Dating and Dragons (Dungeons and Drama, #2) (52)

He waves dismissively at the house and land. “That’s my dad, not me. And this is nothing—you should see a real farm. My dad always wanted to live in the country with a bunch of animals since he grew up in Cleveland, so my parents bought this place as soon as they could afford it. Now Dad spends every free minute taking care of it.”

I bet. There are probably lots of larger farms around here, but what I’m looking at seems pretty impressive. In front of me stands an old farmhouse with white siding, blue shutters, and a front porch with some paint missing. Behind it is a large barn with a tractor parked outside. It’s even red with a huge quilt block painted on it like something out of a “country life” calendar.

“It’s nice to see where you live,” I reply hesitantly. I’m not sure what the etiquette is here. Should I say goodbye and drive away? Or is he going to invite me in? This is worlds apart from when he drove me home in February.

He opens his passenger side door. “Do you want to meet the calf that my mom is bottle-feeding?” His voice is a little unsure.

“Do I want to meet an animal so small it needs to be fed with a bottle? Um, yeah. Very much so.”

I follow him to the barn, excited and nervous. He pulls open the sliding door and ushers me inside. The ground is packed dirt and on either side are horse stalls. Each is closed by a wooden half door at the bottom, while the top half is open. None of them seem to be occupied, though a few have stacks of tools and supplies.

“No horses?”

“No, Dad says they’re too expensive. Mom keeps begging him, though, so I think it’s only a matter of time. But we’re keeping the calf over here. It’s too cold to have her outside all the time.”

He motions me over to a stall and I peek down to find a tiny brown cow with the largest round eyes and eyelashes. She’s only as large as a golden retriever and is practically the same color. She trots over and I immediately put out my hand to pet her.

“Logan, ahhh!” I squeak with joy. “She’s adorable!”

He opens the stall door so we can walk inside.

“Is it okay for us to be in here with her?”

He nods. “Oh yeah, she’s used to humans. Mom is absolutely babying her. She treats her like the youngest member of the family.”

“I don’t blame your mom.” I pet her again and debate throwing my arms around her neck in a huge hug. “I’m already in love with her.”

“She’s pretty cute,” he says begrudgingly, but his expression is warm when he looks between us. “Dad was hoping to fatten her up and put her on the market, but I’m pretty sure she’s going to become a pet.”

I turn to him with wide eyes. “The market? You don’t mean…”

“Dad doesn’t do this just for the fun of it,” he says with a shrug. “That’s how he makes money.”

The calf pushes her nose into my hand, and I pet her more vigorously. She rubs her body up against me, and even though she’s little, she’s still heavy enough to push me off balance. Logan’s hand touches the small of my back to center me.

“You can’t sell her. She’s just a precious little baby.”

He groans. “Oh boy, you’re just like Mom.”

“Her floppy ears are so soft.”

“She likes you.” His voice is uneven. “She’s usually only like this with Mom.”

“That could be because you and your dad are planning on killing her.”

He winces. “Shhh, don’t say that in front of her.”

“I think she likes me because she has good taste.”

He leans up against the side of the stall with a lopsided grin. “The only thing she cares about tasting is milk. Otherwise, she has no taste.”

“That’s both rude and untrue,” I retort with a smile so he knows I’m not actually mad.

Someone clears their throat behind us. We both jump and turn to find an older man in faded jeans and a Carhartt jacket. He has his arms crossed over his chest and his expression isn’t exactly welcoming, more like he’s sizing up the situation.

“It’s a little hard to get your chores done when you’re standing around.”

Logan straightens and rubs the back of his neck. “Hey, Dad. Sorry, Quinn drove me home, so I thought I’d introduce her to the calf.”

“Introduce her to animals before you introduce her to people?” Logan’s dad chuckles slightly and it softens the lines of his face. “Maybe that was a good choice, actually.” He walks forward and sticks out his hand. “I’m Chuck, Logan’s dad. I hear you’re Barbara’s granddaughter. You don’t find many people better than her.”

“She’ll love to hear that.” I shake his hand and ignore the swell of nerves at the fact that I’m meeting one of Logan’s parents. “It’s nice to meet you. Your farm is amazing.”

He smiles broadly. “One of the joys of my life. I see you’re getting along with Susie Q?”

“Is that her name?”

“That’s what Mom named her,” Logan says, and he and his dad share an eye roll.

“As soon as she names an animal, I know they’re off-limits,” Chuck says conspiratorially.

“It sounds like she and I need to go around and name every animal on the farm, then.”