Leave Tomorrow Behind (Stella Crown Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

and high—above her hocks, or where the legs bend—a deep udder cleft, which means a nice separation between the two sides. Couldn’t get much more ideal than what she’d been born with. “And just think,” I said as I stood up, knees cracking. “She’s one hundred percent real.”
Claire’s scowl held for a few moments longer, until a grin finally broke through. “And she won’t try to stick them in anyone’s face.”
“Boob faker,” I said.
Nick glanced up from his love fest with the cow. “Hey, now.”
“Hey, now, what? If that girl’s going to go around threatening people with her Double Es, she’s going to have to be prepared for a little ribbing. Not that she could find her ribs under all that.”
Claire burst out laughing. Nick shook his head, apparently not appreciating the “annoyed female” humor.
“Wait.” Nick focused across the room. “Isn’t that those people again?”
Claire and I followed his gaze. “The Greggs,” she muttered.
I squinted, like that could help me see better all the way to the other side of the barn. “Can’t imagine anything they bought—I mean brought —is as gorgeous as September Breeze.”
Claire’s nose wrinkled. “I hope you’re right.”
“At least you raised yours on your own. That’s got to count for something.”
“I don’t know if that’s enough.”
I slapped Nick’s rear. “Come on. If you can tear yourself away from your new girlfriend there, I’d like to check out the Greggs and their cows up close.”
He gave Breezy one last ear rub and promised to return. Claire and I exchanged an amused glance. “See you later,” I said. “Good luck.”
Nick and I made our way toward the Greggs’ stalls, pausing now and then to admire the bone structure or coloring or “sweet, honey eyes”—Nick’s words—of the beauties lined up along the row. Kids of various ages mucked out the stalls or applied maintenance to their fences or animals, and I greeted several I knew by name. The older girls, whether we greeted them or not, took a break to watch Nick walk by. Even steadfast devotion to their animals couldn’t keep them from admiring the prime exhibit parading past their stalls. Since they were teenagers, and no threat to me, I let them enjoy the view without contemplating the chances of their survival.
“Stella?”
I turned away from a grand specimen of an Ayrshire cow to see a woman I knew from dairy circles, but hadn’t seen in a while. Claire and Bobby’s mother, Amy Kaufmann. She had the same looks as Claire—Pleasant. Brown. Sturdy. “Amy. How ya doin’?”
“Doing great. You?”
“The same. This is Nick. My fiancé.”
Amy shook his hand. I was impressed that her pupils didn’t dilate. “I heard someone finally snagged Stella here. Good luck to you.”
I frowned. “Hey.”
Nick put his arm around my shoulders. “She’ll need as much luck as I will. Believe me.” I could hear the seriousness underneath his banter. His illness. It never quite left his mind, even if he seemed as healthy as ever. I nudged him, letting him know I was on his side.
Amy looked over my shoulder at the Ayrshire. “Nice girl, there.”
“Yeah.” I lowered my voice. “Not as nice as Claire’s, though.”
She took my elbow and led me down the row in the direction we’d been headed. “I know, right? I’m not sure how we lucked out with Breezy. She is a beauty, isn’t she? Poor Bobby’s cow is nice, but she really can’t compare to Claire’s.”
“Claire deserves it.”
“Yeah.” Her expression went wrong, like she’d just tasted sour milk. “Unlike those two.”
The Greggs, of course. We’d neared their area, and were in good view of them and their animals. The two middle girls—the original, older two had graduated and moved on to other things—had side-by-side stalls, and their Guernseys could have been twins. A little larger than Breezy, they stood tall and strong, with clear-cut markings and pretty, trimmed forelocks. Not exactly what