Page 6 of My Billionaire Cowboy Protector

Although Lane rarely apologized, he did now. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have addressed the situation like that.”

She nodded, her lips pressed tightly together. He could tell that she was still a bit miffed and he couldn’t blame her.

“Show me the calves.”

They walked out to the pen together and she pointed out the three calves in question.

“Great catch. Thanks,” Lane said.

Taylor nodded.

“Robert. Taylor noticed these calves have hoof and mouth disease starting. Help Taylor get these other calves to a clean pen. Hopefully, none of the others are infected. I’m going to call Isaac.”

Isaac Johnson was one of Lane’s younger brothers, who had become a veterinarian. There were nine siblings in all. Willow, or Willow as everyone called her, was the youngest and only girl.

They quickly separated the calves and Lane watched Taylor set up the bottle hangers for the calves and put the bottles out for them. He watched as they flocked around her. She talked to them and petted them.

“I hope she doesn’t start thinking of them as pets,” Lane said.

Some of the calves would end up as breeders. Others would end up as food.

“Who is thinking of what as pets?” Isaac asked when he answered the phone.

“My new ranch hand, Taylor Williams, is putting out bottles for calves. She is petting them and talking to them.”

“You hired a woman as a ranch hand?” Isaac asked.

“I did.”

“Welcome to the twenty-first century,” Isaac laughed. “What’s up?”

Lane told him and Isaac said, “There is no cure for the disease, but there are some treatments. I’ll be out there in an hour or so.”

He went out to double-check the calves in the clean pen to make sure that they didn’t miss any of them that might be sick. Lane kept one eye on Sam and Taylor who were loading hay bales in the back of the work pick-up to take out to the range cattle. Then, they stopped by the other barn and loaded several protein and salt blocks on the truck. Taylor was keeping up.

“She is such a tiny thing. She has to be working twice as hard to keep up,” Lane noticed admiringly.

He took in her long red braid that almost reached her butt and wondered what she would look like if her hair was free. He could almost feel the silky locks between his fingers.

Stop Lane. What in the world has gotten into you?He asked himself.

When they got back that evening, Lane pulled Sam aside. “How did she do?”

“I would take her with me as my partner any time. She threw as many bales and put out as many blocks as I did. I was impressed,” Sam said. “She’s just as good as Robert.”

“As good as Anthony?”

“Better,” Sam said.

After dinner, Lane joined the crowd of people at the corral. Taylor climbed over the fence, with a halter sticking out of her back pocket, and walked to the center of the pen. Diablo met her half-way and nudged her.

“Is that for the loves or for the snack?” she laughed pulling an apple out of her pocket.

Taylor petted the horse and gave him half the apple in chunks. Then, she slowly pulled the halter out of her back pocket and slipped it over the horse’s head.

Diablo whinnied and shook his head, but he never got aggressive with Taylor. She ran her hands down his sides and petted him on his back. The beast was nervous about it at first but soon accepted her attention.

“You’re such a good boy, aren’t you?” she asked.

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