Page 92 of Strung Along

I spin to face him and forget how to think. Forget how to breathe. The adoration glimmering in his eyes is intense, heart stutteringly intense.

“Go ahead, sweetheart. Take a look,” he encourages, tipping that hat-covered head toward the miniature shed.

It hurts to look away, but excitement helps soothe the wound as I jog toward the pink structure, my hand slipping from free from his hold.

The closer I get, the easier it is to tell exactly what colour pink the smooth, tall planks of wood have been painted—a pastel shade that appears almost peachy in the bright sun. There are words and a couple of doodles spread above the back side of the shed. The bright yellow banana catches my eyes first before I stop dead a foot from the structure and read the name beside it.

“There’s no way Wade signed off on this thing,” I choke, emotion clogging my throat.

Brody moves behind me. There’s no need to look to confirm. I feel the prickle of awareness on my neck and the heat at my back. My knees wobble as I wait for him to touch me.

When he does, wrapping a strong, supportive arm around my middle, tears spill from my eyes, dripping down my cheeks.

“You haven’t even seen the good part yet and you’re already cryin’,” he points out, his hand sliding beneath my jacket as his fingers splay across my stomach, stroking them everywhere they can reach.

“I don’t have to look inside to know. You listened to me.”

“I always listen to you.”

“The sky hasn’t fallen,” I say on an exhale.

“It definitely hasn’t.”

“You said you don’t keep cattle as pets.”

“I said my grandfather doesn’t keep cattle as pets. Didn’t say nothin’ ’bout me. Or you,” he corrects me.

“You or me,” I echo, hands itching to reach for the door. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“That’s the whole point of a surprise, Buttercup. Not knowing what to expect.”

“I don’t think most people expect surprises like this either, Brody.”

“Stop puttin’ up a stink and follow me.”

I’d been waiting for his permission. The moment I get it, I’m following through the gate and into the pasture. I see the open length of the shed that faces the busy pasture first. Then, the knee-height fluffy animal taking small hops toward us from beneath it. My jaw drops as I watch the cow shake out of his apparent nerves and bounce to Brody, butting its head against his knee.

“Been lonely these past couple hours, have you?” he asks the cow, dropping a hand to scratch between its ears.

God, they’re fluffy ears too.

The adorable little thing has thick, off-white fur with a long patch of hair between its ears that hangs down and tickles the top of its pink nose. Calm brown eyes watch me curiously, and I smile at it, as if it can tell that I’m a nice person solely from a smile. A bit ridiculous, but oh well.

“How long have you had it here for?” I ask softly.

“Three days. It took a while to find her, but I think she was worth the hunt. Grandma’s taken a likin’ to her as well. She’s even let her into the house a couple of times when Grandpa’s been workin’ late. Any other time, she’s out here with the other cows. Quite the Ms. Popular, this one.”

My brows reach my hairline. “Inside? She can go inside?”

“Apparently so. Like I said—spoiled.”

“I don’t even know what to do or say or just . . . anything,” I admit.

“Let her smell your hand and introduce yourself. She’s almost as sweet as you are.”

“I’m not always sweet,” I say pointedly.

“Pretty damn close to it.”

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