Page 35 of Can't Be Love

“Hey. I’ve got rounds today. You coming, or would you prefer to hang out with these two instead?” I held my breath, hoping she would choose me.

Lily jumped up, waved a quick bye to my sisters, and linked her arm with mine as we walked outside. “I told you I was sticking with you. Relax. When I set my mind on something, it takes an act of God to change it.”

“And you’ve set your mind on me?” I dared to ask.

She hesitated, and there came the punch in my gut feeling once again.

“Yes. I mean, I guess so. I’m still so confused by all this, but I said I’d give us a shot, so let’s do this. Where are we headed?”

I held the truck door open for her before walking around and climbing inside.

“Today we’re just going to make rounds. You’ll get to see a lot of our territory, meet some people, and get a feel for the Pack. We’ll start at the stables. I know Westin’s primary income comes through the Foundation, but Collier is a farming town. We have both gardens and livestock. Everyone pitches in and works hard, and it not only sustains our Pack for food, but we have several large contracts to sell off the excess. The profits from that maintain all our needs here and then some. Dad’s been working with Liam to invest and grow our funds even further.”

I chanced a look over at Lily, who was staring at me in amazement. “That sounds pretty awesome, actually. I love the idea of working the land and being fully sustainable, and to make a strong income off it is all the better. Impressive.”

“Maybe,” I said, still a little concerned about how she’d handle the sometimes hard life of a farming community. She wasn’t exactly used to getting her hands dirty, and while being future Alpha of the Pack afforded me more luxuries and choices than most, when times were tough, everyone pitched in. I could even remember my mother working endless hours under the harsh sun when times were hard. Coming home exhausted, dirt caked under her nails, to clean up just in time to make dinner for us kids, all with a smile on her face. Would Lily live up to that? I was struggling to reconcile the image as she sat next to me in her designer clothes and heels. I looked down to her feet, confused by the boots I saw there instead.

“Where did you get those?” I asked. “I thought you were wearing heels when we left the house. I was just about to suggest we stop and buy you a pair of boots.”

“I do need to pick up a pair, I suppose. I brought boots the first time I came here, but must have left them at home when I ran away. I couldn’t find them in my suitcase this morning, so I asked MC if I could borrow a pair while you were meeting with your dad.” She snorted. “I wasn’t sure what we were doing today, but I was pretty sure those shoes weren’t going to cut it.”

I smiled. Every time I thought I had a grasp on this woman, she threw me another curveball. Arriving at our first destination, I parked in front of the dairy barn and jumped out. Lily helped herself down from the truck before I could make it around to her.

“So,” I said. “This is the barn. We don’t have a large number of dairy cattle, but this is where we keep the few that we do have. The milk is used to supply the town dairy products. At this time, we aren’t equipped to sell in a wider territory. It would require too many upgrades to our current facilities, but is certainly something we’re considering in the future. Most of our cattle are classified as free range for beef. We’ll take a ride out to the fields to check on them another day. Do you ride?”

“Ride what?”

“Horses,” I said.What else?I wondered.

She sighed. “Yes, I do.”

“You don’t sound happy about it.”

“It’s hard not to feel sorry for the beasts. How would you like it if someone rode your wolf? I know it’s not exactly the same, but I still feel bad for them.”

I smiled. Under that perfect exterior, my mate had a very kind heart. I wasn’t sure why that surprised me so much, but it did.

“Don’t laugh. I’m serious,” she scolded.

“I’m not laughing. I swear. You just . . . surprise me.”

I led her into the barn. She cringed at seeing the cows hooked up to the milking machine. “Ugh, that makes my nipples hurt just looking at them,” she said, covering her breasts.

“I’m not sure any woman has ever come right out and said it so forthright and all, but you wouldn’t be the first to sympathize with them. I promise you it’s not hurting them any.”

Lily and I turned to face the man speaking from behind us. Dalton Draper was an old cowboy. A few years back, he had claimed he was getting too old to ride the range, and had taken over the dairy cattle. He oversaw the entire operation and had true love and respect for each of the animals.

“Lily, this is Dalton. He runs the dairy barn and looks after the animals here,” I told her. They shook hands.

“Sorry to be so forthright,” she said, using the old man’s words, but still not quite relaxing. I reached out and lightly rubbed her lower back. I felt the tension leave her almost immediately.

“Little Lily. Last time I saw you, girl, you were all pigtails and knobby knees running with Miss Maddie through my fields,” Dalton said.

Lily genuinely smiled, and it was mesmerizing. “Mr. Draper?” she asked. The old man smiled back affectionately and Lily threw her arms around his neck and kissed his weathered cheek. My wolf must have been just as shocked as I was, because neither of us seemed to know how to react. “I can’t even believe it. You are as handsome as ever,” she continued to gush over him.

“When we were younger, Mr. Draper used to make MC and me the most delicious s’mores ever. We’d sneak out to the fields and join him around the fire until he’d send us back home,” she told me, reminiscing about her childhood.

“It’s so wonderful to see you,” she told Dalton.

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