The Longest Ride

She’s kind of a hawk when it comes to expenses.”

“Even for childbirth?”

“I’m not sure she was fazed by childbirth. Living on a farm, she’d been around a lot of births. Besides, she was born in the house, too, so she was probably thinking, What’s the big deal?”

Sophia felt the gravel crunching beneath her boots. “How long has your family owned the ranch?” she asked.

“A long time. My great-grandfather bought most of it in the 1920s, and then, when the Depression hit, he was able to add to it. He was a pretty good businessman. From there, it became my grandfather’s, and then my mom’s. She took over when she was twenty-two.”

As he answered, she looked around, amazed at how remote it felt despite its proximity to the highway. They passed the farmhouse, and on the far side there were smaller weather-beaten wooden structures surrounded by fencing. When the wind shifted, Sophia caught the scent of conifer and oak. Everything about the ranch was a refreshing change from the campus where she spent most of her time. Just like Luke, she thought, but she tried not to dwell on the observation. “What are those buildings?” she asked, pointing.

“The closest one is the henhouse, where we keep the chickens. And behind that is where we keep the hogs. Not many, only three or four at a time. Like I mentioned last night, we mainly do cattle here.”

“How many do you have?”

“More than two hundred pair,” he said. “We also have nine bulls.”

She furrowed her brow. “Pair?”

“A mature cow and her calf.”

“Then why don’t you just say you have four hundred?”

“That’s just the way they’re counted, I guess. So you know the size of the herd you can offer for sale that year. We don’t sell the calves. Others do – that’s veal – but we’re known for our grass-fed, organic beef. Our customers are mainly high-end restaurants.”

They followed the fence line, approaching an ancient live oak with massed limbs that spread in all directions like a spider. As they passed beneath the canopy of its limbs, they were greeted with a shrill assortment of bird cries, sounding their warnings. Sophia lifted her gaze to the barn as they neared it, realizing that Luke hadn’t been kidding. It looked abandoned, the entire structure listing slightly and held together by rotting boards. Ivy and kudzu crawled up the sides, and a section of the roof appeared entirely stripped of shingles.

He nodded toward it. “What do you think?”

“I’m wondering if you ever think of razing it, just to show mercy?”

“It’s sturdier than it looks. We just keep it this way for effect.”

“Maybe,” she said with a skeptical expression. “Either that, or you’ve never gotten around to fixing it.”

“What are you talking about? You should have seen it before the repairs.”

She smiled. He thought he was so funny. “Is that where you keep the horses?”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t put them in that death trap.”

This time, she laughed despite herself. “What do you use the barn for, then?”

“Storage, mostly. The mechanical bull is in there, too, and that’s where I practice, but other than that, it’s mainly filled with broken stuff. A couple of broken-down trucks, a tractor from the fifties, used well pumps, broken heat pumps, stripped engines. Most of it is junk, but like I said, my mom is funny about expenses. Sometimes I can find a part that I need to fix whatever needs fixing.”

“Does that happen a lot? That you find something?”

“Not too much. But I can’t order a part until after I check. It’s one of my mom’s rules.”

Beyond the barn stood a small stable, open on one side to a medium-size corral. Three big-chested horses studied them as they approached. Sophia watched as Luke opened the door to the stable and produced three apples from the sack he’d been carrying.

“Horse! Get over here!” he called out, and at his command a chestnut-colored horse ambled in his direction. The two darker horses followed. “Horse is mine,” he explained. “The others are Friendly and Demon.”

She hung back, knitting her brows in concern. “I think I should probably ride Friendly, huh?” she said.

“I wouldn’t,” he said. “He bites and he’ll try to throw you. He’s awful for anyone but my mom. Demon, on the other hand, is a sweetheart.”

She shook her head. “What is it with you and animal names?” By the time she turned toward the pasture again,