Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade

Author:Victoria Schade [Schade, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2023-09-26T00:00:00+00:00

chapter twenty-one

It took everything in my power to keep from whooping.

I’d walked into the Mean Girl pen expecting more of the same long-distance glaring I’d been enduring from Darling, Petunia, and Thistle, but here they were, eating animal crackers directly from my hand.

They were tentative at first, taking a treat then backing away to eat it, but once they realized that I was essentially a frozen human treat machine they decided that crowding me was perfectly fine. I was shocked by how gentle their mouths were, and the way they studied me as they took the goodies. At one point Thistle tried to sample my fingerless glove along with the treat. And Petunia bleated, which I took as a good sign.

“Oh my gosh,” Patricia stage-whispered from the fence line. “You did it!”

“And now it’s your turn,” I whispered back. “I’m going to toss a bunch of cookies across the pen to distract them. Come in quietly when they go to eat them.”

I dug into my treat bag and crunched up a handful of crackers, then underhanded the crumbles just beyond where the goats were standing. They turned to start cleaning up the goodies and Patricia slid into the pen and walked over to me in slow motion. Thistle raised her head to glance at her but went back to eating without a complaint.

“I’m nervous,” Patricia admitted with a soft laugh. “I just want them to like me.”

“What’s not to like?” I laughed, bumping my shoulder against hers. “I’m no goat expert, but what’s true with dogs seems to also be true with goats: don’t push. Let them set the pace. Here, I brought the big guns for you.” I reached into the second compartment in my treat bag and gave her a handful of nickel-sized balls. “I made these; they’re oatmeal, molasses, and pumpkin seeds from my Howl-o-Ween pumpkins.”

Patricia looked at the goodies then up at me with wide eyes. “You made them? Chelsea, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted you to give them something they’ve never had before, to make sure they associate you with extra-special stuff.”

Petunia and Thistle were back at my feet, snuffling at my boots and looking up at me expectantly. Darling hovered behind them.

“Go ahead and give them one,” I said.

Patricia held out her hand and both goats sniffed at it, suspicious but still governed by their bellies. Thistle gulped first and wagged her tail.

“Wagging is good, right?” I asked.

“Very good!” Patricia grinned. “My compliments to the chef.”

Petunia bumped her way closer and took the treat in her lips, rolling it around a few times before actually eating it. Darling seemed to realize that something exciting was going down in flavor town and she high-stepped in front of her friends to consider what Patricia was offering.

“Here we go,” I said in a low voice. “Does the Queen approve?”

If a goat could look judgy, Darling was excelling at it, extending her long neck to sniff at the treat, wearing a frown. She twisted her head, then finally deemed it worthy.

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