“I’m trying to help over there,” I say, pointing toward the trees.
She bleats again.
I sigh and lift her out of the pen, letting her trot along beside me. The other goats protest, but there’s no way I’m wrangling all of them later.
“Be good,” I tell her like she’s a toddler. “Stay out of the way. No noise.”
She immediately gets distracted by a bug in the grass.
I glance back toward the group as the chainsaw roars to life. It’s only when I turn to check on Pearl that I see she’s fainted.
“This is exactly why you weren’t invited,” I mutter, scooping her up.
She’s stiff as a board when I carry her back to the pen.
“Stay here,” I tell her. “I’ll bring you food later.”
I shut the gate and jog away before she can protest again.
There’s a large group around the trees now, but Burton makes it look like a piece of cake as he slices through the wood.
Man, he’s hot.
I grimace, surprised by my thought process. I don’t think I’ve ever referred, out loud or in my thoughts, to someone as being hot when it comes to looks.
His easy smile and good-natured teasing make me grin. Not that we’re anything but friends right now, but I’d be okay with a date. Or ten.
I have to lock back into reality as he looks over at me and smiles. I’m here to help, not gawk at the lacrosse-playing lumberjack.
Someone hands me a pair of gloves, and I try to help, but the men kind of push in front to get the bigger pieces.
Should I be mad about that? Probably. But I’malso grateful I don’t have to throw my back out for those thick slabs of tree trunk.
I work to pick up the smaller branches, gathering an armful before I walk over to the dumpster. On the way back, I take in the land and smile at the help these people have given my grandparents. This will make the spring that much easier for them to get their classes all put together and keep things tidy for the animals.
We’ve filled the entire dumpster, and the two trees have been taken down. The yard looks almost bare because all the weeds and overgrowth have been taken out. It’s nearly four thirty, and Grams is calling to me from the doorstep.
“Are we ready to go eat?” she asks.
“They’re finishing cleaning up this one section, and then we can head out. I have to tell Burton, though.”
She waves me away. “Well, get going then, girl. I know how long you take to talk to boys. Might as well do it now, before I die of starvation.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I don’t think it’s starvation at this point. Just gnawing hunger.”
She twists her lips to the side and says, “You’re probably right, but I’ve got to eat early enough that I don’t have problems at night, if you know what I mean.”
I don’t, but I won’t wait for an explanation.
The group has cleaned up the area, and everything is put away in the work truck that delivered all the tools.
“Well, thanks for letting me work on your property,” Burton says with an invisible hat tip.
I shake my head. “You should thank your sister. I’m just grateful to the group for helping with all of this.”
“It looks good. Hopefully, it’ll make it easier for your grandparents.”
I nod, my chest constricting as I know what I need to do but again feel dumb asking.
