“Roz gave it to me on her last day here and told me to give it back to you. I keep forgetting to, but I guess it worked out.”
He dropped it into my open hand.
“Now we’re even. You rescued me off the roof and I rescued you from freezing to death.”
“Are we keeping score?”
His mouth twitched into a smile. “When it comes to you, yes.”
chapter seventeen
It was prime leaf-peeping season on the expansive Gibson homestead, but I only had eyes for Darling, and the feeling was mutual. Thistle and Petunia stood behind their queen bee like they were in between classes waiting to see who was going to make the first move in the schoolyard throwdown.
It wasn’t like I was asking for much from the trio. We weren’t at the point where I could even think about trying anything impressive. All I was looking for was the tiniestliteralbaby step in my direction, something we’d conquered at the first lesson but had lost in the weeks since.
Backsliding was the worst.
Patricia was on a call with her accountant so she’d left me to work on my own, which was perfect, considering I was floundering. At least we had a perfect fall day to not make any progress. My black knit cap and lined red flannel shirt were warm enough despite the wind that kicked up every so often, sending a confetti of gold and orange leaves to the ground around me.
“Girls, c’mon, I have pears and animal crackers. You’ll love them.”
They blinked at me, unmoved by the feast in my treat bag.
“Still at sixes and sevens with that lot, eh?”
I turned and saw Gerard passing by carrying a bucket filled with tools.
“Hello.” I waved at him. “Yeah, I’m feeling a little defeated at the moment. Goats, one, Chelsea, zero.”
He walked to the fence and propped his muddy boot up on it. “Don’t blame yourself, they’re an odd bunch. Not what we’re used to.”
“But I really feel like I could get through to them if they’d just give me a chance.”
“Well, they’re not going anywhere, to my dismay, so you’re welcome to keep trying as long as you like. I know Patricia appreciates your efforts.”
The more I studied Gerard the more impossible it seemed that he was Andrew’s father. At least with Patricia I could see hints of their shared family tree around his eyes and the shape of his face, but there was nothing that linked the two men. Granted, Gerard had thinning white hair to Andrew’s mane, but even the way he carried himself was different. He had a professorial vibe, and a quiet, observant way that was the antithesis of his son’s life of the party persona.
“I’m not quitting until they’re eating from my hand, just you wait. This is exactly the kind of challenge I enjoy.”
“Ah, determined. You sound like Andrew,” he replied with a wry grin. “No wonder you two get on.”
I’m sure my confusion registered on my face. What exactly was he telling his parents about us and why did he feel it was necessary to lie? I didn’t know how to respond so I dodged the comment.
“You missed a great launch party at Crush,” I offered. “Atleast that’s what it looked like. I couldn’t actually go because I had an event that night as well, but his side of the parking lot was full.”
Every feature on Gerard’s face pulled downward into a frown, which was an unexpected reaction to his son’s success. “So I heard.”
His expression didn’t invite further conversation so I deflected to my reluctant students. “Do you have a favorite in this group? I don’t know their personalities yet.”
He reached up to scratch his chin with the back of his gloved hand and squinted at them. “I do. I like Darling, despite her propensity for havoc.” He gave me a wink, then picked up his bucket of tools. “But then again, perhaps that’sexactlywhat I like about her. Until next time, Chelsea.”
“Sounds good.” I turned back to my students, expecting them to still be frozen on the other side of the paddock. But no, in the time I’d been chatting with Gerard they’d tiptoed their way closer to me. Not enough to do any real work yet, but close enough to acknowledge their bravery with some animal crackers. I reached into my treat bag slowly and watched them shift their weight at my movement.
“Well, hello,” I said in a soft voice. “Look how brave you are. That’s good.” I tossed a few animal crackers toward them and they startled at the movement then dropped their heads to examine the treats. Darling picked one up first and chewed slowly, rolling the cookie in between her lips and teeth like she was checking for poison, while Thistle and Petunia swallowed them down quickly. They somehow communicated with each other telepathically and took another step toward me as a group.
“So brave!” I knelt then tossed a few more cookies to them, which they ate quickly.
The approach/throw pattern continued until they were about ten feet away from me, which was slightly better than where we’d left off when I was there a few weeks prior. From this point on I couldn’t let as much time elapse between sessions if we wanted to keep making progress.
