Page 13 of What I Should Have Known

“You better not be fucking squeamish or such.”

“I’m not, I just am—”

“Clearly not experienced. What the hell was my wife thinking?”

“Well, sir. I don’t think—”

“Yeah, you obviously don’t think much.” He stepped forward and pointed at the tool in my right hand. “Them green bands go around these here four prongs and then stretch it as wide as it’ll go. You’ll put that around the bull calves’ nuts as high as you can get them and clamp it off. But only on the bull calves that are less than a week old. The rest ofthem, you’re gonna slice it open and cut out their balls and toss them in the bucket with this tool here.” He pointed to the strange blade that was flat on one side with a crimped edge while the other side of the scissor-type tool curved like a rainbow.

“The bucket’s labeled Testicle Receptacle if you forget, redhead,” another cowboy said as he snickered, a crooked smirk rising on his lips. He tossed a thumb at the black bucket with dirt smudged across faint letters.

“Careful, if you get too close, I mightforgetyou’re not a damn calf and use this emasculator on you,” I said and pinched the handle. The curved blade clacked against the crimped edge. “I got two options for removal too, seeing as I clearly have no fucking clue how to tell if you’re still just a wee baby or a grown-ass man.”

He threw his head back, laughing along with several other hands. The dust sprayed up around them as they slid off the metal railing surrounding the massive pen where the black cattle all huddled together.

The older cowboy in front of me shook his head. “At least your humor fits,” he grumbled as they walked away.

“Look, if I can just have a minute to explain, I’ll—” I began, but he merely waved a hand and left me alone.

The fucking hell was going on?

I’d not seen a glance of Kat, nor had I had a chance to text her before being whisked away to apparently castrate bull calves.

There were more heeler dogs than I’d seen in my life, yapping and running around the cattle, men on horses and on foot, holding tools that I couldn’t even begin to place, simply waiting for the cue to begin. Pretty sure I’d heard some cowboys talking about who was doing the branding,who was vaccinating, while the ones on horses sorted, but I had no fucking clue what any of that meant.

Glancing back down at the tools in my hands, I winced. As long as they didn’t end up anywhere near my own fucking nuts, this should be fine. Right?

“Oh my hell.” A voice I recognized sliced through the chatter as the sun’s rays laid across the tips of the surrounding mountains.

Twisting sideways, I locked eyes with the very woman I’d come looking for sitting atop a beautiful brown horse.

“What the fuck am I about to be doing?” I asked, walking around a couple of cowboys to stop beside her leg. Her own cowboy hat sat atop her head, clearly worn from years of work. Full cheeks lifted with a grin as she pushed her braid behind her shoulder and adjusted the sleeve of her plaid button-up shirt.

She giggled, and with each inhale, the buttons threatened to burst at the seams around her distracting bustline. “I’m sorry, but why are you out here? You were supposed to text me when you got to the ranch.”

“Some grumpy old-ass dude chewed me out and told me to get the fuck over here and that I was late. Now, I’m holding two different tools that are apparently used to fucking chop balls off.”

Throwing her head back, a full laugh loosed from her mouth. As gentle and sticky as honey. “Wanna jump up here and help sort instead? I’m wicked fast with the emasculator.” She winked and slid her gaze down my body.

Fervently, I shook my head. “Absolutely the fuck not. You will not be coming anywhere near me with these things.” Swirling low within mystomach was a bubbling of excitement and curiosity, along with legitimate worry.

It was very clear how capable she was, merely by the ease with which she sat on her horse. And it was very clear that I’d met my match, and I was lapping it up like a puppy in her hand.

She shrugged her shoulders and leaned forward. “Worried, Bottle Cap?”

“That you’ll cut my nuts off?” I asked.

She nodded once with a grin.

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

“Good. Have fun. I’ll give you your ID back after.” She winked and raised the reins, clucking at her horse.

My jaw fell open. The audacity…

“Uh, excuse me?” I shot a hand forward and grabbed the leather, pulling her horse to a stop. “You’re just gonna throw me to the wolves?”

“Don’t flick bottle caps at people while drunk, then maybe next time, I’d help get you out of this,” she answered.

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