Page 11 of Charm and Conquer

"Don't worry about the hair." Katie gives me a hug on the way to her car. "It was worth it to spend time with the kids."

I rub my temples. The class might have been fun, but I spent most of it worried a goat would pee on someone or eat more hair or catch someone with a sharp hoof. "I'm not sure I should continue with goat yoga."

Katie's eyes widen. "You have to. Seriously. I'm going to tell all my friends about it."

I'm not exactly in the position to turn down potential new clients. "Okay. I'll send out a schedule by the end of the week."

She claps and bounces in place. "Thank you!" She hugs me again and calls out a 'bye' as she jogs to her car.

The other class members seem equally happy and throw compliments my way as they head out. Dani and Honey lead the kids back to their pasture and I sink down to sit on my yoga mat and just breathe for a moment.

"Did you get anything usable?" I ask my friend, Noah, as he hands over my phone. If I'd been doing this right, I'd have set up lighting and gotten posed pictures, as well as video of the class. I've found that small-town Catalpa Creek clients get nervous if there's too much fuss. They'll sign the waiver to have their images used, but they don't like to have it shoved in their faces that they're being filmed or photographed.

"I may have gotten distracted. Hopefully, there's something you can use." He's not meeting my eyes, staring off into the distance and running a hand through his curly dark hair. Noah is one of the most laid-back people I know, but he's pretending to be at ease right now.

I press play. The first few minutes are bouncy and all over the place, but he gets into a rhythm around the fourth minute and he's actually getting some pretty cute video of the goats interacting with the class. Then, the focus swings dizzyingly out to the left and zooms in on Daisy, walking from the house to the pasture in jeans, boots, and an adorable fisherman knit sweater.

"Seriously, Noah?"

He doesn't answer, but rocks back on his heels, staring out at the pastures. I fast forward, but there's about twenty-five minutes of either Daisy or the pastures while he's clearly hoping Daisy will come back. He got enough of the class for me to make two or three very short videos, which should be enough to liven up my pages.

I squint up at my friend, but he won't meet my gaze. "Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

"I don't feel anything. It's just been a while since I've seen her and…" He rocks forward onto his toes and finally meets my gaze, a sort of desperate longing on his face. "She's my best friend, Clover. Whatever I'm feeling will pass."

He stalks off before I can tell him he's being an idiot. Daisy met Noah first, in college, and they roomed together when she moved to New York City to work in publishing. She sent him to me when he needed a place to crash in California when he was thinking about moving out there. He and I have been friends ever since, but it's nothing like the friendship he has with Daisy. They talk on the phone every day.

Noah's a doctor who's looking to open his own clinic in Catalpa Creek, and he's been living with us while he tries tofind the right property. Since Daisy got back, he's been with her almost constantly. I've long suspected Noah has more than platonic feelings for Daisy, and this confirms it.

I go back to the start of the video and watch it again, marking where I need to make cuts. When a soft, furry head nuzzles into my lap, I let out a little shriek and toss my phone across the yard like that's going to save me.

The goat, whose head is resting on my lap, his legs curled up under him, is unperturbed by my outburst.

"Um, hey there, little one." I pet his soft head and his eyes drift closed. He is such a sweetheart.

"What is your name?" I ask in a low voice as I continue to pet him. Dani and Honey named all the goats for the class, but this goat has mottled brown and white fur just like four other kids.

"His name's Barley Hopper." Honey squats in front of us and pets Barley's head. "Looks like the class wore him out."

His ears wiggle like he knows we're talking about him, but he doesn't open his eyes. "What do you think?" I ask. "Want to do more classes, or is it too much work?"

"More classes," Dani says as she sits on the grass next to Honey. "The farm can use that kind of money on the regular."

I'm giving sixty percent of what I made from the class to the farm. I would teach for free and give them all the money, but I have a gym to buy.

"The clients want more and are talking about telling their friends," I say.

Honey squeals and claps without actually letting her hands touch so she doesn't startle the goat. "If you get enough people coming here to take classes, maybe you won't need to buy the gym."

I sigh. "I can't make enough money from these classes to live on through the seasons when it's too hot or too cold to holdthem. If I have any hope of building enough business to stay in Catalpa Creek, I need that gym."

"Aren't there other buildings you could buy and make into a gym?" Dani asks, her arms wrapped tight around her knees. "Grant says the gym owner really likes Asher and wants to sell the gym to him, but Asher doesn't have the money together yet."

I wish I was a goat so I could lay my head on someone's lap and go to sleep until someone else figures out how to solve all my problems.

"There aren't any properties available that come with gym equipment and locker rooms included. Plus, there's a lot of unused space in that building I can easily make into yoga and pilates studios. There's even a second floor Russell uses for storage. There's enough room up there for two more studios. I could even add a spin class. I have to havethatgym and Asher the arrogant is just going to have to get over it."

"Arrogant?" Honey scrunches up her nose. "I didn't get that vibe from him. Besides, you said he's like a golden retriever. Those are not arrogant dogs."