Page 49 of Wounded Cowboy
Much like Daisy, chaos seemed to have found its way into every corner of his world recently.
Taking a deep breath to center himself, he hurled a lasso through the air, praying it would find its mark.
To his surprise and relief, the loop settled perfectly around Daisy’s head and slid down her long neck. The goat let out a startled bleat, her eyes wide with shock as she tried to slip out of the loop.
Too late.“Got you, you little troublemaker,” he chortled in triumph.
Then he reeled her in like an oversized fish until she was close enough to scoop up in his arms.
As he carried Daisy back to the goat pen, he couldn’t help but feel a grudging admiration for her cunning and determination.
Maybe he should put a collar with a tracking device on her. After all, if Yellowstone park rangers could collar and track wolves and bears, maybe the same could work for a mischievous goat?
If the other goats don’t eat the collar. And the tracker.Spring heaved a sigh.
He actually liked the goats, and not only because they were an environmentally friendly brush abatement solution. They were friendly, lively critters, but they were definitely agents of chaos.
With Daisy safely contained, Spring’s thoughts inevitably returned to the concert tickets. He could easily ask one of his sisters or perhaps a friend from town. It didn’t have to be Kelsey, especially when he knew that inviting her would invite the kind of gossip he hated.
But as he walked back to the corral to rejoin Dr. Frederickson, the idea of not inviting Kelsey felt increasingly wrong.
Their unexpected kiss last Friday had been unsettling in its intensity. Spring told himself that getting involved with his kids’ nanny would lead to all kinds of complications, especially given her plans to move to California in September.
Yet, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, about kissing her again, about…more.
It’s just a concert,he told himself. And maybe dinner. What’s the harm?
Chapter 13
Totally Not a Date
Kelsey hummed a cheerful tune as she supervised Abby and April shelling a bowl of fresh peas from the garden. The fragrant aroma of roasting chicken mixed with the sweet scent of the freshly baked apple pie cooling on the counter. She’d made the pie crust from scratch, and the girls had helped her peel the apples.
When Spring walked through the door a half-hour later, Abby greeted him by jumping into his arms.“We heard Daisy escaped again!” she exclaimed.
“I thought the pen was supposed to be escape-proof!” April said.
Kelsey had been wondering the same thing since she heard the news.
“Itisescape-proof,” Spring protested, swinging his daughter around while she shrieked with joy. He added wryly,“Just not idiot-proof.”
“Oh, no!” Kelsey said sympathetically.“What happened?”
“One of the guests opened the gate because she wanted to take a selfie with Daisy,” he reported.“And then didn’t tell anyone that Daisy got out until I asked. To be fair, the culprit looked like she was maybe fourteen, so she probably thought she was going to get into trouble if she told her dads what she’d done. But still, Daisy was loose for over two hours before I caught up with her.”
“Where did you find her?” asked April.
“Chowing down on Grandma Priscilla’s tomatoes. I’m just glad she isn’t around to see what happened. I’m hoping those plants will grow back before she and Dad return from their vacation.” Spring shook his head. “Honestly, I’m at my wits’ end with that goat. If Bethany hadn’t let Daisy out, I’m sure the little demon would’ve found another way.”
“What if you installed an AirTag or some other small GPS tracker on Daisy’s collar? That way, you could monitor her location through a smartphone app or computer.” Kelsey offered, her mind already racing with ideas.
Spring shook his head, a weary grin tugging at his lips.“Already thought of that. The other goats would chew through her collar within a day. Trust me, I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.”
April piped up from the table, her freckled face scrunching in disgust.“Goats will eatanything. They even ate my favorite hat last summer!”
Kelsey chuckled sympathetically.“How about installing a padlock with a key on the gate to prevent unauthorized access to the goat pen?”
“Nick suggested it when we upgraded the pen last week,” Spring said.“I voted against it because I was afraid we’d constantly be losing keys. But I’m definitely reconsidering that now.” He blew out a breath.“No one locks their houses or cars around here, so it felt weird to have a lock on the goat pen.”
