Page 34 of One Sweet Day I Found You

They popped into the stables next and Courtney let out a quiet squeal. “Oh, my gosh—kittens!”

There were kittens of all shades. Children and their parents were holding most of them while other kittens played on little platforms of varying heights.

Courtney found a black one with white markings on its nose and ears and gently picked it up. Tucking it close to her chest, she let out a long, contented sigh. “Okay, now I’m really in love.”

Nick kept a straight face. “Are you telling me that goat kid back there was just a passing thing?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

Nick laughed.

Another minute or so went by. “Here, this pains me, but you should really have a try.” She lifted the kitten gently from the crook of her arms and handed it over to Nick.

Nick took it carefully and leaned against one of the stalls, softly cradling the little creature.

Courtney sighed. Now, this was a picture she would remember. She moved in close to pet the sleeping little angel in his arms.

Nick looked up. “You know, this is kind of therapeutic.”

“Isn’t it?” Courtney whispered. She reached out and scratched the kitten behind the ears. It purred softly.

She imagined those strong arms of his holding her close. She sighed and stepped back.

Not thirty seconds later, a red-haired, pigtailed little girl who Courtney guessed was about seven years old walked up and planted herself dead center in front of Nick. She stared at the little black kitten.

“You almost done?”

Nick looked at the girl, then at Courtney, then back at the girl.

“Uh, is my time up?” he asked, half a grin escaping his face.

The girl held out her arms. “Yes, please. Sir.”

Courtney glanced around. Indeed, all the kittens were taken now.

Courtney grinned. “Time to hand it over, fella.”

“All right, I guess if I have to.” He smiled and released the kitten into the little girl’s arms. The girl took the kitten from him carefully and hurried off to show her sisters.

Courtney gestured toward the door. “Let’s walk.”

There was a trail that led around the farm, outside of the barnyard, gardens, and the fenced-in pastures. She had seen it on a map on the farm’s website yesterday.

The pond was the first stop along the trail, and Nick and Courtney stopped to look at the tall grasses that grew alongside.

“Listen to that,” Courtney said, and they both went quiet.

“Frogs,” Nick whispered.

“Yes!”

“It doesn’t take much, does it?” Nick joked.

“Nope,” she replied.

They crossed a bridge and walked a little further until they came to a wooden platform with a bench.

Nick sat down. “All joking aside, if I were you, I don’t even know where I’d start if I had to write about this place. It rocks. So, like, how do you make something like this into a blog post?”

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