Page 14 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
“You want to know why we invaded your home?” Roman drank the last of his soup and set the bowl down.
“We need your help,” Hadley started.
“Yeah.” Damien rubbed the back of his neck. “You said that. What? You need another Zamboni tinkered with? I think if I did it again, Coach would have my head.” Two months ago, they needed to delay a hockey game so Charlotte could play after her figure skating performance. Damien messed with the Zamboni, only fixing it once they were ready to play.
Roman laughed. “No, man. This time, we want to mess with the entire school.”
Damien’s eyes widened. “Umm, I don’t understand.”
Hadley leaned in, dropping her voice. “Senior prank.”
“But I’m not a senior.”
Hadley grinned. “But you have everything we need.”
He gulped. “And what exactly do you need?”
“Just a few animals.” Roman matched Hadley’s smile.
Damien looked from Roman to Hadley. “Okay… explain.”
* * *
“These are the goats?”Roman asked.
“No.” Hadley snorted. “They’re the horses.”
He smirked. “I meant are these all the goats?”
Damien nodded, resting his hand on top of the wooden fence between them and about twenty goats. “There are a few babies who aren’t out here, but they’re off limits.”
Hadley never expected Damien to be so open to their idea. She’d prepared herself for some major convincing. But here he was, showing them the goats they’d have to steal/borrow from his parents’ ranch.
“None of them will be hurt, right?” he asked.
Hadley shook her head. “We just want them in the halls for a few hours. Once school starts, they’ll probably be rounded up, and your parents can claim they were stolen. Roman is going to stay at the school the entire time the goats are there so they won’t be alone.”
Across the way, the barn door slid open, and Spencer stepped out, his shirt dripping with water. Hadley couldn’t have torn her eyes away if she tried as he pulled the shirt over his head. “Damien, why didn’t you ever mention your brother?”
“I’ve hardly ever spoken to you before today. Why would I tell you about him?” Damien followed her gaze with a cringe.
“Because… you really, really should have.”
Roman reached over and pushed her jaw up. “You’re drooling.”
“And?” She continued to stare as Spencer walked toward them, the sun glistening off his wet shoulders.
“What happened to you?” Damien asked.
“Stupid horse.” Spencer’s growl made Hadley want to hear more.
Damien laughed. “Why would you go near Harbi after he threw you this morning?”
“Because he’s my darn horse. Or at least, he used to be. The beast knocked me into his water trough, and it tipped over, soaking my shirt.”
“That sounds terrible.” Hadley lifted an eyebrow. “Fighting with a horse, eh?” She’d never been around horses in her life, but she saw the gentle creatures in the movies and couldn’t picture this well-built and entirely too-good-looking cowboy arguing with one.
Spencer ignored her. Ignored her, Hadley Gibson. That wasn’t something she was used to. The guys at school might fear her, but they went out of their way to compliment her. She’d never asked for the model-like looks she got from her mom and didn’t even particularly want them. They caused more trouble than they were worth.
