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Jim yelped in pain, then squealed like the pig he was when Gertie slammed her forehead into his nose with a bone-cracking crunch. Blood spurted out in all directions as Gertie hopped down from his chest and did an odd sort of victory dance as she pranced back to my daddy and allowed him to put her back on her leash.
Stunned silence overcame us all, then Kota stepped forward and stared dubiously at the deceptively harmless goat she’d been living with. “I don’t think Gertie the Guilt Goat is gonna cut it anymore,” she said dryly, staring at our family pet with a bemused smile.
“Gertie the Revenge Goat don’t have the same ring,” Daddy replied.
“How about Gertie the Attack Goat?” Jackson suggested, shrugging when everyone shook their heads.
Jim Conrad continued to writhe in pain on the ground while we sorted this out, his nephew’s charismatic ways on stage sufficiently distracting both the crowd and the majority of the paparazzi. Though, the few of them who’d managed to get some shots of Jim’s takedown by our trusty pygmy goat before security hustled them away would be handsomely paid, no doubt about it.
“What about Gertrude the Great?” a smooth yet winded voice said from behind me.
I spun around, the skirts of my short white dress twirling around my thighs. Everett emerged from between two stern-looking beefcakes we called security guards with a sardonic smile. His shirt was torn and his face was dirty, but the sparkle in his deep-brown eyes could’ve burned the whole festival down with their glittering intensity.
I rushed to him, letting out a sharp breath when he caught me in his arms and wrapped me in the hug to end all hugs. He drew back and slammed his mouth onto mine, kissing me until I wasn’t sure if I was seeing stars or losing my sight altogether.
He was here. Even though I’d been focused on Jim getting his just desserts, I’d also been so worried Everett might have left before my big announcement. It wasn’t like I wouldn’t be perfectly willing to give him a play-by-play of today’s events, but man, was I beat. The only thing I wanted to do now that the whole world knew how much I loved him and this town was to be held by him and maybe take a break from kissing long enough to scarf down some festival food. As it turned out, singing my butt off, giving an unplanned public declaration, and then watching a full-grown man get laid out by a pygmy goat could really work up an appetite.
As much as I wanted to remove my lips from Everett’s so I could tell him to take me to the food carts so I could get my hands on a fried pickle, something kept me from doing so. It was something about the way he was kissing me. It was almost like he’d thought he’d never get a chance to do it again, and there was a blend of bone-marrow-deep relief and elated desire with every swipe of his mouth over mine. In fact, it almost led me to believe that he—
I yanked back, searching his face. “You knew?”
“Knew?” he repeated, breathless from the kiss as he smoothed my hair back from my cheek with a dirt-stained hand.
“Did you know what I was supposed to get up there and say? How—”
His eyes darkened with understanding, and he swallowed hard as he nodded. “Jim told me all about the plan, and then I saw you talkin’ to Paisley right before you grabbed a mic and went back on stage. I took off. You looked like you were about ready to throw us away, and I couldn’t stand there and watch it happen.”
My blood went from hot for the man still holding me to hot with fury at what that must have been like for him. “She told me what Jim wanted me to say and why. She told me all about the story he was gonna spin. So I made like I was gonna do it, but I swear to you, Everett, I never would have—”
He shushed me with a fleeting, gentle kiss and rested his forehead on mine. “I know. I’m sorry, darlin’. I shoulda known you wouldn’t.”
A not-so-subtle throat clearing interrupted our moment, and I closed my eyes briefly as Everett released his hold on me so I could turn around and face both of our families. They stood in a loose clump, some trying to look interested in something that wasn’t us while the rest watched with quirked lips.
Paisley stepped forward and squeezed the top of my arm. “Maybe y’all should take this conversation somewhere else. Riley’s got a few more songs left in his set, but yours is finished, and I’ve got everything under control here.”
“What about Gertie?” Momma asked, her happy-tear-streaked face turning from ours to the innocent-looking goat who sat at her feet. “Before that awful man ran away, he said he was gonna press charges against her.”
Everyone looked at our resident law advisor, Officer Adam Wilson, who snorted and scratched his head. “He ain’t gonna press any kinda charges on no goat. And I don’t know about y’all, but I didn’t hear anyone sic her on him or see anyone release her from her leash. Did you?”
Our family members shook their heads in denial, and Judd waved toward the ground where Jim had been so gloriously put in his place. “I know we don’t know all the details beyond what Paisley told us backstage, but I’m pretty sure we know enough to know we all saw him fall flat on his ugly face and break his own nose.”
Murmurs of agreement moved through them.
“Pais, he can’t be Riley’s manager anymore,” I said, pleading in my tone.
Paisley nodded and looked up at the singer in question as he belted out a ballad that had the crowd like putty in his hands. “I know. I s’pose I should offer my services since you might not have much to do for me for a while.”
I gave her a grateful smile, then my heart just about burst as Everett slung his arm over my shoulder. “What do you say? You wanna get outta here?”
“I’d go anywhere with you,” I replied.
“Yeah, well, there’s no place like home,” he replied with a deliberate look at his brothers that made them howl with laughter.
Before I could question what in the world they were goin’ on about, Everett ushered me toward the back parking lot where my gleaming pink convertible was parked in a VIP spot. He’d finished it yesterday—early, I might add—and I’d been happier than heck when I drove it here this morning, knowing I wasn’t leaving town even though it was fixed.
As he opened the passenger door for me, I scanned him from head to toe. “Why do you look like you got run over by a stampede?”
He lifted one dark brown eyebrow, and the side of his mouth raised in an accusing smile. “That’s your fault.”
