Page 105 of Knot my First Rodeo

“It absolutely is, he’s here to give you babies to make milk and meat, right? He works for you.”

The goat chooses that exact moment to jump from the hay bale to a rubbermaid tote. Autumn throws her hands in the air.

“See? That confidence? No normal animal should have that much confidence.”

I laugh and walk over, grab the goat by the horns, and pull him down off the tote. The entire problem solved in about three seconds.

Autumn stares at me. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“You just drag him down?”

“That’s usually how catching things works.”

“You’re annoying,” she huffs.

“Yet lovable.” I smirk.

“Debatable.”

I grin and she tries not to smile, but fails.

The goat immediately starts trying to eat the bottom of my jeans.

“See?” Autumn says. “Even he thinks you’re stupid.”

I bark a laugh and shoo the goat with my boot.

This has become the best part of every day; not the chores or the horses… her. The random conversation, the arguments that aren’t really arguments, even the way she somehow turns normal tasks into an adventure, while simultaneously making it harder than necessary. Point in fact, the goat.

I just like being around her, even more so after the heat. I can’t stay away. I’m pulled toward her, and get hard at even the slightest tingle of her scent.

We spend the rest of the afternoon repairing one of the paddock fences. Autumn mostly hands me tools and pretends she's supervising while I work.

“You’re holding that backwards.”

She looks down at the cat’s paw.

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.”

She rotates it.

“...Oh.”

I bite back a smile.

“You weren’t gonna tell me sooner?”

“I wanted to see how long it’d take.”

She throws a handful of grass at me, and the laughter that follows stays with me long after the fence is finished.

Autumn walks beside me as we head back toward the house, and she’s quieter than normal.

“You alright over there? You’re awfully quiet.”