Page 26 of A Steadfast Heart
“Oh, they’re so cute.” Kaitlyn’s voice was warm and happy.
There was a soft slurping sound, and Drew glanced through the stall door in time to see Kaitlyn pull her fingers away from the calf and wipe them on her dress.
She laughed. “I guess she’s hungry. Do we pour the milk into bottles?”
David shook his head. “Pa says the buckets are easier to use ’cause you can clean ’em easier. Sure wish we didn’t have to use the separator to get the cream though. My arm hurts.”
Drew grinned, then moved to the front of the stall to pour Solomon’s oats.
“Could another cow nurse the calf?” Kaitlyn asked.
Jo snorted. “It don’t work that way. You can’t just give a beast a new mama.”
“That’s not true, Jo. At least, not always.” David’s voice was easy, calm. “Most of our breed don’t make milk enough for two, so we’d have to find a cow that’s lost her calf.”
Drew rubbed a hand along Solomon’s neck, swallowing a sigh. David would make a fine rancher someday, if only Drew could keep the land for him.
“Some mama cows won’t even feed their own calves.” Tillie’s voice held more sadness than a six-year-old should know about.
“I’m gonna feed the older calves,” David said. “Jo, you take that last bucket to the newest baby.”
Drew listened to his older children make their way to the different pens, but no gates opened.
“Let’s go see the baby, Kaitlyn,” Tillie said. Her footsteps pattered across the barn to the side that held the smaller calf pen. Kaitlyn’s followed.
“Do you want to feed the baby, Kaitlyn?” Jo asked. The calf bawled, knowing a meal was on the way.
Drew didn’t even need to see Jo’s expression to know the mischief that sparked there. He hurried from the stall toward the calf pen. Jo’s eyes widened when she spotted him, but it was too late.
He lifted a hand, trying to get Kaitlyn’s attention. “Kaitlyn, don’t?—”
But Kaitlyn had already stepped into the pen with the calf that weighed over half as much as she did. Crash! The calf butted the bucket, and at the unexpected force, Kaitlyn stumbled and fell backward.
Drew winced even as he strode toward the tableau. No telling what she’d landed in.
Jo doubled over laughing. She pointed at Kaitlyn. “You landed in manure.”
Tillie started crying. “Your dress. It’s all messy.”
Jo scoffed. “Stop being a baby.”
Kaitlyn scrambled to her feet, suspicious green smears on the yellow dress she’d finished hemming last night. Drew stepped into the enclosure and maneuvered the calf into a corner to prevent it from following Kaitlyn out of the pen. She still had the bucket, and the calf would follow the bucket. Once she was out, he followed her and closed the pen gate behind him.
From outside the stall, David’s eyes widened at the smears on Kaitlyn’s dress.
Kaitlyn stood stiffly, holding her messy hands away from her skirt.
Drew snagged a grooming towel and handed it to her.
She wiped her hands, her nose wrinkled in distaste. “Well, I suppose I’ll know better next time.”
The calf bawled her displeasure over her spilled dinner. Drew turned to Jo, but Kaitlyn tugged his sleeve to draw his attention back to her.
She shook her head slightly. Her voice was drowned out by the racket the calves were making, but he read the wordnoon her lips.
What did she meanno? No child of his was going to get away with a trick this cruel. He tried to ask the question with his eyes, but Kaitlyn either didn’t or couldn’t reply.
Tillie was still crying, and Kaitlyn laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s all right. The dress will wash.”
