Till the Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens Read Free Book Online Page A

threw a chain and a tarp into the back of the truck and hopped in. We drove around to the back of the pasture where there was a gate, placed there for emergencies. Howie backed up to Cleopatra and we got out.
    “Nope,” Howie said. “She’s definitely not doing any more milkings.”
    Between the two of us we got the chain wrapped around her hind legs, and after Howie attached the chain to the truck he pulled her onto the tarp I’d laid on the ground. Luckily the barn basement was on the same level as the pasture on the barn side, so we slowly dragged her as close to the barn door as we could.
    I trotted up to the yard and found Zach brushing burrs out of Queenie’s fur.
    “Get your help for a minute, Zach?” I asked. “You feeling all right?”
    “I’m fine. Geez. What do you want me to do?”
    When we got back to the pasture, Howie had unfastened the chain from the truck.
    “Well, here goes nothing,” I said.
    Howie and I each grabbed an end of the chain while Zach crouched in between us, pulling on the tarp. Not an easy job, believe me. Ten minutes later, after we had spent about five minutes of actual dragging and five of recovering, Cleopatra lay in an empty stall where she would stay cool and protected from the other cows.
    “Get another tarp to put over her, would you, Zach?”
    He wiped sweat from his eyes and stood up. “I thought I was here to keep from getting sick, not to get worked into the ground.”
    I swiped at him as he walked past, but he avoided me. I laid my head down on my knees and tried to even out my breathing.
    After about thirty seconds of silence Howie said, “So, who was the guy in the Ranger? And don’t pretend you can’t hear me this time.”

Chapter Five
    “You did what?” Howie’s face turned a mottled red.
    “He’s only painting the heifer barn,” I said. “It needs to be done.”
    “ I’ll do it! And Zach’s around!”
    “If he doesn’t get sick.” Howie glared at me in silence and I looked down to brush some straw off my jeans. “Anyway, Nick said it would take a couple weeks. When are you going to have the time?”
    “Well, if Nick said it.”
    “Oh, come on. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. Queenie here gave him a thumbs up.”
    Queenie, hearing her name, wagged her tail enthusiastically.
    “And she knows all about barn painters, does she?” He spat on the floor. “And just how little money we have?”
    “Give it a rest, Howie.” I was starting to be embarrassed by my impulse. “It has to be done, and he’ll be here in the morning. It’s my farm.”
    “I guess it is. Princess .” He stomped off to his apartment, where I hoped he’d take a shower. That’s where I was headed.
    I scrubbed down again with my Lever 2000, thinking of the frou-frou soapy stuff Abie and his girl had given me for my birthday. I bet that stuff couldn’t cut through the odors of all the bodily fluids I’d been exposed to that day. So what if I ended up smelling more like a man than a woman? At least I didn’t smell like afterbirth.
    I pulled on a different pair of jean shorts and a Harley T-shirt, grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and ate it with a glass of milk, standing at the sink. I looked out at the part of the barn I could see from the window. The heifer barn wasn’t the only building that needed paint. We’d see how Pretty Boy did, and if he was playing fair I’d get him to paint the big barn, too. It might cost more than I could really spare, but it would be cheaper than replacing the barn if it wasn’t maintained. Besides, as long as Nick was around I’d get viewing entertainment as part of the bargain.
    Zach came through the kitchen and I nodded at the bread and jelly. “Make yourself a sandwich, if you want. Sorry I won’t have a three-course meal, like your mom.”
    He held up a Tupperware bowl. “Leftover lasagna. Enough for you, too, if you want it.”
    I looked sadly at the last bite of sandwich in my hand. “Too late. Maybe for a