Page 30 of Cattle Stop

“Oof.”

“Yeah.”

His shoulder hurts like this, leaning up against the fence. It hurt all morning bumping along on the tractor too. He lets out a sigh as Penny scratches down his neck. He’s got to go check over the hay equipment, what with the growth the grass has been putting on. Add it to the list, he thinks, but lets himself stay right where he is for another moment. It’s been entirely too long since anyone’s touched him with anything nicer than Drew and one of his crushing hugs.

Maybe he should ask Whit what the hookup scene around here looks like these days. Give his body a change from hefting hay bales and pushing cows this way and that. It sounds nice as anything. Of course, that would involve admitting Whit knows something Cooper doesn’t, so no, getting laid may not actually be worth that.

Or we could just fuck each other. He frowns at the thought. Unhelpful, that little part of himself that always crops up when he spends too much time around Whit. He’s a jerk and an asshole, and if Cooper’s going to actually know anything about a guy he jumps in bed with, he’d like the facts to not add up to insufferable, fussy, and an utter bonehead.

“I’m worried about Drew,” Penny says softly.

“Do we need to eat all that ricotta? I’m up for it. I’ll take one for the team.”

“I’m serious.”

“Good news, I am too.”

“Well, you could use some meat on your bones.” Penny pokes a finger into his ribs and he flinches away.

“Maybe I’ll have Drew give me some. I still owe Brad a bit for those stops.”

She grabs a lock of his hair and tugs gently. “You going to just deliver him a truckload of ricotta that’s got to be eaten within the week?”

“Oh, if it goes bad, he won’t notice over all that damn gum. Did he always do that?”

“Annoying as all hell, isn’t it?”

“Right?” Cooper sighs. “No wonder Whit hates him.”

Penny snorts softly and jostles Cooper’s head side to side with her grip on his hair. “That’s not why.”

“Get off,” Cooper says, batting halfheartedly at her hand.

“And Whit doesn’t hate Brad.” Penny jumps down from the fence, landing lightly on her feet.

“Wait, no, go back to rubbing my head.”

She walks backward toward the milk room and points a finger toward the house and says, “Clean the grill.”

“What’s the deal, then?” Cooper calls after her. “With Brad and Whit? Did they hook up? Is Whit super into gum chewers?”

“The two of them?” Penny lets out a laugh. “God, no.”

“Then what?”

But she just shakes her head and pushes into the milking room, and the door that falls shut doesn’t give him any answers.

In the kitchen, Cooper wipes Drew’s name from the whiteboard and scribbles in his own for who’s cooking dinner. He hums to himself, shredding a ball of mozzarella onto a plate, dough rising in a bowl next to him, and Sadie snuffling around the kitchen floor at his feet, licking up bits of cheese that fall. He looks down at her for a moment, and then not-so-accidentally brushes another piece off the counter.

“That’s not good for her.”

“Jesus, Whit, I’m gonna have to put a fucking bell on you.”

Whit pushes the door shut behind him, his cheeks flushed and his hair damp with sweat. Cooper turns back around and sorts through the refrigerator, staring at a hapless bottle of ketchup.

“Ready to eat soon?” Cooper asks.

“I just got back from running.”