Page 40 of Wounded Cowboy
He turned and spotted Kelsey, April, and Abby making their way toward him. Kelsey was lugging a large, insulated bag which presumably contained the picnic lunch she’d promised.
On cue, his stomach growled.
“Hi, girls!” Autumn called out as they approached.“What do you think of Project Escape Proof?”
“Aunt Autumn, where are the goats?” Abby asked excitedly, her eyes darting around the area.
“They’re still in the barn,” Spring answered with a grin.“What do you think of the new sign?”
“It looks amazing!” Kelsey exclaimed.“And you even added Daisy’s Instagram handle? How cute is that?”
Spring chuckled.“Well, we can’t forget that she’s an online star, can we? She gets a lot of visitors.”
“Maybe you should start charging people to take a photo with her,” Kelsey suggested.
“That’s a great idea!” Autumn exclaimed.
Spring shook his head. Kelsey obviously hadn’t spent a lot of time around goats. And his sister should know better. He slanted her a look, but she was busy taking a picture of the new sign.
“Sorry to disappoint you two, but I don’t think she’d stand still long enough,” he said.“And if she did, it would be because she was trying to eat someone’s purse or shirt.”
“Good point,” Kelsey said, giving him one of those smiles that made his stomach flip-flop in the most unsettling way.
He found himself smiling back at her.
A sudden gust of wind blew Kelsey’s loose hair over her face like a tangled black veil. She laughed and brushed it away, tucking thick locks behind her ears.“I should have put it in a ponytail!”
Spring ached to run his fingers through the long, glossy strands. He hadn’t felt this drawn to anyone since Laura, and the realization shook him to his core.
Not appropriate, he reminded himself.She’s here to take care of the girls, not me.
His throat tightened with the ache of longing.But wouldn’t it be nice to come home to her every night, and share dinner and breakfast with her and the girls?
Abby ran up to hug his waist. She gazed up at him with admiration.“You did a great job, Daddy.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said, ruffling her short hair affectionately.
“It looks like this might be the end of Daisy’s career as Snowberry Springs’ escape artist,” Autumn said, sounding regretful.
“And that’s agoodthing,” Spring said firmly.“Icould do with a little less chaos around here.”
“But now Aunt Autumn won’t have as many funny things to film,” April protested.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll be fine,” Autumn assured her.“Your dad has to let the goats out eventually to do their job for fire prevention. I’m sure there will be plenty of hijinks during vegetation abatement.”
Spring groaned.“Don’t remind me. That temporary fencing doesn’t do shi—” He stopped himself just time. He hated swearing in front of the girls.“I mean, Daisy always finds a way to get out and go on an adventure.”
“See?” Autumn told the girls with a smug smile.
“All right, who’s ready to let Daisy and the other goats out of the barn?” Spring asked, watching his daughters’ faces light up with excitement.
“Me! Me!” they both shouted, raising their hands in the air.
“Great! Let’s go get them,” Spring said, opening the gate and crossing the enclosure to the goat barn where the goats were bleating up a storm.
They’d spent all day yesterday and half of today locked inside, and they weren’t shy about letting him know how they felt about the situation.
“Your girls are lucky to have you, Spring,” Kelsey said softly, when the goats had all been released and were jumping around on the crates inside the pen. April and Abby were happily petting any goat that stood still long enough.“You’re a great dad.”
