He's Got Her Goat (30 page)

“Where? Who?” Paige looked from brother to sister but neither would say anything.

Linda lifted the crate from the table. “I’ll stay here and finish cutting the soap. You two have fun, but make sure you check in the barn on your way out. The boys would be heartbroken if you didn’t.”

Taking her hand in his, Sterling led her out the door. Tyler, Linda’s oldest was waiting for them. Stacking hay bales, he had sectioned off a little room from the rest of the goats where Josh was sitting with Daffodil beside him.

Tyler stood by their side. “Grandpa found an old calf bottle. We fed her once about four in the morning and now. We thought we’d go to eight hours for the next feeding.”

“That’s exactly right.” Paige knelt by Josh who was so focused on his task that he hardly noticed her. Daffodil latched onto the bottle well and had a ring of warm foam around her little white mouth. In her face Paige could see the shape of Petunia’s head but her coloring was more like King’s. She ran her hand along the kid’s soft coat.

“Thank you so much, boys. You’re doing a great job.”

Tyler stood a little taller. “Grandpa’s helping us fix the fence in the back field, so we can separate the milking nannies from the others. We should have it done by tonight.”

“Wow.” She stood and rested a hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “You two keep track of your hours because I intend to pay you. We’ll work out the details later.” Paige could tell Sterling was anxious to go. He kept looking at his watch. “We’ll talk as soon as I get back.” She planted a kiss on Tyler’s cheek and one on the top of Josh’s head before running to Sterling’s side.

Sterling grabbed her hand. “We better hurry.” Together they jogged toward the highway.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

They dashed across the road and toward the cattle gate. The sheriff’s car was parked in front of it.

The lock was open, so Sterling only had to remove the chain. “To the meadow. Austin and Misty are waiting for us.”

A pit settled in her stomach, and she stopped. “I don’t want to go back there ever. I don’t want to think about what happened last night again.”

He put an arm around her and lifted her chin. “They caught the owner of the dogs. Austin was a real hero in this thing, but I want him to tell you.”

Paige remembered the boy’s comment when she first woke up. “That’s why Josh called him awesome.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll trust you on this.”

“You won’t regret it.”

She took his hand, and they hurried to the meadow.

Austin was always a bit of a neat freak, but you’d never guess by looking at him now. His face was smudged with fresh dirt, the knees of his trousers were grass stained, and his hands were caked in mud. Misty was in her uniform but almost in the same condition. Paige could tell by their faces both were exhausted, but they greeted her with matching smiles. Behind Austin and Misty was a shovel and a fresh plot of earth. Paige could guess what it was for before Austin confirmed her suspicions.

“We buried the last of Petunia’s remains,” he said. “When the dogs attacked her, one of them got the microdot stuck to his muzzle, so we could chase them.”

Misty stepped forward. “It was Austin’s computer thing that led us to their owner. He’s being charged, and the dogs are in custody. Because of you all, they won’t hurt anyone else.”

“What’s going to become of them?” Paige asked.

Misty’s face was set, and she looked little like the beauty Paige had seen yesterday. Today, she was serious and responsible. “They are scheduled to be destroyed.”

“No.” Paige turned to Sterling. “I don’t think it was their fault they were starving. Couldn’t you call Kiyo about Best Friends? I think that’s what they do, isn’t it? Rehabilitate dogs like that.”

Sterling brightened. “Good idea. Misty, can you hold off until then?”

“Sure.” She nodded. “And, Sterling, I dropped that CD off you asked for. Your dad said he’d put it in his office.”

Paige wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

Across the meadow they could hear footsteps and turned to find Jerry holding a flat of lavender petunias. Paige met Sterling’s eyes and couldn’t help herself. She threw her arms around him and kissed him. “You are so sweet. Petunias for Petunia.”

Sterling reddened. “I had to call Jerry about the bags and tags anyway.”

Four trowels hung from Jerry’s belt loops. They all knelt and planted the new flowers together. While on her knees beside Austin, he turned to her. “Another cool thing happened last night. We thought we had lost the dogs' signal. They had gone out of the two-mile radius since we had to follow the roads. Anyway, the beast must have hit an electric fence because it boosted the output. Isn’t that cool?”

Paige nodded without saying anything, not quite certain why this development was so significant.

“Think of the applications on cars, cellphones, pacemakers, hearing aids and children’s clothing!” Austin’s hands were trembling with excitement. “Okay, that last one doesn’t have an electrical source, yet. They could all be tracked.”

Misty turned toward him with a smile. “This man is a genius.”

Paige and Sterling laughed. “We know,” they said at the same time.

HEADING BACK TO THE HOUSE
, Paige held Sterling’s hand tight. “I think Misty has a little crush on our boy Austin.”

“Could be.” Sterling said, but she could tell his mind was somewhere else.

“What is it?”

“I made plans for us today. I’m not sure with all that’s gone on that you’re up to them.”

“What plans? Does it have to do with that CD Misty was talking about?” Paige bit her lip. She wanted this to last forever, surrounded with family and people you could count on.

“Yes.” He squeezed her hand. “Tonight’s the dance at the Pit, and I thought we might practice. Misty dropped off some music, and I got the key to the high school gym. What do you think?”

A smile blossomed across her face. “Sounds fun.” She was happy to keep reality at bay for a few hours longer, but in the back of her mind she knew it wouldn’t be kept there for long.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

T
HE HOUSE SEEMED UNUSUALLY QUIET
, and the pickup was gone as they approached. Sterling hustled to the barn while Paige peeked in the kitchen. It looked like Linda had only gotten through the first three molds before she’d been interrupted. The wire was still laced through a block of hardened soap.

The slam of the screen door signaled Sterling’s entrance. “The boys are gone, too. Dad must have taken everyone out for lunch.”

“Great.” Paige said. “I’ll take a quick shower and be ready in a few minutes, alright?”

“And I’ll shower in the garage.”

She laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” Sterling ducked in the laundry room to grab a towel. “Dad’s office is out there with a full bath. Believe me, it’s best to avoid temptation. Especially if dad comes home while I’m sneaking in on you.” He pecked her cheek.

She shoved him lightly toward the door. “Then get a move on. I’d like to be ready before your family comes home.”

With the house empty, Paige mounted the stairs and walked down the hall. The normal groans and creaks of an old house was something she was used to, but another sound came to her ears that didn’t fit. It was so soft, she could barely hear it, like muffled breathing or someone with a cold. Instead of turning to the right at the hall, she went left and came to a closed door. She rapped on it gently.

“Come in.” It sounded like one of the little boys, the tenor was so high.

Turning the knob, Paige immediately recognized the master bedroom. On the other side of the bed next to an end table with an ancient phone on it, Linda held a tissue balled in her fist. Her nose was red. Her eyes puffy. She gestured for Paige to come in.

Paige sat beside her. She didn’t want to pry but wanted to help in some way. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Not unless you can change history.” Linda wiped her nose. “It amazes me that a man can chew on the same bone for twelve years and still hasn’t had enough of it.”

“This is your husband you’re talking about?” Paige said, still unsure what was going on.

She bobbed her head. “Yes, Darryl.”

The glowing name on the ceiling suddenly made sense. “So you’ve known each other since high school?”

“Before that.” Her cheeks lifted in what must have been pleasant memories. “I knew I wanted to marry Darryl since the second grade. Everything would have been fine if he hadn’t gotten appendicitis as a senior. He had an allergic reaction to the pain meds and missed three months of school. They decided to let him repeat his final year of high school.”

“That’s got to be hard, but why would it affect him for twelve years?” Paige was still trying to understand.

“You don’t know?” Linda looked at her, seeming a little dazed.

“Nothing about this,” Paige said.

“Darryl’s wanted to play professional baseball all his life. A bunch of scouts were scheduled to come to the game he missed because he got sick, so the next year he was given the same position on the baseball team. The problem was that Sterling was a year behind us in school and planned on taking that spot.” Linda bowed her head.

“Oh, I see,” Paige said.

Linda turned toward Paige. “It wasn’t just baseball for Sterling, like it was for Darryl. Sterling had been captain of the football team and the basketball team. He wanted all three, and when Sterling latches on to something, he’s a pit bull.”

“I believe that.” From what she’d seen of his business dealings, Paige knew it was an accurate statement.

“Anyway, when Darryl was named captain of the team instead of Sterling, my brother threw him a party. We all thought he was being a great sport. What I didn’t know until we got there is that Sterling had talked the Freeman boys into bringing a keg.” Linda stared at her like it was significant.

“That seems like something all stupid seniors do,” Paige said.

Linda lifted one brow. “Except the school board had signed a zero tolerance rule for drinking if you wanted to play on a sports team. No one knows who called the cops on us, but we all had to take Breathalyzer tests. Sterling was the only one who hadn’t had a drop.”

“Really?” Paige was getting the picture.

“And none of the other key baseball players were even invited to the party.”

“Oh,” Paige said.

“When Dad found out, he was furious. You could hear them screaming at each other all the way from the barn. Dad felt Sterling had hurt our family’s good name. Sterling said what he did was entirely legal and thought Dad was overreacting. The next morning Sterling was gone, but Darryl was still off the team. They haven’t spoken since.”

Paige looked at the old rotary phone. “So now Darryl knows Sterling’s here?”

Linda nodded. “It’s funny. The night I came here we were fighting about this very thing. Darryl still blames Sterling for his failures. I couldn’t take it anymore and came home for a break.” Linda huffed out of frustration.

“How did he find out about Sterling?” Paige asked.

“Josh told his father about Daffodil. I suppose it had to be faced some time. He’s on his way.” Linda stood. “I guess I’ll go warn Sterling.”

Paige’s hand shot out and caught Linda’s. “Don’t. We’re going to the high school gym to dance. That should give you time to calm down Darryl enough for them to face each other. I knew something was up with Sterling being gone for so long. This makes total sense. If he can fix this, it will help them both.”

Linda put her other hand over Paige’s. “I thought the same thing, but I couldn’t do it alone. Dad didn’t want to talk about it, and Sterling was in hiding. With Mom gone, I didn’t know what to do.”

“We’ll tackle this together,” Paige said. “It’s time we all face the monsters in our closets.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight