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He nodded. “It’s not complicated, just time consuming.” He grabbed the grain bucket and then let Laurie out of her stall. She followed the bucket all the way to the milking stand and stuck her nose through the headpiece. He closed it on her as she started eating.
“Is she trapped now?” Nova asked.
“She sure is. All right, let’s give this Amish goat milking a try.” He opened the milking machine to use the canister as a bucket. “If old Laurie here will let me.”
“Laurie?” Nova giggled. “That seems like a weird goat name.”
“Yeah, when I had just a few, I thought it would be cool to go with theDukes of Hazardtheme, but then I ran out of Hazard names.”
“So you picked Laurie?”
He looked at her. “LaurieisaDukes of Hazardname. It was one of the last ones I used. Okay, ready?” He grabbed Laurie’s teat. “You squeeze from top to bottom, sort of making a wave with your fingers. It’s easier to do than to explain.” He gently pulled down as he squeezed, and a shot of milk squirted into the pail.
“Wow, that’s some good water pressure you got there, girl.”
He laughed. “Yeah, she’s a good milker.” He kept going, and the milk came out easily—but not as fast as it did with the machine. Laurie had finished her grain and tried to kick him, but he easily dodged her foot. “Now, now, girl. You behave or no cookie afterward.”
Nova laughed. “What is a goat cookie?”
He looked up at her. “I give them an animal cracker.”
Nova tipped her head back and laughed, finding that far funnier than it was.
“Do you want to try?”
“I do, but is she going to kick me?”
“She might.”
Nova tried anyway. Gunner held on to Laurie’s backside, partly to comfort the goat, and partly so that he could block any attempted kicks.
Nova did not do so well at first. “What am I doing wrong? I feel like I’m torturing her.”
He chuckled. “I’m not sure. Here ...” He put his hand over hers. “Start a little higher and then gently pull as you go.” The contact felt far more intimate than he had expected, and he pulled his hand away quickly—her body language suggested that she had felt that intimacy too. Flustered, he went back to holding the goat’s hips. “Just give it another try. You’ll get it.”
She did not get it at first, but eventually some milk came out, and she squealed with delight. “I did it! I actually wasn’t squeezing hard enough, I think!” She kept going, and the milk started flowing. “Wow, I can’t imagine doing this for a long time. Your fingers would wear out.”
“I think anyone with a lot of goats would have a machine,” he said.
“Except the Amish,” she said.
“Correct.” Now she had him wondering how the Amish really did it. They were probably a lot better at it than he was.
Nova kept milking, remaining incredibly focused on her task. He was surprised that she wasn’t growing bored with it. “How do I know if she’s empty?”
He took a look. “We’re not there yet. Her udder will get all floppy, and the milk will just drip instead of shooting out.”
Nova sighed an exhausted sigh but kept at it for so long thathegrew bored. Finally, when she had spent twenty minutes on only one side of the udder, Gunner started to feel bad for Laurie.
“Do you want to use the machine on the other side?”
Nova stood up and stretched her back. “Sure. I think that’s a great idea.”
Gunner let go of the goat. “Good. So does Laurie.”
Chapter 14
Praying that he would say no, Nova asked Gunner if he would like any help with the supper preparations. It wasn’t that she was unwilling to help. She liked being helpful; it was just that she was not comfortable in the kitchen. Or useful. Or even safe.
