Leave Tomorrow Behind (Stella Crown Series) Read Online Free Page B

expression went through several changes before stopping on her own variation of pleasantness, which was actually quite frightening. After a year, she twitched her shoulders, which about brought down the tent from the vibrations. “Well…five o’clock Wednesday. I hope to see you all there. Come on, Mom.” She gave Nick a finger waggle, and rolled away.
Her mother blinked several times, then hurried after her daughter.
The silence they left in their wake was deafening. Until Nick snorted. And then I snorted. And then the guys’ jaws snapped shut.
Claire was the only quiet one, since rolling her eyes didn’t make any noise.
 
 

Chapter Five

“So what was that all about?” Nick took my hand as we walked back toward the calf barn.
“I think you know.”
“Yeah. Teenage hormones.”
“I think it was your hormones she was after.” I bumped him sideways. “Not that I was worried.”
“I should hope not. I like my women—emphasis on women, as in, not girls—one hundred percent real.” He held up my hand and rubbed his finger on the tattooed engagement ring my buddy Rusty Oldham had inked there a month before. “And I haven’t ever seen one thing about you that wasn’t.” He kissed the back of my hand.
I pulled him toward the dairy barn, separate from where Zach had Barnabas, to see if any of our friends were there. Bobby and Claire had brought animals from their parents’ herd, so we could at least check them out.
We walked into the barn, and were greeted by the warm, musky scent of cows and everything that goes with them. I breathed in deeply. “Home, sweet home.”
We wandered down the aisles, stepping out of the way of arriving kids and their cows, admiring the different breeds and the high quality of the livestock. Lots of lovely ladies with long, straight bones, wide, feminine faces, and bright eyes. They weren’t yet as cleaned and trimmed as they would be, since they were just moving in, but it was easy to see at a glance that I wasn’t, actually, at home. I had nice cows, but finding a herd where every single one was in this kind of shape would be impossible. Or really, really expensive.
“Hey, here’s Claire’s.” We stopped at the corner stall to admire the young Guernsey. She was gorgeous. A lovely fawn color, with clearly defined white markings. Long, curled eyelashes. Deep brown eyes. I read Claire’s signs. “Her name’s September Breeze.”
“It would be easy to fall in love with her,” Nick said. “You think I could I pet her?”
“Sure.” Claire had come up beside us so quietly I hadn’t heard her. She leaned on the stall. “Breezy loves attention. And people love to give it to her.”
I don’t think I was imagining the irony in her words. Poor Claire. Nice and sturdy, like her cow. But not stunning. Or even shocking, like the showstopper we’d just seen in the food tent.
Nick ran his hand down the cow’s broad face, and leaned in to murmur sweet nothings I thought I should be the only one to receive. But then, I figured I could share with a four-legged female.
“You done eating already?” I asked Claire.
“Wasn’t really hungry.”
Yeah, I wasn’t either after that hideous display.
“She’s beautiful,” I said, meaning Claire’s cow.
“Thanks. Bobby’s is nice, too, but she can’t compete with Breezy.”
Bobby’s Guernsey hung out in the next stall, looking about as excited as a half-asleep cow can. She was nice, for sure. But she really couldn’t hold a candle to the cow right in front of me. I wondered how it was that Claire ended up with the prettier of the pair.
“Check this out, Stella.” Claire pointed toward the animal’s rear, and I stepped to the side so I could see.
September Breeze had lovely long bones, straight legs, a strong back…and an udder she wielded like a trophy.
“Wow.” I went around the corner and squatted to peer through the slats of the stall. The udder was just how you’d want it. Smooth, evenly rounded teats, the udder nice