Page 113 of Forever To Me

I rub my temples. “Someone start explaining.”

Mack bites back another laugh, wiping her eyes. “Okay, first, thanks for the baby goats, Dad. I mean, you totally over-delivered on this one. They are totally adorable and so much fun. And second, Violet is amazing.”

Violet glares at her. “I am notamazing. I am avictim.”

Maggie cackles.

I cross my arms. “Explain.”

Maggie points at Violet, grinning. “She took a goat to the knee, Walker. It was a Nancy Kerrigan figure skating move.”

Mack bows to Violet. "You didn't even go down easy. You just took the hits like a champ."

Violet turns to me, wild-eyed. “Your goats are evil.”

The herd makes its way back to the pen now, somehow. Probably has something to do with Rip Heeler herding them all back in.

However, one still watches from the roof.

"Why are there so many?” I ask, panicked.

“They said you ordered two dozen,” Violet says as she shoos the one at her feet into the pen.

“I asked for two. Two!” I protest, rubbing the back of my neck. "Not twenty-four."

Maggie chuckles, shaking her head. “This is the funniest damn thing I’ve seen in years.”

I glance at Violet, still clutching the chip bag like it’s a lifeline.

“Dare I ask why you’re bribing them with potato chips?”

Violet throws a hand in the air. “Because it works!”

Mack nods. “She’s right. The goats respect snack-based negotiations.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What are we supposed to do with twenty-four goats?”

Mack looks at me oddly. "Is this a bad time to tell you that some of them look like they are with child?"

I stare up at the sky and curse my good deed decisions that are now coming back to bite me.

Mack throws an arm around Violet’s shoulder, still grinning. “We should do this again sometime.”

Violet turns to her, dead serious. “If you ever say that again, I swear on Maggie’s peach pie, I will fake my own death, move to Alaska, and live among the moose."

Mack bursts out laughing.

Maggie wipes a tear from her eye, she’s laughing so hard. “The best entertainment I’ve had in years.”

I shake my head, watching them, and something tightens in my chest. Because as ridiculous as this scene is, Violet fits in here.

She’s covered in dirt, arguing with my kid like they’ve been doing this for years. She’s standing in my yard, dealing with my animals, and not running away screaming. And I don’t knowwhen it happened, but…I can’t picture this place without her anymore.

Violet groans, pointing at me. “Walker, I swear, if one of these goats gets inside your house again, I’m moving out.”

Mack smirks. “But you don’t even officially live here.”

Violet freezes.

---