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“But a barn sounds amazing for Reginald,” I say wistfully, dreaming about him having more room to root around than my apartment complex parking lot.
“So…the barn is an option for housing,” he replies dubiously. “But…”
“But what?”
He glances sideways, looking uncomfortable for a moment before turning a firm look at me. “I’m not sure my goat will like a pig in the barn with her.”
“You have a goat?” I exclaim, my voice rising much higher than I intended. Everyone in the bar turns to stare at me, so I lower my voice and try to wipe the delighted smile off my face. “I’m sorry…Mr. Animal Hater has agoat?”
“It’s no big deal,” he drawls.
My brows furrow as a thought strikes me. “Do you just have the one goat?”
“Yes…why?”
“Well, goats typically don’t do well in captivity alone. They need a friend. How long have you had this goat?”
“Going on ten years, and I’ve had her since she was a kid. She’s been perfectly fine on her own all these years,” he replies defensively, his hard look turning damn near angry. “Millie is a very happy, well-adjusted goat.”
He flinches at his last sentence, almost like he can’t believe he said it out loud, and my hands fly to my mouth as I cover my smirk. “Her name is Millie?”
“Don’t mock my goat. Remember what I said about how I feel about those I love?”
“I am not mocking!” I hold my hands up in surrender, smiling like a cat who got the cream. “I’m just really happy to discover you’renot a puppy hater. You simply only love yourownanimals. It’s really sweet, actually.”
Wyatt rolls his eyes, and his face softens a bit. Damn, I think this might be going well. I think this whole crazy plan of that blond girl Everly, who’s been texting me nonstop since I left her on that Denver street corner last week, might actually work.
I grab my beer and take a victorious sip before holding it up to him. “So what now, Wyatt? What’s our next move with this crazy modern family you’re trying to build?”
He frowns for a moment and then says something I never would have expected. “Do you want to meet my goat?”
AnimalsontheMountain:2
Queenie rears back on her hind legs to playfully attack Millie the goat’s legs. Millie bleats her encouragement, nudging the little gal softly, clearly enjoying the company. I distract her by feeding her a stalk of celery provided by Mr. Grumpy Puppy Hater over here and pet the old girl on the ribs, turning a satisfied smile up to the mountain man.
“I hate to say it, but Millie seems like she might enjoy a new friend.”
His eyes narrow on the pair as they frolic away from where I’m squatted in the dirt. They’re inside the small, enclosed pasture connected to the red barn, and Queenie could easily slip out through the horizontal whiteboards, but right now, she doesn’t look like she’s going to leave that goat’s side.
A mountain man with a goat…what an odd combination.
Then again, a lot has surprised me about Mr. Mountain Man today. Everly might actually have been telling the truth about her uncle. He might be a decent human.
“Millie likes this puppy because she’s basically a puppy herself.”
I scoff. “If she likes Queenie, she’ll love Reginald.”
“Why did you name him Reginald?” Wyatt asks, and I try not tostare at the veins running up his forearms as he props himself on the white-painted fence.
He took his jacket off earlier and draped it over the fence, and the view of him basking in the golden sun against the backdrop of pine trees with a piece of straw hanging out of his mouth was intense. I had to physically stop myself from going into heat like a farm animal.
Being attracted to the man who could be the ticket to opening my own animal sanctuary would make things tricky. But I have a degree from the school of hard knocks, so detaching from my emotions is easy peasy.
“It was either that or Piggie Smalls,” I answer with a shrug and rise up from the ground, brushing off my pant legs as I do. “And Sir Reginald just felt right. He has a stately look about him. Wait until I get him up here. You’ll see.”
“Get him up here?” Wyatt’s eyes drift down my body as I continue wiping the dust off my jeans. “Did I miss the part where we decided we’re doing this for sure? Pretty sure we have some details to iron out first.”
“Well, yeah, but that’s all semantics.” I wave him off and move toward the enclosure, smiling politely when Wyatt opens the gate for me. I join him at the fence, keeping a close eye on Queenie as she nips at Millie’s hooves. “I already have your niece’s approval, and I gather that counts for a lot around here.”
