Page 11 of Dairy and Deadly

She flicked another glance up at him and found him studying her with an arrested expression. “I’m a quick study, Johnny,” she coaxed. “It won’t take me long to learn the stuff you need done around here. You won’t regret taking a chance on me. That I can promise.”

Bossy finished her bottle, sucked on air for a moment, then let the rubber nipple go with a noisy popping sound. Ashley couldn’t resist throwing an arm around her neck and hugging her for her display of cuteness.

The calf nuzzled her neck for a second or two, then took off to play with her buddies.

Johnny shook his head in bemusement. “If I was worried about your work ethic, I would’ve never offered you the job. Man!” He swung away from her to pace the short room. “This is the last thing I expected to happen during your tour this morning.” He didn’t get far before one of the other calves ran bawling up to him, butting his knee with its nose.

“Yeah, I got you, Short Stack.” He moved across the room to the bottle filling station.

Ashley shot to her feet, waving the empty bottle in her hand at him. “Let me do it, boss,” she begged cheerfully.

He spun her way, eyes widening in mock alarm. “I can’t believe you just called me that.”

“If the shoe fits.” She nudged him out of the way with her good shoulder, swiftly filling a new bottle to the brim and capping it.

He watched her closely. “Look at you, acting like you’ve been a dairy girl your entire life.”

“Told you I was a quick study,” she bragged, spinning around to face the next calf. He pounced on the bottle so quickly that she lost her balance and tumbled backward.

Johnny caught her against his chest, but that didn’t stop the calf’s momentum. He pressed closer to Ashley, nearly pulling the bottle from her hands.

A breathy chuckle escaped her over how quickly and effectively her new employer had prevented her from landing on her backside. “Okay, I’ll admit my technique might need a little work, but I’ve got the basics down.”

“I can’t argue with that.” Johnny’s hands lingered on her elbows to steady her. She could practically feel his strength seeping into her.

As unexpectedly nice as it felt to be held by him, her better judgment told her to put some space between them, which she did. It wasn’t easy, though, with how hard the feisty little calf was leaning into the bottle.

“I can do this, Johnny.” She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to convince him further. “It’ll give me something worthwhile to do while I get back on my feet.” After the kindness he’d shown her this morning, she felt a little guilty about all the secrets she was still keeping from him. “Don’t worry. I work cheap,” she added, making a comical face at him.

“Whatever.” He made a grunting sound. “I’m not gonna lowball an injured cop.”

Seriously?She was too stunned and gratified to fire back at him with another pithy comment.

He irritably rattled off an hourly wage that was much higher than she’d been expecting. “Plus, you can bunk in one of the staff cabins.”

Her jaw dropped in pure astonishment. She wondered if she’d heard him right.

His voice grew slightly muffled as he filled a third milk bottle. “It’s not fancy, but it has all the essentials.”

She finally found her voice again. “You want me to live on site?” If her hands hadn’t already been full, she would’ve pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“Of course.” He shot an assessing look at her over his shoulder. “Is that gonna be a problem for you?”

She gulped. “I, um…no.” On the contrary, being offered a place to stay was the perfect solution to her current state of homelessness.

“It’s not fancy.” Johnny wrestled down the third spirited calf to pop the bottle into her mouth. “Just a single bedroom, bathroom, combined kitchen and living area, plus a washer and dryer.”

“A washer and dryer,” Ashley breathed.Bye, bye, laundromat!

“Yep. The last guy left all three cabins furnished after selling the whole kit and caboodle to me.” He waved a hand at her. “Feel free to do whatever you want with the stuff you find in there. Rearrange it. Get rid of it. I don’t care.”

“Sold,” she said quickly. She resisted the urge to run across the room and deliver him a bear hug. “Thank you.” He hadn’t yet brought up the subject of rent, so she wasn’t sure if it would be included in her new benefits package. Either way, she’d be able to afford it based on what he was paying her.

“Welcome.” He sounded eager. “I’ll take you to see the place after we’re done feeding the calves. You can move in whenever you want, which brings us to the most important question. When can you start work?”

She trained a mocking look of indignation on his shoulder blades. “I thought I already had!”

He snorted out a laugh. “You’re something else, Ashley Perkins.”

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