He's Got Her Goat (29 page)

Tears came then. “I can’t let her die by being torn apart. I can’t do it.”

Sterling cupped her cheek in his palm. “Go ahead, and I’ll do what has to be done.”

She knew he was right. She kissed Petunia’s forehead and left, clutching the newborn. She didn’t turn around when the last shot was fired and tried not to hear the sound of the dogs’ frenzy.

It seemed like seconds later that Sterling had his arm around her. “At least Petunia’s offspring is going to be healthy.” He patted the little kid’s head. “What shall we call her?”

It was the first time she really looked at the small animal. Mostly white, she had one black spot on her knee and a large grey uneven splotch on her spine. Paige followed the edge of the spot with her finger. “It looks like a flower.”

“Daffodil?” Sterling suggested.

Paige nodded but couldn’t speak. She nuzzled the little creature, feeling the bittersweet pain of the end and beginning of things, so often combined. Ahead the cattle gate shone in the moonlight. She touched Sterling’s arm. “Thank you for doing what I never could.”

“I’m sorry it had to be done.” He lowered his eyes, and she could see that he was as shaken as she was.

Chapter Thirty-Five

B
EFORE THEY HAD EVEN CROSSED
the highway, Sterling could see a black sedan pull into his father's driveway. In the distance he watched his father near it with caution.

“Who do you think that is?” Paige asked.

Sterling thought about his visit with Dotty. He never should have gone into the city. Was it already over? “It could be a government car. We crossed state lines, so it’s possible the FBI could be after us.”

The passenger door opened, and a boy about ten stepped out. Another boy a few years older appeared beside him. “They must be recruiting mighty young these days,” Paige said.

Sterling unlatched the gate as the driver emerged. When he saw the brunette woman in her early thirties, he dropped the lock and chain he was holding. How could she have known he was here? Did Dad call her? He wondered if she’d even want to talk to him again. He knew a child was on its way when he left but had intentionally not asked for details because how could he have stayed away then?

He bolted across the road. As her features became clearer in the night, he could tell she’d been crying. He stood still about five feet from her, unsure how she would react at the sight of him. His dad took a step back and let her take the lead.

“Sterling?” she said. “You’re here?”

He moved tentatively toward her. “Linda, I came back to help a friend.” Her shoulders began shaking, and he could see large tears begin to stream down her face. “I’m so sorry I screwed everything up,” he said.

She sniffled, trying to get control of her emotions. “You didn’t. I did.” She lifted her arms and took her brother into a tight embrace.

Sterling thought coming to terms with his dad was going to be tough, but Linda opened a whole new chamber of his past he hadn’t been ready to consider.

“You’re Uncle Sterling?” the little boy at his side said. “You don’t look that mean.”

His older brother whispered to the boy. “He does have a gun.”

Linda didn’t try to correct them but put a hand on each of her sons’ heads. “This is Tyler and his younger brother Josh.”

Sterling handed the rifle to his father and knelt before the boys. “Good to meet you.” He put out his hand and shook theirs in greeting.

Josh pointed behind his uncle. “Who’s that?”

Standing, Sterling motioned for Paige to come join him. “This is my friend, Paige. We had a bit of a scare with wild dogs. Maybe we should head inside.”

“No,” the boy said. “Who is that?” He pointed to the creature in Paige’s arms.

She came close to Josh, so he could see. “This is Daffodil. She was just born.”

His eyes widened, and he reached his hand up then stopped. “Can I touch her?”

Paige nodded, and the little boy ran his hand against the kid’s mostly dry coat.

“Me too,” his brother said and pet the kid’s neck and side gently. “Where’s her mama?”

“She didn’t make it.” Paige’s voice broke.

“It’s okay, Daffodil.” Josh said. “We’ll be your friends.”

Sterling put his arm around Paige, and they headed to the house. “Dad, Austin and I can take the couch tonight, so the boys have a bed.”

Paige interrupted. “Where is Austin?” She looked around and saw the pickup gone.

Sterling’s dad responded. “He went to find Misty. She also covers animal control. Now about the sleeping arrangements. . .”

Paige interrupted. “They can sleep with their mother since I’ll be in the kitchen with Daffodil all night. She’ll need to be watched and fed.”

“We can do that.” Tyler volunteered. “I’ve fed calves before at the dairy in Etna.”

“They’d be good with her,” Linda added.

“Well then.” Paige handed the newborn to Tyler who stood a little taller and carefully carried the small goat into the full and messy kitchen.

Linda looked around at the folded quilts on every surface. “What is this?” She seemed to grow misty-eyed.

“It’s my soap. I make it from goat’s milk,” Paige said.

Sterling could tell she was embarrassed, thinking Linda’s comment was derogatory. He wanted her to understand what Linda was feeling. “When my mom would make soap, the kitchen looked just like this.”

“It’s true,” said Linda, patting Paige’s arm. “It makes it feel like home again.”

“Oh,” Paige covered her mouth. “Bedding may be a problem, too. I used all the quilts.”

Sterling’s dad slapped a hand on his youngest grandson’s shoulder “Josh, why don’t you help Uncle Sterling climb into the attic and get two sleeping bags.”

“Three,” Tyler added. “We’ll need one for Daffodil.”

“Three then,” he said. Sterling knew his dad hoped to get the boys comfortable with him as soon as possible and agreed. Now wasn’t the time to worry about what happened so long ago. It was time to do the best he could. There would be plenty of opportunities later to work out the other issues.

AT ONE THIRTY IN THE MORNING
Paige finally let her head hit the pillow. The day wasn’t only physically exhausting but had emotionally taken its toll. She closed her eyes and envisioned Petunia lying there struggling to cling to life. Unbidden tears dripped down the sides of her face and tapped on her pillow. Paige hoped Linda couldn’t tell she was crying. Sterling’s sister slept on her side with her back to Paige, who took a shuddered breath.

Linda rolled onto her back, looking at the ceiling. “Thank you for turning what could have been one of the worst days in my life into one of the best.”

“Your brother did the same for me.” Paige remembered how he held her after Petunia was gone and chose the kid’s name.

Linda smiled and rolled to her side again. “It’s nice that he’s changed.”

That was all she said. Paige laid there awake until she could hear her bedmate’s breathing become deep and even. Like a sliver under her skin, she couldn’t leave it alone. He was keeping something from her, and she couldn’t love him completely until he trusted her enough to share it.

Chapter Thirty-Six

T
HE NEXT MORNING PAIGE OPENED
her eyes to a child staring at her. Josh scrunched his nose. “I didn’t wake you up, did I? I was being really quiet.”

“No.” Paige sat up alone in the bed and looked out the window. “What time is it?” The sun was already over the top of the barn.

“Almost lunch. Daffodil’s doing great, and we milked the goats with Uncle Sterling. Oh, and Mr. Austin is awesome.”

Paige scratched her head as Josh bolted from the room. It was hard to imagine any child calling Austin awesome. Not that he wasn’t, it’s just most kids didn’t see him that way. She rinsed off her face and changed into a fresh pair of jeans before descending the stairs. Voices drifted from the kitchen, and she peered around the doorway. The wrapped apple crates had been stacked on the center counter, and the kitchen table was covered with a lace cloth. At one end, a single place setting sat unused. Sterling and Linda were standing over by the other side of the sink with their backs to her, working on something. They were the only two in the room.

“Morning, if you can still call it that.” Paige stuck her hands in her pockets.

“You’re up.” Sterling hurried to the table and pulled out a chair. “If you’ll sit, we’ve got a few surprises for you.”

She shuffled forward and sat in the chair. “Sorry I wasn’t there to help with the milking.”

Linda called over her shoulder, still facing the far counter. “Don’t worry. The boys loved it, and Sterling said they finished in record time.”

Opening the oven, Sterling retrieved a plate mounded with steak and eggs and set it in front of her. Paige lifted her fork as he poured a glass of milk.

Not quite meeting her eyes, he said, “When you’re ready, we’d like to share what we’ve been working on.”

Sterling was clearly nervous, which made Paige feel the same way. She took a bite of the steak and chewed slowly, wondering what was going on. She swallowed. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

Linda had a crate in her arms, but her back was to Paige. She turned around, and Paige dropped her jaw. Cradled in the yellow straw were a dozen cut bars of new soap. Linda had wrapped each with rough string like a ribbon on a gift and put a sprig of dried greenery and a little tag on them. The writing on the tag read Daffodil Soap.

“Those are adorable,” Paige said. “Where did you get the tags?”

“Jerry’s,” Linda answered. “Her brother has a die cutter and makes them. I tied them with baling twine. I thought we could change out the greenery depending on the type of soap. For this one I used mint from Mom’s garden.”

Paige held the bar in her hand. “It’s perfect.”

“And it cuts your production time and cost by at least seventy percent.” Sterling sat in the chair next to her.

She wasn’t going to let him get away with this that easily. “Okay, for display purposes the apple crate works, but what about individual sales? Really the bar isn’t even completely wrapped.”

Sterling looked to Linda who ran to the corner and brought out small gift bags of different colors. She lifted a bright yellow one, lined with shredded tissue paper. Daffodil Soap had been scrolled tastefully across the front with her logo of Petunia surrounded by flowers in the bottom corner. There was a lime one for the Lemon Grass Jojoba, a peach for the Apricot Almond Oil, a natural one for the Oatmeal Shea Butter and so on.

“The handwriting is gorgeous.” Paige guessed it didn’t belong to Sterling.

Linda was blushing slightly. “Thank you. When Mom used to make soap, I’d wrap them up for her, so they’d look like a gift.”

“Your dad told me they were unique,” Paige said, trying to be tactful.

“Horrible was more like it, but they looked pretty when I finished with them. It was more about giving a piece of love than a bar of soap, anyway.” Linda smiled, but her eyes grew misty at the mention of her mother. Sterling clasped her hand.

Paige wished she could have met their mother but was grateful for the wonderful legacy she had left behind.

Sterling jolted and slapped both hands on the table. “It’s almost ten thirty. We’ve got to get going, or we’ll miss them.”