Chapter Eighteen
Daisy pried an eyelid open. It was horribly early, but Aaron was nudging her shoulder.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” he said in a hushed voice.
That’s right. He’d persuaded her to tag along for chores. And she’d agreed because if he was getting up early to feed the sheep, then he could sleep over in her bedroom. They were getting married soon, yet she was still hesitant to let his family see them together.
They’d all been home and in their own rooms last night. Aaron had closed his temporary bedroom door and slept beside her the rest of the night. After an orgasm or three.
She’d rather be tucked into his side than getting ready for working in the cold, but it was that or spend the day cruising TV.
Groaning, she slid out from between the cozy covers. She was grabbing what she’d worn the night before from where it was strewn around the room. Aaron turned on the lamp. Blinking against the dim light, she squinted at him.
He was already dressed and looking too delectable this early.
“You might want to wear some clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Unless you want to wait in the truck; that’s fine, too.”
Hanging out in the pickup didn’t sound like a blast. She nodded.
She was about to go looking for through her meager stash when he interrupted her again. “I’ll pull the truck up to the house. Meet me in ten?”
Ten. Like minutes? But she’d just crawled out of bed. So had he, though.
“I eat breakfast on the go. I’ll grab you something. You might want to get into your snow pants, too.” His departing smile was almost apologetic.
She didn’t want to slow his day down. What to wear for sheep?
She chose a pair of leggings her snow pants would slide over. Throwing on a T-shirt, she shivered. A sweater, too.
In the bathroom, she combed her hair back, twisted it into a bun, and secured it. If Uncle Peejong could see her now. Dalisay, working sheep when she had refused to move in with him.
Headlights from the pickup glowed through the living room window. Billows of exhaust curled and floated around the vehicle. Since the Walkers keep their equipment running well, it must be frigid out.
She donned all her winter gear and rushed outside. Other than the chuff of the engine, there was no other sound. She was used to stepping out the door to a variety of noises. Engines, honks, people. With Peejong, or even in Solano, there were still others moving around and local wildfire.
When it was this cold in Moore, Minnesota, not even birds chirped.
She crawled into the cab. Empty. In the mirrors, Aaron’s lanky form, bulked up from the coveralls, crossed from the barn.
He climbed in and smiled. “Sorry, I was feeding the cats. Pop-Tart?” A silver foil packet sat on the dash in front of her. A water bottle full of orange juice was in her cup holder.
He’d gotten breakfast for them both and fed the animals? The only tasks she’d crossed off her list were “go to the comfort room” and “get dressed.”
“Thank you.” The food was possible to eat without taking her gloves off.
He drove out of the yard and around the corner. She quit chewing when he turned into the driveway neighboring his.
“I know it seems crazy to drive next door,” Aaron said as he parked by the house. “But the walk is almost half a mile. And I don’t think we want to stroll in these temperatures.”
She shook her head. Definitely not. The inside of the cab hadn’t warmed yet, but it was better than no protection.
He grabbed his Pop-Tart. “Finish eating. I need to go see if any of the ewes have lambed and bring them into the barn.” He was gone, leaving her to look around and sip her orange juice.
Justin’s house was cute. Square and quaint, it resembled the farmhouse look from when she’d done her online search, only it was newer construction and well-cared for. Cylindrical grain bins jutted from the snow and two silver, rounded buildings lined the end of the drive.
Dragging in a fortifying breath, she slipped outside. Aaron always left his truck running, so she abandoned it. Raising her scarf higher, she picked across the driveway to the barn Aaron had disappeared into.
A mixture of manure and pure animal hit her. Bleats greeted her, along with the low murmuring of Aaron’s voice.
He backed out of a stall and saw her as she was wrinkling her nose. “Hey. Sorry about the smell. With ewes and lambs inside, there’s more…you know.”
“It’s not as strong as I expected.” Honestly. Peejong had raised pigs when she was younger, and this was much better.
“We clean it out regularly. And the sheep are new tenants. Wanna see a newborn lamb?”
She treaded through the straw toward him.
He didn’t open the gate, but there was enough space between the slats. Several bundles of white stood about by larger sheep.
“Aw, they’re cute.” She squatted down. A couple were sleeping with the mamas and the rest were poking around the adults as they ate.
Aaron grinned. “I know, right? We keep teasing Justin that when he wants to settle down, he needs to wait for lambing season and offer tours. There were no new lambs last night so that saves me some time and paperwork. Good thing. Justin is as anal as his brother about records. You can stay here while I feed the rest of the flock.”
“I’ll help.” This was a whole new world, but some aspects were familiar. Peejong transitioned to farming only after her grandparents died, and she remembered parts of it. And doing this in winter added an extra layer of interest.
Aaron got the grain and supplement ready. She was assigned hay and water. But by the time she pitched all the hay she needed, he’d already scraped the troughs clean, filled them, and replenished the water.
His jacket hung open over his overalls. With the sweat gathering at the base of her hat, she might also need to ventilate.
“You do this every day?”
“Justin does with the sheep. Cash with the cattle. The rest of us fill in, until farming’s back in full swing.”
“They depend on you.”
He was spread thin across his own family and his share of the business, but his extended family depended on him as well. Add in taking care of her and he had a lot on his plate.
No wonder he’d had to cut his trip short when he was visiting her.
She was about to ditch her hay pile when he said, “Time to feed the rest.”
The rest?
The morning flew by; her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten since the Pop-Tart, and a warm lunch sounded like a trip to the spa. She liked to think she might’ve been a help to Aaron, but the time it had taken him to explain a task, he could’ve finished it himself.
He never said anything. Not when he was feeding circles around her and doing pretty much everything.
“We’ll break for lunch and come back to move the older lambs and their ewes out of the lambing jug.”
Yay… They were coming back.
***
She had more fun moving the lambs. Especially after they’d gone back to Aaron’s and a chicken and rice mix was ready in the slow cooker—enough for everyone living under that roof.
When had he had the time to do that?
Waiting outside the barn, she wandered around. The day had warmed up to feel pleasant compared to the morning weather. At the beginning of the year, she would’ve shivered to death in these temperatures, but now she only wore a sweatshirt and her snowpants. Aaron disappeared to do another sweep, looking for new lambs before they left.
“All right. That’s done for another two hours.” He swaggered out of the barn. He’d only tugged his coveralls back on over his jeans and plaid shirt. Did his hat sit on his head straight anymore? His perpetually crooked hat was endearing, but her fingers itched to straighten it, more to take care of him than for aesthetics.
Wait, what’d he say? They were coming back again?
“Every two hours, you have to check for lambs?” This was supposed to be her time with him. They were together, but was it really quality time if he assigned her one part of the flock and he went in a separate direction?
It needed to be done, and Aaron did what had to be done.
He nodded. “Justin says he breaks at midnight but is back out by six. If the temperatures dip down too far, then I’m sure he checks sometime in the middle of the night.” He unzipped his coveralls and dug his phone out. “Oh hey. Wanna run to town with me? Cash texted. They ran out of diapers and Abbi’s not feeling well. The others are hunkered down with their babies for the day, except for Brock and Josie, but they might not have answered.”
His easy grin was laced with apology.
She’d be with him, and it was better than being stuck inside four walls. “Sure. I might need to change.”
“Nah. Just peel your snow pants off and grab a different coat. Voila, outfit change.”
She glanced down at her muck-covered boots. It wouldn’t be voila until she put on shoes without manure.
They ran back to the house and dumped their dirty clothes and headed to town.
In the store, they giggled over diapers. Partly because neither of them had any idea of what to buy. Aaron had to call Cash, and then they chuckled at the rumors it’d start when people saw her and Aaron in the baby section.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Aaron said. “I want kids someday. My age might be ticking away, but I’d like you to myself for a while. What about you?”
She’d like him to herself, too, but would that ever be possible? “Yes, but not now. I’d like to get settled first and get used to being married.”
Heat flooded her cheeks. In a couple of weeks she’d share his last name, openly share his bed, and spring was already on its way.
Her mood started matching the weather. Bright and optimistic.
They arrived at Cash’s with diapers tucked under their arms. Aaron had grabbed a pizza for the tired parents.
He didn’t have the chance to knock on the door before it swung open. A tear-drop shaped bundle was cradled against Cash’s shoulder, but he didn’t look like the happy, first-time dad. His face was drawn and shadows hovered in his eyes.
“Good, you brought Dalisay.” His smile was tight. “You went to nursing school, right?”
“Oh…I didn’t finish…” Having the attention of both men turned on her was like standing alone in the spotlight. The rest of the house was quiet. Her gaze landed on the baby boy, but he seemed fine.
“Can you take a look at Abbi? She’s being stubborn like a wolverine. I’ve been telling her to go into the doctor all day, but she refuses to”—he threw in air quotes, careful of his bundle—“‘cause any trouble.’ Maybe if someone with a medical background can convince her to go, or convince me I’m being a paranoid ass.”
Dalisay stepped in. What was she going to be able to do? Cash pointed her to the bedroom. Leaving the two men to whisper together, she padded down the hall.
Cash and Abbi’s bedroom door hung open. Dalisay knocked.
Abbi’s eyelids slit open. “Dalisay, come on in. Cash sent you to talk some sense into me.”
The woman was pale, and every move lacked effort. While the rest of her skin shone like porcelain, her cheeks were flushed. Spurred by concern, Dalisay crossed into the room, her hesitation gone.
Touching her hand to Abbi’s forehead, her worry deepened. “Have you taken your temperature yet?”
Abbi blinked, another move that was almost slow motion. “No. I suspected I had a fever and took something for it.”
It may not have been enough. “Where’s a thermometer?”
Abbi turned her head into the pillows, already falling back asleep. “Ugh, I hurt. My throat hurts, my bones hurt. I just want to sleep.” She sighed and pointed to the door. “We have one for Carter. Cash can grab it.”
Dalisay scurried out. “Thermometer.”
Cash didn’t ask any questions. He dug it out of a baby caddy and handed it over.
Back in Abbi’s room, the girl didn’t twitch. Her eyes stayed closed as Dalisay swiped the device across her forehead.
Abbi’s breathing rate was fine, her pulse okay, but her temperature was too high, especially if she’d already taken something.
“I really think you should go in, Abbi.”
Abbi frowned, squirming under covers. “I just can’t get warm. It can wait until morning, right? I’ll make an appointment with my own doctor.”
“If you’ve taken fever-reducing medicine and still have a fever this high, you need to be looked at.”
Abbi didn’t look convinced. Her face was so washed out, the effort of getting dressed and going to the clinic was probably too daunting.
“Abbi, Cash is worried sick. I’m worried. Please go in. If it turns out to be nothing, no one gets hurt. I know you’re tired, but they could help you get better.”
“All right.” Abbi sighed. “But I won’t win any fashion awards.”
Cash had the baby loaded into the carrier and passed him off to Aaron within minutes to help Abbi. Dalisay went outside with Aaron and clicked the car seat into place and helped load a tired and apologetic Abbi.
The pickup flew away. Dalisay glanced at Aaron. He beamed at her.
“What?” she asked. Self-consciousness snuck in.
“First, Mark Rio and now Abbi. I think you might have knack for this stuff.”
She shrugged and walked back to their ride. “I didn’t do anything special.” Anyone could’ve done what she’d done.
“But with your cousin you jumped in before I could and managed to calm him. Abbi would’ve turned us all down, but she couldn’t say no to you.”
“It’s all in the tone,” she teased. “Cash would do anything she wanted, and she wanted to try to stay home.”
“Very true. Still, it’s a gift.”
Not a gift she could do anything with.
“Why don’t I ask the boys to do the lamb runs this evening and we go out to eat?”
Dalisay’s smile could’ve cracked her face. The weariness from the early morning and the spurt of adrenaline clashed inside of her. She was tired to her bones, but in better shape than Abbi had been in. Restless energy swirled around her. She wanted to know how Abbi was doing, but like with her cousin, the event had driven home everything she’d missed out on and would still miss out on.
Slowly, she was starting to accept that nursing school wasn’t in her future. But her future was here, with Aaron, with his family, jumping in where they needed her, and that she could live with.