His blatant flirting made Sophia blush, so she ignored it. “It’s part of my life,” she said, “so it’s a topic I can converse about easily.”
Meadow eyed the stranger warily from across the yard, while Valley brushed up against her side before sneezing all over her. Caspian edged sideways, away from the goat. “I don’t suppose you have any other topics that you like talking about?” Sophia asked as she bent over to pet Tack and Ned, Ivy’s twin boys.
“We could talk about many topics,” Caspian said, “as long as we talk about them outside the goat pen.”
Sophia laughed and made her way back into the barn, Mollie and the twins chasing her while the last baby goat, Terra, found a corner to snooze in. As she picked up her skirts to climb over the fence, Caspian opened the gate.
“Don’t let the goats out,” she warned.
Sensing freedom was close at hand, the goats rushed toward Caspian, who quickly shut the gate. He stared at the fence. “I see now why you climbed it earlier.”
Sophia chuckled. “Yes, an open gate is pretty much an invitation for the goats to get out. It’s much easier to climb the fence.” She began to climb and swung her leg over the top rail, hoping that Caspian was gentleman enough not to look before her skirt settled back into place as she climbed out on the other side.
He followed suit and followed her out of the barn. “I have to go,” he said, “but I hope I’ll see you around the manor.”
Sophia smiled as she brushed her hand along the wall of the barn. “That would be lovely.”
Caspian strode away and she watched him leave, then turned back to the barn. It was almost time to feed the goats.
It would be nice to have someone to talk to.
It certainly didn’t hurt that he was pleasant to look at, too.
Maybe she didn’t need to stay away from him. Maybe her suspicions were just paranoia, and she could forget about her past.
Maybe, just maybe, he was someone who could see the real Sophia.
Chapter four
Caspian
Caspianwasgrowingmoreconfused by the second after talking to his mother about her expectations for the Fall Festival.
He’d thought that maybe he had a handle on things, but the more he thought it over, the more confused he was.
So he was on his way to the town to talk to Beatrice, the librarian who supposedly ran everything.
That was part of the confusion. He had assumed his mother did all the work, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It seemed their family provided money and support for the Fall Festival, while Beatrice the librarian did much of the work—with her help, his mother claimed. But what exactly his mother did, he still wasn’t sure.
So he was on his way to talk to Beatrice.
It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he’d spotted a dark-haired young lady walking toward the town that afternoon.
Nothing to do with the fact that he hoped he would bump into her, and maybe even get to walk her back to the manor.
There was something intriguing about Sophia. Caspian wasn’t sure where things might be going with her, but he definitely wanted to spend more time with her.
So here he was, on his way to the town, wondering if he could walk fast enough to catch up to her before she got there, and he lost track of her.
What did she even do in the town? Why did she leave the manor?
His thoughts tumbled around in his head as he made his way into town. Walking through the town square, he noticed the dark-haired miss sitting in the window of the Cozy Cat Café.
So that’s where she was.
But then he noticed the man sitting next to her.
Was she already taken?
