Page 44

Jasper
Beside me, Juliet stops dead in her tracks, her hand tightening in mine. When I look down, her eyes are wide as she whips her head around, taking in the sight before us.
Adorable.
“What do you think of the farm, princess?” I keep my tone as casual as possible, as if there’s nothing at all strange about a barn full of men and women dressed as various farm animals. The cows and ponies make up the majority of the animals here on the island, but there are a few little piggies and sheep and rabbits mixed in. Not to mention the barn cats wandering around.
One such curious kitten approaches us, her fluffy black tail swaying as she crawls. She pauses in front of us, head tilted to the side as if we are the unusual ones.
“Meow?”
Juliet doesn’t move. Her gaze is now locked on the kitty-girl in front of us, her mouth hanging slightly open.
Swallowing a laugh at my Little girl’s shock, I crouch down and hold a hand out to the kitten. She looks at my hand, then at my face, seemingly taking stock of what kind of person I am just like any cat would, before she crawls forward to rub her head against my hand with a low rumble in her chest that sounds somuch like a purr I could almost believe it came from an actual cat.
“See, Juju?” Looking up at her, I smile and give her hand a tug. “Friendly kitty.”
Juliet slowly lowers to her knees, reaching out for the kitten. “Pet kitty?”
My heart, which she already holds in her delicate little hands, melts not just at the question itself but the childlike awe in her voice. “If she wants. Hold your hand there and see if she comes to you.”
The kitten has obviously caught onto the fact that she has multiple people who want to love on her, and she shifts her attention to Juju, offering her head for pets while presenting me with her bottom. Chuckling softly, I run my hand over her rump. “Good kitty.”
Again she purrs, and Juliet giggles at the sound. “I want a kitty.”
There’s such longing in her voice, it makes my chest ache. Our parents never had pets, and as far as I know Juliet never asked for any growing up. But now I have to wonder if she did, or if she simply didn’t ask because she already knew what the answer would be.
Making a mental note to talk to Richard about finding a kitten for my little princess, I give the kitty-girl in front of us a final pat before pushing to my feet and pulling Juliet up alongside me.
“We should get a move on. We’ve got lots of other animals to see today, princess.”
Still kneeling on the ground, she pouts up at me. Her hair is braided again, courtesy of a video chat with her Auntie Cat who walked me through the steps. Between the braids and the adorable little overalls, she makes quite the picture.
“But I wanna play with the kitty. Please, Daddy?”
It’s all I can do not to simply give in and let her have whatever she wants. But the others are already far ahead of us, and I don’t want my princess to miss out on all the fun. “Maybe the kitty would like to follow us for a bit.”
The kitty-girl perks up at that, abandoning Juliet’s petting to rub against my leg.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I say with a laugh, bending down scratch behind her ears. “Come on, Juju.”
Seemingly satisfied with this compromise, Juliet hops to her feet. “You said we could see the horsies.”
“I did say that. I think they’re just ahead.”
No sooner have I said the words than Victoria lets out a delighted squeal. “Juju, Uncle Jasper! Hurry up! Come see the horsies!”
“Horsies!” Juliet takes off at a run, dragging me behind her, and I can’t help but laugh at the scene we must be making.
We come to a stop in front of another pen, this one with two horses wandering around the perimeter. A male and a female, a bonded pair judging by the way they stop to nuzzle at each other on occasion.
Unlike the other animals, the horses stand proud on their “hind legs”, striding gracefully on their hooves. Fur covers their legs from the knee down, and their hands, which are also hooved. From their bottoms, braided tails swing as they strut around the pen, clearly putting on a show for us. The male’s hood is black with a strip of white fur down the middle, and a red leather bridle graces his head.
By contrast, the mare is all white but for her black hooves, and her bridle is a pale pink.
“Stunning, aren’t they?” Pride colors Bridgette’s tone as she reaches out to run a hand over the stallion’s rump. “They came as a pair, and I’ve never had the heart to separate them. I tried once, and they were both so despondent, I only kept them apartfor a day before putting them back in the same pen. Normally I keep the mares and stallions separate, but not these two.”
“Do they work together, as well?” Maxwell asks.