Page 33 of Wounded Cowboy
Nick shrugged, grinning.“Winnie hinted that Project Escape-Proof needed a helping hand. And since the movie theater restoration is on hold for asbestos cleanup, I figured I’d drop by and see if you wanted some help.”
“I won’t say no.” Spring glanced over the fence and spotted Daisy, innocently chewing her cud along with the other dozen goats in the ranch’s flock.“After little Miss Chaos here took a dip in our hot tub day a few days ago, I realized I need to rethink this enclosure. I need something even a clever goat like Daisy can’t outsmart.”
Nick chuckled.“I saw that video, by the way. Daisy lounging in the hot tub, and you and Rory trying to fish her out with a lasso—priceless! Autumn told me the video went viral. Seems like your goat is a bona fide celebrity.”
“Yeah, a celebrity that’s giving me gray hairs,” Spring responded with a mock groan.“If Autumn loves Daisy so much, maybesheshould adopt that damned goat.” He added sarcastically,“I’m sure her husband would just love having The Agent of Chaos prancing around on his roof in the middle of the night.”
He wasn’t serious. Despite the inconvenience caused by her antics, Daisy had brought the Snowberry Springs Ranch a lot of free publicity over the past couple of years, which meant that their“ranch stay” vacation rental business was doing great.
Nick chuckled, his eyes crinkling with amusement.“Now, that would be a sight to see.”
Then he turned his attention back to the goat pen and spent a few moments studying the old wooden walls.
“Well, the best bet would be to tear all this down,” Nick said at last.“And replace it with a high chain-link fence. Throw in a double-gate system, and the enclosure would be like Supermax for goats. But that’s at least a four-day job since we’d need to pour concrete for the new fenceposts.”
Spring shook his head.“We need to finish this project today.” His gaze returned to the pen.“Therehasto be a better solution than starting from scratch.”
Nick nodded, his brow furrowed in thought.“Okay, how about we increase the height of this fence to six feet and add an angled overhang at the top?” He pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and made a quick sketch on a fence board.“When the overhang leans in like this, it’ll be impossible for a goat to climb over. I think we can get everything done today if we hustle.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Spring agreed, relieved that Nick’s second suggestion was both practical and immediately doable.
Back when Spring had still been on active duty, he’d seen a similar design on the railings of cargo ships used to deter pirates from boarding.
While they discussed the materials they’d need for the project, Nick’s phone buzzed. He glanced down at it.“Winnie wants to know if she should send over our construction crew to help. They’re idle until the asbestos is all cleared out at the theater.”
Spring appreciated the offer, but shook his head.“Thanks, Nick, but I think we’ll manage on our own. Your advice was already really helpful.”
After making a quick run to the hardware store in town, Spring unloaded boards and his table saw from the back of his pickup.
Then he and Nick set to work on the goat pen.
As Spring measured and cut boards, his thoughts kept drifting back to Kelsey and the way her dark brown eyes sparkled, making everything around her come alive.
He wondered what it would be like to wrap his arms around her curvy figure and pull her close before pressing his lips against hers. Her skin would be smooth beneath his calloused fingers, and her mouth would be hot and wet when they kissed.
The fantasy sent a shiver down his spine and made his cock stir in its denim prison. Scowling, he tried to shake it off. Guilt crept through him for entertaining those kinds of fantasies about his daughters’ nanny.
Plus, Kelsey was downright annoying, with her cheerful acts of insubordination.
“Hey, something wrong?” Nick asked, wiping his brow.
Spring debated whether to complain to Nick about Kelsey, since she used to work for Nick. His frustration with his new nanny won out.“I don’t understand why Kelsey can’t follow a simple plan.”
“Oh? Wasn’t yesterday her first day working for you?” Nick asked, giving Spring his full attention.“What happened?”
“She ignored all the instructions I left her,” Spring explained.“She didn’t stick to the timetable I made for the girls, and she ruined my plans to make fish and chips for them with that steelhead I caught the day before yesterday.”
Nick raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by Spring’s admission.“Well, I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm,” he offered diplomatically.“I gave her a lot of autonomy in planning Kegan’s day. I had no reason to complain.” He paused.“Wouldn’t it be easier just to let her create the daily plans and give them to you for approval? That’s what I did.”
“Absolutely not!” Spring was horrified at the thought.“I’m not you, Nick. And she needs to understand that there’s a reason for the plans I make. I can’t have her undermining me at every turn.”
“Fair enough,” Nick agreed, patting Spring on the back before returning to the task at hand.“But remember, sometimes it’s best to let go of the reins a little and see where life takes you.”
Spring shook his head. Letting Kelsey do whatever she wanted with the girls sounded like aterribleidea.“Well, we had a talk yesterday evening, and she promised to do better today.”
“Good.” Nick said.“Look, it’ll probably take a few days for you guys to settle into an arrangement that works for everyone.”
“I told Kelsey that she can have some leeway on the girls’ lessons and activities,” Spring conceded.“But she has to follow my meal plans. I cook the same meals every week, and that’s not negotiable.”
