3. Christiane
THREE
Christiane
I step into Willow Glen Feed and inhale deeply. I've always loved the smell of feed stores—a mix of hay, grain, and leather. The best.
Browsing the collars, I pick through them. Daisies for Daisy, butterflies for Debbie. No dandelions for Dandie, but she'll like this sparkly pink one. As I'm discussing options for Emmanuel—like therapy—with Jake at the counter, Adam walks in. I roll my eyes and keep talking. Jake is no help on the goat therapy front, but he suggests some enrichment toys for the paddock, to keep Emmanuel occupied. I'm skeptical, but I order a few anyway.
Turning to leave, I walk straight into Adam. My bag hits the floor, spilling the collars. Sighing, I crouch to pick them up—only to smack my head against his. Hissing in pain, I fall back on my ass, rubbing my forehead.
" Fais gaffe !" I snap, gathering the collars.
"Excuse me?"
"Watch out! It's bad enough that you're there every time I turn around." I search for Dandie's collar, and spot it in his rough hands.
"Interesting color choice." He turns it over, inspecting it.
"Dandie loves a splash of color. Every girl does." I hold out my hand expectantly.
"Dandie?"
I roll my eyes. "Yes. Short for Dandelion. She's one of my goats."
Adam smirks, and my pulse jumps. Ugh. He's so aggravating.
"Never met a goat named Dandelion, but hey, first time for everything. What else do you have?"
I snatch the collar from his hand and straighten. "The goats—Daisy, Dandie, Debbie, and Emmanuel. The chickens—Paisley, Beatrice, Molly, and Ginny. And the rooster, Chanticlare. Then, there's my Jersey cow, Cookie."
His smirk deepens. "A milk cow named Cookie. Because cookies go with-"
I cut him off. "Milk. Yes. If you'll excuse me, I need to check in with my contractor, and find a good goat therapist."
Forty-five minutes later, I'm just finishing up with Paul, the owner of Paul's Fix and Flourish, the only contractor with talent in Willow Glen, when my phone rings. I check the screen to see Adam Williams' name on it.
"How did he get my number?" I slide the button to answer. "Hello?"
"Chris? It's Adam. I got your number from Jake at the feed store. I just pulled back up to the house, and I thought you should know there is a black goat on the roof of your barn."
I don't even bother correcting him on the use of my nickname.
"Emmanuel!" I shriek, causing every worker in the room to stop. The sudden silence after the cacophony of power tools is shocking. "I'll be there in a minute." I hang up before turning to Paul. "I've got to go. I will be sourcing fixtures soon, but please continue with the plans that have been finalized."
"Problems?" He starts rolling up the blueprints as he follows me out of the store.
"Nothing a good goat therapist wouldn't fix, or potentially an exorcist." I climb into my Jeep and peel out of the parking lot.
When I turn into my driveway, I see all four of the Williams brothers standing around the goat paddock. Patrick has his hands on his hips, shaking his head like a disappointed father. Eli is laughing so hard that he's doubled over. Brandon, ever the practical one, is holding out an empty feed bucket, shaking it in a futile attempt to tempt Emmanuel down. And Adam—of course, Adam—is leaning against the fence, arms crossed, smirking. Momentarily distracted by the scene in front of me, it takes a moment to click. Not only is there a black goat on the roof of my barn, but he's also eating my gardening hat.
I slam my car door and storm up to the barn. "Emmanuel, espèce de petit démon! " I march toward the paddock, pointing an accusing finger. "You get down from there right this second. That is not food! How did you even get up there? And why—why my hat?"
I hear chuckles, followed by a cough, and stop to see the Williams brothers grinning at me. Adam tilts his own hat back, watching with infuriating amusement. "If you wanted to donate your hat to the goats, you could've just tossed it in the paddock."
I shoot him a glare. "You're awfully chatty for someone not helping."
He smirks. "Oh, I'm helping. Moral support."
"Great," I mutter and head around to grab the ladder. Hauling it out, I prop it against the side of the barn, cursing under my breath the entire time. Emmanuel stares down at me, calmly munching on my hat, which is getting smaller and smaller by the minute.
"Emmanuel, get down this instant! Do you hear me?"
The menace simply turns his back on me, and climbs higher toward the gable.
"Don't you turn your back on me! If you fall and break something, I am not spending my savings on goat hospital bills."
"What do you think you're doing?" Adam's voice is low and dangerous behind me.
"Going up to get the goat formerly known as Emmanuel off my barn roof, before he falls and breaks his neck !" I holler the last part, but Emmanuel doesn't even flinch. "Although, at this point, maybe I should let him."
"You're not climbing up there."
I scoff. "Yes, I am."
"No. You're not." His tone is quiet, but the fire in his eyes betrays his true feelings.
"Then, how else am I supposed to get him down?" I throw my hands up, gesturing to the roof.
"I'll get him. Brandon, hold the ladder. Patrick, find me a lasso. Eli, put the damn phone away. "
The brothers snap into action, and before I can even process what's happening, Adam is already halfway up the ladder, rope in hand. I watch him, chewing my bottom lip, as he clucks encouragingly at Emmanuel.
"Come on, buddy. Let's not make this harder than it has to be," Adam coaxes, inching closer.
Emmanuel tilts his head, ears twitching. He chews lazily on the remains of my gardening hat, contemplating his options.
Adam reaches out a hand. "That's it, just stay right there?—"
Emmanuel launches himself off the roof, with a sudden burst of goat logic.
I gasp. Adam swears. The brothers scatter.
Emmanuel lands with a thud in the dirt, shakes himself off like nothing happened, and trots smugly toward the goat paddock, completely unharmed.
I slap a hand over my chest, trying to steady my racing heart. "Are you kidding me?!"
Adam glares down at me, still hanging on to the ladder for dear life. "You mean to tell me that demon could have jumped down this whole time?"
Emmanuel lets out a victorious bleat.