Page 14 of Indiana Idealist
The idea hits me then, and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. Turning to face Leo, I can’t keep the excitement out of my tone as I say, “That’s it. She needs a friend and playmate. We should get another pig!”
“Maybe,” Leo says noncommittally. He is showing much less enthusiasm for the idea than I was hoping for. Suddenly, his eyes light up with an idea of his own. “Or maybe we should give her a different kind of playmate––of the human variety.”
Charlotte already has plenty of human interaction, so I scrunch my face up and say, “She’s always a hit at the golf club when she visits, but we have to keep her on a leash the whole time because I don’t want her to run onto the course and get hit by a golf cart or stray ball.”
Since Leo clearly didn’t like the second pig idea, I say, “How about if we talk Summer into offering a pig yoga class? I hear it’s already a popular trend with goats.”
Leo chuckles at this before saying, “We can mention the idea to Summer at our next class, but I was thinking of bringing a child into the mix––for Charlotte, of course.”
“For Charlotte, huh?” I give the silly man a happy grin.
“And us. What do you think?” There is no denying the hopeful look in his gaze.
Even though I’ve never really considered the prospect of having a baby before, I don’t hate the idea––especially with Leo by my side. I’m not ready to make any promises yet, but I am open to discussing it further, so I shrug my shoulders and say, “Maybe one of these days.”
That is enough of an opening for Leo to whoop with excitement as if I am in full agreement.
Shaking my head at the impossibly sexy man, I remind him, “I said maybe.”
He leans in to press a sweet kiss to my temple before saying, “I know, and I won’t pressure you. When you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll be waiting.”
I love it that he’s so thoughtful and in tune with my needs, but I don’t get the chance to tell him that because his cell phone begins jingling. He glances at the screen before saying to me, “It’s an old friend from my hockey-playing days.”
Since he’s giving me a questioning look, I nod my head to let him know he should absolutely take the call.
When he yells into the phone’s speaker, “Brick Man!” I chuckle and head out for work to give Leo some privacy.
It’s goat morning at my golf course, which has quickly turned into a huge hit with the club members. The wealthy elite love coming for brunch or high tea and watching the goats take care of one of the course holes in a sustainable way.
The unique, eco-friendly events have turned the club into the hot new place to be and be seen––even for non-golfers. Our goat grounds crew is cost effective, they have minimized our use of pesticides, and they even eliminated a troublesome patch of poison ivy along the fence line near hole 3 with no ill effects.
I’m taking my first break of the day when Leo walks up behind me and whispers near my ear, “I find your obvious social conscience to be sexy as fuck.”
I giggle at his racy admission. If the prim, older woman sitting nearby sipping her tea with her white-gloved pinkie raised could hear his use of the f-bomb, she would likely be completely scandalized. I, on the other hand, am fully turned on by his dirty talk.
Turning to face him, I say in a quiet, husky tone for his ears only, “My golf course is now considered to be an example in the industry of environmentally responsible practices.”
“You’re speaking my love language with this hot talk, Cami, but we need to change the subject, or I’m going to get a raging hard-on.”
“That doesn’t sound bad at all, but save it for when we’re alone later. Tonight, I’ll tell you all about my plans for switching the clubhouse to exclusively using eco-friendly cleaning products.”
“I can’t wait,” he groans.
Deciding not to torture him further, I change the subject by looking around and asking, “Did you bring Charlotte with you?”
“Yes, one of the caddies is keeping an eye on her for a little while.” He points vaguely in the direction of the pro shop.
I narrow my eyes in the direction he indicates, but don’t see any sign of our pet. “Hmm, I hope you left her with someone responsible because if she gets loose, she’ll probably terrorize the goats.”
“I’m sure it will be fine,” he assures me.
The phrase ‘famous last words’ pops into my mind, but instead of voicing it aloud, I ask, “Is everything okay with your hockey buddy?”
“Yes, Brock’s fine. He was calling because the Life Chat data breach allowed his social media accounts to be hacked. The criminals are impersonating Brock and reaching out to all of his friends and family to ask for money.”
“Oh, that’s terrible,” I weigh in, truly feeling for the man. It would be so embarrassing for all of your acquaintances to start avoiding you because they think you are constantly begging for handouts.
Leo nods his agreement before saying, “They haven’t reached out to me yet, but I would have known it was a hoax. Brock is a successful professional hockey player. He would never need to reach out to a simple tree farmer for cash.”
