I got on my hands and knees, flattening my back. I was focusing my energy onnotbreathing in the scent of the barnyard when I suddenly felt four little hammers on my back. My body tensed as I felt something tugging on the fabric of my tank top and a cold snout on my shoulder.
“It’s on me! Grace! Liv! Get it off me! Please!” I squealed as they both broke their Tabletops, collapsing on their mats in heaps of giggles. The air smelled even more fowl than it had seconds before. “I smell poop! Why do I smell poop?” I screamed, and the goat squealed in response. His hooves poked me in the back as he began to chew on my ponytail.
Liv’s eyes widened in my direction. “Oh sh—”
“SHIT,” I cried.
Grace jumped to her feet, prying the little demon off my back. She attempted to stifle a laugh, but she, along with several of the other class attendees, dissolved into hysterics. I scrambled to my feet and gagged, shaking the shit from my back.
“Uh-oh,” Lulu said, looking up at me from her Tabletop pose, her voice chipper as though I had not just been the victim of a drive-by pooping. “Sorry about that! On the bright side, you get a free shirt. Can someone please grab the lady in the back a T-shirt?”
“Sorry, Mom,” Grace managed to choke out between laughs as a lady in a hot pink tank top with ‘The Nashville Goat’ printed on it approached, handing me a rolled-up grey shirt.
“Sorry about that.” The lady smiled but backed away quickly because I smelled like the inside of a goat’s ass. I ripped my shirt off, not even caring that everyone in the class had started to watch. I pulled the new shirt over my head and huffed.
Liv took one look at me and collapsed once more. This time, Grace and the entire class joined her. I looked down at my chest and was both annoyed and amused by the words written across it:I got shit on by goats, and all I got was this t-shirt.
I shook my head and laughed, looking from Grace to Liv. “Can we go now? Please?”
* * *
“Normally,I would give you shit about something like this, but it appears you’ve had your fair share already, honey,” Antoni quipped, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow at me. He gave Grace a furtive nudge with his elbow. Though Antoni served as the manager for both Jax & Liv and Midnight in Dallas, he had become a treasured member of our found family. Grace worked closely with him at Carrie On Records, and she’d come to think of him as her cool uncle. He was brutally honest, loyal to a fault, and the only person I knew who could rock sequins at any time of the day.
“Ha. Ha.” I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my mimosa. “Very funny.”
“But why not tease her one more time anyway?” Katie piped in conspiratorially. “Forshitsand giggles.” She beamed at me, and I swatted at her with my napkin.
Katie was the head pastry chef at Livvie Cakes Bakery and Cupcakery, the business Liv started several years before she became a famous pop star. Liv brought me on to handle the business and marketing side of the bakery even though my only job experience at that point consisted of retail and changing diapers. I busted my ass figuring out how to do the job, and it must have paid off because we were starting renovations to expand the store in a few days.
One of the best decisions Liv and I ever made was to hire Katie Kelley. She came with about as much experience as I did, but what she lacked in experience, she made up for in moxie. The best part about Katie, though, was what a precious friend she turned out to be. If we were in trouble or sad or sick, Katie was always there with a homemade dish and a hug. She was a little younger than both Liv and me, but she was totally our mother hen.
For Liv’s bachelorette brunch, Katie had booked a table at Milk & Honey because of their adorable southern vibe and their penchant for fresh pastries like the giant cinnamon roll I had on my plate. I cut into the gooey bun as big as my head and savored the way the sugar melted on my tongue.
“You guys are regular comedians,” I said, my mouth bursting with the comfort of carbohydrates. “But enough about me. How about we talk about this one getting married tomorrow?” I squeezed Liv’s shoulder.
“How are you feeling, honey?” Antoni directed his attention to Liv from across the table. “Are you getting nervous?”
I watched as a pretty dark-haired girl with her phone out made a beeline in Liv’s direction, but she was quickly intercepted by Brady. A few of the other patrons took discreet photos, undoubtedly sharing them on Instagram.
Liv shook her head, completely oblivious to the spectacle happening around her. “Honestly, no. In a lot of ways, I feel like Jax and I are already married. Especially after going through foster parent training together.”
Katie smiled. “I’m so excited for you guys, and I can’t wait to be Auntie Katie.”
Liv’s face had that lit-from-within appearance I always heard about in makeup tutorials I found on YouTube.I guess that’s what happiness does to a person.
“Are you excited about the honeymoon?” Grace’s eyes went all hazy as she took a bite of her french toast.
“I am. After the foster training, the tour, the wedding planning, and finishing the next album, it’s going to be nice to have a couple of weeks to ourselves.” Liv let out a dreamy sigh. “I’m ready to do nothing but order room service and lay on the beach with Jax.”
“You’re gonna have to lay there ‘cause you won’t be able to walk once Jax finally gets to be alone with you.” I grinned at her, popping another bite of the cinnamon roll in my mouth.
“Mom!” Grace laughed, rolling her eyes. She was used to this kind of talk from Liv and me.
I looked into my daughter’s blue eyes, not at all dissimilar from my own. She had the softness of her dad’s features and the same rounded tip of her nose, but her pale blue eyes and golden hair were all mine. After Craig passed away, it was just Grace and me and Liv. I still had my mom, but soon after we lost Craig, she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. As her disease progressed, I wasn’t able to go to her for advice the way I always hoped I’d be able to. I didn’t have anyone to tell me if I was screwing up this parenting thing, so I did the best I could.
“I know that’s right, honey,” Antoni said. “That boy is chomping at the bit to get you alone and spoil you rotten. We should all be so lucky to have a Jaxon Slade in our lives.”
A twinge of jealousy gnawed at the edges of my heart, and I immediately felt like a jerk.
