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Chapter 9
The idea taking shape in Gunner’s mind felt so natural, he wondered when it had started forming. It felt like it had always been there, which made him wonder if the idea was coming straight from his Creator. Of course, his brain was also capable of reason, and in that way, he knew that the idea was patently insane.
But still, he liked it.
He had given up on marriage and a family long ago. Maybe he had never hoped for it to begin with. Gunner had never been wanted in his whole life, and he had never been special enough to expect to be wanted. So he wasn’t surprised to be middle aged and single, and he wasn’t depressed about it either. It was what it was, and it was okay. He had a pretty good life, and even if he lived alone for the rest of it, it would still be okay. He would make the best of it, and he would still enjoy it.
Being adopted made him believe that things could always have been worse. He’d been brought into this world by two people who didn’t want him. If they had kept him, things could have been unspeakably awful. So even though his life hadn’t been perfect, he was always grateful that it hadn’t been worse.
So what would it hurt to make the offer? Though Nova might laugh in his face, he thought he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t take the ridicule further than that. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t run around the county telling everyone what a fool he was. He could endure a little embarrassment on the off chance that she might let him fix all her problems.
“What is wrong with this goat’s eye?” Nova asked. She had gone from lying in the middle of his goat pasture to sitting with her legs folded in front of her. Now she held Cooter’s head in both her hands, gazing into his eyes.
Gunner knelt for a closer look. “Oh, he’s had an eye infection. Looks like it has flared up.” He stood. “Are you okay here for a minute? I’ve got some ointment in the barn.”
“Are you kidding? I’msookay here. I could spend the night here!” She flung her arms out and tipped her face skyward. “I could live here!”
He chuckled. “Okay. Be right back.” He walked away thinking, could she, though? Could this hippie chick full of wanderlust reallylivehere? He had no idea because he didn’t know her yet. And still, he had such a good feeling about her. Even if he took away any romantic notions— which were there, simmering beneath the surface—he still thought the idea was a good one. She was someone he liked spending time with, someone he wanted to get to know, someone who wouldn’t drive him crazy ...
Rocky, who’d been leaning on the fence watching them from afar, said, “Is that fine cream pie all yours, or can I have a slice?”
Gunner stopped dead in his tracks and slowly pivoted to face the wrangler.
The words shot out of his mouth before he considered them. “If you say one more word about her, you’re fired.”
Rocky chuckled uncomfortably. “You’re kidding, right?”
Gunner could understand his disbelief. His new boss had been nothing but calm and reasonable so far. “If you even look at her again, you’re fired.”
Rocky backed up, holding his hands up with his palms out. “Yes, sir.”
Gunner watched him walk away for a bit, just to make sure he was really leaving, and then turned to see if Nova had seen orheard any of that awful exchange, but she was too busy with the goats. Good thing. Gunner put his head down and headed for the barn.
Sometime between finding the ointment and returning to Nova, his pulse slowed. This was good. He didn’t want her to sense his fury and decide he was a dangerous lunatic.
Now Nova was closely examining Daisy’s belly. She looked up as he grew close. “Is she pregnant?”
“Naw, she’s just pudgy.”
Nova tipped her head back and laughed at the sky.
He wasn’t sure how to react as he hadn’t been trying to be funny. He knelt beside Cooter to apply the ointment.
“Is that a common problem, the eyes?”
Gunner nodded. “I love goats, but sometimes I think they’re not so smart. They are constantly allowing hay and other stuff to get into their eyes, and then it gets all irritated.”
“Well, that’s not because they’re stupid!” Her voice was scalding hot.
He looked up quickly to see if she was kidding, and she wasn’t. It seemed he had really offended her.
“Well,” he said, “they also poop in their water, so there’s that.”
Her angry expression relaxed. “Okay, I guess I can’t really defend that.” She nuzzled Daisy. “Don’t poop in your water, silly girl!”
Chapter 10
Nova wanted to see the baby goats, but she felt bad about gobbling up all Gunner’s time. He had said that he tried to take it easy on Sundays, but that didn’t mean he wanted to spend every second of the day watching her frolic with goats.
