What a Woman Wants (A Manley Maids Novel) by Fennell Judi

Author:Fennell, Judi [Fennell, Judi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

IT was late when they got home, even later once he’d helped her feed and water the menagerie. And muck out the stalls.

“Tell me why you want to do this day after day,” he said, dodging the gonad-seeking ram to hang her pitchfork on a hook on the wall that looked more like a trophy case than a place to store farm instruments. Someone had even decorated it with crown molding and other non-barnlike plaques and stuff. Livvy was right; the Martinsons were pretentious.

“All sorts of reasons. The alpaca wool is an investment because of the price it can bring, and the sheep’s wool is our daily bread and butter. Then there’s the milk from the goats and eggs from the fowl. All things I can use or sell.”

“And Reggie?”

She smiled when Reggie snorted at hearing his name. “Reggie is just for companionship. A guy had been trying to sell him for bacon. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Of course not.”

He could see her being horrified at that and picking up the little pig, cuddling him to her like a baby, crooning that he was safe with her. Her. The woman who didn’t want kids.

She had more maternal instinct than she knew what to do with.

“Plus, I sell off the pullets and lambs for more income. I’d love to keep them all, but it’s not possible. Although, once I sell this place, I can build a bigger barn and keep more of them.”

“Which means more mucking out.”

She shrugged, a stray curl falling over her shoulder to disappear inside her camisole . . .

What was it with her and camisoles? At least she had a shirt on over it this time, but those things hugged her curves in a way that wasn’t fair to the male population.

“Mucking out their stalls is a small price to pay for the companionship, love, and acceptance they give me.”

“Acceptance?”

Livvy tucked that stray curl behind her ear. Again. One of these days he was going to do it for her.

“Animals don’t judge you. If you take care of them, fulfill the promise you made to them, they’ll be your best friends. They even cut you some slack if you fall down on the caregiving so long as you aren’t cruel to them. People could learn a lot from animals.”

There was a century’s worth of pain laced through her words. He propped the pitchfork against the goat’s pen. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” She busied herself with picking the hay off the wall dividing the pens.

“Livvy.”

It took a good ten seconds before she stopped and looked up at him. “I’m okay, Sean. Thank you, but there’s no need. I learned a long time ago to depend only on myself. Sure, I’m angry at Merriweather, but in the end, anger benefits no one. It sucks you dry. Moving forward, focusing on the next step, the big goal, what you need to do to get there . . . that’s productive. Dwelling on might-have-beens is counterproductive.”

They both noticed that word.

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