AllFreeNovel
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I peered over the side of the bars. They did, indeed, have full troughs of food, but it seemed as though hand-fed was better. “I think they prefer it from your hand.”
He grunted and tugged the feed sack over. “Grandma has spoilt them.”
“I didn’t know you could spoil goats.”
“These are a prime example of it.” He scooped up a handful of feed and held it out to a black and tan goat. “Yeah, there you are, you little sod.”
The goats all bustled around his hand, and when he got another fistful of it and held it out, they all snaffled it up in a second or two.
“Can… Can I have a go?” I asked softly.
Max looked over his shoulder at me, one eyebrow quirking. “You want to feed them?”
“I’ve never done it before. I only kept chickens as a kid, and the local farmer never let us feed his goats. They used to bite. Or so he said.”
His lips twitched into something that might’ve vaguely resembled a smile. “All right. Come here.”
I walked over to him.
“They can be quite aggressive,” he said. “Not in an attacking way, but they’re really quite fond of their food.”
I felt that on a deep level.
I, too, was fond of my food.
“Get a handful and hold your hand flat before you offer it to them,” Max said gently. “They’ll shove their heads through, but they’re just greedy.”
I swallowed and scooped up some food, then slowly moved my hand towards the goats. They all did as he’d said and shoved their needy heads through the bars, even tilting their heads to the side to get their horns through, and I inched my hand closer.
“Hold it flat,” Max reiterated.
I uncurled my fingers, pausing. “Like this?”
“No. You’re still bending your fingers.” He stepped towards me and took hold of my wrist. His left hand held it steadily, and a tingle danced up the inside of my forearm. His right hand controlled the gentle uncurl of my fingers until my hand was fully flat. “Like this,” he said softly, with his body right next to mine. “Or they might bite your fingers.”
“You might have told me that a moment ago,” I mumbled, holding my hand back from the goats.
He had full control over my hand; make no mistake about it. He was solely responsible for the unfurling of my fingers and the slow movement of it towards the goats.
And his body…
Well, he was right beside me. It was strong. Firm. The kind of body you could press your back against and feel safe with.
Ahem.
Not that I was noticing.
Max moved his left hand to cup my elbow and used his position next to me to turn me towards the goat. “I prefer to feed them this way,” he said in a low voice. “With my thumb facing away. Less things for them to munch on.”
“You’re not instilling confidence in me.” I swallowed. “They won’t bite me, will they?”
“Maybe.”
“Hey!”
“You asked.”
“The correct answer was no.”
