Page 68 of Cattle Stop

Drew shrugs, his hands deep in his pockets. “It’s going okay.”

“Well, I picked up some of your Camembert from Brad when I was up here the other day, and let me tell you, I think it helped sell a three-bedroom weekend home over near Albany. Real into local food, a lot of these buyers are.”

“How is it local if they’re only up here for the weekend?” Whit asks.

Stay in the city, Whit probably thinks whenever he comes upon leaf peepers and skiers. Hell, he probably thought that a dozen times at Cooper himself, freed from the city for the summer and heading upstate as soon as he could.

“That’s real great to hear,” Drew says.

“Thought I’d stock up while I’m visiting my mom,” Travis says. “I’d keep buying out the supply at the market, but I think they’re down to just some blocks of cheddar.”

“Yeah?” Drew asks. “Well, sure, I’ve got more. How much do you need?”

“How much you got that Brad’s not picking up? I’m telling you, an initial meeting with buyers in my office, where I set out a plate of cheese and crackers and tell a story about growing up down the street from here? Hook, line, and sinker, don’t tell the competition.” Travis lets out a loud laugh.

Cooper scratches beneath Sadie’s collar, trying not to grimace. All he can picture is an entire office full of Travises, all of them with too-white teeth, holding out perfect platters and celebrating the chime of dollar signs. Fucking hell, Travis spending his life holed up under fluorescent lights in a stuffy office building when—if he wanted to—he could be working his mom’s land, not leaving it for Drew to hay every summer.

Though, maybe someday that house will be Travis’s “weekend home.” Or, God, he’ll sell it to some equally polished city-weekender, who’ll complain every time a cow makes a peep, let alone wanders over after staging their latest escape and rooting through the lawn for a snack.

The door to the house squeaks open and Travis grins, his arms spread wide. “There you are!” he says.

“Oh.” Penny looks between Travis and the rest of them. “Hi.”

“Hi, you.”

Travis holds out his arm for a hug, but Penny turns her side to him, letting him only squeeze her shoulders quickly as she cradles her coffee mug in both hands. She steps back as soon as he’s done.

“Didn’t know you were in town,” Penny says.

“I texted you.”

“Let me grab that cheese for you,” Drew says.

“Yeah,” Travis says, still smiling at Penny. “Whatever you’ve got on hand.”

“Why don’t you come look?” Drew asks.

“You know, if this works, maybe I could swing by more often, grab more cheese as I need it, yeah?” Travis throws another smile toward Penny. “Be great to see you guys more.”

Go away, Cooper thinks. That’d be nice, if he and Brad just disappeared back down the road, some extra cash filling Drew’s wallet, and the farm quiet and peaceful again.

“Get cheese from your own damn shop,” Cooper whispers to Sadie. Then, he straightens. That’s not a half-bad idea. “Hey, Travis, rather than running out of our cheese all the time, is there a place near your office we could set up a wholesale account?”

Travis laughs again. It’s really too loud a sound and his mouth opens too wide, like he’s practiced in the mirror to figure out the perfect angle for his jaw. “I don’t know much about the cheese world, I’m afraid,” he says.

“C’mon, there’s got to be places near you. You’ve got your office near Fulton Street, right? What about Annabelle’s Market?” Whit glances at him and Cooper shrugs. “My mom works near there.”

“Annabelle’s buys from a distributor, but you might have luck with Cedar Street Markets,” Brad says. “They own our market too.”

Cooper turns toward Brad. Don’t start, he wants to whisper to Whit, ’cause that’s some damn helpful information. “They do?” Cooper asks. “You know anyone there?”

“Well”—Brad snaps his gum—“you gonna tell my boss if I say yes?”

“I’m gonna give you a dozen fresh eggs and some of Drew’s Parmesan.”

“Well, yeah, I might’ve been chatting with them recently.” Brad shrugs. “They’ve got some job openings and I’m not sure I don’t want to move somewhere more exciting, if I’m not going to be farming.”

Exciting. Cooper nearly laughs. “I think I call predawn cow escapades as much fun as I need.”