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“Is he happy?”
Cash knew who Keegan meant. “Very much. You deserve happiness and acceptance too. I wish you believed it.”
Keegan drew in a shaky breath and averted his gaze. “Goodbye, Cash.”
“So long for now.” Cash needed to keep that door open.
Finley was leaning against the side of the truck with his arms crossed. He didn’t bother to disguise his interest in the conversation’s outcome. When he saw Cash heading toward him, Fin opened the driver’s side door and climbed in.
“I barely recognize him,” Fin said once Cash joined him. He blew out a breath, shifted the truck into drive, and pulled forward. “What happened?”
Cash filled him in on what he knew, which was very little. “If his number ever comes up on your phone, let me know right away.”
“I will, boss,” Finley replied. “You have to know that not everyone wants to be saved.”
“Oh, I do.”
Finley chuckled. “You just don’t accept it.”
Damn straight. Especially not with someone as young and impressionable as Keegan. Cash reached over and ruffled Finley’s hair. “You think you know me?”
Finley smiled over at him. “Yeah, I do.”
“We’ll do whatever we can whenever he’s ready,” Cash said. That would have to be enough for the moment.
They shifted the conversation to their new goats and Nick’s very first poker night. They’d gone to Denver the previous weekend, and Harry had been hosting poker at her place the night Nick had shown up on the ranch. It was odd how Nick had only been on the ranch for two weeks, but Cash struggled to remember a time when he wasn’t there. Nick’s presence permeated every room. Cash had always loved his ranch, but it had truly become home once Nick moved in.
The farm animal rescue was only forty-five minutes away. They would’ve had plenty of time to get the goats and return before Nick and Rory if the rescue owner hadn’t been so chatty. She’d heard of Redemption Ridge and was a big fan of their mission. That was great, but he really wanted to have the goats all settled in before Nick arrived home. And maybe he was part of the problem because he’d fallen in love with the goats’ best friend—a donkey named Jake.
“We’ve got plenty of room in the trailer and in the barn for Jake,” Finley said. He pointed at the way the goats bounced around the donkey and rubbed up against him. “Seems like a docile jackass.”
“Sarah,” Cash said, “how much for Jake?”
And so they headed back to the ranch with four goats, Jake, and no time to spare. Cash expected an alert from the security camera on the gate when Rory and Nick beat them home, but none came. He breathed a sigh of relief when Finley backed up to the barn and shut the truck off. By the time they opened the trailer door, everyone on the ranch had joined them.
Harry squealed over the goats and kissed Jake on top of his head. The donkey flicked his ears and continued chewing on some straw. Tyler and Owen squatted down and started debating names for them. They’d run through every female name in the Marvel and DC universes by the time Cash stopped them.
“These are Nick’s goats, and he gets to name them.”
The guys conceded with good grace. Ivan, who tried really hard to maintain his tough guy persona, watched the goats’ shenanigans and tried not to smile. He finally met Cash’s gaze and warned they’d be trouble.
“We wouldn’t have it any other way.” Cash patted the big guy on the shoulder and helped corral the newest critters into the barn. The horses were outside frolicking in the meadow, but unfamiliar smells still distracted the goats. They leaped and bounced and played like oversized kittens.
Kieran leaned over to pet one, and it headbutted his hand. “They are the cutest things I’ve ever seen, but no one tells Little Mama I said that.”
“How have I lived my whole life without a goat?” Rueben asked.
Dylan watched over the animals with a smile on his face. “How are we going to get them into the pens?”
“They’ll follow Jake,” Finley replied.
Harry scratched behind the donkey’s ear and clicked her tongue before walking away. Jake flicked his ears and followed her deeper into the barn.
“Hey now,” Dylan called out. “That’s my girl, Jake.”
The donkey swished his tail in response and continued following Harry. Sure enough, the goats bounded after them too.
Nick texted him when they were a few minutes out. Cash told Finley to put the trailer away, then hustled everyone else out of the barn.
