Page 31 of Beloved Enemy
To her amazement, this worked as well. It didn’t happen immediately, but the grazing goat eventually paused, its ears perked up at the sound of Charlotte's voice. After a moment, it hesitated, as if weighing its options, before it took a cautious step toward her.
“...have you any wool?” she continued to sing. “Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Three bags full.”
The goat, possibly emboldened by Charlotte’s cheerful demeanor, trotted closer, its curiosity piqued.
Charlotte kept her tone light. “One for the master, one for the dame. One for the little boy who lives down the lane.” As the goat inched forward, she reached out slowly, palm open. “Baa baa black sheep, I’m not going to hurt you,” she cooed in tune to the song.
After a few moments of cautious sniffing, the goat finally stepped within her reach. Charlotte gently grabbed its collar. “Gotcha!” she exclaimed, relief flooding her. The last thing she wanted to do was explain to her host that she’d lost a goat.
Before she could get to her feet, the animal gave a soft bleat and nuzzled its head into her lap.
“Oh, come on now,” she said with a chuckle, as the goat flopped down heavily onto her legs, pinning her in place.“Seriously?” she muttered, trying and failing to shift or push the animal off her. The goat settled in as if it were the most natural thing in the world, its warm weight pressing down on her. Charlotte leaned back and turned her face away, trying to avoid the pointy horns, but then she was unable to resist petting the goat, scratching around its ears. “Nice goat. But we really have to get going. Daycare awaits.”
That was how Reid Nicholson found her.
She didn’t realize his presence at first, but then caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. Glancing sideways, she saw Reid approaching on his big horse. While the standing goat shuffled a bit to be behind Charlotte, the one in her lap, almost crushing her legs, didn’t move.
“You’re just in time,” she said. With the two ropes in one hand, she used her free hand to cover the end of the horn closest to her chin so that it didn’t hit her. “Can you help get her off me?”
He’d parked right in front of her so that the horns and head of the goat blocked some of her view, but she saw that he dismounted, and heard him made a sharp clicking noise.
“Off with ye,” he commanded, but neither his clicking or his order produced results, and Reid took the goat by the horn and urged her to stand.
In typical Reid fashion—keeping with what little Charlotte knew of him so far—he scowled down at her. “'Tis nae the pasture,” he grumbled as he then pulled Charlotte to her feet.
She managed to refrain from rolling her eyes. “Yes, I’m aware. But this yo-yo ran away from me,” she explained, petting the naughty goat again. “Didn’t you?”
She lifted her gaze to Reid, who was still frowning. His eyes were true hazel today, showing brown, green, and gold all at once, being no less piercing in their intensity despite the vivid color.
His gaze was focused on her sweatshirt. Charlotte imagined she must look terrible, having not brushed her hair yet today—and she wasn’t sure how she would or could accomplish that—and possibly appearing very frumpy, wearing the baggy sweatshirt over the shapeless gown.
“What is... that figure on yer tunic?” Reid asked, his brow furrowed.
Charlotte glanced down. “Oh, gosh. I forgot about that. It’s an angry possum,” she said, pausing as she tried to figure out how to explain the humor. “It’s... well, it’s kind of a joke.”
“And those characters? They are English letters?” Reid asked, his gaze lingering on the garment.
“Yes. It says, ‘First of all, I’m a delight.’ It’s, um, supposed to be funny, but I guess the humor doesn’t really translate well here,” Charlotte admitted, her lips quirking in a half-smile.
He nodded, his expression still serious. “Aye, I dinna see the humor.”
Cheerfully, she asked, “But I am a delight, aren’t I?” The words were barely out of her mouth when the larger goat gave a strong tug on the leash, yanking her off balance. She stumbled to the left, catching herself with an awkward laugh.
Reid’s eyes remained skeptical. “So... it’s meant to reference ye, and nae the possum?”
“Well... now I don’t know,” she said, a little defeated. “Maybe you’re reading too much into it. It’s just sarcasm, or irony. You know, like when someone thinks you’re being difficult or cranky, you remind them that you’re actually quite delightful.” His silence and furrowed brow made it clear he wasn’t convinced. Charlotte added, “Or, you know, it’s like saying, ‘Don’t judge me for being grouchy right now. I’m usually a real treat.’”
Reid’s lips twitched.
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Good Lord, is that a smile?” She asked, exaggerating her shock. “See? It does work. It is humorous.”
The scarce hint of a smile disappeared. “Sure, and you’re a delight,” he drawled with dead-pan delivery.
Charlotte gasped. “And now sarcasm? Wow! Who are you, and what have you done with the other Mr. Nicholson?”
At that, his smile came back—this time a full one—and it transformed him completely. Where he had been fierce and intense before, his entire demeanor softened. The hard lines of his face relaxed, and for the first time, Charlotte saw a glimmer of warmth that made him almost approachable.
And, ridiculously, it did something to her.Holy crap, the man was gorgeous.When he smiled like that, all of the intimidation melted away. Instead, it left him looking almost too handsome—his hazel eyes glinting with amusement, his dark auburn hair catching the light. In that moment, he wasn’t just the fierce laird of Kingswood; he was someone who could be... charming? Maybe still a little bit dangerous, but for entirely different reasons.
