Page 45 of Let It Breathe
“Not a problem. Just hang in there. Should we try feeding him something like Axl’s guy said?”
Reese nodded. “I’ll go get some of his food. Can you keep an eye on him?”
“Sure.”
Clay watched as Reese hurried off in the direction of her little house. Once she was gone, Clay turned to Axl.
“Do I want to know how this happened?”
“Probably not,” he said. “He’s going to be okay, right? It’s not gonna kill him like those other plants Reese was talking about?”
“I have no idea. He looks fine to me, but this is the first alpaca I’ve ever seen up close. Is he always like this?”
“Pretty much. He actually looks happy, don’t you think?”
Clay looked at the animal. Happy? He wasn’t sure what a happy alpaca looked like, but as the beast stooped to pull a mouthful of grass from the tufts at the edge of the barn, Clay had to admit he seemed content.
“Is it okay if he eats grass?”
“Huh?” Axl asked. “Oh, you mean like hair of the dog? Sure, I left my bong back at the pole barn, but I think Reese might get pissed if we gave him another hit.”
“No, not—never mind. Here comes Reese.”
He watched her jogging across the lawn, trying not to let his eyes linger too long on her chest. That would be a caveman thing to do. He wasn’t a caveman.
Still, the way everything moved under that shirt as she ran?—
“Got it,” Reese called, holding out a small canvas bag. “C’mere, Leon—get some oats.”
The alpaca lifted his head and pricked his ears. He leaned out, snuffling at the edge of the bag.
“Good boy,” Reese crooned. “That’s a good, good boy.”
Leon stuck his head in the bag and began munching.
Clay scratched him behind the ears again, earning a contented hum that sounded funny in the rhythm of chewing.
“Alpacas have three stomachs,” Reese explained softly, as though Leon might be offended at being discussed thusly. “I guess we just want to get everything moving through him.”
“Makes sense,” Clay said. “Had a few benders like that myself.”
“He seems to have the munchies,” Axl pointed out.
Reese held up the feed bag and peered inside. “All gone. Feeling better, Leon?”
Leon chortled a little and snuffled at the edge of the bag.
“So is Leon a pet, or does he serve a useful vineyard function?” Clay asked, trying to keep Reese’s mind off the animal’s condition. “Hauling grapes or something?”
Reese shrugged. “They keep the pasture mowed down, but it’s more about the fleece. Mom and Gramp—Axl got a whole herd of alpacas a few years ago after reading about how the fiber made from their fleece is worth a lot of money. We shear them every spring.”
“What’s the difference between a llama and an alpaca?”
“Llamas are bigger, and you use them more for packing and hauling,” Reese said. “We have a few of those over in the east pasture. Alpacas are a lot smaller, and people keep them more for their fleece than anything.”
“So what’s the deal with Leon? Why isn’t he with other alpacas?”
She gave Leon a fond smile and stroked the side of his neck, and Clay kicked himself for feeling jealous of a farm animal. “He got kind of attached to me after I bottle-fed him as a baby when he got sick,” she said. “He hangs out with the other alpacas sometimes when I’m not around, but most of the time, he’d rather be near me.”
