Page 46 of Love Off-Limits
“He wrapped her up in his t-shirt when he found her in the pasture,” I said. “She was literally buried in his scent. It’s not a wonder she follows him around.”
“Are you telling me he carried her back to the barn shirtless?”
I sighed. “It almost felt criminal.”
“Girl. Iknowyou don’t want to set a bad example. But come on. Take that man off-site and—”
A throat cleared behind us and we both turned. Joe Bailey stood a few feet away, his customary Bailey Farms baseball hat in his hands.
“Hey, Joe,” I said.
He nodded. “Olivia.” His eyes darted to Kelly and stayed there. He swallowed visibly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “Kelly.”
“What brings you to Stonebrook today?” she asked, her tone all business. She ought to cut the poor guy some slack. He wasso very earnest.It was adorable.
“Just a delivery for the catering kitchen. But I thought I’d give you an update on the piglets while I’m here.”
“They were born?” Kelly’s hand moved to her hair and her posture shifted, her body angling toward Joe. It almost looked like Kelly wasflirting.
He shook his head. “Not yet. But I expect they will be in a week or so. I’ll give you pick of the litter once they’re here.”
I swatted at Kelly’s arm. “Pick of the litter, Kelly. That’s an honor.”
She shot me a look, but then she took a step toward him. “That sounds perfect. I appreciate it.”
“Enough to have dinner with me this Friday?” he asked.
Kelly chuckled. “You know my answer to that, Joe,” she said playfully.
“I know, I know. When pigs fly.”
She turned and walked toward the goat barn, leaving Joe and me standing in the shade of the maples. “Bye, Joe,” she called over her shoulder.
Joe smiled and shook his head. “One of these days I’m going to convince her.”
Yesterday, I might have thought to discourage him. But after watching Kelly’s little display, I was beginning to think he actually would.
He slipped his hat back onto his head. “See you later, Olivia.”
I waved over my shoulder as a flash of red pulled my eyes back to the barn. Tyler sat on the dusty ground beside the building, Penelope standing in his lap, her tiny hooves pressed against his chest while he adjusted the nipple on her bottle. She reached up and nuzzled his cheek and he laughed, nudging her down until she was in a position where he could feed her. He looked tired. And dirty. And like he was really enjoying himself.
Oh, my heart.
I was in serious trouble.
Chapter Fourteen
Tyler
Penelope’s mom, Honey, never did take a liking to Penelope, so as Kelly aptly put it, I had myself a tiny, cloven-hoofed girlfriend. But honestly, there were worse things.
She was easy company, followed me everywhere I went, took long naps in my arms, and gave me an excuse to sit in the shade every few hours so she could eat. I’d never had such easy days at Stonebrook.
By default, I ended up spending a lot more time with the goats. A week after Penelope was born, I was comfortable enough to handle the morning and evening milking on my own. The other farmhands were happy to let me have the responsibility as it meant they never had to work late.
A fair trade, in my mind. On goat duty, I never had to shovel pig manure.
I ushered the first bunch of goats in through the barn door and up the ramp that led to the sixteen narrow stalls of the milking machine. The rest of them were in the pen just behind the barn. Penelope was playing with the other kids and seemed like she was doing all right, but it made me nervous. She was still a little smaller than the others.
