“Wow, that was fast!”
“These bags weren’t that heavy. My rucksack in the Army was much heavier, and we ran for miles with it.”
“Until recently, I had no idea you were in the military. I mean, I guess I should since you belong to the American Legion, but it just never really hit me.” Her face softened as she added, “No wonder Papa Beau bonded with you. He used to love talking about his days in the Army and always enjoyed swapping stories with others.”
“I enjoyed his company as well.” Wanting to keep the mood lighter, he grinned while rubbing his hands together and said, “What’s next on the farm?”
Grinning, she said, “How would you like to meet my goats?”
They started off in the small pasture where the baby goats were frolicking around, jumping and skipping over rocks and stumps. Rufus followed them in, and, obeying Scott, laid down on the grass and allowed the goat kids to come near him. Quivering with excitement again, Rufus sniffed them, standing when a few of the small goats decided that he was something they could hop onto.
Moving into the larger pasture where the adult goats were, Lizzie explained her daily schedule with the animals.
“Do you have to shear them?” he asked.
Shaking her head, she said, “Generally, goats raised for milk or meat do not have the kind of fleece that needs to be shorn. I’ll do that for the alpacas.”
Once inside the goat pasture, she was pointing out her milking goats when, without warning, Scott was butted from behind and his body flew forward. He barely got his hands up in time to keep his head from smashing on the ground. Lying flat on his stomach on the grass, he gasped as the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. “What the fuck?” he cursed, trying to see what had hit him.
“No! Charlie!” Lizzie yelled.
As Scott gathered his wits, he maneuvered to stand, still trying to figure out what the hell hit him. Lizzie had grabbed one of the larger goats by the horns and was dragging him to the side. Giving the goat a shove, she managed to get Charlie over to the other side of the pasture.
Turning back to him, Lizzie’s eyes were wide as she apologized, “Oh, my God, Scott, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I forgot to warn you that goats will headbutt. I’ve got most of my goats trained, but Charlie wanted attention.”
“Attention? I’ll give that fucker attention,” Scott said, only half-joking, dusting off his jeans.
She rushed closer, bending to wipe off his jeans as well, but he captured her hands in his. “I’m fine,” he assured. Standing, he kept her hands in his and peered down into her eyes. Wanting to kiss her, he watched as concern mixed with horror filled her eyes.
“I can’t believe you could’ve gotten hurt here.” She blinked away the gathering tears.
Giving her hands a little shake, he repeated, “Lizzie, I’m fine. Believe me, I fell a lot more and a lot harder when I was learning how to walk again and certainly learning how to run.”
She swallowed, her throat working as though it was difficult, and slowly shook her head. “How can I think about having people come and be with the animals if somebody could get hurt?”
Always wearing her emotions out for anyone to see, Scott wanted to erase all of her doubts and worries. “That’s why we’re going to have insurance and talk to a lawyer. We’ll make sure we have everything in place to make everyone safe before we let people come. And if that means the children are only with the baby goats, then that’s fine. You can even have feeding stations so that people can feed or pet the adult goats through the fence.”
Wide blue eyes looked up at him, and she slowly nodded. “Yeah, that might work.”
Determined to lighten the mood, he said, “So, think of it this way. It’s good that it happened this morning because now we know of something we need to plan for. So, Charlie deciding to send me on my way was a good thing, even if my pride took a hit.”
Mirth slowly took the place of concern in her eyes just before she began to giggle. Like watching a flower bloom, her face was transformed into outer beauty as her laughter took over, and she threw her head back, letting the emotion pour from her.
Wiping her eyes as she tried to control her laughter, she gasped, “I’m… sorry. I shouldn’t… laugh, but… you looked so funny… flying through the air.”
Her hilarity was so infectious he could not help but laugh as well. Finally gaining control, they stood hand-in-hand, smiling at each other.
Swallowing deeply, she said, “I truly am sorry that Charlie butted you, but it felt so good to laugh. I don’t think I’ve done that in weeks.”
Smiling, he lifted her chin with his knuckle. “You can always count on me, even if it’s just for a laugh.” He began to lean toward her, the idea of kissing her taking over his thoughts, when Rufus began barking, anxious to get in on the action.
Lizzie blushed and stepped back. “Um... I guess we’d better finish our morning chores.”
Scott followed as she walked back toward the barn. Bending to rub Rufus’ head, he whispered to his dog, “Stop cutting in on my action, boy. And for fuck’s sake, stop being a cockblocker.”
14
Lizzie tried to still her nerves as Scott drove them in his truck to The Diner. They had continued to work and talk about the farm until lunchtime. She invited him in for lunch, but he insisted that he take her out.
He had followed her into the house where she showed him the downstairs bathroom where he could wash. Leaving him on the first floor, she bounded up the stairs to her bathroom where she quickly washed her hands and face and re-brushed and braided her hair. Pulling off her plaid work shirt, she jerked a clean T-shirt from a drawer and pulled it on.
Trying not to appear as though she were anxious, she slowed her steps as she walked back downstairs. Noticing he had put on a clean T-shirt as well, she lifted an eyebrow in surprise.
He simply shrugged. “I brought an extra one in the truck. I was hoping I could take you out for lunch.”
The way he said it made it seem like a date, but she pushed that thought to the side, knowing they were just going as friends. The morning had passed quickly, and she had enjoyed his company. She missed so many things about her grandfather and one of those was his conversation.
Now, pulling into the parking lot of The Diner, she sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as he walked around and helped her down from the passenger side. The parking lot was crowded, and she wondered if there would be anybody inside that she knew.
She loved the feel of his hand resting on her lower back as they entered the diner, the bell over the door ringing. Carrie looked up, her gaze jumping between Lizzie and Scott, and a wide smile split her face.
As expected, Joe was in the kitchen and threw his hand up in a wave. Mavis’ smile was almost as big as Carrie’s as she pointed toward a table and said, “Y’all go ahead and have a seat.”
All of the booths were occupied, and it did not pass Lizzie’s notice that as they sat down at one of the tables, they were in full view of everyone there. What if they think this is a date? People are going to wonder why he’s out with me.
Her mind in turmoil, she did not notice when he reached across the table and took her hand until he gave it a shake.