Part 9 (2/2)
What the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, he thought as he bent low and grabbed the wooden trough. Flipping troughs down the alley he counted, one by one, the reasons to stay clear of her wide, expressive eyes and the pain he read behind them.
The offer of food brought the ewes hustling back to the grain bins. Once again, they whined, bleated, and b.u.t.ted each other for a better place.
”Can I help?” she called.
Straightening, he pointed to his ears. Nora walked-very slowly-to the grain bin, and using primitive hand signals, asked if she should scoop grain into the troughs. He gave a grateful nod and she set to work.
The two of them worked side by side at a feverish pace spreading grain to the scrambling ewes. Her unfit muscles began to tremble, but she refused to quit. Eventually, the bleating diminished as they settled down to chow, forming two long rows of efficient eating machines.
C.W. walked over to Nora and rubbed his palms against his jeans. ”Whew. Gets pretty noisy in here at feeding time.”
”So I hear,” she replied, wiping her brow. ”My ears are still ringing.”
His gaze rested a moment on her b.u.mp. ”How are you feeling? Any headaches?”
Nora shook her head. ”Just tender.”
He raised his callused fingertips to tilt her chin a degree upward as he studied her pupils. Nora's throat constricted and her chest tightened. She jerked her head away.
”I said I'm fine, thanks.”
C.W. abruptly stepped back. ”Enough work for your first day. You'd better rest, or May will have my hide.”
Nora chuckled softly. ”Okay. Just for a second. I'm only a little tired.”
She wandered to a small stool and slumped upon its wobbly seat. What a liar she was. She really was p.o.o.ped. Nora's bottom just reached the stool when Esther entered the barn with long, confident strides. Nora bolted back up as if the bench were electrified.
Grabbing a pitchfork on her way down the alley Esther called out, ”Sorry I'm late, C.W.” When she spied Nora, her eyes widened in surprise. They shared a look, a shorthand reminder of their earlier conversation.
”Didn't expect to see you down here,” Esther said.
Nora stepped away from the stool. ”Why not? This is where I work now.”
Esther seemed to accept that at face value. Without another word, she threw the pitchfork into the hay. Standing on the sidelines, Nora watched the two seasoned farmers shovel impressive forkfuls of hay. She felt out of place, like a fan on the bleacher. Her gaze swept the barn, really taking in for the first time the a.s.sorted metal and wood tools, the bottles of medicine, the charts, the mysterious plastic tubes and bins. Tools of the trade. Nora didn't have the faintest idea what they were or how to use them. Esther, no doubt, could use them all.
Wiping her hands, Nora noticed that her palms were smooth and uncallused, her nails were clean and unchipped, and her jeans were old but unstained. So much to learn, she realized, and so little time. Nora grimaced under the weight of her own ignorance.
She turned to go.
”Leaving already?” Esther called out.
As though on a dance cue, Nora spun on her heel, grabbed the nearest shovel and pail, and began the dirtiest job in the barn: spotting birth plugs.
”Someone's started labor over here,” she called out.
Esther stilled her fork, her face the picture of surprise. C.W. swung his head around, obviously pleased. ”Great. I'll check the ewe.”
”C.W.,” she said when he approached near enough that she didn't have to shout. ”Would you call me, sometime, to see a birth? If it isn't too much trouble, that is?”
C.W. finished his quick examination of the ewe, then paused to catch his breath and study her. Nora shuffled her feet as she waited, looked at the new scuff marks on her boots, then bobbed her head back up to meet his gaze. Well? her eyes asked across the distance.
”It's no trouble,” he replied, deciding. ”Nature doesn't give any warning.”
”Anytime. Please.”
Nodding his head, C.W. turned his back to her, grabbed his fork, and set back to throwing hay.
Nora grinned from ear to ear. As she walked down the aisle checking out the pen floors, her pail b.u.mping her s.h.i.+ns, she felt inordinately pleased with herself. This wasn't such a bad job after all, she decided. Maybe not her favorite job, but for now, it was the only one she knew how to do.
”Tomorrow, I'll learn another,” she vowed, peeking over at C.W. and Esther talking together over a pregnant ewe.
”And then another.”
10.
AT PRECISELY FOUR O'CLOCK, Nora sat across the bare mahogany dining table from C.W., her ankles together, her back straight, and her hands tightly folded atop a neat pile of papers. If she was going to work successfully with Mr. Walker, he had to first understand that she was capable and up to the job. She had a college degree in business, had spent childhood summers on a dairy farm, was eager to learn, and had bound less energy. There was no reason on earth why she couldn't make a go of it here in Vermont.
No reason other than money, of course.
She looked across the table at C.W. and wondered how she was ever going to manage working with such a quixotic personality. One minute he seemed almost kind, the next he was critical-and it seemed to her that he was especially critical of her. What had she done to make him feel that way about her? If she was going to fit in here, she had to be one of the guys, like Esther.
C.W.'s long fingers began to tap impatiently upon the table. Okay, Mr. Walker, she thought, clearing her throat. I'm just as eager to end this meeting as you are.
”I intend to be frank with you, Mr. Walker,” she began, hoping she sounded professional. She didn't realize that to him she sounded more like an arrogant housewife giving orders to the gardener.
He bristled and s.h.i.+fted in his seat.
She fiddled with the corner of a paper.
”I have a net worth statement from Mike's lawyers,” she continued steadily, ”but I would like to verify it with your figures. I'm not sure I trust theirs.”
He found that very interesting. ”I can get that for you.”
”Thank you. Next, I need a budget.”
”Uh-huh.”
They were both on their best behavior. Nora felt relieved. So far so good. She decided to dive right in. Taking a deep breath, she reviewed her numerous lists.
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