Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
“Do you need to go potty, pretty baby?” Beau asked.
Palmer frowned and turned to glare at him. “No, Daddy.” If he made her go back inside to potty, she might bite him! Well, not really. She was a good girl, but she’d at least think very hard about it.
“Then why are you doing the potty dance?”
“I don’t need to potty. I’m just so excited!”
Chuckling , Beau smiled. “I’m glad you’re excited, baby.”
The couple reached the young woman who was waiting on them and Beau smiled before shaking her hand. “Good afternoon,” Beau greeted.
“Good afternoon, Master Beau. Good afternoon, Palmer. My name is Reese and I’ll be showing you around the zoo.”
“That’s a very big birdie,” Palmer said, her eyes wide as she watched the African Gray Parrot carefully balancing on Reese’s shoulder.
“His name is Bossy P.” Reese laughed. “He’s very sweet.”
“I’m a sweet boy,” the bird chirped, making Palmer startle a bit.
Beau placed his hand on her back, steading her.
“Which animals were you most excited to see?” Reese asked, probably sensing Palmer’s nerves.
“Stella!” Palmer answered quickly. “And the goats! And Alfie! And maybe the sheeps!”
“Perfect!” Reese said, laughing and clapping her hands together. “We can start with the goats.”
Beau held Palmer’s hand tightly as she listened to Reese talk about the petting zoo full of rescued animals.
“They’re different?” Palmer asked, her voice stoic.
“They are and their differences would make it hard for them to live on working farms. That’s why they’re perfect for our Perfectly Imperfect Petting Zoo,” Reese explained.
Beau’s heart hurt as he watched the emotions roll across Palmer’s sweet face.
“It’s sad that other ranches didn’t want the animals because they were different, but I’m glad you gave them a place to belong,” she said, after a moment.
Reese smiled. “At Rawhide everyone belongs. Even bossy birds and alpacas that think they’re horses.”
Palmer carefully considered her words. Rawhide really was a wonderful home to everyone—people and animals.
“Do you want to feed the goats?” Reese asked, holding out a little cup of feed from her bag.
Palmer bounced on her heels. “Can I, Daddy?”
“Absolutely!” Beau said with a smile.
Reese handed Palmer the cup. “Just pour a little in your hand and keep your palm flat,” she explained, demonstrating as she walked toward the goat pen.
Palmer copied her very carefully, pouring a tiny pile into her palm and stretching her hand out just like Reese had. Then she looked up at Beau, waiting.
“Great job, pretty baby!” he praised.
Palmer beamed. She wasn’t sure there was a better feeling than making her Daddy proud.
Once they were inside the goats’ habitat, she held her hand out bravely. A small goat with soft white fur approached slowly, her little hooves tapping the ground.
“Her name is Clara,” Reese said.
“Hi, Clara!” Palmer greeted politely.
Clara sniffed Palmer’s hand before taking a tiny nibble of the feed.
Palmer blinked. She wasn’t entirely sure she liked the feeling of the goat’s teethies brushing her palm. It was kind of a yucky feeling. Palmer thought that might be how Little girls lost fingers.
Before she could decide if feeding goats was safe or extremely dangerous, another goat leapt off a tall, brightly colored jungle gym in the pen and came racing toward them. It bumped Clara aside with its head.
“Clancy, that is not nice!” Reese scolded.
Palmer frowned at the rude goat. “You needa say sorry,” she mumbled, bending her hand down to give Clara a little more food.
Clancy bleated loudly, completely ignoring the lecture, and hopped away like nothing had happened. Palmer narrowed her eyes. Naughty goat.
Soon Palmer and Beau were following Reese through more of the petting zoo, giggling as she met the other animals. She visited a group of clucking chickens that pecked Beau’s pants, petted a fluffy sheep, and even spotted a very fancy peacock named Percy.
Percy stood tall with shimmering blue, green, and even some yellow feathers. The large bird watched everyone with a very serious expression. Palmer hadn’t formally introduced herself to Percy. Judging by the way he was staring at her he seemed maybe not so friendly.
Beau and Palmer spent the most time with the cows. Stella was Palmer’s favorite. Her hair was so soft, and Palmer loved petting her warm nose. Stella leaned into every pet like her life depended on it. Stella’s cow friends, Elsa and Anna, were just as friendly.
Palmer giggled every time they nudged her arm with their noses, demanding more pets or some of the goat food she still carried.
“They have on their bossy pants,” Palmer said, laughing as Stella nudged her arm again.
“They just know a good petter when they find one,” Beau replied.
After a while, Reese walked over with a smile.
“Would you like to hold a piglet?”
Palmer’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yes please!” She would absolutely love to hold a pig.
She and Beau followed Reese toward a pen near the back of the petting zoo.
“You can sit on the bench and I’ll bring them to you,” Reese explained. “They’re really fast!”
Palmer settled onto the bench, her tummy flipping with excitement as she waited.
A moment later, Reese returned carrying two tiny squirming piglets. She carefully placed one into Palmer’s arms and the other into Beau’s.
Palmer looked down at the little pig in surprise.
“This piggie is not soft,” she said matter-of-factly. The piglet was covered in thick, bristly hair. Palmer had been pretty sure piglets would feel like kittens.
Reese and Beau both chuckled.
“No,” Reese explained kindly, “they have coarse hair to help with thermoregulation. It helps keep them warm in colder temperatures.”
“Oh.” Well that made sense. She didn’t want the piggie to be cold.
Palmer snuggled the piglet close to her chest anyway. The little pig wiggled happily in her arms.
She turned to look at Beau. “I think he likes you,” she said when the piglet in Beau’s arms began rooting enthusiastically in his shirt.
Beau chuckled. “I think so too.”
Palmer nodded seriously. “Maybe because he knows you’re a good Daddy.”
Beau’s eyes softened, growing a little misty.
“Thank you, pretty baby,” he said gently. “Those words make my heart so happy.”
Palmer smiled, her own heart feeling warm and light. She liked making Beau happy.
Once they were finished with the piggies, they carefully handed them back to Reese and walked over toward the next pen.
Reese gestured toward the single animal in the pen. “This is Ryan Goosling.”
A big gray goose came running, honking the whole way.
Palmer laughed as he waddled through the pen. She felt like Ryan Goosling was a mischievous goosie.
“Can I pet him?” Palmer asked.
“Absolutely. He loves pets!”
Palmer took a step toward the goosie and immediately stepped in something slick.
“Gross, mud,” Palmer said, picking up her foot. Only… it wasn’t mud. Palmer stared at her shoe in horror. “It’s… poop,” she whispered.
Ryan Goosling honked loudly, as if he thought the whole situation was very funny. Palmer knew he was naughty!
“It’s okay, pretty baby. We can…”
But before Beau could finish his sentence, Palmer did something she’d never done in her entire life before. She screamed.
Beau immediately scooped her up bridal-style. “It’s okay, baby. We can clean your shoe. It didn’t get on you, just the shoe.”
But Palmer was too panicked to hear his soothing words. She kicked her foot wildly, trying to shake the shoe off. Instead, she shook poop everywhere.
“Aughhhhhh!” she screamed again.
“There’s a handwashing station over here!” Reese called, already running ahead of them.
“I didn’t escape my abusive foster home,” Palmer cried dramatically, throwing her hand over her face. “I died there. This is clearly hell!”
If she hadn’t been so focused on her misfortune, she might have noticed the thick laughter in Beau’s voice.
“This isn’t hell, baby,” he said. “It’s just a farm and unfortunately you got the full farm experience.”
Beau carried her to the sink and set her carefully on the wooden area around the basin. He slipped the offending shoe off her foot while Reese quickly rinsed it under the running water.
Then Beau cupped Palmer’s cheeks in his hands so she had to look at him.
“It’s okay, baby. See? We’re getting it all clean.”
Palmer’s lip trembled. “It will never be okay again,” she wailed. “There was poop on it. Poop!”
“Palmer, would you like a pair of farm boots? Like mine?” Reese asked, pointing to her own boots.
Palmer sniffed loudly.
“They do get kinda dirty,” Reese continued, “but they’re rubber, so you can wipe them right off. And they go high up your legs so your socks and pants don’t get messy.”
“Please?” Palmer asked, wiping her eyes.
“I have an extra pair in the shed. Wait right here and I’ll be back, okay?”
“Thank you.” Palmer sniffed again.
Beau pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Daddy will get you another pair of shoes,” he promised.
“I don’t think I love the petting zoo.”
Smiling Beau stroked her cheek. “That’s okay, baby.
” Turning Palmer scanned the surrounding area, hoping to find a poop free path back to Daddy’s room.
She wanted a bath. Maybe three. Looking behind her, she saw facts about the animals pinned to the area behind the sink.
She looked at them all, taking the time to read each one thoroughly.
She had read almost all of them when she spotted something.
Looking closer she saw a flyer with a big fluffy cow.
This one was different from Stella—for one thing she wasn’t a dairy cow.
She had lots of hair! The second thing that made her stand out were her eyes.
They were cloudy. Palmer stared at the picture.
The cow stood in tall grass, her nose lifted high in the air.
Palmer thought maybe she was trying to breathe in the fresh air—poop-free air.
She was beautiful and Palmer felt drawn to the cow.
Beau looked closer. “What do you see, pretty baby?”
Palmer pointed to the flyer.
“Highland Cow Needs A Safe Home,” he read.
“She’s beautiful,” Palmer said.
“She is,” Beau agreed.
“She needs a home,” Palmer said, stroking the flyer softly.
“Oh yeah, that came in yesterday. She needs a new home because her owners are getting older and struggling to care for her.”
“She’s blind,” Palmer said sadly.
“She is.”
“Does she bump into stuff?” Palmer asked while Daddy slid the shiny black boots on her feet.
“Maybe sometimes,” Reese answered.
“Does she get lost?” Palmer asked.
“Probably not.” Reese soothed. “Animals are pretty smart and adapt quickly. She probably learns her way around fast.”
Palmer imagined being a cow that couldn’t see. She reached up and rubbed the ache in her chest.
“Would you like to explore some more? We have a new litter of kitties.”
Palmer nodded and allowed Beau to lead her to another pen, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the Highland cow who needed a home.