Mel shrugs. “All right.”
The creature is cute. All legs, soulful black eyes, tail wagging like a dog’s.
I look up to find Kane watching me, his eyes filled with shadows. No doubt judging me again. I turn to Mel, determined to show interest in an animal. “What are you feeding him?”
“A lamb milk replacer.”
I nod, like I know exactly what that is. “How old is he?”
“Two weeks.”
“What happened to the mother?”
“We don’t know. Most likely, she died giving birth. We went to a live animal auction and found him abandoned in a cardboard box. He still had his umbilical cord and was barely alive. Ro...um...Z treated him for hypothermia and dehydration and we managed to nurse him back to health.” A bleak look enters Mel’s eyes. “There were over twenty orphan lambs there. We couldn’t take them all.”
Queasiness churns inside me. It doesn’t seem right that an auction like this can happen and hardly anyone knows about it. But in all honesty, I don’t want to know about it either. The knowledge makes me uncomfortable, as though knowing about it means I ought to do something. Really, there’s good reason for the saying,ignorance is bliss. And bliss for me is a roast leg of lamb with mint sauce. Which I can’t imagine ever eating again.
Ross leans down to ruffle the woolly head. “He made it though. He’s a fighter.”
The lamb greedily finishes off the last drops of milk and hovers anxiously around Mel’s bar stool, casting adoring glances up at her. She rolls her eyes, but there’s affection in the gesture. “I opened myself up to this. You bottle feed an orphan lamb and there’s bound to be attachment issues.”
“Attachment issues?” I ask.
“He thinks I’m his mom.” Although it’s said in an easy way, I catch the undertone of pain in her voice and I wonder at the lack of children in a house filled with four-legged orphans.
I notice Kane also studying Mel. I’m surprised at the sympathy I see softening the contours of his face. “You outdid yourself,” he compliments her. “I haven’t had a fry-up like this in ages.”
“Raised my cholesterol level, for sure.” Ross scratches under his mask and I get the impression he wants to rip the thing off. “Now to find the energy to return to work.”
“Every Saturday I wonder if the meal is worth all the mess,” Mel comments ruefully, frowning at the pile of pots in the sink.
“Oh, it is, love,” Ross assures her. “I’ll help you clean up.”
I force myself to make the effort. “Thank you, Mel, for breakfast.”
Ross shoots Mel a look, and I realize the mistake I made in using her real name. Apart from a guilty shrug, Mel doesn’t confess she also gave away Ross’s name earlier. I decide to stick to my decision not to enlighten them either.
Sighing into the silence, Ross turns to Kane. “Will you check on the two stallions for me? After I finish in the kitchen, I need to have a look at the Jeep. It has an oil leak.”
I sneak a sideways glance at Kane, but he’s making a concerted effort not to look my way.
“Oil leak?” Kane asks, rubbing his jaw.
Ross shakes his head in disgust. “Yeah. Discovered oil under the car this morning.”
“Need any help?” Kane asks.
“Nah, I should be able to figure it out.”
I busy myself examining my fingernails. My polish is badly chipped.
The lamb totters back to his wicker basket, his eyes already at half-mast.
“Sure, I’ll take a look at the horses,” Kane says.
“Why don’t you take Amy with you?” Mel suggests casually as she clears the table.
Kane’s head snaps up. “What? Why?”
