The Romance Report (17 page)

"Well, I guess using my laptop is out of the
question," Claire gave Wade a wry smile. "I was going to try to
update my resume and do some job hunting while I was up here, but that seems
like it might be out of the question."

"You'll have to go to the coffee shop in
Cosner's Corner if you want internet or to the local library. No wi-fi here. The
goats don't really need it." Wade opened up a door on the right side of
the kitchen. "You've got a fully stocked pantry and this other door is the
back stairway." He closed the pantry door and opened the door next to it. A
set of stairs led upstairs.

Claire headed up the narrow stairs conscious of
Wade walking behind her. She was glad she had worn her Lucky jeans which gave
her butt an extra boost. She came to the top of the stairs which opened to a
large landing. Turning she walked down the hall and opened the first door to
her left. Inside was a small, but neat bedroom with a single bed covered
by a cheerful quilt. The next door opened up to a linen closet filled with
sheets, towels and quilts. Claire opened the final door on the left and found
what must have been her aunt's bedroom. A large bed was covered with a quilt
made of varying shades of blue fabric. There was a large wooden wardrobe in the
corner, a rocking chair and a bright rag rug on the wooden floor. Claire saw a
faded pair of pink house slippers under the bed. It made her sad that she
hadn't known her Great Aunt Lily. Claire and her sister Catherine preferred to
visit the father's family who lived near the beach. Great Aunt Lily seemed
eccentric living in her old farmhouse with her farm animals. Now Claire would
never know what she was like and she realized a piece of her family's history
had been lost with the death of her aunt.

Claire opened a door at the end of the hallway. It
revealed a small bathroom with a large claw foot tub, a pedestal sink and
thank goodness, a toilet. She noticed that there was no shower. Claire
thought she might like sitting in the deep tub filled with bubbles. It really
could be like a spa retreat.

"You'll like this next room," Wade said
as he led Claire back into the hallway. He opened the door on the right side of
the hallway. Claire stepped into a room with a large window with a deep window
seat perfect for sitting and reading a book. The room was painted a pale blue.
There was a double bed on a white metal frame. A beautiful quilt of navy blue
with applique stars covered the bed and a large handmade rug made
from denim covered most of the hardwood floor. A bookcase stood against one
wall and was filled with old books. A small white dresser sat in the corner.

"I love it. I'll move my things in
here," Claire said decisively. She whirled around taking in the bright
spring sunlight as it reached across the room. For the first time in a month,
Claire felt a little glimmer of hope that her luck had changed. Maybe this
country retreat would do her some good.

Wade and Claire headed back downstairs using the
front stairway. Gingersnap had ventured out from her hiding spot and was sniffing
the doors and furniture. "Let me go ahead and light the stove for
you," Wade offered as he headed back towards the kitchen. As he worked on
the stove, Claire opened the door off the back of the kitchen. She stepped out
onto a large enclosed porch with a hammock and two rocking chairs. On the other
end of the porch was the old coal stove with stacks of canning jars next to it.
There were several pairs of boots lined up by the door. Claire gazed out into
the backyard and spotted the large white barn surrounded by grassy fields.

"I've got the stove lit for you. It's time to
feed the animals. You should come with me so you can see what to do.” Wade
opened the screen door and headed towards the barn.

Reluctantly, Claire followed behind him. She
had forgotten there were animals involved. She steeled her resolve. She could
do this. How hard could it be?  Throw some food in a bowl and give them
water. Piece of cake. "I've got this," Claire told herself. She
stepped into the barn behind Wade and the smell threatened to overwhelm her.
"Oh! What is that horrible smell?" Claire gagged. 

Wade laughed. "It's just Banjo. He's the male
buck visiting Rose's does for the month. Rose had arranged for Joe Boxley
to bring Banjo whenever Morning Dawn went into heat. I figured
you would want to keep the same breeding schedule that Rose had, so I went
ahead and brought Banjo over."

"Buck? Doe?  Heat? What the heck are you
talking about?" Claire started to realize that she might be in over her
head. "I thought Aunt Lily had a couple of cows and chickens and now
you're talking about deer?" 

"Deer?"  Wade let out a loud bark
of laughter. "No, not deer. Come here and look.” Wade motioned for Claire
to come look in the large pen at one side of the barn. She peered through the
darkness to see a large white goat with long horns and a beard staring
balefully at her. He stuck his nose into a hay feeder on the wall and pulled
out a piece of hay and slowly chewed it. The musky odor was stronger near his
pen.

"He needs a bath. He really stinks!"
Claire shook her head.

"That's because male goats pee on their face
to attract the females," Wade told Claire with a smile. He leaned through
the fence and patted the goat on his side.

"Now you are just yanking my chain. Really?"
 Claire gave him a look of disbelief. "If any guy I was interested in
did that, I would run screaming in the other direction."

"I'm not kidding. We'll need to let him out
into the pen with Morning Dawn tomorrow, but for now he can stay put. Come and
meet the girls. We need to give them fresh hay and water. You give them grain
in the morning, but not too much. They'll get fat." Wade led her out of
the back of the barn and into the fenced field behind it. As they came back
into the sunlight, a herd of white goats looked up from where they were
nibbling on brush, then started trotting towards them. Claire let out a
small scream of fright and hid behind Wade. "These are the does. They
won't hurt you. The only thing they might do is nibble on your clothes.”

Claire stepped out from behind Wade and timidly
held out her hand to the goat closest to her. It leaned forward and nibbled on
her fingers. Claire felt a little braver and she patted the goat on its head. "Nice
goat. Pretty goat. Goat that doesn't want to eat me.” Claire said in an effort
to make friends. No sooner had she petted the one goat when others were butting
their heads against her leg and vying for attention. "Whoa!  One at a
time!" 

"They're hungry. Come here and I'll show you
what to do.” Wade led her to a small door on one side of the door. Inside were
bags with goat and chicken feed and buckets. Wade showed her how much to feed
them and how to fill the hay feeders. He showed her how much chicken feed to
toss around the yard in the morning and afternoon and how to water all of them.
Afterwards, Claire thought that it was definitely something she could handle.

   "This isn't nearly as bad as I
thought it would be," Claire said cheerfully to Wade. 

  "Don't get too ahead of yourself. I'll
be back in the morning at six a.m. to show you how to milk the does that need
it and then once a week you have to muck out the barn," Wade instructed
her. 

  "Milk?  As in, milk coming from
goats?" Claire gave Wade an incredulous look. "Mucking?"

   "You see that building over
there?" Wade pointed to a small building that Claire hadn't noticed before.
A small stone path led between it and the house. "That is the milking shed
and cheese house. Your aunt made goat cheese and sold it to the local
restaurants in the area. She also sold it with her organic vegetables at the
farmer's market in town on Saturday mornings. I assumed that whoever took over
the farm was going to continue with the cheese and gardening." 

"I don't know anything about cheese except
that it tastes really good on a sandwich and I definitely don't know anything
about gardening. What was my mother was thinking sending me up here to take
care of this place? I should just get Gingersnap and head home.” Claire gave a
defected kick to the dirt in front of her. She noticed her designer boots had
mud and muck from the barnyard on them. Great.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy
Lilly grew up in the small town of Cedaredge, Colorado where she spent her free
time reading Nancy Drew mysteries and using her Junior Detective Kit to solve
mysteries on her family farm. Amy earned a B.A. in English from the University
of Iowa and her M.L.S. from SUNY at Buffalo. She spends her free time raising
goats, chickens, a herd of well-fed cats and two hyperactive Jack Russell
Terriers. She is married with two sons and two beautiful, smart granddaughters.