Summer Nights (Fool's Gold #8)

May beamed. “See. Problem solved. I’ll talk to the girls after their lesson. Annabelle will be so happy.”


Words deliberately designed to make him rethink any complaints. Because making Annabelle happy had become a priority with him.

“Now you’re fighting dirty,” he told his mother.

She laughed. “I do what I have to so that I win. You should respect that.”

“Mostly it frightens me.”

Still smiling, May waved at the girls. “Listen to Shane,” she called as she walked back to the house. “Don’t forget, he’s a real cowboy.”

“Thanks for the endorsement,” he muttered as he turned back to his class. “Okay, let’s start practicing being in the parade.”

Mandy raised her hand. “Can we wear lip gloss?”

Shane’s almost-headache began to grow. “Excuse me?”

“If you tell us we have to wear lip gloss, we will.” She bounced in the saddle. “Because my mom says I’m too young.”

“Mine, too.”

“But we want to.”

“I’m not going to say you have to wear lip gloss.”

Four ten-year-olds immediately began to pout.

“Why not?” Mandy asked.

“Because…” He sucked in a breath. “Because I’m not going to get your moms mad at me, okay? If your moms get mad, they might say you can’t ride anymore. Do you want that?”

They exchanged glances, then shook their heads. Then Mandy smiled at him.

“You like us.”

Shane held in a groan. “Can we get started now?”

“Okay, but just so you know, my mom says I can’t start dating until I’m fifteen.”

* * *

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING is keeping everything clean and sanitized,” Heidi said, leading the way into the goat house. “And we’re talking about a goat here, so it’s not like you can count on her to cooperate.”

Annabelle held a pad of paper in her hands, prepared to take notes. The offer to milk Heidi’s goats while she was on her honeymoon had been impulsive. It wasn’t that she was regretting it, exactly, but she was a little nervous about all the responsibility.

“Do we really have to sell the milk while you’re gone?” she asked.

Heidi laughed. “You’ll do fine. It’s not that hard. Trust me.”

“It’s not so much an issue of trust,” Annabelle told her. “I don’t want to get it wrong.”

“We’ll practice until you’re comfortable. Besides, Shane knows what to do.”

“Are you sure? He’s more a horse guy than a goat guy.”

“He knows and don’t let him tell you otherwise.”

Heidi showed her where everything was kept. In a couple of days, Annabelle would arrive bright and early to practice on an actual goat. Charlie would do the same. At least they would take turns milking.

“You’re not going to have to worry about the cheese,” Heidi told her as they headed back for the main house. “There are a couple of batches that need work, but May is taking care of that for me.”

“Good. Because goats are about my limit.”

They paused on the porch. Annabelle turned to look at the ranch. Up on the slight rise was Priscilla’s home. The elephant, Reno and Wilbur shared a big fenced-in area. Since May had put a notice in the Fool’s Gold Daily Republic, locals had been dropping off freshly pruned leafy branches for Priscilla. She enjoyed poplar, willow, maple and ash, along with several varieties of fruit trees. An elephant could go through a lot of branches in a day.

Khatar was in his usual corral. He had shade, sun and plenty of water, along with a view of what was going on. She’d greeted him when she’d first arrived and, for once, he’d stayed in place.

The riding horses clustered together in another corral, while Shane’s pricey pregnant mares were in a third. Heidi’s goats were out on loan, taking care of lawns and brush for anyone who signed up.

Annabelle liked everything about the ranch. There was a sense of connection with the land, a feeling of belonging. She was happiest when she was here, although a part of that was probably because she was usually with Shane. She could spend her days scrubbing grout with him and still have a good time.

“I picked up my dress,” Heidi said, her face bright with excitement. “Want to see?”

“I’d love to.”

They went upstairs to one of the spare rooms. Off the bedroom was a small alcove that had obviously once been used for a nursery. A beautiful white wedding gown hung from a big, brass coatrack. The dress faced the rack, with the train spread out on the sheets spread over the floor.

“I’m so paranoid about it,” Heidi said. “I couldn’t even steam it after I picked it up. I was shaking too much. May did it for me. Now I come in here every day and look at it. I know. I’m such an idiot.”

“You’re not. You’re excited about getting married. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be? Honestly, I’d be worried if you weren’t looking at your dress every day.”

Heidi hugged her. “Thank you.”