4. Bowen

four

Bowen

I s this really what my life has been reduced to? Chasing after goats?

The tiny goat named Little Bit is finally trapped in a corner by the barn. I make my move, lunging to the left, grasping her around the middle, and hauling her up so her body is resting against my chest. She feels so small in my arms—her little body shaking.

"Shh, Little Bit. I've got you. I won't let anything bad happen to you." I run my hand over her head as she leans it against my shoulder. Her body stops shaking, and she begins to bah as we round the corner to see three shocked faces. "What?" I instinctively yell, causing Little Bit's body to start shaking again.

Aubree rushes to my side, whispering soothing words to the tiny goat. The soft-spoken words of comfort pierce through my rough exterior, and I find my initial anger slipping away. A feeling of contentment washes over me as I watch Aubree's small hand run through the goat's fur. A vision of Aubree's hands running through my chest hair as she rides me pops into my head, and I'm instantly hard.

Shit.

My body stiffens. I'm not here to seduce Coach Davis's niece. I'm only here for a few weeks to prove I can control my anger and regain my spot on the Minnesota Norse hockey team. That's where I belong in Minnesota, not Iowa. And certainly not here on a goat farm. Even if the goat farmer is a gorgeous little blonde with pale blue eyes and curves, I could get lost in for days.

Aubree glances at me as if she heard my thoughts. Her eyes search my face, making me want to pull her into my arms and hold on to her forever.

Where the hell did that idea come from?

"I better finish cleaning her up." I brush past Aubree and stride back to my cleaning station, breaking the spell.

"Dude, what was that?" Kyson walks over to my cleaning station with a medium-sized black and white goat whose coloring makes her look like she is wearing black boots hot on his heels.

"What was what?" Reluctantly, I set Little Bit on the ground. Surprisingly, she doesn't bolt as I expected her to. She glances up at me with a bah as if telling me to hurry up and get on with her bath before she changes her mind. A smile crosses my mouth, the muscles feeling rusty from little use.

When was the last time I smiled?

For the life of me I can't remember.

"You hugging a goat like it was your long lost child or something." River joins the conversation with a goat I recognize as Lady Thea following him like his shadow.

She's a fickle little thing, moving on from Tate to River so quickly. I wonder if she's like her owner.

Does Aubree move from man to man as quickly?

Another vision of Aubree pops into my head, but this time, she's pleasuring not just me but River and Kyson, too.

Where did that thought come from and why does it turn me on even more thinking about sharing her with River and Kyson?

"It's nothing." I scoff. "The sooner we prove to Coach Davis's sons that our anger issues are under control, the sooner we can go back to playing for the Norse." I turn my back to them, concentrating on cleaning the tiny goat in front of me instead of the empty feeling that crosses my body.

It's the same empty feeling I felt when my parents left me with my mean, spiteful grandfather when I was thirteen. Too tired to deal with my anger themselves, they took me to the one man they knew could whip the anger out of me. Little did they know my anger was stronger than an old man's belt.

"So that's the plan—prove our anger issues are under control by doing everything she tells us to do." River nods to where Aubree stands out of hearing range, washing her own goat.

"Unless you want to spend the rest of your hockey career trapped on a farm tending to goats when you're not playing hockey." I watch their faces, waiting for my words to sink in, but they're both looking toward Aubree and her smiling face as she talks to the goat she's washing. And instead of hatred or dread in their eyes, I see hope and longing. The same look, I'm sure, is shining in my eyes when I look at Aubree.