Page 14 of Dairy and Deadly

Johnny paused his exodus from the barn with his chattering companion. “I bought a spare box of O-rings a few days ago. They’re in the storage room. This is Ashley Perkins.” He angled his head at her. “Take her with you and show her around, will you?” His expression was impersonal, his manner offhand. “She’s our new farm hand.” He tossed that detail out casually, like it was no big deal. Then he returned his attention to Caro.

Ashley watched Caro reach for his upper arm and fold her hands possessively around it. It was a disturbing reminder of one of the biggest reasons she’d wanted to come to work for Johnny Cuba. He had no idea just how badly he needed her protection right now.

The cowboy in front of Ashley abruptly spit out his piece of straw and swaggered closer, thrusting a hand in her direction. “I’m Clint Rhodes. Looks like you’re already a loyal member of Team Johnny.”

Am I that transparent?She chuckled to cover a wave of embarrassment as she shook his hand. “Eh, he grows on you, doesn’t he?”

“And then some.” He raked her from head to toe with an expression of unadulterated curiosity. “Follow me.”

They walked side-by-side to the storage room to retrieve the box of O-rings Johnny had mentioned. Up close, Clint looked younger than Ashley had originally judged him to be. The lines at the edges of his eyes and mouth weren’t from age. His dark tan suggested they were more likely caused from overexposure to the sun. His exaggerated swagger, she soon noted, was his attempt to hide a heavy limp. He’d been injured at some point. Severely.

He caught her staring at his lame leg. “Rodeo injury,” he informed her gruffly.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

He shrugged. “Part of me is, and part of me isn’t.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant by that and was hesitant to pry into his business by asking.

He must’ve taken her strained silence for a question, because he was quick to elaborate. “Got trampled by a bull. The rodeo clowns didn’t get to me fast enough.”

“That’s too bad.” It sounded like it was a miracle he was still alive. “Is riding bulls how you met Johnny?”

“Yep.” They reached the storage room, and he pulled open the door, waving her inside ahead of him. He flipped on a light switch as he followed her. “I never stood a chance at the number one spot until he retired.”

Her eyes widened at the floor-to-ceiling shelves that were jam-packed with supplies, many of which she couldn’t identify. “Congratulations on making it to number one. That’s huge!”

“For a single ride.” He sobered as he pointed at his leg. “Got this souvenir on my way out of the ring.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured again, not sure what else to say.

“As the old saying goes, everything happens for a reason.” He rummaged through a few boxes on one of the shelves and resurfaced with a fresh O-ring in hand. “This’ll do the trick.” He led her back out to the main part of the barn where the milking stations were set up.

“What made you decide to come work for Johnny?” She hoped she didn’t sound too nosy, but the temptation to find out more about her new employer was too tempting.

Clint shrugged as he squatted down beside the milking machine with the disconnected hose. “Shared grief. Guess you could say we needed each other.”

Ashley was more puzzled than ever. “I see.” She didn’t, of course. His answer left her with more questions than before.

Clint glanced up from his tinkering to pin her with a hard look. “Johnny didn’t tell you?”

She shook her head. “Listen, I didn’t mean to pry.” Apparently, she’d stumbled across a sensitive topic. “I was just making conversation.”

“It’s okay.” He ducked his head back over his work. “Since you’re gonna be working with us, you may as well know the truth.” There was a pregnant pause as he seated the O-ring over the milk line and tightened it down. “He was my brother-in-law for about a year.” His jaw clenched with emotion.

Ashley stared at him in consternation. It hadn’t occurred to her that Johnny might be married. Or had once been married, since Clint seemed to be speaking in the past tense about their shared grief and all.

The lines at the edges of Clint’s eyes and mouth grew more pronounced. “I lost my sister — his wife — during childbirth.”

Horror flooded her. She pressed a hand to her heart. “Oh, Clint!” This was worse than anything she could’ve imagined.

“Turns out she had a heart murmur that none of us knew about.” His voice was bitter. “The baby didn’t make it, either.”

By now, Ashley’s heart was aching so badly for both him and Johnny that she took a knee. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through,” she rasped, and she couldn’t. All of a sudden, having a cranky blended family and taking a bullet in the line of duty didn’t seem so bad.

“Every day it gets a little better.” Clint rocked back on his heels and pointed upward. “Thanks to Him.” He glanced at her again and started frowning. “You okay?”

No, she was not okay. She was far from okay, but she nodded. “I, um…since we’re going to be working together, there’s something you should know about me, too.”

---