Sweet Jiminy by Kristin Gore Read Free Book Online Page B

over, holding onto each other, tears streaming from their eyes.
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    Every time Jiminy screwed up enough courage to try to cross the field again, the cows would crowd around her, practically pressing into her flesh. There were bulls in there, too. Any one of them could charge her, trample her. The only ones that looked harmless were the calves, but they were the most dangerous of all, because they came with mothers who would kill to protect them. She knew she wasn’t supposed to get between a calf and its mother, but when they all crowded around her like this, how could she keep track?
    She never would have embarked on her walk in the first place if she’d thought there was any chance of this sort of encounter. Her grandmother had told her that the cattle had been moved to the fenced-in fields at the back of the farm for the next few months, so Jiminy had believed the fields between the house and the river were scary animal–free. But they’d appeared out of nowhere and descended upon her, and now she was pondering the very real possibility that her last moments alive would be filled with the smell of manure.
    Just when Jiminy had closed her eyes to shut out the horror, she heard another voice.
    â€œHUP, HUP, outta the way. HUP, HUP!”
    She opened one eye tentatively. There was Bo, in the farm truck, parting the herd as he drove slowly toward her. He stopped a few feet away and climbed out. Unarmed, he continued his hup-hupping. The cattle didn’t disperse, but they moved enough out of the way to allow him to reach her.
    She flung her arms around his neck.
    â€œThank God you came,” she exclaimed.
    Only the fact that she was trembling stopped Bo from laughing.
    â€œIt’s okay, I got you. We’ll just walk back to the truck now.”
    â€œWatch out for the big one, I think he might charge,” Jiminy whispered. “I’m just going to shut my eyes and hold onto your arm.”
    Bo nodded and guided her.
    Even when Jiminy was safely in the passenger seat of the truck, she still worried they were in danger.
    â€œJust hurry, but not too fast to agitate them,” she said as the cattle continued to swarm. “If a couple of them charged, they could tip over the truck.”
    Bo continued to work hard not to laugh.
    â€œThey’re not going to tip over the truck. They’re not going to kill us. They don’t want to kill us; they would like us to feed them. They’re used to people walking or driving through the field to put more hay out for them to eat. That’s why they hurry over to you. That’s all they want—hay.”
    Jiminy absorbed this. Bo watched her cheeks blush crimson as she looked anywhere but at him. He reached out to touch her arm.
    â€œHey,” he said gently.
    â€œI heard you the first time,” she snapped. “Could you please just drive?”
    Bo kept his hand on her arm.
    â€œNo.”
    Jiminy turned to him. On him, really.
    â€œWhat kind of rescuer are you? Just get me out of here. Please! I’ll drive, if that’s the issue. Just scoot over.”
    She made a move to switch places with him.
    â€œYou’re being silly,” he said. “You’ve got nothing in the world to be scared of, do you understand?”
    â€œMove!” she replied.
    She tried clumsily to switch spots with him, throwing her leg over his lap and reaching her hand past him to grab the edge of the driver’s seat to help hoist herself over. There wasn’t anything graceful about her maneuver, and she was about to be stuck in an awkward position if he didn’t help her out. So he obliged, scooting beneath her to the passenger side as Jiminy climbed all over him. It was the most intimate they’d ever been with each other, and for a brief moment all Bo could think about was how her breast had brushed his shoulder and how much her hair smelled like coconuts.
    Jiminy was similarly flustered. She gripped the steering