Page 23 of Moon Blind Hearts
“It must be difficult,” I murmur.
He shrugs. “Everything’s difficult in life. I just think of it like I had too much going for me already so I had to be blind to level the playing field.”
The snort that comes out of me is very un-lady like, but it makes him smile so brightly, I can’t worry about it.
“I like your laugh,” he says, his eyes focused on me. “I wish I could see you more clearly.”
“You’re not missing much,” I say, laughing.
“I very much doubt that,” he replies, watching me carefully. “Did you like the cheese?”
“Oh! Hang on. I got distracted,” I apologize. I pick up the cracker again and take a bite, my eyes widening at the flavor that suddenly hits my tongue. It’s creamy, the dried strawberries adding a surprise extra sweetness in the flavor. “Wow.”
“Right?” he nods, taking a bite of his own. “Wait until you try the Stagborn Strong one. We added pine nuts into it. It goes amazing with honey.”
“Stagborn Strong?” I ask.
“Remember the stuff with Valerie Decatur? It’s a dedication cheese to her after all of the events that went down. I still can’t believe you didn’t see the news about it. This place has been crawling with media vans for months.”
“I don’t watch the news much,” I reply, repeating my earlier sentiment.
“Oh, well, I’m sure you’ll hear about it in town if you venture there.”
We fall into a comfortable silence as we take small bites from the miniature charcuterie board. I take the opportunity to check him out from the side. He’s often wearing large tank tops with the arm holes massive, revealing his sculpted body beneath, but paired with the worn in jeans and boots, he has all the country boy charm I know girls go crazy for. Especially with that blonde curly hair. Throw in glasses and the man is a heart throb.
He turns his head toward me, smiling as if he knows I’m checking him out. “So, what else would you like to know?”
“Everything,” I answer. “This is so nerdy and I love it.”
He laughs. “Alright, well, not all cheese is made this way. We’re known for our brie flavors but we also make a mean halloumi?—”
Chapter 12
Jules
Eventually, we agree that we move forward with the collaboration with some extra videos planned we hadn’t originally written down. Originally, we weren’t sure if there would be requests sent in other than the normal ones, so we decided with so many coming in that we would do our best to cater to those outside of our planned scenes. We’re starting off with one-on-one couplings, and then we’ll build up to group scenes. It’s a solid strategy that’ll have our subscribers desperate for the grand finale by the end.
Tonight, we’re set up for the first live video, and there will be plenty of people who tune in for it. A large handful have already paid the extra fee for the live cam feed with plenty all in for the edited version we release after the fact. The first man from The Velvet Rodeo I’ll be paired with is Cash, and I’d be lying if I said I’m not excited for it.
I find him in the milking barn with a dairy cow nestled in between the holder thing I have no name for. Today, he’s dressed more casual, but everything is still black. Black jeans, black boots, and a black t-shirt. No hat today, but he still has all the silver around his hips and neck. Every bit of it works for him.
“Well, howdy, Mistress,” he declares when he sees me step in. “You here for your first milking session?” He holds up a piece of equipment that I have no name for.
“I’ve never milked a cow before,” I reply honestly. It’s not something I’d have ever had the privilege to do growing up but he doesn’t know that.
“Oh, yeah,” he teases. “I totally meant the cow.” At my look, he laughs and gestures for me to come closer. “There’s a first time for everything. Come on over here and let me show you how it’s done,” he encourages. When I come closer, he hands me the machine. “Just stick this right on one of her teats and then you do the same for each one.”
“You guys don’t use a bucket or whatever?” I ask.
He laughs. “Not anymore. We’re a bit too large of an operation for manual milking these days. Not that we’re large either. The machines the big dairy farms have are insane. They use AI and robots and stuff. Can you believe some dairy farms put virtual reality headsets on the cows to make them think they’re in the field? I couldn’t believe that when I heard.”
“You’re kidding!” I say, doing as he said. The machine latches on and I take another. “There’s no way that’s true.”
“It’s the truth,” he nods. “They try all kinds of things.” He pats the cow as she shifts in the stall. “This here is Lady Moobeth. She’s a bit of a grump and a kicker, but her and I get along. Looks like she doesn’t mind you so much either.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Moobeth,” I tell her as I latch on another of the machines. Once they’re all done, I straighten and look back at Cash. “Now what?”
“I just flip this switch here and . . . there we go! Just give her about five to seven minutes and she’ll be all done.”
