Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Katie laughed. "So you've just described Josh."

Carmen wrinkled her nose. "Oh, and one more thing - religious . . . and understanding."

"That's two more . . . and too much. Josh is religious, but there aren't many men who would claim to understand women. You sure you wouldn't settle for tall, dark and handsome?"

Carmen sighed heavily. "I know, Josh."

Katie shrugged and turned her palms up in resignation. "I'm just trying to pry your eyes open."

Carmen continued to work with the goat. Her eyes were wide open - probably for the first time in her life. Open enough to see that Josh would be a fine catch . . . for someone.

She tried to focus on the job at hand. It would be at least four more weeks before the dairy would be in full production again, but each goat received a ration of oats and corn as well as a thorough examination. It was a ritual they had been performing morning and night for the past two weeks. The brief winter rest was over and the grueling days of spring and summer were in the near future.

Into this chaos, Katie had invited her sophisticated brother. The supply of chevon and chicken in the freezer was getting low, but they still had plenty of home canned corn and green beans. He was bound to be bored, cold and disappointed. The best she could hope for was that he wouldn't spend much time in the dairy.

They completed the morning chores and then Katie headed out to pick up her brother at the airport. Carmen held the gate open as the old truck sputtered through - and then died. She tapped on the window and Katie rolled it down.

"Are you sure you can handle this thing on snow?"

Katie laughed shortly as she whirled the motor over and pumped the accelerator. "This thing wouldn't be easy to handle on a red carpet, but I think I can make it all right. The snow is getting mushy. If I don't get stuck in the mud, I should be able to make it to the highway." The engine turned over and backfired, black smoke frothing out of the tail pipe. Katie scraped gears and smirked through her hand.

"See you in a little while."

Carmen glanced up at the sky. The clouds were breaking up and the wind had switched around to the south. It was a good twenty degrees warmer than when they got up this morning and the snow was even beginning to melt - a sure thing to bring on kidding.