‘Yep, she’s a nanny goat.’
‘But she’s got horns.’
‘Yeah, goats generally do have. Can we get on with this?’
‘Of course. Sorry.’ Darla had been thrown by the revelation that Dusty was a girl. She turned her attention back to the task. ‘What do I need to do?’
‘Ideally get her by the fence, stand at her side, reach underneath her and take a firm hold of the legs furthest away from you and pull them towards you. She’ll have no choice but to go down on her back. The ground is soft so she’ll not hurt herself.’
That was a lot of information to take in. Darla sidled up to Dusty. Maybe because of her limp she was looking weary, but as soon as Darla leaned down Dusty bolted for the other side of the pen. She might have been limping but she could still move pretty fast. Elliott cornered Dusty and held her gently while he beckoned Darla over.
Darla stooped and tried to grab Dusty’s legs but she tried to bolt again. Elliott wrapped his arms around the goat and lifted her up. She bleated her frustration. ‘Back right, have a look at it.’
Darla lifted the hoof. ‘Eurgh! It’s dirty.’
‘I’ve got a tool,’ he said and Darla couldn’t help grinning. Elliott shook his head. ‘In my pocket there’s a tool you can use.’ It took a moment before Darla realised he had his hands full with Dusty so she would need to get the tool out of his pocket. Darla moved her hand towards the side of his overalls. This was all oddly intimate. ‘Other side,’ said Elliott, tilting his other hip at her.
‘Right. Got it,’ she said. She couldn’t look at him as she slipped her hand into the overalls pocket. She could feel the heat of his body. She didn’t want to rummage around too much but was pleased when her fingers touched something and she victoriously pulled out a metal prong.
‘Get the muck out from between her toes with that. Be gentle in case there’s a wound.’
‘Right.’ Darla gingerly held the tool and was pleased it was blunt with no blade. She held Dusty’s foot firmly and gently ran the tool down where the hoof split into two toes. Dirt and a small sharp stone pinged out from between the toes.
‘Well done,’ said Elliott, putting Dusty down, who happily trotted off to join the others.
‘Is that it? Did I do it? Did I fix a goat?’
Elliott laughed. ‘Yeah, you fixed the goat.’
Darla punched the air. She was feeling elated. ‘I think maybe we should celebrate with wine rather than coffee.’
‘Not for me.’ He yawned deeply. ‘In fact I think I’ll skip the coffee thanks and go straight back to bed.’ He checked his watch. ‘I need to be up in three hours anyway. Unless a ewe has me up before then.’
‘Oh, I won’t bother you again.’
‘No, a ewe. Not you.’ Darla wasn’t sure what he was on about and it probably showed on her face. ‘Never mind. I’m off to bed. Night, Darla. Night, Dusty.’
‘Okay. Thanks,’ she said.
‘You coming?’ he asked, holding the pen door for her.
‘I think I’ll just get her some food to say well done.’ She was far too excited to sleep now anyway. She felt like she’d made a breakthrough by helping Dusty albeit with a lot of assistance from Elliott.
‘Please yourself,’ he said and with another mammoth yawn he left.
***
Ros opened her front door at the end of a long day to the smell of herbs and spices. She loved that Cameron cooked sometimes, especially as it was always a little surprise as to what he was making. There was no sign of him but her lidded casserole dish was in the oven. She put down her bag and went to have a nose. She reached for the oven door but was interrupted.
‘Caught you!’ he said, coming out of his bedroom.
‘Hi, something smells amazing.’
‘Good. It’s lamb tagine. It’s been cooking most of the day so it should be...’ He kissed his fingers. ‘How was your day?’
‘Tiring.’
‘Are you still really busy?’ he asked as he flicked the switch on the kettle.
