Free Home Field Advantage by Janice Kay Johnson Page B

sweetie,"
Marian said helplessly. "I'm sorry."
     
    *****
     
    Snowball was docile enough to
willingly follow Emma into the horse trailer, even though he hadn't seen one in
five years. Esmerelda was made of entirely different stuff, however. She wanted
nothing to do with a box on wheels. John pushed while Marian pulled, but the
goat managed to twist at the last second and break free, leaping off the ramp
and throwing John to his knees.
    The rope whipped through
Marian's hands, burning her palms until she tightened her grip. When Esmerelda
hit the end of the rope, she almost ripped Marian's arms from their sockets.
    "Damn," she said
explosively.
    "Tut tut," John
reproved, picking himself up. "We wouldn't want to soil the ears of
innocent children."
    "They're laughing too
hard to hear me," Marian said. She stuck out her tongue at Emma and the
giggling twins, which set them off again. Then she turned to glower at the
goat, who stood stiff-legged and wary at the end of the rope. "Do you
suppose we could pick her up?"
    John took off his Stetson and
used it to slap at the dust on his jeans. "Have you put her on a scale
lately?"
    "She's supposed to be
fat," Marian said defensively.
    "Yeah?" He put the
cowboy hat back on. "Maybe so, but we'd still have to get our arms around
that belly."
    "I'll take the back and
you take the front."
    John eyed Esmerelda's
expression. "Why don't you take the front, and I'll take the back?"
    "She kicks."
    "Oh, hell."
    "Please," Marian
said loftily. "We don't want to soil the ears of..."
    The three children sat in a
row on the bottom rail of the fence, waiting expectantly for the next act. John
looked at Marian, and suddenly they were both laughing.
    "I'll take the
front," he said ruefully.
    A minute later, John slammed
the door of the horse trailer, dropping the bolt just in time. The whole
trailer shook when Esmerelda rammed her head against the door.
    "Are you sure you want
her?" Marian asked doubtfully. "Now that you know what you're getting
into?"
    "If I can't handle one
little goat..."
    "You mean, one
overweight, bad-tempered, useless goat?"
    "Remember those
blackberries."
    Marian smiled at him.
"I'll believe in those when I see 'em."
    At her smile, something
changed on John's face, and his arrested gaze locked with hers. "Doubting
me?" he asked roughly.
    She couldn't look away from
the disturbing expression in his gray eyes. "I think you're nice enough
to lie," she retorted, not quite as calmly as she would have liked.
    He shoved the Stetson back on
his head, his grin an unmistakable challenge. "One hedge of blackberries
coming up. I'll give you the grand tour right now. Why don't you follow us on
over?"
    She began an automatic
protest, "Oh, I don't think..."
    "Come on," John
coaxed. "I want you to feel comfortable visiting your animals. You have to
see where we live sometime. Why not tonight?"
    "I really should pack
and..."
    He didn't let her finish.
"Emma made dessert, just for you. She was hoping you'd come. She's pretty
excited."
    "Dessert?" Marian
said weakly.
    "Lemon meringue
pie." This time his grin was self-mocking. "We did our best. Store-bought
crust, Jell-O mix, and the meringue...well, it's a little on the flat side,
but..."
    Marian held up one hand.
"I surrender. I couldn't possibly hurt Emma's feelings. As you know darn
well." She heard his soft chuckle when she raised her voice for the benefit
of their audience. "Let's get our coats, guys. We'll go see Snowball and
Esmerelda's new home."
    "Hey, cool!" Emma
jumped up. "Come on, hurry up. I'll show you my bedroom and
everything!"
    Unfortunately, everything
included her dad's bedroom. Half an hour later, Marian and the twins had
already dutifully inspected a living room bigger than their entire house,
complete with gleaming maple floor, river rock fireplace, vaulted ceiling, and
a wall of windows that looked out toward the Cascade Mountains. Marian stood
for a long moment in front of the windows, gazing past the red barns and