Page 24 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

ELLIE

“I cannot get over how cute he is,” Fallon cooed, giving Gremlin’s head a little stroke as we explored row after row of the farmer’s market stalls. I’d put Grem in the sling I’d gotten him, and he was a happy camper.

“And he’s so sweet,” Thea said.

I rolled my lips over my teeth, trying not to laugh.

“What?” Thea pressed.

“He hates Trace. He’s tried to bite him twice,” I admitted.

Fallon’s dark blue eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

I nodded, giving her a sheepish smile.

“Bet Mr. Law and Order looooved that,” she said.

“I’m thankful Grem and Keely are besties. I think Trace will just try to give him a wide berth.”

Thea slowed at a display of cut flowers, studying the blooms. “Moose wasn’t all that fond of Shep at first. But they became friends with time.”

Thea’s massive Maine coon cat was at least twice the size of Gremlin and made it very clear when he was cranky about something. I grinned at her. “You mean Shep bought his allegiance with treats.”

She laughed and moved us toward a fruit stall. “Whatever works.”

My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I braced. Bradley had obviously realized I’d blocked him because he’d started texting with a new number. I’d blocked that one, too, but I was on edge. Sliding my phone out, I breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar name on the screen.

Arden

Change of plans for tomorrow. Nora wants everyone at her house for dinner. You in?

Me

Sure. Thanks for the invite.

Arden

You know you’re welcome anytime. And bring your pup. I heard he nearly took off Trace’s finger. Smart doggie.

I scowled at the screen.

Me

Such a drama king. Grem didn’t even make contact. And I think he’s only got like two teeth left anyway.

Arden

Never letting him live this down.

“Everything okay?” Fallon asked.

I looked up to find her studying me carefully. In my month or so in Sparrow Falls, I’d realized that Fallon was attuned to everyone’s emotions. She read them like others read a book. And she was constantly checking in on the people she cared about.

“Just Arden inviting me to dinner at Nora’s,” I explained.

Fallon’s gaze didn’t move right away. “You braced when you pulled out your phone. Were you thinking it was someone else?”

Right to the point. Gentle but not pulling punches either. I tried to choose words that weren’t a lie. I felt bad enough for the half truth I’d told Trace earlier, one I knew he’d picked up on. “My phone just hasn’t been the happiest place lately.”

Fallon’s expression slid into one of pure empathy. “Is the press still hounding you and Linc?”

“Occasionally. I think I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.” That wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t the whole story either. It had a Bradley-sized hole in it.

Thea moved in, rubbing a hand up and down my back. “It’ll pass, trust me. Those buzzards will find something else to circle.”

She would know. When her celebrity ex made trouble for her and Shep, the press descended on Sparrow Falls for a few weeks. But after a while of them refusing to comment, the media had gone in search of a juicier story.

“You’re right. And I don’t want that to cloud our day.” I glanced at the next stall and grinned. “I want to see what Duncan has.”

Thea looked over and waved at her boss from Bloom & Berry. “I didn’t know he was going to be here. Looks like he’s got some mums ready for the fall décor hounds.”

“Fal, does your mom like mums? Maybe I could bring some as a thank-you tomorrow.”

She shook her head but did it with a smile. “You know you don’t have to bring anything.”

“I want to,” I argued. “And since my cooking skills aren’t exactly up to snuff, flowers are a much safer bet.”

Fallon laughed. “How’s the new range treating you?”

“I used it safely this morning, I’ll have you know. But I did have supervision.”

That piqued her interest. Her smile widened. “Sleepover? You dog, you! Who?”

“No, no, no,” I said quickly. “Trace and Keely came over this morning.” Heat hit the apples of my cheeks. “He, uh, knows that cooking isn’t my strong suit, so he offered to teach me how to make a scramble.”

Both Fallon and Thea stilled, turning to me.

“Trace Colson?” Thea asked. “The same Trace who follows a schedule by thirty-minute increments and never deviates?”

“I, uh, didn’t know about the schedule. But, yes.”

Fallon burst out laughing. “You know, he made our chore chart growing up.” She turned to me, mischief in her dark eyes. “And I’ve never known him to deviate from his Saturday pancake routine on the weekends he has Keely. ”

“Oh.” It was all I could manage to say.

“ Very interesting, him breaking that streak,” Fallon said.

“It’s not like that,” I argued. “We’re just…frenemies.”

Thea made a choked sound. “Frenemies?”

I shrugged. “I love giving him shit and trying to force him to have a little fun. He loves trying to give me demerits and lecturing me for almost setting my house on fire.”

Fallon struggled to keep a straight face. “So, you got revenge by putting him in that truly incredible pink Hawaiian dog shirt.”

“Oh, no. I can’t take credit for that. That was all Gremlin and Curtis at Feed & Friends.”

Thea lost it then. “You are exactly what Trace needs.”

“Amen, sister,” Fallon said, holding out a hand for a high five.

Thea slapped it. “I feel like they need a reality show.”

Fallon nodded. “I could sell that.”

But I was still stuck on Thea’s words. “You are exactly what Trace needs.” I held them close for a moment too long because the reckless part of me wanted that to be true.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the trio of terror,” Duncan said with a grin as we walked up.

Fallon moved in to give him a quick hug. “Here to wreak mayhem and destruction.”

“Maybe I need to call Kye to keep you in line,” Duncan shot back.

Fallon stuck her tongue out at him. “Don’t you dare ruin my fun by calling that overprotective oaf.”

Thea gave Duncan a hug, too. “Plus, this is a girls’ day. No boys allowed.”

Duncan chuckled. “Okay, I can take a hint. I’ll keep my distance.” He turned his smile to me. “You haven’t been in to get started on that butterfly garden.”

“I know. Things have been a little hectic getting settled in the new house,” I admitted.

“Because she almost blew it up,” Fallon said on a choked laugh.

Duncan’s eyes widened. “Are you okay?”

I sent Fallon a glare. “She lies. ”

Duncan looked between the two of us. “Somehow, I feel like there’s more to this story.”

“We’ll never tell,” Thea singsonged.

“A true friend,” I praised.

“Hey!” Fallon protested.

I just grinned at her. “Snitches get stitches.”

Duncan scrubbed a hand over his beard. “You three scare me a little.”

“Oh, we should,” I told him.

He laughed. “Do you guys need anything, or are you just here to give me nightmares?”

“I need two pots of mums. Can I pay for them now but pick them up later?” I asked.

“Sure,” Duncan agreed. “What color?”

I scanned the options. “I’m thinking these deep burgundy ones. What do you think, Fal? Will your mom like this color?”

“She’ll love them. She’s more of a pink than an orange girl.”

“Perfect.” I peeled off thirty dollars and handed it to Duncan. “I’ll be back to grab these.”

“Take your time,” he called as we headed down the row again.

“Hey,” I said, turning toward Fallon as we walked. “Kye’s MMA gym…”

She nodded. “Haven?”

“Yeah. Do they do any beginner training for women or self-defense classes?”

Fallon’s brows rose. “They do both. And some of the instructors do one-on-one lessons, too.”

One-on-one sounded good. Then, I wouldn’t have to be as embarrassed with my lack of coordination in front of a big group. “Kye did Arden’s training, right?”

She nodded, but an expression I couldn’t quite pin down flashed over her face. “He does it for a lot of people.”

I glanced at Thea, looking for a clue as to what I wasn’t picking up on.

Thea shook her head. “Fal’s annoyed that Kye won’t train her. ”

That surprised me. The two of them seemed like peas in a pod. They were always laughing and giving each other a hard time. But Kye was especially protective of her. “He doesn’t want you to get into the MMA world?” I asked.

Fallon let out a sound of frustration. “He always makes up some excuse for why he can’t teach me. Or tries to pawn me off on one of the other trainers. It’s like he thinks I’m too weak or something.”

“I know that’s not the case,” I argued. I hadn’t known them all that long, but it was clear that Kye thought Fallon hung the moon.

“I’m not so sure,” Fallon mumbled.

I wanted to ask more but sensed it was a sore subject, so I tried to guide us out of it. “I also want to take a yoga class at that studio I saw in town. Want to do that with me?”

Fallon brightened, just like I’d hoped. “I’ve heard it’s really good. It’s new. I’m in. As long as we get brunch after.”

“I like the way you think.”

As we reached the final stalls, I heard a sound. A soft and slightly sad bleat. I turned, trying to find the source. That’s when I saw it.

A goat was tied to the very last farmer’s stall, looking sad and forlorn as the farmer talked to a customer. As I moved closer, I saw a For Sale sign above the goat’s little patch of hay. Beneath it read Final Offer .

I frowned. Selling a goat at a farmer’s market didn’t really seem like a great idea. How could you know it would go to a good home?

I found myself making a beeline for the animal. I didn’t know the first thing about goats, but I crouched low, holding out a hand for it to sniff as Grem’s little head popped out of the sling to investigate. The goat licked me, and I grinned.

“Hi, little one,” I cooed, scratching beneath its chin.

“You lookin’ for a goat?” the man behind the stall asked, a wad of chewing tobacco in his lip.

“No, not really.”

“Shame,” he muttered.

I glanced up at the sign again. “What does final offer mean?”

“Means she’s going to slaughter if she don’t get sold today. ”

My eyes widened as a sick feeling rolled through me. And then I felt my mouth saying the words before I heard them. “I’ll take her.”

I tugged on the worn lead rope Ethan the farmer had given me alongside enough feed to get me through my first week as a goat owner, but my new goat friend would not be moved.

“Come on, buddy. Please?” I begged.

If any of my neighbors saw me right now, they’d probably think I was completely unhinged.

And maybe I was. I’d gotten Gremlin inside and come back out for my new goat.

A goat I was appalled to discover didn’t have a name.

I was going to give her one, but I needed to know what fit her personality first.

I gave the lead rope a little slack. “Come on. There’s a whole lot of grass in the backyard. Don’t you want to eat some?”

No movement.

Frustration bloomed. She was too heavy for me to carry her. I’d learned that while lifting her out of the back of my SUV. I was pretty sure my back would pay the price for that for the rest of the week.

“How about some of this?” I coaxed, pulling some feed out of my pocket and offering it to her.

She sniffed the air but didn’t come any closer.

I straightened and tried tugging again, harder this time. I put all my weight into trying to get the goat to move.

Nothing.

I walked behind her and tried shoving from the rear, attempting to get her to walk through the open gate. The goat kicked back, getting me right in the shin.

I howled in pain, hopping around and spilling some very creative curses like, “Son of a goat nugget,” and “Damn it all to hay bales.”

A throat cleared from behind me, and I stilled, slowly turning around.

I was greeted by Trace, who seemed to somehow be both pissed off and amused all at once. “What exactly is a son of a goat nugget?”