Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
I chuckled and looked down at Livvy. “Okay, pixie, who exactly am I gonna be feeding?”
“Skeppy,” she said proudly.
“Um, is that the boy?”
“No, silly, Skeppy is a girl,” Kate said, pointing to a calf.
“And Skippy is the boy,” Livvy provided, pointing to the other one.
“Good grief. Skeppy and Skippy? What kind of names are those?” I asked.
“Perfect ones,” Livvy said. “I found MC when I was out looking for the bees to put into the skep but Kate thought I said skip so, this way she can remember the difference.”
I looked over at my brother who just shrugged. “Hey, don’t look at me. Until Livvy educated us, I thought bees lived in hives. What did you think?”
When Livvy giggled, I smiled. “Oh, I think there’s going to be a great deal of schooling in her future.” As I waited for him to open the stall’s door, I added, “Starting with not getting up from that haybale.”
“What do you think happens if I do?” Livvy asked Kate.
As I followed Luther into the stall and closed the gate, I heard Kate whisper, “I think you’ll find yourself sent to the principal’s office!”
“Come on, Papa, we’ve got some hungry babies to feed,” Luther said, then dropped his voice to a whisper. “Which one is which again?”
“Hell if I know.” I rolled my eyes but did so with a huge grin on my face. If giving cows silly names brought this much laughter to our lives, it was a price I was more than willing to pay.
By lunchtime, Livvy was ready to admit that using crutches took a lot more effort than she’d thought. I sure didn’t mind as that let me sweep her up off her feet and carry her up the porch steps and into the house. I settled her at the kitchen table with a glass of iced tea.
“How about you draw while I prepare lunch?” When she gave me a side-eye, I chuckled. “I was thinking about those hives you talked about wanting to build, but I’m pretty sure I know where your mind just went.”
She had the grace to flush and then surprised me when she didn’t come back with some quip, but instead said, “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.” When her glance skipped to the door, I scooped her out of the chair and sat before settling her on my lap. “What’s up, buttercup?”
“I remember you saying that when we were kids,” she said with a smile before laying her cheek against my chest. “It’s funny isn’t it?”
“What’s funny, pixie?”
“How much we’ve grown and yet things are the same.”
I’d given that some thought myself as I’d held her the night before while she slept. “The passage of time assures we grow up, but I believe it’s God’s grace that allows the important things to stay the same. We’re bigger and older, and you’ve gone through some things that no one should ever have to, but inside, you have the same heart, the same soul as that redheaded girl who climbed over that fence yelling that we were gonna be friends.”
She lifted her head and smiled. “And you are that same boy who told me to get down before I fell and when I did, instead of telling me ‘I told you so,’ you ran over and picked me up. Do you remember what you said?”
“I told you that you were no longer a city girl, you were on my ranch so you needed to stop crying and…”
“Cowgirl up,” she chorused with me.
I chuckled. “I guess I could have been a little kinder.”
“No.” Livvy shook her head. “You said exactly the right thing. That was the moment I begin to learn that bad things might happen and I might get hurt, but I was strong enough to get back up.” She paused and then added. “It was also the moment I think I fell in love with a cowboy.”
My heart swelled to the point of bursting. “Good thing as I think I started falling the moment a citified redhead popped out of the woods.”
“Then how about we make a deal?” she asked.
Trust this woman to take a moment of such intensity and bring levity into play. “What sort of deal?” I asked though I knew I’d give her anything she desired.
“I’ll cowgirl up and let you spank my butt, if you’ll cowboy up and teach me how to ride.”
“Livvy, I’ve seen you ride this ranch a hundred times–”
The sound of her laughter cut me off. “Not a horse, silly, teach me how to ride a cowboy!”
I didn’t know whether to feel stupid or just feel like the luckiest damn man on the planet so I did the only logical thing. “You’ve got a deal if you promise I’ll be the last cowboy you ever ride.”
“Daddy, you seriously need to learn how to barter better. I already promised I am yours forever last night, remember?”