Read Online Till the Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens - Free Book Online Page A

had his gear with him, so I assumed he was there to get started.
    “Morning,” I said.
    “Morning.”
    “You always start work at six-thirty?”
    “Actually, I’m a little late. I try to start as early as I can, to avoid the hotter hours of the day. If it’s okay with you, I’ll work till noon or so, then come back later in the afternoon and work through the evening.”
    I shrugged. “Whatever. I’m up by five, so you won’t be waking me.” I nodded at the heifer barn. “Anything you need from me?”
    Nick shook his head. “I think I’ve got everything. I may have to make a run or two to the paint store, but other than that I’m good to go.”
    Good to go. Seeing him, I was good to go, too, but he didn’t need to know that.
    “Well,” I said. “You need anything, you just come find me. I’ll be around. Or you could ask Howie, my farmhand. He knows this place almost better than I do.”
    “Will do.” He gave me his hundred-watt smile, and my stomach contracted. I did my best to look unaffected as I turned and walked back into the barn.
    “You did real good, Princess,” Howie said. “I couldn’t see you sweating or anything.”
    I ignored him and switched the hoses to the last set of cows.
    “I’m going to call Carla about Cleopatra,” I said. “Be back in a minute.”
    Carla answered on the first ring and said she’d come out after her first appointment. It was too hot to let the dead cow go any longer, even if it was in the cool barn.
    I hung up and punched in Jethro and Belle’s number.
    “What did he say?” Belle sounded out of breath.
    “Oh, sorry, Belle. It’s Stella. I wanted to know what you found out about Zach.”
    I heard a muffled sob. “I’m still waiting. I wanted to go, too, but.…”
    “Sure. Someone had to stay with Mallory. Call when you hear, okay?”
    I went back to the parlor, nerves strung even tighter, where Howie and I milked for another hour, till all the cows were done. I had to take occasional breaks to check out Nick’s work, of course, but other than that, things went as usual.
    “Only have three that need separate milking,” Howie said. “Pansy went off her antibiotics. You want to do them while I get the others out?”
    I nodded and headed to the back stalls, where we had clipped in the ones who needed special attention.
    There are a couple of reasons you milk cows apart from the rest of the herd, sending their milk into a separate storage tank. New mothers give the precious colostrum calves need and people don’t want, and any cow on antibiotics gives milk that is tainted and can’t be sold.
    When Wayne, or whoever hauls our milk, does his rounds, he takes a sample of each farm’s milk, and if the tank tests positive for antibiotics when he gets to the plant, the farmer who tried to cheat gets to pay for the entire load, plus receives a heavy fine and a blast to their reputation. Definitely not worth trying to get bad milk past the tests. And the restrictions get tougher every year.
    “Any preference as to which water source I use?”
    I finished putting the milker on Wendy, the mom of Zach’s new calf, and looked up at Nick, who stood leaning against the doorjamb of the milking parlor.
    “What do you need it for?” I asked.
    Nick smiled and raised his eyebrows, like I didn’t trust him.
    “I don’t care what you’re using it for,” I said. “I just need to know so I can tell you which spigot to use.” Geez .
    “I’m going to start powerwashing the heifer barn. I want to get all the gunk off before I start any repairs or painting.”
    “Gunk,” I said. “Is that the technical term?”
    “It was at Barn Painter University. Or I could be more specific and say peeling paint, wayward ivy, and pigeon poop. Would that make you feel better?”
    “Lots. There’s a spigot inside the heifer barn we use to fill up their water tank. You can use that. Go through the door to the right.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Nick gave me a small salute and went