Page 37 of Dairy and Deadly

“It wasn’t up for discussion.” He moved to the next cattle milking station and ushered another dairy cow forward. “Johnny has always reserved that job for himself.”

Interesting.“I didn’t know.”

He snorted. “How could you?”

She mulled over the newest tidbit of information about her employer. “Do you think it has something to do with…” She paused to clear her throat before continuing, “you know…what he’s been through?” Her heart ached at the thought of him seeking comfort from tending newborn calves, something he’d been cheated out of as a father due to the tragedy he’d suffered.

Clint was silent for so long that she was afraid she’d offended him. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

“Are you kidding?” His eyebrows shot toward the ceiling. “That’s probably the mostsensitivething I’ve heard anyone say about my brother-in-law since he lost my sister and, er…”

The baby.She finished what he’d left unsaid inside her head. “I’m still sorry for talking without thinking. I know it’s none of my business.”

He shrugged. “It was insightful. You’re clearly a deep thinker.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “It was part of my job for so long that it’s hard to turn it off.” She smoothed a hand over the head of the cow she’d just finished hooking up before moving on to the next one.

Or tried to.

The mama cow mooed and affectionately nuzzled her hand. “Good morning, sunshine!” Ashley petted her some more, stroking a hand down her neck and smoothing it across the long sway of her back.

“Careful,” Clint joked. “Keep that up, and you’ll be at risk of doubling our milk supply.”

“Happy cows make more milk, huh?” Ashley touched her forehead to the top of the cow’s head before moving on.

“Yup.” Clint pushed his Stetson back to get a better look at her as he warmed to the topic. “They’re not so different from us. Give us coffee and breakfast and we tend to work harder, too.”

Her head jerked in his direction at the realization he was referring to the sustenance Johnny had brought her this morning. “I can explain,” she protested.

“I’m sure you can.” His smirk grew more pronounced.

“If you must know,” she pretended to fume at him, “I’m a little short of funds right now, and our marshmallow of a boss figured it out.”

“Marshmallow?” Clint’s jaw gaped.

She ducked her head over the milking station. “I just meant he has a big heart.”

“That he does.” His voice was noncommittal. “If you need me to lend you a few bucks?—”

“I don’t,” she said quickly, feeling her face turn red. “I have a small amount of savings. The only reason my account got overdrawn this month was due to a bank error. They’re fixing it.” Now that Johnny had given her an advance on her first paycheck, however, she was considering letting the error stand. Her partner’s widow could use the extra money.

“You heading to church this morning?”

She blinked at the abrupt change of subject. “I, um…I’d like to.” Guilt swirled through her midsection at the reminder that she hadn’t even started hunting for a new church yet. “Any place you recommend?”

“Yep. I’m heading there right after this, if you’d like to join me.” Clint nodded his head toward the side exit where he usually kept his truck parked. “I’ll even drive.”

Sweet!She wasn’t inclined to turn down a free ride while she was so short of funds. “Any hints about what I’m getting myself into first?”

His grin returned. “It’s a small church. Nondenominational. They just open the Bible and dive in.” He glanced her way and added slyly, “Free coffee.”

She burst out laughing. “Sold.”

He shook his head at her as he moved down to the next milking station. “You don’t have much willpower where coffee is concerned, do you?”

“Very little,” she admitted sheepishly. “I tried to kick the habit once, but my resistance only lasted about an hour.”

He snickered with the kind of appreciation that could only come from a fellow coffee drinker. “Have you ever ground your own coffee beans?”

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