Page 25 of Daydreams at the Farm on Muddypuddle Lane
Maisie strained to listen as his mother spoke, but she couldn’t hear a thing.
‘No, I wasn’t in bed,’ he said, catching her eye again.
Maisie blushed and Adam quickly looked away. Feeling awkward, she was about to ask where the loo was, when he lowered his phone and mouthed, ‘Are you working on Saturday evening?’ As she nodded to tell him that she was, Maisie could hear a faint tinny, ‘Adam? Adam!’ coming from the speaker.
‘Hang on, Mum, yes, Saturday is fine, I’ll see you then.’ Then he did what Maisie herself had done less than an hourpreviously, and stabbed at the phone, making sure the call had disconnected. ‘It looks like I’m going to my parents on Saturday for dinner,’ he said. ‘At least it’ll save me having to cook. I would have preferred to see you, though. When are you free next?’
‘Sunday.’
‘Fancy doing something?’
Maisie certainly did, but what shefancieddoing wasn’t what sheshouldbe doing. It was a long time since a man had gotten under her skin the way Adam had, and she knew she had to take it easy.
‘We could go into Thornbury and check out a pub or two,’ he suggested, and Maisie breathed a sigh of relief.
She wanted to get to know him better first, and even then she mightn’t take things to the next level – not if it looked like she would definitely be returning to Birmingham.
Until she knew what was happening, she needed to guard her heart. The last thing she wanted was for it to be broken.
CHAPTER SIX
Adam was in the middle of flushing out the pasteurisation unit ready for its first use, and was currently running his hands along the pipes to check for leaks, paying particular attention to the joints and the valves. Dulcie was hovering anxiously, Maisie by her side. The two of them wore worried expressions.
He sidled past them and went next door to the milking parlour, where he did the same thing. Maisie and Dulcie followed him.
‘I need a goat to check it properly,’ he said.
He hadn’t heard quite as much swearing during these last two days, so he was hoping that the animals were getting used to being milked. However, how they would react to having the business end of the milking machine attached to their udders was a totally different pot of yoghurt.
Maisie said, ‘I’ll fetch Cloud. She’s the most patient.’
Adam also knew that Cloud was one of the pygmy goats and would therefore be easier to handle if the critter decided to take exception.
Maisie was back in a trice, Cloud and her two goatlings in tow.
‘Do you want to do the honours?’ he asked Dulcie, hoping she didn’t expecthimto try to milk the goat. As far as hewas concerned, his job was done as long as the damned thing worked – and he couldn’t see any reason why it wouldn’t.
He could barely bring himself to watch as Dulcie manoeuvred the goat into position on the raised platform and presented the animal with a hay net filled with vegetable treats to keep it occupied whilst she fiddled around with attaching the suction cups.
Apart from an occasional annoyed stamp of a hoof when Dulcie was too clumsy, the goat didn’t seem particularly bothered.
Adam held his breath, almost sagging with relief when creamy milk finally began flowing along the clear tubes. Not that he had thought for one second that he wasn’t capable of installing such equipment, but no matter what job hedid, there was always an element of worry that something might go wrong.
‘Result!’ Maisie cried, clapping her hands, and he gave her a triumphant grin. She got her phone out. ‘This calls for a selfie,’ she said, and she draped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, holding her phone aloft.
Their cheeks touching, Maisie took a snap with the goats in the background. Then she insisted on taking a photo of him with Dulcie.
Adam, conscious that his relationship with Dulcie was considerably more formal than his relationship with Maisie, made sure to keep a respectable distance, and he moved out of the way entirely when Maisie started snapping the goat.
Abruptly remembering that he was supposed to be checking the machinery, Adam hurried into the other shed, following the milk’s progress, and was relieved to find everything working as it should.
A few minutes later Dulcie joined him, the goat having been successfully milked.
‘You’ve done a good job,’ she said. ‘I’m really pleased. Come into the house and I’ll get your payment sorted.’
‘There’s no rush.’
‘I want to get it out of the way, and I expect you could do with the money.’
