mean it’s not true,” he assured her with a shameless grin. Spreading more straw, he asked, “So, what kind of job were you interviewing for over in Rockville?”
“The kind that pays.” Hearing the angry bite in her tone, Bekah winced. “Sorry, that was rude. There was some light factory work I thought I could manage. I’m sure they’ve filled the spot by now.”
“Where are you staying?”
In my car, she nearly blurted before realizing that was more than he needed to know. Beyond that, it made her sound pathetic, and she didn’t want him feeling sorry for her. As her feisty Grams used to say, she was down but not out. At least not yet. “I’m looking for a place that doesn’t break the bank. Do you have any recommendations?”
“I might. Depends on you, I guess.”
What a curious thing to say. In spite of herself, she had to admit he’d snagged her interest with that one. She stopped cleaning the water bottles that hung in the cages for smaller animals and looked over at him. “What do you mean?”
Resting his arms across the handle of his pitchfork, he explained. “You seem to like the animals here.”
“Definitely,” she answered with a nod. “To be deadly honest, I like animals better than people.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“They don’t judge you or make you feel stupid when you mess things up.” One of the scruffy pygmy goats went up on his hind legs and rested his tiny front hoofs on the dividing wall. Reaching over, she scratched between his sprouting horns with a smile. “All they want is to be fed and have a safe place to sleep. Whoever gives them that is their hero, and they love you to pieces.”
Drew didn’t respond to that, and she glanced over to find him studying her with a somber expression. An angry glint appeared in his eyes again, and she recognized it from when he’d noticed the healing bruise on her cheek. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but his grim look stayed in place.
“Are you talking about these critters,” he asked gently, “or yourself?”
His perceptiveness was unnerving, to say the least, and she clamped her mouth shut to avoid stammering in shock. Once she regained some of her composure, she replied, “Let’s just say I can relate to where they’re coming from. I’ve been in some places that I have no intention of ever going back to.”
“Making a better life for yourself,” he added, eyes now twinkling with approval. “Good for you.”
“I hope so. Seeing as I don’t have much choice but to keep going forward.”
She wasn’t usually so honest with someone she barely knew, and she held her breath waiting for him to ask her to clarify what on earth she was talking about. Instead, he gave her an encouraging smile that warmed her all over.
“That’s a great way to look at it,” he said. “I think that’s a good strategy for all of us.”
Did he really? she wondered, or was he just being nice? As he got back to work in the stalls, she pondered their brief discussion in an attempt to sort through her conflicting feelings about him. She’d grown so accustomed to guys who said what they thought she wanted to hear, she was constantly on her guard around them. Because of that, she wasn’t sure how to read Drew’s wide-open, friendly personality.
Could it be that by some crazy stroke of fortune, she’d stumbled across a truly honest, straightforward man who said what he meant and meant what he said? Stranger things had happened, she supposed. She just couldn’t recall the last time they’d happened to her.
While she was lost in her brooding, the end door swung open, and Sierra came through lugging two old-fashioned milk bottle carriers filled with what looked like large plastic baby bottles topped with oversize nipples. The residents of the baby section went bananas, bleating and calling for their breakfast while Drew hurried forward to lend a hand.
“Those look kinda heavy,” he said as he took them from her.
“They are,” she acknowledged, a bit breathless. “Thanks for the help.”
“Well, you know how that works.”
Narrowing her eyes, she nailed him with a suspicious glare. “I’m not doing your laundry like I had to when my poor Angels lost the World Series to Cincinnati.”
“Nah, nothin’ like that,” he assured her smoothly, setting the formula down on a nearby hay bale.
“Then what?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” he said with a wink. “Who gets fed first?”
“I think he does,” Bekah replied, laughing as the determined pygmy goat climbed on his buddy’s back trying to get at the bottles.
“You can start with him,” Sierra agreed.
When her meaning sank in, Bekah shook her head. “You mean, you want me to do it?”
“Sure. They know how to eat, so you just hold the bottle up for them and wait till they’re done.” Bleating up a storm, the little goat was butting his head against the wall, and she laughed. “Here, let me show you.”
She climbed into the pen and lifted him out. Grabbing a bottle, she set him on his feet and sat down on the sawdust-covered dirt floor beside him. Eager for his breakfast, he latched on to the nipple and sucked down the formula like it was his last meal.
“Wow, he’s really going to town,” Bekah commented, patting his wiry brindle coat while he ate. “Are they all this easy?”
“The trick is to keep them from running over each other or you. They’re not starving or anything, but babies don’t like to wait in line, do they?” Sierra cooed, tapping him on his forehead while he gazed up at her with adoring eyes. Right then and there, Bekah decided she wanted to experience that kind of heroine worship for herself.
Hoping to make a good impression on her prospective new boss, without being told, she clambered into the pen the way Sierra had and cradled another goat in her arms. Drew held out his hands, and while she appreciated his gesture, she firmly shook her head. “I’ve got it.”
“They squirm a lot, y’know,” he cautioned her.
“That’s okay. I’m stronger than I look.”
Approval flashed across Sierra’s face, and she met Bekah’s eyes with a quick nod. Feeling as though she’d made some progress, Bekah carefully brought out the hornless goat and set her down, settling beside her the way Sierra had done. Really, all she had to do was hold up the bottle, and the little goat did the rest.
Apparently satisfied, Sierra stood and brushed off her jeans with her hands. “Well, it looks like you’re good to go. I’ll have a chat with Drew and come back in a few. Just remember—one at a time. Otherwise, they’ll stampede all over the place, and we’ll have a horrible time catching them.”
Bekah noticed the woman had implied that if she made a mistake, Sierra would help her corral the escapees. Used to fending for herself, she found it comforting to know someone would have her back if she needed
