Barking Up the Wrong Tree

by Sawyer Bennett

  “Fine,” Trixie says in resignation. “Want me to go with you?”

  “No. You stay there and get him settled. I’ll head over to the house now and tell them in person. You better prepare Pap that I’m going rogue, but I’ll try to get them to be content with just calling to check on him tonight rather than forcing a visit on him if he doesn’t want that.”

  “It’s a plan,” Trixie says. “Call me after you talk to them.”

  “Will do,” Laken says, and then her voice goes softer than I’ve ever heard it. “Love you, sis.”

  “Love you more,” Trixie says, and then she disconnects.

  Laken sets the phone down and gives me an apologetic smile. “Sorry to get you caught up in family drama.”

  My chin jerks inward and an eyebrow arches. “Drama? I have seven sisters and a brother. You haven’t seen drama until you get all of us together at Thanksgiving to fight over one wish bone.”

  I was aiming for a desired effect, and I get it. Laken’s eyes crinkle with laughter and for a glorious moment, the stress and worry is gone.

  My hand shoots out and takes hers. Before she can protest or even think to draw away, I pull it to my mouth and press a kiss to her palm. Releasing it casually by laying it back down on the table, I jerk my head toward her front door. “Go to your parents and tell them what’s going on. I’ll clean the kitchen, and then go feed MG. I’ll meet you back here later.”

  Laken gives a hard shake of her head and starts uttering protests as she stands up. “You don’t need to clean my kitchen, and I have no clue how long I’ll be at my parents. There’s no sense in you coming back when I don’t know if—”

  “You promised me nights,” I cut her off.

  “Yeah, but—”

  “And you already promised to abide by Pap’s wishes that you won’t go to the hospital tonight,” I continue.

  “I know, but—”

  “And you’re not going to sleep at your parents’ house,” I point out the obvious. “You’ll be back here at some point to go to sleep.”

  “I get all that,” Laken says with a roll of her eyes.

  “Then I will be here waiting for you because you promised me nights.” I punctuate this very important oath she made by pulling her into me for a slow but thorough kiss of reminder. When I release her, she gives a sigh of capitulation with just a tiny hint of dreaminess that does all kinds of wonderful things for my ego. “And it doesn’t have to be anything other than just me holding you while you sleep.”

  Laken tenses slightly, because that goes against the casual nature of what she wants, but she relaxes just as quickly. After a nod, she lifts and presses her lips to mine. “Okay. I’ll meet you back here later tonight.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Laken

  The chiming bell above the clinic door rings, but I don’t leave the back room as I know it’s Jake. He told me he’d be by at four to pick me up, and this was after he texted earlier to ask when I’d be finished with my last appointment.

  I do a final wipe down of the counter and equipment with a sanitizing spray. By the time he’s walking in, I’m washing my hands in the large basin sink.

  Looking over my shoulder at him, I say, “Don’t you have a job or work to do? Must be nice to cut out of work in the early afternoon.”

  Jake chuckles as he walks to me. When he’s within striking distance, he slaps my butt. “You’re cute. But I’ll have you know I had a very productive day today, my company is running smoothly, and I have a hot date with you.”

  I pull a few paper towels from the dispenser and dry my hands. After tossing them in the garbage, I cross my arms over my chest and face one gorgeous hunk of man. He makes my knees weak, but I play hard to get, “I told you we weren’t dating.”

  “And I told you it was fine if you keep telling yourself that, Doc,” he returns with a smirk, and I wonder if he has dimples under that beard.

  “So where are we going?” I ask as I snag my purse from a lower drawer under the counter.

  “Out to Eustace’s farm,” he says as he lets me walk past to precede him into the hallway. So what if I like the way his hand feels on my lower back?

  “Eustace? Why?”

  “You’ll see,” is how he vaguely answers. By the teasing tone in his voice, I know I won’t get any more than what he chooses to reveal to me.

  We walk out of the clinic, and he waits for me to lock up. When we turn to his rental car parked parallel out front, I’m surprised to see Miss Goatikins in the front seat, her front legs up on the dashboard looking out. The car is running, and I can see the air conditioning inside rippling the fur on her chest. Her eyes are closed and her nose is raised in the air, a look of pure rapture on her face as she enjoys the chilly air.

  I don’t say a word as Jake opens the passenger door, and I put MG on my lap after buckling up. It does no good though, because as soon as Jake gets in the driver’s seat, MG pulls out of my arms to curl up at his side.

  There’s nothing unusual about me knocking off at four o’clock on a Monday afternoon. Hell, some afternoons, I don’t have any appointments. But it does feel a little weird to be going on a date with a gorgeous man I swear I’m not dating, along with his pet goat.

  “Darby, my sister-in-law, is coming into town in a few days,” Jake says, and I turn to look at him. He’s got one hand on the wheel, the other scratching MG’s head.

  “I thought you said she wasn’t starting for a few more weeks.”

  “I kind of wanted her to see the farm, and talk to her about that grant she applied for. I don’t want there to be bad blood between our farms.”

  “Why?” I ask curiously. “I mean… Colt’s bent out of shape, but it’s also business.”

  Jake takes a moment to give me a side-eye look before looking back at the road. “At the risk of sending you scurrying out the door and running screaming down the road as soon as I stop the car, you have to know, Laken… I like you. It’s not just about you in my bed. And if I’m going to have a home here… a business… we’re going to be crossing paths from time to time. I want things to be good between us.”

  A lump forms in my throat, so large and hard I know I’ll never swallow it down. I can’t speak past it so I turn my head and look out the window.

  Jake must understand that he’s rendered me speechless because he doesn’t say anything else, but I’m sure he has no clue the depth of my fear when he says things like that. I promised him I wouldn’t compare him to Cam, but he’s so similar to him in some ways I just can’t help it. Rich guy, smooth, gorgeous, has everything going for him and says all the right words. On the surface, it’s why I was so quickly taken with Cam.

  Fortunately, any further discussion is postponed as we pull into the dirt driveway to Eustace’s farm. Eustace Roop is an eclectic character in our area. She doesn’t come into town much, preferring to stay on her little farm. And it is little. Pretty much goats for milk that she sells, chickens for their eggs, about a quarter-acre organic garden to feed herself, and a few cows she raises to butcher for her meat. She lives in a rundown single-wide trailer with overgrown weeds and junk stored in piles here and there.

  But her pens and small pastures are well maintained and since I do the veterinary services, I know the animals are well cared for.

  She’s waiting for us as we pull in, and I’m surprised to see her dressed a bit strangely. Normally, she’s got on jeans and a long-sleeve chambray shirt no matter how hot it is in the summer. Her iron gray hair is always in a braid down her back, and she wears a straw hat that I’m not sure is all that effective to protect her face as it’s always darkly tanned and leathery looking. I expect she’s probably in her mid-to-late sixties.

  But today, she’s wearing what looks like a workout outfit. Capri leggings, a loose shirt, and her hair is piled on top of her head in a flowing bun. She’s got a pair of athletic slides on her feet and her hands are folded serenely in front of her.

  “What the hell?” I mutter, and Jake ch
uckles as he turns the car off. He doesn’t say a word to me as he gets out, taking MG in his arms.

  As I exit, I watch as Jake walks up to Eustace and shakes her hand while he cradles his two-week-old goat in the other. She turns to give me a welcoming smile, and says, “Namaste.”

  “Huh?” I return slowly.

  “Namaste,” Eustace says again softly. “Welcome to my new goat yoga class.”

  “Your what?” I ask, feeling like Jake may have slipped me some psychedelic drugs somehow.

  Jake laughs and puts an arm around me. After a squeeze, he says, “Eustace is trying out this new thing where you do yoga with goats. She wants to open classes, and I volunteered for us to be her guinea pigs. In return, she’s going to let MG socialize with some of her baby goats and watch them nurse. Maybe that will help things.”

  “Goat yoga?” I ask, my tongue seemingly thick with disbelief over such a ludicrous idea.

  “Yeah,” Jake says with a grin. “Be one with the goat. You know?”

  I turn to Eustace. “You practice yoga?”

  “For years,” she says in a serene voice. “It’s how I stay in shape as farming is hard work.”

  “And what do goats have to do with yoga?” I ask her hesitantly, because I’m thinking it’s a legit thing and I don’t want to appear too ill-informed about the goat world.

  Eustace gives a tinkling laugh, and that shocks me more than her outfit or the fact she does yoga. Normally her laugh is deep and hearty, and it’s like she’s a different person once she put on some yoga pants.

  “Goats don’t have anything to do with yoga,” she advises me. “But it appears it’s starting to become a fad. A way for urbanites to get their workouts in and commune with cute little goats.”

  “Weird,” I say honestly. Because it’s so weird.

  “I’ve already got five classes filled next week with fifteen members per class. That’s a lot more money than I can make selling my goats’ milk.”

  I whistle low with admiration. “Holy cow. That’s some seriously good money.” I figure if she charged only ten bucks per person, she’d be hauling in a grand a week.

  “They’re popping up all over the place,” Eustace says. “I’m going to offer some meditative groups and reading therapy sessions as well, but since I know yoga so well, that’s where I’m starting.”

  I turn to look at Jake, and he’s giving me that look that says, Crazy but brilliant, right?

  Shrugging nonchalantly, I turn back to Eustace. “Alright… let’s see what you got.”

  ♦

  I hate yoga.

  Absolutely hate it.

  But I love animals, and there’s something deeply precious about little baby goats jumping on your back as you’re trying to master Downward Dog. Jake is more aptly dressed as he’s wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a light t-shirt. I’d had on jeans while working in the clinic but at least they’re loose and comfortable. Both of us are barefoot as we sit under the shade of a large oak tree with five of Eustace’s herd, plus MG. There are two adult goats and four babies ranging from two weeks to four months.

  After about five minutes, I give up trying to follow the poses Eustace is trying to lead us through, and instead decide to just play with the animals. As a vet, I don’t get to do this. My work is efficient and clinical. I do it that way because that’s what they taught us in school, and also so I don’t form too much of an attachment to the animals. It hurts less when I have to treat them for sickness or injury, although nothing lessens the pain of having to euthanize one of my patients.

  So I play. MG stays close to Jake, trying to crawl on his lap and back when she can. The other babies are either crawling on me or jumping around at each other. I love how frisky they are, and their joy in life is almost palpable.

  In between playing with the animals, I try not to stare overly hard at Jake’s muscled legs. He’s trying to do a lot of the poses for Eustace, but I can tell he’s not all that flexible. Whenever Jake turns to look at me, I let my eyes dart to Eustace so I can pretend I’m interested in what she’s saying.

  I’m not, but I am fascinated by her abilities. I learn something new every day, and the fact she can bend her body backward almost in half is just damn impressive to me.

  The entire session lasts forty-five minutes, and I pretty much played with the goats the whole time. I even enticed MG to step away from Jake briefly so I could scratch her chest. Her little tail swished happily, but Jake moved into a new position that caught MG’s attention and she was hopping back over to him to jump onto his chest as he lay back on the mat.

  And why is there something so hot about a man showing tenderness to a small animal? Jake’s large hands gently rub through MG’s fur, and he’ll often talk to her in brief, gentle words.

  Good girl.

  Cutie.

  Fur ball.

  Yes, I may have many fears about where this is going with Jake, but I can’t deny he’s the most fascinating man I’ve ever met. A successful, wealthy businessman turned temporary farmer.

  Sure, he has all of those outer layer trappings Cam did originally that caught my eye, but there is one thing that stands out in stark contrast between the two men.

  Jake is genuine.

  I can see it in his eyes.

  Whether he’s panicked and acting like a jackass because his goats are in the road or he drops everything in Chicago so his baby goat doesn’t starve to death, he acts without self-interest. That is what sets him apart not only from Cam, but also from most men I’ve casually dated.

  I try to push down that realization because it means I might be open to something more with Jake, and I don’t know if I have the courage to even dare to want that.

  The class is over when Eustace spends a few minutes doing some deep breathing exercises. A four-month-old doeling sits in my lap, chewing on a hunk of my hair while I scratch her ears. When I finally pull the long lock out, it’s covered in goat slobber and chewed hay. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

  We spend about fifteen minutes putting MG in a pen with the dams and baby goats, so she can watch them feed. She’s not having any of it, though, and just stands at the gate, bleating at Jake to pick her up. He starts for the latch to open it once or twice, but I murmur to him to stay strong and work to cut the apron strings.

  Eventually, we let her out although Jake vows to bring her back the next day, and the day after that, to hopefully teach her how to be a proper baby goat.

  As we leave Eustace’s farm, Jake says, “Have fun?”

  “I did,” I say, the enthusiasm in my voice evident.

  “Good,” he says with a smile. “Now check your messages. You didn’t look at them once the entire time we were there.”

  This information startles me so much that I can’t move for a second. It’s been less than a day since Pap had his testing done at the hospital. While his endoscopy was normal, he did have some small polyps in his colon that had to be removed and sent to pathology. We were just waiting on those results. Apparently, it didn’t go unnoticed by Jake that I am usually checking my phone about every two minutes for a text or a call I might have foolishly missed.

  I snag my phone from my purse, and I’m both relieved and annoyed there’s nothing there. I just want to know what’s going on with Pap so I can deal with it. The fear of the unknown is one of my greatest phobias. When I left Cam and returned home, his words of my guaranteed failure ringing clear in my ears, I had never been more petrified of anything in my life. I was so terrified of failure that I almost couldn’t function.

  It’s not quite how I feel right now, but I have had a constant knot in my stomach since Pap went into the hospital for the testing.

  Sympathy pains, maybe?

  “Any word?” Jake asks.

  “Nothing,” I say and set the phone down on my lap.

  Jake’s hand comes across my shoulder until his fingers circle the back of my neck. He gives me a gentle squeeze. “I can’t say it will be alright, babe.
But I can tell you you’ll feel better once you know what’s going on.”

  Gah… this man gets me.

  “Thank you for the goat yoga,” I murmur as I turn to look at him. He gives me a brief glance before looking back out the windshield. “You knew it would take my mind off things for a while.”

  “I had a suspicion it might,” he says with a blasé shrug.

  “Well, again… thank you. It was just what I needed.”

  “Up for dinner at Clementine’s?” he asks.

  “Sure,” I say with a smile, relishing against my better advice to myself another night with this man. Another few hours where we will talk and get to know each other, followed by some amazing sex to make things even more intimate between us.

  This is not going the way I had planned.

  CHAPTER 17

  Jake

  I give a hard tug on the chain and with a groaning creak, the attic ladder drops down from the ceiling that sits just above the top stair landing. I’ve been going through the house trying to see what, if anything, needs to be done for Darby before she moves here in a few weeks. She’s coming tomorrow, and I’ll also do a walk-through with her, but figured I should take a look first. The house didn’t have much wrong with it when the inspection was done prior to me closing on the deal. Some shingles needed replacing, the dishwasher wasn’t working, and there were some rotting window casings that needed replaced. Farrington had that all done before we closed. So far, I couldn’t see anything that was required at this point.

  Darby will only be here temporarily until she can get the orchards up and running. Probably a year at the most for her to study the growth and prepare her thesis. After that, no clue where she and Linnie will end up, although I’m fairly certain they are done with Illinois. She wants to get as far away from her ass of a husband as she can, and since he really doesn’t care about Linnie all that much, she can go anywhere and he won’t put up a fight. My hope is she’ll get that job she wants here in this area, although I’m sure she’ll live in Raleigh for convenience if that occurs.