Page 22 of Love, Lies and Sleigh Rides
“This is Chester. Our guard dog.” Kade emphasized “dog” with air quotes. “He’s also a spitter. I wouldn’t get too close to him or he’ll show you what I mean.”
“So, he’s boss of the alpacas?”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s boss. Maybe boss in his own mind. But he won’t mess with the donkeys.”
“There are donkeys too?” Fallon turned a circle, looking for the long-eared creatures. She’d loved them ever since she was small when her grandfather introduced her to the neighbors’ mare, Valentina. Fallon had had trouble imagining they would be a threat to anything until she witnessed Valentina charging a coyote at dusk one evening when it ventured too close to the sheep.
“Personally, I think they’re the true security detail here. Predators don’t come around too much with them on duty.”
Fallon got closer to Chester but still kept her distance. The llama stood at the gate, craning his neck to catch her scent.
“Aren’t you a cutie, Chester?” He looked slightly less harmless than the donkeys but a sweetheart just the same.
“Careful,” Kade warned. “My mother said the last person who tried to baby talk him ended up with cud down the neck of their shirt, in their hair, maybe even a little in their mouth.”
Fallon pretended to gag.
“I’d step back a little more. See that look? When he freezes and fixes you with a one-sided evil eye, you’re in imminent danger.”
Even as she took a big step back, she cooed at Chester again.
“You wouldn’t dare, would you, buddy?”
Kade chuckled. “Don’t kid yourself. No one’s immune to his poor manners.”
They talked a little more about keeping alpacas and how long his parents had been at it. With regards to the wool, the only process that didn’t happen on the farm was dyeing. Elaine shipped it off to a woman who lived in Dentsen. Weeks later, the wool skeins came back in lovely shades like the robin’s egg blue, mustard, and rose she’d seen scattered around the shop and woven into her one-of-a-kind sweaters, mittens, and scarves.
“We should get back to the party,” Kade finally said with a hint of regret. Maybe it was overwhelming for Kade too. He didn’t seem like a life-of-the-party type. She held back another sigh.
When Kade pulled on another sliding door which led to the outside, it wouldn’t budge.
“Cold weather heaves the threshold so this darned door is almost impossible to get open in the winter. Here, hold on to this handle while I lift from the bottom.”
He squatted to inch his fingers under the wide gap between the floor and the bottom of the door. The problem was plain to see. Cracked cement had lifted in one spot, blocking the door from sliding open all the way.
The door inched upward as Kade lifted. “Pull the door very slowly to the left.”
She did as she was told until the bottom cleared the heaved portion.
“Thank you,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” Fallon took a step back but one of the barn cats had snuck up behind her and wove itself between her legs. To avoid crushing it with one of her heavy boots, Fallon tried to hop backward, which didn’t work as planned.
“Kade!”
She cursed herself for calling his name even as she was still in the process of falling. Like it was the most natural reaction in the world, calling tohimfor help.
But then his arm was behind her back in an instant and his other hand wrapped protectively around her upper arm. He righted her on her feet as quickly and effortlessly as leaning a broomstick against the wall.
“The cat…” She sputtered. Her heart raced so hard she thought it might stampede its way out of her throat.
“They’re always underfoot.” Kade still held on to her arm as he searched her face for…forwhat? His eyes became hooded. Or was that the adrenaline coursing through her, clouding her thought processes?
Fallon glanced pointedly at her arm until he realized his hand still held her captive.
“I’m so sorry,” he muttered before putting a good two feet between the two of them. He gestured for her to leave first.
A deep breath of the crisp air never felt so good. She might get used to this country air. Minneapolis was a far cry from a big city like Chicago or LA, but it was a city, nonetheless. In the summer, the air tightened with heat, the buildings and people only added to the congestion.
