Page 37 of Daddy's Little Farmer

“If I might add, Mr. Saunders, the trailer has special features that protect the human. I can show you later,” Porter said.

“That will be fine.”

“This last one is Charlie. He’s a draft horse the owners about killed, making him work so much and never gave breaks. I don’t know if any of you know about the Amish community?”

A few nodded. “Well, they don’t mean to be cruel. They just don’t think of them as living, feeling animals. When one is injured, they just go get another. He’s got a personality that’s as big as him.”

Right then, Charlie lifted his head over the railing and started nipping at her hair, making her laugh. The people smiled, and a few came forward to pet him.

“If that’s it, Mara, I’ll get the men settled for the night,” Porter said.

“Where?”

“The camper we brought is plenty big for all of us and has our food and a TV.”

She looked over at it. It was very large, and she didn’t know how it would fit so many big men, but she kept her mouth shut.

“If you need anything, come to the house,” Rafael said. “We’re going to bed. She’s had a long day.”

She waved. “It was nice to meet you all.”

“See you in the morning, Miss Mara,” a few said.

They got to the back door, and she stopped.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“It’s getting dark, and we didn’t get a chance to go see Tiny,” she said.

Rafael rubbed her shoulders. “I know. We’ll get up before the sun and be ready to go.”

“We should milk Melly first.”

He nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. There are lights in the barns.”

“Okay.” She walked in, through the kitchen, and up the stairs, aware of him stepping behind her. If she wasn’t so tired and they didn’t have a lot to do tomorrow, she’d try to get him to kiss her more.

“Why don’t you jump into the shower, and I’ll bring your gown in? We’ll get you tucked into bed, and then I’ll take mine.”

“All right.”

She was dragging by the time she finished her shower, dried her hair, and brushed her teeth. She crawled into bed and was out a second later. She felt Rafael arrange her against him, and then he kissed the back of her head. This feeling of being cherished and cared for was something she’d never experienced before, but she could get used to it very easily.

Chapter Nineteen

The morning was exhausting, but every animal was in the trailers. It looked like chaos, but these people knew what they were doing.

Rafael and Mara were going to wait until everyone was gone before going down to Tiny’s grave because by the time they had Melly milked, several men were outside roaming around, and she wanted some privacy. He waved to the last trailer before looking around for Mara. He found her in one of the barns.

“Honey, nothing is going to happen to this place. It will always be yours. Tony will find a caretaker to live here to watch over the place.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes. We thought you’d like that.”

“I do. Very much. I was worried, but now I’m relieved.”

“Have you said your goodbyes inside the house and in the barns?”

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