Pushing her troubled thoughts aside, she tried to focus on her surroundings. It was a beautiful night, the velvety sky ablaze with dazzling stars. The full moon hung big and bright over the hills, giving the land shape and form. Knowing how much Chase loved this ranch, she felt as if she were riding through the channels of his heart.

She’d fallen into the habit lately of thinking up ways to describe the world to Ginny. The very act made her study her surroundings as never before, and this helped her see things she might have previously missed or taken for granted. This more intense way of seeing enhanced her enjoyment and filled her with appreciation.

Tomorrow, she would tell Ginny that the land had looked like a counterpane spread far and wide. The hills were a giant’s feet rising beneath the bedcovers. Moonlight trickled across the giant’s bed like spilled cream.

Inhaling the brisk night air, she was surprised that the smell of cattle no longer bothered her. The truth was, she hardly noticed it anymore. Instead, she had learned to pick out other scents—pleasant scents. Tonight, the smell of laurel, sage, and freshly mowed grass created a fragrance sweeter than any perfume.

After riding in silence for several moments, Chase reined in his horse. “There they are,” he called, a note of pride in his voice. “The heavies.”

Emily guided her horse to his side. A wooden fence surrounded a pen, inside of which were perhaps fifty to a hundred cows. Almost all were lying down, their bulky bodies rising from the ground like dark mounds.

“These heifers are all expecting their first calves sometime in the next couple of days,” he explained. “That’s why we have to keep our eyes on them. During calving season, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Count on it.”

“Do you expect any to give birth tonight?” she asked.

“Maybe that one,” he said, tossing a nod at a cow that couldn’t seem to make up her mind whether to stand or lie down.

“What happens after the calf is born?”

“The good Lord willin,’ the mother will take over its care. If not, it’ll be up to us to see that she does. From time to time, we get an ornery cow who wants nothin’ to do with her young. But that don’t happen too often.”

He went on to explain all the work that followed birthing. “Calves are watched to make sure they have full bellies. When they get older, they sometimes get separated from their mothers. That’s when the mama cow and her babe wander around bawlin’ until they find each other.” He chuckled. “You never heard such a ruckus.”

She smiled. It was easy to see that raising cattle wasn’t just a business with him. “You really care for the cattle, don’t you?”

The question seemed to surprise him. “Any rancher worth his salt knows to first care for the cattle, then his horse, and finally, himself.”