Page 52 of On the Wild Side

“Not if you hold them out like this.” He shows me how to do it, and I follow suit, and Blackjack takes the apple from my hand, brushing it with his soft lips.

“Oh, his mouth is so soft.”

Brady grins down at me, as if he’s proud of me. “See? Easy. Want to see some of the others?”

“Will Blackjack get jealous?”

“Maybe, but he’ll be okay.”

He leads me down the line, introducing me to at least ten horses, and we give them carrots or apples, along with lots of pets and kisses.

“I think I might need a horse,” I say, surprising both of us. “Not that I have anywhere to put one. Daisy wouldlovethis.”

“She’s been out here with Holly and Johnny,” I hear Lucky add behind me. “She’s good with them. Never been up on one, but she likes to talk to ‘em.”

I don’t know why that makes me emotional, but I have to swallow the lump that’s suddenly in my throat.

“Sounds like my girl,” I say with a grin. “She loves animals. Now that she’s seen your parents’ chickens, she’ll be asking for that next. She’s convinced she needs a cow.”

“Acow?” Brady asks. “Why a cow?”

“Have you seen the miniature Highland cows? They’re so fuzzy and adorable, and she can’t get enough of them. I told her we don’t have a place to put a cow, even if itisa miniature.”

“Hmm,” he says, and I narrow my eyes on him.

“You willnotbuy my daughter a cow, Brady Wild.”

“Well,youmight not have a place to put it, butIdo.”

I shake my head and prop my hands on my hips as Lucky cackles like a maniac and leaves the barn.

“Absolutely not.”

“Yeah, okay. When’s her birthday again? June?”

“I’m not telling.”

That only makes Brady grin as if to saychallenge accepted,and I change the subject.

“Speaking of cows, where are yours?”

“I’ll drive you past them,” he assures me as he leads me back to Blackjack’s stall, where he takes a minute to make sure his horse has everything he needs before we head out again.

Once back in the car, he heads off-road, into a pasture.

“Our herd is over there,” he says, pointing, and I see a bunch of black cows, all huddled together in the middle of the pasture. “They’re keeping warm. They keep the youngest in the middle, and then they take turns with who’s on the outside.”

“Smart.”

“Cows areverysmart,” he agrees. “And generally gentle.”

“What other animals do you have out here?”

“Domestic animals? Chickens, and Rem’s making noise about getting some goats for the kids in the spring. We had pigs when we were young, but they’re not easy, so we stopped.”

“Andnondomesticated animals?”

“Well, we have your typical deer, elk, moose.” He steers us toward a spot that just takes my breath away with the view of the mountains. Iloveit out here on this ranch. “Bear, both black bears and grizzlies.”

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