Page 48 of Second Chance With a Cowboy

Lorna laughed harder when Leni sent her the picture of Chevy and one of the selfies with her making a goofy face. “Max, look at this picture of Aunt Leni with a cow in our backyard.”

Max’s excited voice came through the phone speaker. “There’s a cow in our backyard? Can we keep it?”

Lorna laughed harder. “No. We can’t keep it. It belongs to a lady named Berniece, and she’s missing it. Aunt Leni and Chevy are going to take it home.”

“How are they going to do that?” Max asked.

Good question, kid.

“Hey Chevy, howarewe going to get this cow home?” she asked after she’d hung up with her sister.

“Seems like we have a couple of choices. I know the Buckley place. It’s probably a fifteen-minute walk if we go back through the woods and cut through downtown. Which is how I’m assuming she got here. Or I can go back to the ranch and hookup a trailer to take her home in. Probably take me thirty or forty minutes.”

“The trailer sounds like the easier way to transport a cow, but if we can get her home in half the time, it makes more sense just to walk her back. I’m sure Miss Berniece is probably worried.”

“I agree. I think I’ve got a halter and a lead rope in my truck. And I might even have some alfalfa cubes—our cows love those. You keep an eye on her while I grab some stuff.”

“What do I do if she tries to leave?”

Chevy looked at the cow peacefully munching on another geranium. “I don’t think you have to worry, but just holler at me if you get into trouble.”

“Lorna said she had some carrots in the fridge. Grab those on your way back through. And my purse too. It’s the little black cross-body bag sitting on the kitchen table. It’s got my wallet in it.”

“You gonna try to bribe the cow to walk home?”

“Ha. Not with what’s in my wallet. I never have cash. I just want my sunglasses and my lip gloss.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, a girl wants to look her best when she’s walking a cow through the center of town.”

Ten minutes later, they had made it through the wooded area behind the house and were cutting through downtown. Chevy had easily coaxed the halter on Babydoll then clipped the lead rope to it.

Thanks to a mixture of carrots, alfalfa cubes, and a few more of Lorna’s geraniums, they had lured the cow through the woods. But now she was just following along behind them as they walked in the bike lane of Main Street.

They had to look hysterical—just a normal Monday afternoon and a nice couple taking their cow for a walk downtown.

Lots of people waved and several stopped to say hello to Babydoll and mention that they’d seen the Nextdoor post and had been on the lookout for her.

Leni and Chevy also got several looks, especially since they were holding hands as they walked. She was sure the news of them being back together was burning up the gossip lines, and everyone in town would know about it before they reached Berniece’s.

Her small farmhouse was just on the outskirts of town. It was only equivalent to a few blocks, but they had to walk down the highway, and a familiar truck slowed as it came toward them.

There were no other cars on the road as the truck stopped, and Dodge poked his head out the window. “What the heck, Chevy. I know Murphy’s old, but are you already looking to upgrade him or are you just test-driving a pet cow?”

“Very funny. Keep driving brother, or you’ll get home tonight to find this cow in your bedroom.” Chevy waved him on as they both laughed.

Leni had texted her sister when they got close to the library, and Lorna, Elizabeth, Maisie, and all the kids had poured out the doors to pet Babydoll. The cow seemed to eat up the attention,andall the apple slices the kids gave her.

But no one was more excited to see Babydoll than Berniece. She was ninety if she was a day, but she practically ran down the porch steps, wavin’ and a hollerin’ as they were coming up the gravel driveway. She was a tiny thing. Leni guessed she wasn’t much taller than five feet, but she still stood up straight in a pressed pink apron over a yellow floral housedress and pink ankle socks with sneakers. She hurried out to greet them and threw her arms around the cow’s neck.

“You naughty little thing,” she said, scolding the cow. “You had me so worried.”

The cow snuggled its big head into her tiny shoulder.

This cow was quite the cuddler.

Berniece hugged the cow one more time then turned to Leni and Chevy. “I’ve gotten five phone calls from folks telling me you were on your way. I was going to make you some Rice Krispy treats to thank you, but then I saw you were already walking down the highway. I can’t thank you enough for bringing my Babydoll home.”

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