dawn, Tess dressed in
work clothes, warmed up her new maroon pickup, and got
on the road, arriving at the gates of the McGreer Ranch at
quarter after six.
    Her headlights cause sparkling pasture, stretched out on
either side of the driveway. There had been a light dusting
of new snow in town, but up in the mountains four inches
of heavy, slippery snowfall lay across the driveway. She
slipped the truck into four wheel drive, took a deep breath,
and started down the snowy lane.
    Just as Alice said it would, the road forked, with a big
hay barn to the right. As she drove over a knoll, Rhiannon
barked excitedly. Ahead, young cattle milled in portable
pens, bawling in the early light. Two men tossed them
flakes of alfalfa.
    This is it .
Feeling out of place, she got of the truck to a biting
wind. Jake’s truck pulled up, and she swallowed hard,
uncertain about seeing him on his home turf. I just hope he
doesn’t make any more city girl comments.
*****
    In the half-light before dawn, Jake surveyed Tess’s
heavy work jacket, shapeless insulated overalls, and tall
pack boots. Her curls were pulled back into a braid that fell
down her back. Unable to keep from smiling, he handed her
a travel mug of coffee. “Welcome. Are you warm enough?”
    “Once I start moving I will be,” she answered
cheerfully. Pink light brightened the eastern sky, and in the
cold, her blue eyes shimmered. Curls escaped her fuzzy sky
blue wool cap, framing her cheeks. Angel in coveralls. And
still too damn cute. Maybe I’ll just have to get used to it.
    “We’ll start the calves through the crush shortly. We dehorn and brand heifers first, and we’ll castrate the steers
after lunch. You can try all the jobs if you want. That’s
what Doc sent you here for, right, to see how this is done?”
    “He spoke highly of your operation. I want to
understand all of it before spring,” she said politely,
stamping her feet to warm up. “I’ve never seen this done on
a large scale.”
    “Ah, not much to it, it’s routine ranch work, you’ll get
the hang of it in no time. Feel free to warm up in my truck
anytime, there’s a special heater in my cab.” She returned
his smile with less sparkle than he remembered, and he felt
guilty about kissing her and not calling. At least she doesn’t
hold a grudge.
    At the pens, he introduced Larry and Ralph. “You want
to let Rhiannon out, see if she’ll tag behind Van and learn
how to round up cattle?”
    “Sure, if you want to give it a try. Let me know if she
gets in the way, though.”
“We’ll know soon enough.”
The sun was rising as Ralph guided Tess through the
de-horning process. Van helped Jake rally the heifers into
the crush, with Rhiannon tagging behind. While Tess dehorned, Ralph and another helper did the freeze branding.
Freeze branding was annoying to the animal, but not
painful, and far more humane than the old electric heat
branding.
Larry took the young heifers down the chute afterward,
opening the gate to let them graze in the pasture. By eightthirty, the sun had burned through the cloud cover, and the
snow began to melt.
“You cold?” Jake asked her.
“Not so bad.”
“You can sit in the truck a few minutes, warm up,” he
offered, wishing she would.
“I’m okay, thanks,” she answered.
At mid-morning, with everything going smoothly, he
asked Tess if she wanted to switch places. Jake clipped,
swabbed with alcohol, and held the timer, while Tess did
the branding. He admired the way she worked with the
animals, confident and unobtrusive, smooth and neat and
efficient with the equipment. She’ll make it to spring,
anyway. The thought cheered him.
By noon, they’d finished all the heifers. The
temperature had climbed to the mid forties, and sunshine
melted