A New Day (98 page)

    
"No." She agreed.

    
"And in about fifteen minutes, Mom is going to be quite certain that she needs to send Dad out here.  Maybe five." He corrected himself.  "We'd better let her hear that truck motor running."

    
Tasha laughed.  "She knows you well."

    
"Yeah, she does.  Come on, Mrs. Rain, let's get back to work.  But don't you forget, you sold yourself right down the river tonight.  It's a done deal now, darlin'."  He warned her with squinty eyes.

    
Tasha gave him a wide-eyed, innocent stare.  "My, but the country air
does
have an alarming effect on you." 

    
"Is that right?" he growled.  He gave her a long look that promised her she hadn't seen anything yet.  "Well, little darlin';  just you wait until you let this old stallion out of the stall."  He threatened.  "I'm going to pay you back for all this teasing, in spades."

    
She laughed, with pink spots of embarrassment appearing in her cheeks.  "Promises, promises."  She  taunted, with a flirting lilt in her voice.      

    
"Yeah, well.  You should be real glad I still have to haul hay bales tonight."  He grumbled. 

    
She watched, wishing she could help, but knowing better.  She could tell that each bale was plenty enough for Tim to handle.  He threw them down through a big hole in the loft floor, so that they landed right on the pickup bed.  A dozen of them.  Only one fell off the truck.             

    
"How much do those weigh?" she asked incredulously.

    
"About a hundred and twenty pounds."  He answered a bit breathlessly.  "Let's  hurry, and get that truck started, or Mom will be after me with a willow switch." He teased, and held her hand as she started down the ladder.  Then he followed her, and put the last bale back on the truck.

     “
Okay.  Now, them pigs.”  Tim sighed.  He flipped on a light switch and walked through the barn’s side aisle to the back door.  He walked outside through a passage way created by a maze of corrals on each side of the door. 

    
Tasha followed him, a bit alarmed by the depth of the holes in the frozen ground.  In warmer weather, Tasha was aware that this would be deep mud. 

    
There was an area ahead illuminated by very high powered overhead lights.  Tim made his way toward the lights and cranked a big wheel on what appeared to be a silo.  There was a swishing sound and fodder spilled out of a chute down into large, cement troughs.   

    
Out of the darkness came hulking giants, uglier and more frightening than anything Tasha had ever seen!  With their big noses and snuffling noises, they backed Tasha against the opposite rails in a hurry.  A little scream escaped as she ogled these monsters, many of them five feet tall at the shoulder.

    
Tasha screamed again, brilliantly, as a snuffling nose butted against her thigh from behind. 

    
Tim couldn’t help chuckling as she leaped into his arms in absolute terror. 

     “
There, now.  You finally figured out where you belong, did you?”  his voice caressed against her ear. 

     “
My God!  What in the world are they?” she gasped.  Her heart was hammering.

     “
Them are pigs, babe.”  he advised humorously.

     “
My Lord in heaven.”  she gasped.  “They are horrible!”

     “
No, no.  Now, darlin’, you can’t talk that way.  You’ll hurt their feelings.”  he warned in a whisper.

    
Tasha gave a gaping, frightened look at the beady eyes and hairy snouts, and snorted in disbelief.  “So sorry.”  she gasped.

    
He chuckled.  “Let me start some feed into these other troughs, and get some fresh water to them, and then we can end this trauma for you.”

     “
I’ll go for that.”  she agreed immediately.

    
Tim squeezed her comfortingly as he put her on her feet.  Tasha watched nervously as he poured feed into the troughs behind her.  Then, he walked beyond the lights and Tasha felt compelled to follow.  She didn’t want to be left alone with those horrible, hairy, snorting creatures.

    
At the far end of each fence, there was a spigot to water the hogs.  Tim let the water run for awhile, smiling at Tasha with amused affection. When the troughs were full, he shut off the water, and closed all the feed valves.

     “
All right, let’s go.”  he said with a chuckle. 

     “
Gladly.”  she agreed breathlessly.

    
He grinned and put an arm around her as they walked back into the barn.  After latching the door, he led her to the truck and helped her inside.      

     "All right, now you get to help me."  He advised, jumping up onto the back of the truck. 

    
"Really? What do I do?" she asked eagerly.

    
"Drive."  He advised.  "Once we go through that gate and I close it behind us, we'll be in with the animals.  Go nice and slow, and smooth.  About five or ten miles an hour.  And go in a big circle to the right.  Think of it like the face of a clock.  You’ll see the tire tracks in the snow, to guide you.  I'll be cutting open the bales and dropping them off the truck, as we go.  So when you hit six o'clock, I should be half done.  You just keep an eye on what I'm doing, and you'll catch on.  And watch out for animals laying down.  They'll probably get up when they hear us coming, but you never know.  Sometimes they just look like mounds in the snow.  All right?"

    
Tasha nodded nervously, and started the truck.  She pulled out of the barn and stopped, so Tim could close the door behind them.  She followed his hand signals for directions, and saw a gate in front of them after they'd passed his house. 

    
After going through the gate and waiting for Tim to close it, she saw cows coming toward them with interest.  She was a little glad she was inside the truck.

    
She had no trouble with the circle, or gauging where she ought to be, to keep on track, and give Tim the right amount of time to cut and push the bales off. 

    
The cows were really big, and kind of scary.  Tasha had never been so close to cattle, before.  Their noses pressed against the glass, leaving a slimy residue behind, that made Tasha shudder.  But, Tim knew them all and called them all by name, talking nonsense to them in what Tasha would come to call “ranch blather”. 

    
Then suddenly, a great big blob of a mound reared up out of the snow before her.  Beady eyes and horns turned and burned in her headlight beams.  She slammed on the brakes in sheer reaction.  She was terrified!

    
Tim yelled in surprise, as he fell forward in the truck bed, and slammed against the cab with his left shoulder.  Tasha gasped, and flew out of the cab, to see if he was all right. 

    
"Oh, Tim!  I'm so sorry!  Are you hurt?"

    
"No, I don't think so.  But my stars, woman!"  He complained.

    
"Tim, there's something really,
really big
laying out there.  It reared up its head and scared the daylights out of me."
     Tim crawled over the edge of the bed and dropped into the snow.  He waded through the deep snow, looking into the beam of the headlights.  Then, he laughed. 

"It's just Geronimo.  Hey, you old grump, what do you think you're doing?" he demanded.  He turned to Tasha, and urged her to come closer.  There was a deep groan and a huge form, literally standing feet above Tim's head, rose before her, shaking off snow.

     Tim just walked up, and fearlessly caressed the woolly, snowy neck.

    
"Are you deranged?"   Tasha asked incredulously.

    
"What's the matter?  Haven't you ever made friends with a buffalo?" he teased.  "You have to come over here and let him smell you.  If he doesn't know you belong with me, he'll probably chase you out of his pasture.  He does not allow unauthorized humans on his turf."

    
Tasha swallowed hard, not sure if Tim was teasing, or not.  She ventured closer, her knees growing weaker with every step.  But, Tim pulled her under his arm, and made her put her hand out.  A nose that was bigger than her palm sniffed at it cautiously, then examined her with one large, dark eye.  Then his rough, warm tongue licked her fingers.

    
"Now that he's kissed you, you've got to pet him, or you'll hurt his feelings."  Tim instructed. 

    
Tasha slowly reached out and rubbed her hand across his thick, woolly neck, and found it not unpleasant.  The bison blew noisily and stamped his foot.  Tasha nearly jumped out of her skin, making Tim laugh.

    
"Are there any more of these mobile mountains out here?" she asked feebly.

    
"Oh, yeah.  Geronimo has girlfriends." He told her significantly.

    
"No doubt."  Tasha snorted.  “He’s a very fine specimen, obviously.”

    
Tim gave her a lopsided grin, and pulled her into his arms.  "You’re learning.  Come here, and feel grateful you don't have to share my affections with anybody."  He prodded.  “Unlike Geronimo, I’ve been very satisfied to wait for just one lady.”

    
"You're becoming totally unmanageable, Tim."  She pouted.  "Don't you ever get enough?"

    
"Nope, I sure don't.  And I've had to wait too long to even
think
about feeling guilty."  He answered pointedly. 

    
She smiled and squeezed him tightly, willing the comfort to tide him over for a few minutes.

    
"All right," he sighed.  "I suppose we'd better get that truck running again."  He patted Geronimo's shoulder and then they took their positions to finish the feeding rounds.  When they'd finished their circle, distributed all the hay and gone through the gate ritual, Tim joined her in the truck. 

    
He was cold enough that he was shivering, and had to work to keep his teeth from chattering.  He still hadn't recovered when they arrived back at his parents' house.   He met her at the driver's door, and swung her down into a bear hug. 

    
"Check this out.  I'm so frozen I can't even think about standing here and helping myself to sugar."  He complained.

    
"I'd think you've had enough to last you at least until the wedding."  She chastised.

    
He just laughed.  "Do you have any idea what it does to me, to think of you inside this house – in my bed?" he complained. 

    
"Is that all you think about anymore?  Sex, sex,
sex
?" she accused sweetly.

    
"Pretty much."  He admitted, letting her know he felt exceedingly justified.  "I may be a little out of balance right now, but I think I've done quite well, considering.  You got a problem with it?"  he teased.

    
"Oh. No.  Actually, I like sex. 
A lot
."  She teased shamelessly.

    
He narrowed his eyes and growled at her.

    
"It's just that you're getting a little bit scary."  She admitted.

    
"Well, it's your own darn fault.  You didn't have to play so hard to get, you know."  He accused with wide eyes.

    
She giggled.  "Go home before you freeze to death." 

    
"All right. Give me a kiss, and get yourself indoors." He agreed.

    
Tasha stood at the front door and watched him back out of the drive, before she went inside.  It felt very strange to go into the Rain home, and walk around all by herself.  Everything was still and quiet, but for the ticking of the clock. 

    
Thinking of Rick Snyder's visit, Tasha locked the front door behind her.  After putting Gloria's over clothes in their places, she made a beeline for her room. 

    
Once there, she felt unsettled.  She missed Tim.  It really was hard, having him so close, yet so far away.  She picked up a book from the reading table, and smiled tenderly as she skimmed it.  It was a documentary about famous revivals in the 1700's.  She could smell his cologne drifting up, as she fanned the pages.  It brought tears stinging to her eyes.                     

    
She walked to the closet, and bashfully opened it.  She smiled and bit her lip, when she discovered a flannel shirt in navy and burgundy plaid.  She lifted it to her nose and breathed deeply.  Oh, yes.  It smelled like Tim, and his cologne.  She pulled the shirt out, and hugged it to herself.  Taking off her clothes, she snuggled into the shirt, and climbed into bed.  She hugged the pillow under her head, knowing that he'd put his head on it hundreds of times.  She closed her eyes in contentment, and drifted away to sleep.