Still chewing, a bunch of greenery protruding from one side of her mouth, Princess kept tabs on her progress, and when Maisie reached the point where she was between the goat and the road, Maisie heaved a sigh of relief. Then shelet the daft creature have it with both barrels.
Shrieking at the top of her voice, Maisie leapt up and down, waving her arms.
Spooked, Princess uttered a loud bleat, spun to the left and began to gallop back up the lane, her short fluffy tail held aloft.
Maisie, hopeful that the goat would keep heading in the right direction and praying that she wouldn’t double back and try to slip past her, followed at a more sedate pace. Now that the immediate crisis had been averted, she felt a bit wobbly. How could she have told Dulcie that one of the goats – and not evenhergoat, because it belonged to Petra at the stables – had escaped? And even worse, that it had been flattened by a car.
Oh, gosh, the look on that van driver’s face! All Maisie could remember was a pair of horrified eyes and a wide-open mouth. He had yelled something, but the window had been up, so she hadn’t caught what he’d said. Which was probably a good thing, because she had a feeling it wasn’t complementary. He had waved his hands in the air, too. He hadn’t been very happy with her, and she hoped she wouldn’t see him again.
Praying he had business at the stables or Walter’s cottage, Maisie was dismayed when she didn’t see his van outside either property. She did, however, see Princess, who had paused to continue her lunch and had her furry head buried in the hedge next to the entrance to the farm.
Maisie caught up with her, and with another shriek and more arm-waving, shemanaged to herd the goat into the farmyard.
Thank god for that, she thought, as she watched the errant creature trot calmly into the barn. But Maisie’s relief was short-lived when she noticed the white van parked in the middle of the yard, and saw that its driver was deep in conversation with Dulcie.
Oh, dear, now she was for it!
CHAPTER TWO
As one, Dulcie and the stranger turned to look at Maisie. Dulcie’s expression was one of mild bewilderment. The man’s expression was furious.
‘I could have killed you!’ he yelled.
Maisie blinked at his anger. ‘There’s no need to exaggerate,’ she said, walking towards him. Dulcie was staring at her, a frown marring her brow.
‘You came tearing down the lane too damned fast,’ he cried.
‘You shouldn’t have been driving up it so fast,’ she countered.
‘What’s going on?’ Dulcie’s gaze flickered between Maisie and the annoying van driver.
Even as she was arguing with him, Maisie could see how hot he was. Dark hair in a bun on the top of his head, a piercing, tattoos, buff, and the sort of face that belonged on a film star, not a bloody delivery driver.
‘I almost ran her over,’ he said, just as Maisie cried, ‘He nearly mowed me down.’
‘What were you—?’ Dulcie began, then her frown cleared. ‘Princess?’
‘Yes, I found her in the barn this morning when I went to feed the goats. I think she expected to be fed, too.’
Dulcie rolled her eyes. ‘That goat should have been called Houdini.’ She turned to the van driver. ‘She’s forever getting out.’
‘You should take better care to ensure she doesn’t,’ he retorted. ‘This one,’ he jerked his chin at Maisie, ‘almost got herself killed chasing after it.’
Dulcie’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but Maisie got in first. ‘It’s nothergoat,’ she snapped, ‘so stop it with the lecturing. Princess belongs to the stables.’
She scowled at him, her hands on her hips, and satisfaction stole through her when his face blanched.
He rallied quickly. ‘I don’t care who the goat belongs to, you still nearly got yourself killed.’
Dulcie asked, ‘Was it really that bad?’
‘No!’ Maisie cried.
‘Yes,’ van-man snapped.
‘Which is it?’ Dulcie’s lips were twitching.
‘He’s being a drama queen.’ Maisie pulled a face at him.
