Mary paled and swallowed.
“Come on, now. Do you think your grandma got chicken from a lab?”
“Well, no,” she admitted. “To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it.”
“Well, now you can tell everybody back home that you saw where real food comes from.”
“They’d never believe this.” She looked around at the scenery and took a deep breath of the fresh air.
“I think you look great in my mom’s boots and that barn coat.”
She threw her arms out wide and looked down at her outfit.
“Think I’m pulling this off?”
“Wow. You move fast. We just met and you’re talking about pulling your clothes off?”
“You can dream. But I’m keeping all my clothes on.”
Jake laughed, taking off his gloves and stuffing them in the back pocket of his jeans. Then he stepped closer to her and tipped back her chin with his free hand, which she didn’t mind at all.
“Oh, New York. I have a feeling you can pull anything off.”
She met his eyes and for once was without words. He held her gaze for a few beats.
“Come on. Let’s go eat.” Then he reached for her hand, and she followed him back to the house.
MEANWHILE, TOMMY TOOKHarper into the dairy barn. The animal smells were pungent and caught Harper by surprise.
“Oh my,” she said and put her hand over her nose.
“You get used to it,” he said, but she had her doubts.
Tommy grabbed a bucket and some gloves for the one remaining cow waiting to be milked. She noticed how he wore his hair long and how he favored his left leg a little bit. That must have been from the hockey injury Grace had mentioned.
“Ever milked a cow before?” he asked.
“Definitely not.”
“Want to try?”
“Definitely not sure.”
“Come, I’ll show you.” He pulled on a pair of disposable gloves and grabbed a stool. He set it next to a large cow that stomped her back legs in anticipation of being milked. Harper jumped.
“She won’t hurt you. Just stand to the side, though.” He put his hand on the cow’s haunches. “Easy there, Bessie.”
“Her name is Bessie?”
“We call all of them Bessie. Makes it easier.” Tommy sat on the stool and showed her how it was done. “First, we clean her all up to get rid of any dirt. That helps get the milk flowing, too. Then you hold the udder between your thumb and finger, give a little squeeze, and then try again.”
Suddenly and smoothly, the milk started to stream into the bucket.
“Want to give it a try?” He offered her the seat and crouched beside her. She put on the gloves he handed to her and reached for the teat. On her first attempt, she missed the bucket and squirted milk right into Tommy’s face.
“I’m so sorry!” She was mortified, but he just laughed and wiped it off with the back of his gloved hand.
“Nice shot. Try again.” He put his hand over hers and showed her how to get it just right. “Try to breathe easily. If you’re nervous, she’ll sense it, and then we’ll be here all night.”