Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Carmen jerked her arm out of the coat sleeve. "Josh wants to wear the pants, but he doesn't have much respect for a subservient woman. He says women should stay home and watch the kids, but I've heard him talk about some of the girls that do. He says they're too lazy to work."

Katie shrugged. "Some of them are. They got married so they wouldn't have to work. It's different with you. You have the goats."

Carmen slammed her hands on her hips and raised her brows at Katie.

"And he wants me to get rid of them. I rest my case."

Katie sighed. "So help him with his farm, start your horse ranch. What an opportunity? When you combine your property with his, you'll have over two hundred acres."

Carmen groaned. "Are we talking about a marriage or a dynasty?"

Carmen wiggled out of her coat and hung it on the rack. Why couldn't Katie understand that there was a principle involved? Josh didn't know about the horse ranch, and she wasn't about to tell him - not as long as he was holding the goats over her head like a club. For all he knew, the goats were her greatest dream. If he was so determined to crush that dream, how could she trust him with her future happiness?

"You know," she continued as she scooped grain into a stanchion, "it really galls me that Josh is always encouraging Lori with her work, but he never misses an opportunity to belittle mine.

Katie tossed her coat at the rack and watched anxiously as the pole danced around the concrete floor before settling down.

"Oh, I wouldn't take it personally. He can understand a career in real estate. Goats are a mystery to him - not to mention an embarrassment. Everyone teases him, you know - Josh and the goat lady. You know how he hates to be cut out of the herd."

"I know, and that's another thing that bothers me. What's wrong with being different? Everyone admires a person who does their own thing - as long as it's cool." She strode across the room to the stainless steel sink. "I'm going to make this dairy a success if it kills me." She turned on the faucet, plunging her hands under the icy stream of water and gasped. "And it just might."

Katie joined her at the sink. "You're so competitive. Which is more important? Proving you can make this dairy profitable, or enjoying your work?"