Page 62 of Lavender Lake
A heavy thunk followed by another curse had me wincing.
“This goat is going to be the death of me!”
“Tempest?” I asked.
“The damn idiot thinks she’s a dog. She saw something scurry under the porch and she went in after it. And then I went in after her. Only she’s refusing to come out and I can’t go any farther.”
“Did you think of trying to lure her out with a carrot or something?” I asked, trying not to laugh at the bull rider attempting to corral a baby goat.
“Fuck!” he roared.
It took a moment, but then I smelled it; the scent of rotten eggs, sulfur and decaying onions. It instantly made my eyes water and my stomach revolt.
Tempest bleated, clearly in protest.
Bowman backed out from under the porch and the stench became instantly worse.
I pinched my nose and ran away.
“Powell!” Bowman shouted.
“You’re on your own!” I yelled with a laugh.
Even as I was saying it, I pulled out my cell phone and called Muddy.
“Hey, sugar.”
“Hi,” I said, trying to stifle a giggle and failing.
“What’s going on?”
“I need your skunk spray remedy.”
Muddy laughed. “You?”
“Nope. Bowman. And Tempest.”
“I’ll text it to you,” she said. “So we’ve got a loitering skunk?”
“Seems that way, yeah,” I said.
“Hey!” Bowman barked, causing me to twirl, phone still to my ear.
“I’m getting a skunk stank removal recipe,” I said to him. “You might as well go back under the porch and get Tempest. She’ll need a dunking, too.”
Bowman muttered another curse, but he headed back to the porch.
“Talk to Josiah,” Muddy said. “He’ll set a trap for the skunk. And send pictures.”
“Of the skunk?”
“No. Of Bowman having a meltdown.”
“Judging by his reaction, I’m thinking this is his first skunk spraying.”
Muddy sniggered. “Keep me posted, sugar. Thanks for the laugh.”
I hung up with Muddy and a few moments later my cell buzzed, no doubt with her recipe instructions.
