The Bridesmaid Wore Sneakers

His phone rang and he took the instrument from his pocket. Checking the screen, he said, “It’s Aurora from next door. I’m going to bring her up here to meet you soon. The girls like her a lot.”

He connected. “Hello, Aurora. I can almost smell your cinnamon rolls from here. Save me one...” He held the phone away from his ear and grimaced. “What’s that? A goat is eating your fern?”

Background noise kept him from hearing Aurora’s words clearly. Her parrot was squawking up a storm. A lady guest was screaming that the goat tried to eat her skirt. And the goat—Martin didn’t know which one, but he was certain it had a name, since Jude named all her animals—was braying with enthusiasm.

“I’ll pick up Jude and be right there,” he said. Remembering Aurora’s penchant for using anything as a weapon, he said, “For heaven’s sake, Aurora, don’t hit the goat with a toilet plunger. Jude will never speak to us again.”

Martin called his housekeeper upstairs to sit with Maggie until the nurse arrived in a few minutes. Then he dialed Jude’s number as he sped to the barn. She and Wesley were waiting in front when he circled to pick them up. When Martin stopped, the two piled into his SUV. “Would you rather I take my truck?” she asked her father. “After eating ferns and skirts, the goat might—”

“No, there isn’t time.” Martin glanced back at his pristine SUV. “Let’s just hope his breakfast didn’t upset its stomach.” He stared across the seat at his daughter, who was still buttoning her jacket. “And I hope to heck this goat doesn’t have a hankering for parrot.”

“I think the culprit is female—Eloise,” Jude said, winding her long hair into a knot on top of her head. “I took a quick look around and didn’t see her with the herd. She likes to wander anyway and might have discovered a new hole in the fence.”

Dollar signs danced in front of Martin’s eyes. He’d just repaired the fence a few months ago when Jude’s dog, Mutt, invaded Aurora’s property. The incident had not been a particularly favorable way to meet his new neighbor who was setting up her bed-and-breakfast business. Thank goodness Aurora hadn’t held a grudge, and in fact, had become a considerate and helpful neighbor. Martin didn’t know how she would react to a full-fledged goat invasion.

* * *

BY THE TIME they’d entered Aurora’s property and driven around back, the situation had calmed. A middle-aged man had corralled Eloise with a cotton rope and was keeping her from further dietary damage.

Jude was the first out of the SUV. She skidded to a stop in front of her goat and placed a hand on each side of Eloise’s face. “You are one naughty goat,” she said. “Look at the trouble you’ve caused.” She took the end of the rope from the man. “I’m sorry about all this,” she said. “I’ll remove the nuisance right away.”

“No problem,” the man responded. “Gives me something to talk about at the golf club when I get home to Florida.” He handed his camera to Jude. “Do you know how to take a picture? I’d like to have proof that I tamed this mighty beast. Can you get one of me and the goat?”

“I should be able to,” Jude said.

“And another one with you in the picture. It would be nice if it looks like you’re praising me for my bravery and quick thinking,” the man added.

“Sure.” Martin watched in awe as Jude took the first picture and then squeezed close to the man with Eloise between them. The adults smiled. Jude smiled at the man. The goat contentedly chewed whatever had last gone in her mouth. Jude snapped a photo. Then as if realizing she’d thrown on yesterday’s barn clothes in her hurry to get downstairs this morning, she backed away rather than offend the man’s sense of smell. Her jeans had chicken feed stuck to the legs, and her shirt wasn’t even buttoned below her waist. She quickly tied the ends of the shirt into a makeshift bow.

Aurora came across the yard and stopped in front of Jude. “I’m sorry for the panic, dear,” she said. “The situation has been under control for the last few minutes.”

“No problem. You are definitely within your rights to expect an absence of goat on your property.” Realizing she was still the object of attention for Aurora’s guests, she walked Eloise toward Martin’s SUV. “Hey, Wes,” she called to her son. “Help Grandpa and me get this monster into the back.”

Wesley ambled over as if the last thing he wanted to do was lift the hindquarters of a goat. He’d probably been sleeping off wedding festivities when his mother woke him with an urgent call to “Get up!” this morning. Jude lowered a pair of ramps from the back of the SUV to the ground, and the three of them got Eloise inside. Then she and Martin went over to apologize once more to Aurora.

“Looks like we’ve got another hole,” Jude said. “But don’t worry, Aurora. I’ll keep Eloise on a leash until it’s mended.”

“And you get that helper of yours, Johnny Ray, to fix it, Jude,” Martin said, knowing he sounded unnaturally irritable. “I’ve spent enough on fence mending for one season.”

“Sure, Daddy. I’m on it.” She gazed around the now serene backyard scene. “Any damages, Aurora?” she asked. “Did Eloise eat someone’s smartphone or chew off a finger?”

“No, nothing so bad as that,” Aurora said. “Why don’t you have some tea and a cinnamon roll?”

Jude looked like she was about to accept the offer, but a pointed glare from her father followed by a nervous glance at the goat-filled SUV changed her mind. “Thanks, Aurora, but I think I’ll get Eloise home,” she said. “Dad, you can stay and I’ll pick you up in an hour.”

He agreed to the plan, watched his daughter and grandson drive his vehicle around to the front of Aurora’s home and then allowed Aurora to lead him inside her sunroom to a table set with a floral tablecloth and a pitcher of autumn wildflowers. His irritation suddenly vanished. Sometimes there was nothing so sweet as a glass of tea and a moment’s rest at Aurora’s Attic Bed-and-Breakfast.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with that one,” he said to Aurora. “Her projects are getting out of hand. She must have two-dozen goats over there.”

“Besides you, Wesley and the girls, Marty, those animals are Jude’s family. You can understand her attachment to them.” She smiled. “Not that I’m looking forward to another goat trespassing on my property anytime in the near future.”

“You’ve been very patient, Aurora. The girls are lucky to have you as a friend.” In the short time she’d lived next door, Aurora had managed to defuse several difficult situations in the Foster family. And Martin had found solace in being able to communicate with someone near his own age.

“And I’m lucky to have them,” Aurora said. “Now sit down and have some tea. I want to ask you about that young fella I saw Jude talking to at the wedding yesterday. They looked so cute together. If you ask me, a little love affair is just what that girl needs to get her mind off goats.”

“Aurora! A love affair?”

She laughed. “Don’t be such an old fuddy-duddy, Martin. You know what I mean. Jude needs romance in her life. Do you think it might happen?”

No, Martin hadn’t thought that could happen. He’d point-blank told Liam that Jude’s heart was a family matter. Besides, Jude was still in love with her husband, probably always would be. Was that a healthy way to live her life? Probably not. But Liam Manning hooked up with his wild, good-hearted Jude? No way. Three-piece suits did not go well with chaps and boots. And he wasn’t at all sure how he would feel if they were somehow attracted to each other.

CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_27b1d9e3-986f-53e0-9639-33448a2ee49e)

LIFE WAS FILLED with too many bittersweet moments. That was how Jude felt almost every day. Those moments happened when she visited her mother and remembered when Maggie Foster was vibrant and brilliant and loving. Or when she waved her sister Alexis off in a limousine to begin her honeymoon. Or when she thought of Paul, as she so often did, in so many ways. The freshest of the bittersweets occurred Monday morning as she shared a last cup of coffee with her sister Carrie before the airport shuttle came to get her.

“Don’t forget to take your meds,” Jude said. “I saw Dad stuffing your duffel with them this morning.”

“I won’t forget.” Carrie smiled over the rim of her mug. “Does everyone in my family think I enjoy having asthma?”

Jude chuckled. “Point taken.”

“Now, let’s get back to the subject of Liam Manning.”

“What do you want to say about Liam?”

“He’s gorgeous. How’s that for a start?”

“He’s decent looking, I’ll agree with that. But I’m not interested in him, gorgeous or otherwise.”

“So why are you so upset that he might not show up at the barn today?”

“Upset? I’m not upset.” Jude had confided in her sister this morning about the possibility of Liam coming out to the farm. Jude didn’t believe he would and had admitted this to Carrie. Since leaving the reception on Saturday night, she’d tried to put the entire incident out of her mind. Meeting someone on a starstruck night of love and having it actually materialize into something was not Jude O’Leary luck.

“Besides,” Jude said. “He was just being polite at the wedding. Dad coerced him into asking me to dance, and I guess small talk was a part of the deal.”

“But he said he was interested in your charities,” Carrie reminded her.

“I can’t believe that’s true. Oh, here, Liam. Here are my goats. Aren’t they adorable?” Jude mimicked her own voice. “Come on, Carrie, any interest he may have shown was just small talk.”

“All right. Maybe he’s not interested in your charities,” Carrie said, her eyes twinkling. “Maybe his interest has everything to do with you.”

Jude snorted, one of her unladylike habits. “Care Bear, be reasonable. If Liam wanted to date a Foster girl, he’d sure as heck pick you. Cute, petite, soft-spoken and smart. You’d be Liam’s dream girl.”

“According to who?” Carrie said. “He never even spoke to me at the wedding.”

“Because, unlike me, you were never lacking a dance partner! The poor man never had a chance to whisk you onto the floor.”

“I’ll bet he shows up,” Carrie said. “And just in case, I think you should put on a bit of makeup...” She held up her hand as if she believed Jude were going to protest the notion. “Not a lot, just a touch. A little blush, some eye shadow.”