CHAPTER NINE

      RAFE WALKED ACROSS THE barn’s roof. From that height, he could see across much of the ranch. The goats had been taken to the north end of the property. He could see them munching their way through fresh spring grass, no doubt as happy as goats could be.

      The fence line was finished. He didn’t want to think about how many posts had been dug out and replaced, how many miles of wire fencing were carefully stapled into place. To his mind, it was a whole lot of work for eight goats, but his mother had insisted.

      “Rafe!”

      He turned, and one of the guys tossed him a plastic water bottle. His mother filled them each night and put them in the freezer. By midmorning, they were still cold but had melted enough to drink. He unscrewed the cap and took a long swallow.

      His days were supposed to be spent in meetings. He excelled at getting what he wanted and assigning action items to others. Dante frequently joked that if Rafe left a meeting with actual work to do himself, he considered it a failure.

      These days he spent his hours sweating. Roping, riding, building fences and now repairing the barn. He no longer bothered showering and shaving in the morning. Instead, he rolled out of bed, pulled on jeans and boots, and headed out to work until his muscles ached.

      He’d gone back in time, living in the same house as his mother, in a place he swore he would never return to. Except everything was different. He didn’t mind the hard physical work. He enjoyed being able to point to the proof of his labor, to run his hands across a post or part of the barn and know that it was better, it was there, because of him.

      Instead of going out to restaurants with beautiful women, he found himself in the ranch house’s old dining room, across from Heidi, with Glen and his mother at the table. But the conversation flowed easily. Glen had a hundred stories about life in the carnival. Heidi had a few of her own, and Rafe enjoyed listening to them. He also enjoyed the sound of her laughter and the anticipation he felt when she smiled at him.

      Some days, after he’d finished his work and headed for his shower, he thought about dragging her along with him. About her being naked with him, under the spray, his mouth on hers, his hands everywhere. The thought of slick soap and wet skin and the things they could do to each other. Then he reminded himself that she wasn’t who he was looking for, and getting involved would be a level of stupid he wouldn’t allow.

      But a man could still dream.

      He finished his bottle of water and dropped the empty container to the ground below. The repair work on the barn was going steadily. He figured they would be done by tomorrow. Of course, by then his mother would have a whole new list of projects. When he’d gone in for lunch a couple of days ago, she’d been ordering a new stove.

      He wanted to remind her that getting the ranch wasn’t a sure thing, but he knew he would be wasting his breath. Better to just work his way through the chores.

      He’d barely picked up his hammer when a large animal transport truck pulled into the ranch. Rafe watched the vehicle slow and then stop. He hadn’t spent much time with Heidi in the past couple of days. Not since the night she’d gotten drunk. He figured she was embarrassed and avoiding him. Even so, he was pretty sure he would have heard about any new goats showing up.

      He made his way to the edge of the roof and carefully climbed down a ladder. His mother burst out of the house.

      “They’re here!”

      In her jeans and T-shirt, she looked closer to thirty-five than fifty. She clapped her hands together and practically danced with excitement. Rafe felt something sinking in his stomach.

      “Mom, what did you do?”

      “You’re going to have to see for yourself.”

      She met the driver. His helper came around back and started unlatching the trailer’s big door and lowering a ramp. Rafe heard sounds from inside the transport, but couldn’t place them.

      He didn’t think she would have ordered more goats without talking to Heidi, and he doubted she would get a horse without Shane’s advice.

      His mother signed the last of the paperwork and joined him. Just then, Heidi came out of the house.

      “What’s going on?” she asked.

      “We have to wait and see,” Rafe told her.

      “It’s a surprise.” May hugged him. “I’m so excited.”

      “Really? I couldn’t tell.”

      The two men went into the trailer. The helper came down the ramp first, leading…

      “A llama?” Rafe asked, staring at the tall, off-white, fuzzy animal.

      “Isn’t he beautiful? At least, I think that’s the boy. I can’t tell for sure. It always seems so rude to look. But yes. A llama. Three, altogether.”

      Rafe glanced at Heidi, who looked as surprised as he felt.

      “Are you going to raise them for their hair or fur or whatever it is?” Heidi asked. “Aren’t they related to camels?”

      “They’re social herd animals,” May told her. “And so beautiful. I saw them on eBay and couldn’t resist. Plus, they’ll protect the goats. I read an article, and several ranchers are using llamas to protect their livestock. Especially with the pregnant goats. We’re so close to the mountains. There could be a coyote or wolf. We wouldn’t want anything happening to one of the girls.”

      “Of course not,” Rafe murmured. Llamas? What was his mother going to do with them if the judge ruled against her? Her condo in San Francisco wasn’t llama-friendly.

      Heidi drew in a breath. “Okay, where are you putting them?”

      “I was thinking of that section of the ranch.” May pointed west. “It gets plenty of light. There are trees and that hillside for them to climb.”

      And