Fool's Gold Collection Volume 3: Almost Summer / Summer Days / Summer Nights / All Summer Long

Dante was right. Giving away a few acres for Heidi and her goats made no sense. When the judge ruled and he got the ranch, she would be out, and he would have it all.

* * *

HEIDI WAITED ANXIOUSLY while Cameron McKenzie listened to Persephone’s heartbeat. He’d already examined the goat, checking her legs and hooves, feeling her pregnant tummy. He removed the stethoscope from his ears.

“She’s fine.”

Heidi released the breath she’d been holding. “You’re sure? I can’t believe how far she walked today. All the way to the construction site and back.”

“Goats walk. They like it. She’s a healthy girl.” Cameron stood and petted the goat. Persephone nuzzled his hand.

“Now, if only we could figure out how to keep Athena contained,” May said from her place by the door of the goat house.

“She’s a smart girl,” Cameron said, packing up his bag. “You’re going to need a more secure lock on the gate.”

“This is my third attempt to find a lock she can’t open,” Heidi said. “It’s tough having a goat who’s smarter than me.”

“We should put Rafe onto the problem,” May told Heidi. “He’s good at that sort of thing.”

Heidi wasn’t sure there was anything Rafe wasn’t good at, which made him dangerous. She couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him, wondering what he was doing and when she would see him next. When he smiled, she felt all gooey inside. The man was trouble, and she already had enough problems.

The three of them walked out of the goat house. Cameron looked past the barn, to the corral where the three llamas grazed.

“You’re doing wonders for my large-animal practice,” he told May. “I’ve handled a few alpacas, not so many llamas. I’ll read up on them.”

“There are sheep, too,” May told him.

“Sheep are easy,” he said. “Any others on the way?”

May smiled. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

Uh-oh. “Does Rafe know?” Heidi asked.

“Of course not. He would tell me I’m being silly. You’ll have to wait and see, like everyone else.”

Heidi held up both her hands. “I’m okay with that.” She glanced toward the house, where Rafe was on his cell phone, pacing back and forth on the porch, obviously in an intense conversation with someone.

“I look forward to whatever else you bring to the ranch,” Cameron said. “Nice to meet you, May.”

“You, as well.”

They shook hands. Cameron turned to Heidi. “You okay now?”

“Yes. Thanks for coming. I guess I’m an overly concerned goat parent.”

“I like that in my clients. You know how to get in touch with me.”

He walked to his truck and climbed in.

“What a nice young man,” May said, as Cameron started the engine, then waved before turning his truck around and driving away. “Very handsome.”

Heidi thought about Cameron’s dark hair and green eyes. “I guess. I don’t think of him that way.”

“Is he married?”

“Yes. Cameron got married a couple of months ago. But it wouldn’t matter if he was single. He’s not my type.”

“No chemistry?”

“None.”

“I see.” May glanced toward the porch. “It’s hard to predict which way the heart will fall.”

Heidi opened her mouth, then closed it. Talk about a minefield. She was going to stay safely out of that conversation, she thought. If she was smart, she would also stay away from Rafe, but she didn’t seem to be very bright when it came to him.

Fine—she would risk her feelings, but she would stay out of his bed. Because to cross that line would be to gamble with everything she had.

* * *

THE FOOL’S GOLD SPRING Festival always fell on Mother’s

Day weekend. Many a father had taken advantage of that fact, bringing his wife to the event and letting her choose her own gift. Sunday morning, the food vendors served brunch fare, and the jewelry designers did an especially brisk business.

The weekend celebration started on Friday evening with a chili cook-off. The winners (and losers) sold their entries all weekend long. Saturday morning, there was a parade featuring kids on bikes and pulled in wagons, all decorated with flowers and ribbons. Family dogs accompanied the children, the furry family members also festively dressed.

Rafe winced as a Great Dane in a dress strolled by.

“That’s just wrong,” he muttered. “What happened to dog dignity?”

Heidi laughed. “She looks adorable.”

“She’s humiliated.”

Heidi looked at the dog’s happy face and wagging tail. “I think she’s channeling her inner diva. Maybe next year I’ll dress up Athena and bring her to be in the parade.”

“She’ll eat the dress.”

“Maybe. But she’ll be pretty until then.”

The streets were crowded with locals and tourists. Even though it was still a couple of hours before noon, the smell of barbecue filled the air. Heidi sniffed the scent.

“You did say something about lunch, right?” she asked.

“Don’t worry. I’ll feed you.”

After she’d come in from milking, she’d found Rafe sitting at the kitchen table. Weekends had a different rhythm at the ranch. The hired construction guys had the two days off. While Rafe often went out and continued the construction projects on his own, the pace always seemed slower.

After she’d stored the fresh milk in the mudroom refrigerator, he’d surprised her by asking her if she wanted to go to the festival with him. She’d known that saying yes was risky, but she had been unable to resist. So here they were, blending in with the other people watching the parade.