Landon turned back to Kate. “Let Dewayne help you decide which cattle to send to the sale barn. He’s experienced enough to know what to do.”
Dewayne’s suggestions—all nine-—still seemed severe. Maybe a few of the heifers needed another round with the bull before their fate was sealed. Calving later in the year was less convenient, but still doable. “Thanks. I’ll figure out what’s best for the ranch.”
He eyed her in a way that made her feel like he was peering into her mind. “Here’s some more advice you’ll probably ignore: when the new calves are born, don’t name them. You’re never going to be able to slaughter an animal you’ve named.”
It was a harsh reminder. Many of the sweet doe-eyed calves would be destined for the meat shelf. All of them, eventually. “I somehow doubt you’re just a compulsive advice giver. Why are you really trying to help me?”
He shook his head as though he wasn’t certain himself. “I guess I have a thing for damsels in distress. Well, that and I’m hoping if I make you a reasonable offer on the land, we can still come to a financial arrangement.”
A way for her to get out of ranching and still help her family? She perked up. “What sort of financial arrangement?”
“You agree to sell me the land for a fair price, and then you don’t have to stick it out for the year.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “A bird in the hand instead of three hundred and fifty-one more days of hauling hay bales to the bull pen. Not that I’m counting.”
“Exactly.”
“I can stick it out,” she said.
“Of course you can.”
“What’s your offer going to be?”
He gave her a slow grin. “Maybe I should wait until it’s calving season to tell you—right around the time you find yourself reaching into a cow to pull out a calf.”
She tapped her fingers on the cart handle, refusing to flinch at the thought. “Actually, I’ve always found birth to be one of the miracles of nature.”
“That’s because you’ve never had to deal with the mess that comes with the miracle. There’s lots of bloody goo. If the cow’s having twins, you might have to untangle them first.”
Not a pleasant thought. “Isn’t that what vets are for?”
“Sure, if they can get there in time and you want to pay their fee. When it’s twins, one of them usually dies.”
Angelina would be in no rush to help her. Probably no one in the area would.
“If your cow has a prolapsed uterus,” Landon went on, “you’ve got to know how to push that back in. You might want to start studying up now.”
Kate stifled a groan and reached for the nearest large mineral block. Before she could sufficiently get a handle on it, Landon picked it up for her and placed it in her cart. “I see you’re going easy on your hands like I suggested.”
She’d planned on being careful. She was going to lift with her arms. “I haven’t slapped anyone,” she pointed out.
A smallhmpfof indignation sounded behind her. Kate turned to see a plump middle-aged woman sidling up to the mineral blocks. “Small wonder,” she muttered.
The woman’s brown hair was bobbed at her chin and her lipstick was some shade of red that probably called itself firecracker or in-your-face crimson. No one familiar. Kate stared at her, trying to figure out how she’d offended the woman.
Landon spoke to her politely as though he wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. “Is there a problem, ma’am?”
The woman’s scowl changed, light switch fast, as she turned to Landon. She was all consolation to him. “The world is full of problems, but none that are your fault, I dare say.”
Landon chuckled uncomfortably. “I’m not sure everyone would agree with you about that.” To Kate, he said, “This is Stacy Reynolds. She and her husband run a bed and breakfast in Bisbee and have a ranch outside of town.”
A lot of ranchers had other jobs, sometimes to provide healthcare and sometimes because they didn’t have enough cattle to support themselves. Her grandfather had only been able to earn a good living because he’d inherited the land and a fairly large heard from his parents.
As Mrs. Reynolds reached for a mineral block, Landon plucked it off the shelf. “Let me get that for you, ma’am.” He deposited it in her cart.
The woman beamed at him. “Your parents would be proud of the way you’ve turned out. Always so thoughtful. Always helping others.” She sent a sideways frown at Kate. “We need more people like that around here and less that would sell the ground from under your feet to make a few dollars.”
Landon’s eyebrows crinkled in confusion. He followed Mrs. Reynolds’s glower to Kate and only then seemed to understand that the woman’s comments had been directed at her.