The barn door opened and Andy looked up to see Liam standing like a warm, reassuring wall in the doorway. He searched the room and when his gaze met hers, his lips curved in a smile that kicked her pulse up and sent heat flooding low into her body. And her hand. Her hand had started to get really hot. She relaxed her fist, letting the last of the sweet feed drop to the ground but the burning didn’t stop; it got worse.
“Shit! It’s lye.” She started toward the goats’ water and then changed her mind and headed for the outside pump. There was no way for lye toaccidentallyend up in the goats’ feed. Someone had to put it there on purpose. She didn’t want to take a chance that they’d put it in the water. It was hydro-activated. It didn’t really burn until it got wet, which was why it hadn’t begun to burn her hand until her palm started to sweat.
She pumped the handle to the spigot with her unaffected hand and let the cool water run over the other. Her palm was red, but the reaction was limited to a slight stinging. She wouldn’t blister.
“What do you mean it’s lye?” asked Liam, coming out to meet her.
He took over pumping the handle for her and she scrubbed her hands under the water. The slick feeling on her palm from the lye made the bile rise in her throat.Who would do something like this?It was a miracle the rest of the goats had been spared. They must have smelled something in the feed that stopped them from eating it. Dear Gretchen always dove in first.Please, dear God, don’t let it kill her this time, Andy thought, tears stinging her eyes.
“Andy.” Liam pitched his voice as a low command and her eyes snapped up to meet his. “Tell me what happened.”
“There is lye in the feed. Gretchen ate it.”
The poor goat must be in agony. The caustic chemical would burn her entire digestive tract. She headed to the barn so she could tell Dr. West what was wrong. Liam’s strong hand gripped her arm, stopping her in place. She looked from his fingers digging into her skin to his face, confused about why he was trying to stop her.
“Let me go. I have to tell them.”
“Is there any way it could have accidentally gotten mixed with the food?”
She shook her head and his expression went stony. Dangerous.
“Where is the dog? Millie?”
“They’re together at the house. Let me go.” She tugged on her arm but he held fast.
“Stay in the barn with the others. Do you hear me? Wait here until I get back.”
She considered protesting but something in his voice stopped her. He was serious, more serious than she’d ever seen him. “Where are you going?”
“To make sure Millie is okay.”
––––––––
FUCK.HE JOGGED across the yard, his sense of alarm growing with every stride. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to the old woman. Especially not if he was the one who brought the danger to their doorstep.
He took the stairs two at a time. The sooner he made sure Millie was okay, the sooner he could figure out what was going on. And breathe. He burst through the kitchen door, ready to do battle if he had to. The little dog met him, growling and barking, backing up until he ran into a startled Millie putting a tray of biscuits into the oven.
“Liam Rogers, what in the world are you doing? I don’t know how you normally handle the morning after, but this isn’t the way.”
“I’m sorry, Millie darling.” Dialing back his anxiety a couple of clicks, he glanced down to the still growling dog. “I’m sorry to you too.” He had to admire the little guy’s spirit. He was clearly scared out of his wits, but he put his small furry body between the woman he loved and the perceived threat. They had that in common, although he wasn’t comfortable admitting exactly how much his feelings for Andy had grown. “It’s okay, pup,” he said, aiming for non-threatening with his voice. Liam hated that he’d freaked out the little guy. They’d barely made it to speaking terms. Who knew how long it would take to make up the ground he’d lost.
“What’s going on? What happened with the vet and why are you running around like your hair’s on fire?” Still gripping the potholders, Millie put her hands on her hips and gave him the kind of look that demanded answers.
“Gretchen is hurt. It looks like she might have been poisoned.” He thought back to the way the friendly animal had bumped her head against his palm just the day before, looking for attention. Then he thought about the expression on Mike’s face and his gut tightened.
“Who would do something like that?” Millie asked, shock creasing her already lined forehead.
“I don’t know for sure, but I have some ideas.” There weren’t any good answers to her questions but the sooner he found out what was going on, the sooner he could fix it.
He heard a noise at the door and spun to face it. Behind him, the dog amped up the volume on his growls.
“Get over it, dude,” said Travis, coming through the kitchen door with Jake right behind him. “We live here and we’re not going to hurt you. Something smells good.”
“It’s the biscuits. They’ll be ready in a couple of minutes. Help yourself to some coffee. I’ll be right back to make your eggs,” said Millie, hurrying out of the room.
“What’s wrong?” asked Jake, as Travis made a beeline to the coffee pot. “Don’t lie.”
Liam needed to do a better job with his poker face if the other guy picked up on his thoughts so easily.
