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Camden blinked. This was more information than she’d ever known about her grandfather. “You started the school on a whim?”
He shrugged. “I liked dogs. I didn’t like the way the dogs were being treated when the trainer Bennett hired brought a few to his place. Figured it was something I could do that would get me outside a little more, especially during the summer months. So I trained that dog for Bennett, then a few more area ranchers asked for dogs, and within a couple of years I was spending nearly all my time training the dogs. Shut down the accounting business and haven’t worried about it once.”
“Then why aren’t you training any longer?”
“A man has to retire at some point, Camden. I thought it was time.” She started to protest, but Granddad held up a hand. “Why don’t you tell me more about stock competitions.”
“They use sheep, goats, chickens. A few calves. One trainer works a few dogs to get the animals from one pen to another, and they’re judged on speed, agility and time.”
“Sounds like what I did when I was training.”
“It’s a lot like a training session, actually.” Camden couldn’t get the thought of her grandfather retiring out of her mind. He wasn’t that old, maybe in his midsixties. Sure, it was the age when a lot of people retired, but he’d loved working the dogs. How could he just stop? “That competition show in Tulsa I mentioned? Six couldn’t compete in that one, but you could get an idea how the show circuit differs from the working circuit. If you wanted to go.”
“Your grandma’s not going to want to go to Tulsa this close to the holidays,” Granddad said. He opened the run for Six. The dog went in and began sniffing. Probably for water. Camden grabbed an empty bowl from a shelf and filled it from the sink on the wall. Granddad did the same for the other dogs. “All these runs used to be full,” he said after a while.
“I remember.” She’d come out here every morning that last summer, watching Granddad and her dad and the collies from the hayloft above. Listening to the men talk about training methods. Elizabeth never set foot in the barn. She’d rarely left the porch, insisting that the dirt would ruin her shoes. God, her mother had hated this place. It was no wonder she had never wanted to come back.
Camden looked around. How could anyone hate the smell of fresh hay and summer sunshine? Even the gray November sky today couldn’t take away the smells that lived in her memory. She remembered traipsing over these fields with Levi when the sun was high and the temperatures much hotter than on this chilly morning. He’d had this sky and these smells all of his life. Did he know how lucky he was?
“Your dad wanted to train a few dogs for the show circuit.”
“I remember.” He’d been so excited about the prospect. Her father, Bobby Harris, liked his job in the marketing department of the television station in Kansas City, but he’d loved coming back to Slippery Rock for vacation every year. Had been talking about getting a dog for the city, not a cattle dog, but a retriever or something.
“You don’t have to train dogs because it was something your dad liked to do. Not even because it’s something I like.”
“I know. I just liked working with them. I’d like to work with them again.” She didn’t want to live her life in a quiet office, watching girls try on dresses and perfect their makeup.
“Then you should do it.”
She inhaled, deeply. “Yeah?”
Calvin nodded.
Camden grinned at her grandfather, and he swung his arm around her shoulders the way she’d seen him embrace her father so many times in the past. “I’m glad you came home, kiddo.”
“So am I,” she said.
In the kitchen, her grandmother Bonita was just taking toasted cheese sandwiches off the stove. “You two are back early.” She wore a neon-orange hoodie with black yoga pants and sneakers with bold orange, green and yellow striping on them. Her bobbed hair, dyed a crisp black, was perfectly arranged, and she’d put on lipstick.
Camden hung her jacket on the peg in the mudroom, slipped the muddy boots off her feet and smoothed her hands over her long brown hair.
“Couldn’t stay away any longer.” Calvin put his arms around his wife’s waist, pulling her back against his chest and nipping her earlobe with his teeth. Bonita slapped at his hand and blushed as a grin spread over her face. “Camden wants us to hit Tulsa for a dog show in a week.”
“Tulsa in the middle of the holiday shopping season?” Bonita shook her head. “I’m going into town this afternoon. Groceries. And then I need to stop in at the boutique. They’re holding a pair of earrings for me. Want to come along?” Bonita looked pointedly at Camden. “I don’t know what you could need after the five packages that were delivered this morning, but you might find something.”
“I was going to—”
Bonita held up a hand. “Play with the dogs, I know.”
“Train Six,” Camden corrected. Bonita and Calvin exchanged a look.
“We’re going to reopen Harris Farms,” he said after a long moment.
Bonita’s smile grew wider. “He’s been pretending to be retired and complaining about having nothing to do for nearly a year now. Yet on only your second day back in town, you got him to agree to reopen? That is reason enough for a little celebratory shopping. You can help me pick out a few things for Tulsa, because while he’s only going for the stock, I’m thinking I can get him to agree on at least one fancy restaurant.”
Granddad frowned at his grilled cheese. “This is a business trip, Bonnie.”
“Everyone has to eat, Cal. Who says we only have to eat at fast food restaurants?”
Camden watched the two of them bicker and thought it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. She had been too young to realize whether or not her parents bickered, but her mother and stepfather didn’t. Her stepfather made the decisions about schools and household budgets, and her mother made the decisions about vacations. There was something odd about parents who presented logical, spreadsheeted presentations about everything from the type of shoes needed for tennis to a summer spent sailing in the Caribbean.
“I’d like to work with Six a little this afternoon,” Camden said when they’d agreed on one fancy dinner and the purchase of at least two new collies.
“You aren’t reopening today, and you can’t train a puppy for a competition set for only a few days away,” her grandmother said. “Come on, woman does not live by dog obstacle courses alone.”
Bonita made a good point. And there had been that really cute tunic at the store yesterday. “I guess training could start tomorrow.”
* * *
NINETY-NINE PERCENT of the time, football held zero allure for Levi Walters. What fans saw as a couple of hours of playing on television he knew was actually six hours in the weight room, another three watching film and a minimum of two more hours of on-the-field practice. He’d been out of the game for nearly three years and could honestly say he didn’t miss the grind of the football life.
He did, sometimes, miss the glitz. Red carpets could be fun. The roar of the crowd after a particularly good tackle made him feel alive in a way nothing else did. The women were beautiful.
Although none had made him forget to breathe like Camden had the other night at the Slope.
And he wasn’t going to spend another day thinking about Camden Harris. She was a childhood friend, that was all. He had no business wondering about her appearance in Slippery Rock. Or thinking about what she’d look like out of that designer gown.
Wedding dress, dude, wedding dress. He was not going to get hung up on a woman who ran out on her own wedding. Back to pondering football. The things about it he’d liked. The exhaustion after a particularly grueling workout.
An image of Camden, face pinkish with exertion, body naked, popped into his mind. Levi gritted his teeth and refocused on football.
Signing autographs for kids had been fun. Visiting them in the hospital.
An image of Camden in a nurse’s costume popped into his mind, and Levi angrily sank the shovel he was holding into a pile of manure and hay. He barely knew Camden Harris. He’d talked to her for all of five minutes. What the hell was she doing in his head?
Football never failed to distract him, so Levi ran back through the things he’d liked about the game. The exhaustion that made his mind blank—he wouldn’t mind a bit of that right now. The one-on-one interactions with kids, the roar of the crowd on game day. The bullshitting in the locker room.
Fifty-three sweaty men, some with questionable hygiene to begin with, were definitely better than the two hundred cows he cleaned up after twice a day.
Levi sank the shovel into another pile of manure and hay in the milking parlor. Mucking out the stalls after the herd of dairy cows had done their morning session was one of the times he missed the relative cleanliness of football.
A clump of manure landed on his boot.
In some very specific instances, football was better than being a dairy farmer. Definitely better.
He flicked the clump into the pile in the back of the ranch truck. Brilliant November sunlight peeked over the trees, turning the sky a brilliant blue. Under the smell of manure, there was the scent of dew on the grass, and the leaves were finally beginning to turn. All along the lakeshore, the trees would be laden with deep red and orange leaves with a bit of gold thrown in for good measure. He’d missed the turning of the leaves for four long professional seasons, and for the four before that, when he’d played at the college level.
The few things he missed about football life didn’t compare to the beauty of a country sunrise or getting to watch the slow change of the leaves or knowing that the products that came from his dairy were wholesome and healthy for the people who consumed them.
Football was fun, but the best part was that the money he’d made playing the game ensured the stability of Walters Ranch.
Levi put the last shovel full of hay and manure into the truck bed. He’d drive the load to the composting area. It would be ready for the local home and garden store by spring. He should check with Collin to see if they needed more compost at the orchard, too.
Then he needed to check on the cattle over on the Harris property. He’d been renting several acres from the older couple since making the dairy an organic operation; the cows couldn’t mix with the organic cattle, but that didn’t mean they had no value. Of course, they didn’t have much monetary value, but that was beside the point.
And while he was at the Harrises’, he’d probably run into Camden, could maybe learn why she was back in town after being gone for so long. Maybe seeing her again—hopefully wearing something other than that dress—would get her out of his head.
Another image of Camden, naked, popped into his head. Levi rapped his fist against his head, hoping to dislodge thoughts of Camden—in the wedding gown and out of it—from his mind.
He turned on the hoses to begin the rest of the cleanup.
“I still say you should install a sprinkler system in here so you can do away with the shoveling altogether.”
Levi turned to see his sister, Savannah, in the doorway.
“Yeah, because what everyone wants to breathe are minute manure particles.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe a vacuum and sprinkler system then.”
“If you aren’t going to be helpful, you can just leave.” He took the sting out of the words with a smile. Not that he’d intended any sting to begin with. Savannah could be sensitive about things, though. He hadn’t known how sensitive until she returned to Slippery Rock last summer. She was settling in now. Practically living at the orchard with Collin, and in another few weeks would be married to him.
Levi couldn’t have picked a more perfect man for his sister. It was good to see her so happy lately.
She was dressed for the orchard today, in old jeans and a fleece hoodie, with gloves poking out of the big front pocket. The ripped big front pocket. He tilted his head to the side. The sweatshirt had to be about three sizes too big for her. She looked like a kid with the hoodie hanging past her hips and her skinny legs clad in ripped jeans.
“Is that my sweatshirt?”
“I don’t know. I found it in the mudroom. Collin said to dress warmly. We’re pruning today.”
Another change in his life. Savannah pruning apple trees. Savannah working, in general. She’d waited tables in town for a while then run off to sing in a talent competition. But before returning to Slippery Rock, Levi had never seen her do agricultural work. It was interesting to see that now. Especially because she seemed to enjoy it. Whether it was football or dairy farming, no feeling was better than the knowledge he’d done a solid day’s work. It was good that Savannah had that now, too.
“Do you want it back?”
“Nah, you can wear it. As long as you don’t mind that it’s been covered in cow dung too many times to count.”
Savannah gave the hoodie a side eye, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s been washed just as much,” he added. “You know Mama Hazel wouldn’t let anything hang in her mudroom unless it had been thoroughly cleaned first.”
“True.” She put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and rocked back on her heels. She wore rain boots today, the rubber kind that reached almost to her knees, with a plaid design on them. “Anyway, I wasn’t just here to talk about the sprinkler system. I was wondering what you’re planning for the old cows. The ones on the Harris property?”
“Not really planning anything. We’ll feed them, make sure they’re comfortable. Let them live out their lives in peace over there. Why?”
“I was thinking a few of them might be a nice addition to the camp when it’s up and running in the spring. They’re so gentle. It might be nice to have... I don’t know, not a petting zoo, but actual farm animals that the kids can interact with.”
“I thought this camp was a musical one?”
She’d had the idea to form a program like the one she’d volunteered with in Nashville. A music program for kids in the foster care system—kids like she had been before Bennett and Mama Hazel adopted her at the age of seven. Police officers had found her, abandoned and dirty, on the steps of their precinct in Springfield, and Levi vividly remembered her quiet demeanor and how skinny she’d been when they first brought her to Walters Ranch. How she’d jumped at loud noises for a while. That early beginning had left scars on Savannah he hadn’t realized until she came back to Slippery Rock last summer. Seeing her blossom like this, planning a camp for kids like her, it was something he wished he’d thought of.
Still, to add dairy cattle? That seemed a little...off.
“It is. I was talking to one of the therapists who has agreed to spend a few days each month at the farm. She told me about horse therapy and mentioned that having other animals around could give the kids more responsibility. You know, feed the cows, clean up after them.” She wrinkled her nose again at the cleaning part, and Levi bit back a smile.
“And you’re going to teach them this cattle feeding, cattle cleaning stuff?”
“Ah, maybe?” She looked around the milking parlor. “I did learn how to milk them, after all.” Levi raised an eyebrow at his sister. She laughed. “Okay, so it took me a while to get the hang of it, but I did. If I can do it, the kids in the program can figure it out. Especially if one former star defensive back from the NFL is around to encourage them.”
And the other shoe dropped. She wanted him to be part of the camp. Levi shrugged. “Sure, I’ll pick out a couple of the really docile cows.” And he’d volunteer as much time as Savannah wanted. After all, wasn’t that what family was for?
Savannah rewarded him with a big smile and reached up on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his cheek. “We can talk it through more whenever you have some free time. Hey, you’re coming to the downtown lighting tonight, right?”
“Do we know yet why Thom has called, emailed and texted everyone in town to be there?”
“Do we ever know why the mayor does something?” Savannah asked and shrugged. “He invited the TV stations from Springfield to come, too, because most of them covered the Branson lighting on Thanksgiving. My guess is he’s trying to drum up more winter tourism. You know, tour the small-town lights, drink hot cider, spend your money in our town. That kind of thing.”
“But we don’t have anything for people to see. Only lunatics hit the lake at this time of year—the water’s too cold.”
Savannah shrugged. “Thom always has his reasons. Listen, I need to get to the orchard. We’ll save you a spot tonight, though,” she said, looking at her watch. She hurried out of the parlor, and he heard one of the ranch four-wheelers start up and then fade into the distance.
Her plan wouldn’t hurt anything, Levi told himself as he got into the truck and turned it toward the compost area. The camp wasn’t set to open until the spring, and cows were adaptable. Adding another thing to his calendar wouldn’t be a bad thing, either. With Aiden, James, Collin and Adam deep in relationship heaven, he was kind of the odd man out.
Levi liked people. He liked conversation and camaraderie. Those were two of the things he’d loved about football. There was never a lack of backslapping or talking on a football field. There had been plenty of both here, too, before his buddies started dropping like flies under Cupid’s bow. He didn’t want to be a third wheel to any of them, so he needed to find something else to do with his time. Savannah’s camp was a good starting place. The new product lines for the dairy would take up more time, too.
At the compost area, Levi began shoveling the manure onto the smoking squares. By spring they would have a good amount of compost for the local home and garden store, and probably enough for the orchard and a few other local businesses, too. He shoveled another pile into one of the compost squares.
It wasn’t that he envied his friends falling in love. He wouldn’t mind falling like that himself, if he could find the right woman.
The problem was most of the women in Slippery Rock were taken—a hazard of small-town living. If he didn’t make the time to either meet someone from a nearby town who fit the bill of farmer’s wife or head to Little Rock or Tulsa to find someone to at least take the edge off his physical needs, though, this restless feeling he’d been trying to shake since the summer would keep bothering him. The daydreams about Camden were only the fruits of his too-long celibate streak.
Until he could fit one of those two plans of attack into his schedule, he would just keep himself busy in other ways. The less time he had free, the less time he’d have to brood over...things. Like his lack of a love life.
Like the pretty girl he remembered from childhood wandering back into town looking like a drop-dead-gorgeous woman, complete with a wedding dress.
Finished with the compost piles, Levi tossed the shovel into the truck bed and got behind the wheel. He’d go check on the old cows. His father, Bennett, would have already fed them today, but Levi could check the salt licks. Maybe make some notes for Savannah’s new project.
He pointed the truck to the rutted path that led to the fence between Walters property and the Harris farm.
Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine. He’d made the right choice to come back to Slippery Rock, to gracefully back out of football. This was just part of the adjustment period. So it had taken more than two years to get to the questioning phase—that didn’t make his decision wrong.
He wanted to be here. Here, he had a purpose. Plans for the future.
Camden Harris was just a distraction. One he would start ignoring right now.
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