Chapter Thirty
It was still dark when the sound of bleating goats woke her. They were either afraid or in trouble. Paige took the stairs two at a time and raced across the yard, the laces of her sneakers untied. The garage door was open with no car inside. The U-haul was still hidden to the side of the barn where it had been parked yesterday. The eastern horizon was growing lighter, hinting the promise of a new day.
Hurdling the barrier at the entrance of the barn, Paige stood among the goats and scanned their backs. They were so restless. Something wasn’t right. Then Austin’s head popped up from the center of the herd.
“Austin?”
He got off his hands and knees, and rose to his feet. “You said I could resume at first light.”
“More like first pale.” She supposed that a sliver of the population may consider this morning. “Since I’m up anyway, can I help you?”
“As a matter of fact…” Austin held out the wrinkled papers that seemed to be his lifeline. “. . . that would be most appreciated. You see, after reviewing my written descriptions in more detail, I have come to a shocking conclusion.”
Paige found a five-gallon bucket in the corner, turned it and sat on it. Beside the bucket, six stacks of apple crates reached to the rafters. “What?” she said half-heartedly.
“One goat in this barn is not yours. We stole it outright. At least the others were your property previously. We’d be given legal lenience, but stealing a goat that doesn’t belong to you changes our actions from an undecided dispute over ownership to grand larceny.” Austin had droplets of sweat running down his cheeks though the morning was chilly. “Do you see my concern?”
“Yes.” Paige got to her feet and scanned the goats. One had a cropped white coat and stood about four inches taller than the rest. She serpentined through the herd’s close knit bodies to get to him. His horns were clipped, and he was shorn, but his roman nose and clear eyes were unmistakable. She dropped to her knees and hugged him. “King, it’s you!”
Austin stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
“He’s mine alright.” She laughed and hugged the buck again. “The reason this goat’s not on your list is because I lost him months ago.” She thought of bringing up Blanche but didn’t want to have to explain. “I looked everywhere and asked the neighbors, but no one said they’d seen him.”
“Him?” She heard a deep voice behind her.
Turning, she found Sterling leaning against the gate. His hair was wet from a recent shower, and he looked right at home with his flannel shirt and jeans. She smiled and led the buck over to him. “This is King. He’s a Xinjiang/Saanen mix I thought I lost last fall, but it looks like he was stolen. Could Elaine have done this?”
“I’d bet on it.” He patted the goat’s head and caught Austin’s eye. “You get what this means?”
Austin nodded. “Hard evidence.”
He clasped Paige’s shoulder. “You might beat Elaine yet.”
The first ridge of the sun edged over the horizon, waking the clouds in deep lavender. Paige couldn’t remember feeling so happy, but the rumble of an approaching car broke the spell. All three went to high alert. Austin stood beside her, while Sterling jogged to the entrance of the driveway. He called to them, “It’s my dad’s pickup.”
Paige hadn’t realized she’d been carrying so much fear until that moment. It was a real possibility they could all wind up behind bars.
Sterling’s dad pulled into the garage and emerged holding a paper grocery bag. “You’re all up? I’d hoped to catch you still sleeping like city folk.”
“Dad, did you tell anyone we were here?”
“Well, I ran into an old girlfriend of yours but told her you were taken.” He winked in Paige’s direction, and she couldn’t help but smile.
Sterling’s voice grew louder. “Did you say anything about the goats?”
His dad looked like he wanted to spit. “How much of a fool do you think I am? I heard what you told me, that they were absconded.” He trotted away, and Sterling stared after him.
“Uncle Bill’s the same way,” Paige said. “Gets offended if you look at him wrong.”
Sterling kicked the ground. “Sometimes I think it’s his favorite emotion.”
“He may need time to adjust,” Paige offered.
Sterling wouldn’t look at her. “You don’t think twelve years is enough?”
She knew there was nothing she could say to that, so she changed the subject. “Since we’re all here, why don’t we start milking? I’ve got a bucket.” She grabbed the one that she had sat on earlier. “Do you think your dad has Ziploc bags or should we pick them up at the local market?”
“I doubt it,” Sterling said. “Dad doesn’t have anything that’s disposable. But my mom loved to can. Can we put it in quart jars?”
Austin piped in. “Each doe gives about three quarts per day. Your mother better have a lot of jars.”
“Well, she used to have hundreds.”
Sterling led them to a pantry off the kitchen. Floor to ceiling shelves ran the entire length of the room covered with empty canning jars. The other side had filled ones and some commercially canned goods.
“This will definitely cover it,” Paige said, pinching four jars together with each hand and turning to go. Sterling’s eyes were glued to the full jars.
“What’s wrong?” she could see his pinched forehead.
When he spoke, his tone was low and rough. “Ten years she’s been gone, and look how much is left. I wonder if he refuses to eat from the jars because he wants to pretend she’s still here.”
The ache he felt seemed visceral, and Paige was quite certain that whatever caused him to leave home wasn’t as difficult as losing his mother. That’s what probably kept him away. Paige waited a moment out of respect until Sterling turned and grabbed his own jars. Only then did Austin do the same.
They began milking, but with the single five-gallon bucket and making multiple runs back to the pantry, it was a slow process. By the time they finished and headed toward the house, Paige was famished. She smelled bacon and eggs cooking.
She stepped in the kitchen and caught sight of the set table. “It smells wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Keller.”
“Don’t thank me for smelling it.” Sterling’s dad held a spatula. “Let’s eat.”
Everyone sat but Sterling. “Dad, what’s this?” He picked up the milk carton in the middle of the table.
“If you don’t know by now, I did a rotten job of raising ya.” His dad chuckled.
“No.” Sterling stared at his dad. “Why didn’t you get milk from the dairy?”
His father lowered his eyes. “Dairy’s gone. Years now. But that’s a discussion for another time. Sit and eat. It’s gettin’ cold.”
The way he said it, Paige guessed that time would never come. A farmers’ business is his own accord. Uncle Bill was the same way. Sterling couldn’t seem to accept it. He held his tongue, but after two bites wiped his mouth, dropped his napkin on his plate, and got up to leave.
He’d barely walked out of the room before he rushed back in. “The sheriff’s car just pulled up. Stay where you are.”
They were all on their feet at the window before Sterling was halfway across the area between the house and the barn. Brown with gold lettering, the sheriff’s sedan parked next to a cottonwood which obscured Paige’s view of the driver. The door opened, and she could see Sterling facing the officer, but all she could make out were the lawman’s shoes. He looked to be of small build. They talked for a long time, and Paige started to worry.
“Are they okay?” she asked Sterling’s dad.
“Who knows? Misty is one who can hold a grudge.” His dad seemed thoroughly amused, and Paige realized if she moved to the other side of him, she could probably see everything. She did and was shocked to find the person in the uniform was a gorgeous blonde with a mane that rivaled most supermodels. Misty, as Mr. Keller had called her, threw her arms around Sterling’s neck and kissed him fu
ll on the mouth. Sterling had a hand on either of her hips. Paige was done watching.
She marched out the door and directly toward the two. Sterling saw her coming. She wanted to wipe that smile off his face, but he seemed pleased she was there. “Paige, Misty wanted to meet you.”
“I bet she did,” Paige said.
For an officer of the law, Misty didn’t seem very observant. She didn’t even pick up on the fact that Paige was fuming. Instead, the girl mirrored Sterling’s pleasant expression. “Anyone that could get Sterling back where he belongs is a friend of mine. How’ dee do? I’m Misty.”
Paige blinked. “And the sheriff?”
She flipped her hair back, exposing the badge pinned to her right shoulder. “Only a deputy.” Misty’s smile seemed to fade a bit. “Nope, the sheriff’s a whole different matter, God help us all.”
As if to cover her frustration, Misty put on a fresh smile. “Sterling’s dad told me you brought your stock out here while your barn’s getting fumigated. If you’re having issues with a fungus or disease, you probably need to register with the agricultural extension. I’m responsible for animal control, too.”
“No, it was just rats.” Paige glared at Sterling who wore the trace of someone else’s lipstick.
“That sounds fine.” Misty turned back to Sterling. “You going to be at the Pit this Friday? Everyone will be dying to see you.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” The way he said it made Paige quite sure this was the old girlfriend his dad had mentioned.
As Misty pulled away, Paige was sure of one thing. Sterling had not left Dallas to get away from a girlfriend. There were obviously still active feelings on both sides of the fence, and she didn’t have any desire to get in the middle of them.
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