“It’s good to see you again.” Fred greeted her with a kind smile and shook her hand. The skin on his palm and fingers was covered in callouses. Judging from that and the well-used four-wheeler, he probably did a lot of hands-on work. “It’s been a while. I was sorry to hear about your husband.”
“Thank you.” Bailey swallowed past the lump in her throat. “This is Nate Walker, a family friend.” She waited for the men to shake hands before she continued. “I can’t believe you might have found our missing goat. My sons have been so worried about her.”
“You can imagine our surprise when my wife found her eating the bushes in her rose garden.” He laughed with a shake of his head. “If you all want to follow me, I’ll lead you to the shop around back. I really hope she’s yours. I can’t imagine too many miniature goats running around.”
With that, Fred got back onto his four-wheeler and waited for them to rejoin the boys in the truck. They followed him past the house and garage and around the corner. A building that looked like a large shed came into view and there, in a small pen beside it, stood Petunia.
“It’s her!” The triumphant cry came from Seth shortly followed by a joyful shout from Jordan.
Bailey breathed a sigh of relief. “Praise God.” Not just because the goat was safe but because her boys no longer had to worry about their pet.
They piled out of the truck, and as soon as Petunia spotted them, she let out a series of long bleats.
Fred laughed loudly. “I guess that answers that question. I’m really glad you called me so quickly. I’m not sure that pen was going to hold her for long.”
The three adults watched as the boys ran to the goat and petted her through the slats in the fencing. Bailey had no doubt Fred was right. Petunia could get out of that pen anytime she wanted to.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Anson, for taking the time to keep her safe and let us know you’d found her.”
“Not a problem at all. I’m happy to help. My wife went by your store the other day for sunflowers and mentioned the flyers you’d handed out. I’m just glad we found her.”
Bailey was about to call the boys over again when Nate lightly touched the small of her back before speaking.
“Mr. Anson, has anyone asked you about selling your property recently? Or asked you questions regarding Thompson Family Farm?”
“I get an inquiry or two every year asking if we’re interested in selling.” He shrugged. “There’s no doubt someone could buy this place, split it into lots with new homes, and make a fortune. But Ginny and I aren’t interested in that. We raised our kids here and enjoy having enough room for them to stay with the grandkids when they visit. You know what I mean?”
“Absolutely.” Nate gave him a nod. “Can’t say I blame you. And no one has asked you about the Thompson farm?”
“Not a soul.” Fred looked over at the boys who were still lavishing the goat with praise and pats. “Your sons remind me of my own kids when they were that age. Time sure does fly by. I have grandkids not much older than them now.”
“It sure does.” Bailey couldn’t believe how much her boys had grown and changed over the last year or two. “Thank you again for taking care of Petunia. We’ll get her loaded into the truck and out of your hair.”
She hadn’t really thought Mr. Anson was behind everything, but as soon as they’d spoken to him, she knew therewas no way he was responsible. In some ways, it would’ve been easier if he had been.
Someone out there was determined to force Bailey to sell her home or destroy her business in the process. She prayed that they’d get a breakthrough in the case before things got worse.
Chapter Nineteen
Nate sat at Bailey’s kitchen table with both his phone and hers in front of him. He’d purchased three cameras and placed them at the main gate, the store entrance, and the front door of the house.
He’d expected Bailey to object to that last one, but she didn’t, which told Nate just how much all of this had shaken her.
Now, he was trying to connect the feeds to an app that would allow them to view the cameras from anywhere. Bailey said it was fine for him to add the app to his phone, and he promised her he would delete it once everything got sorted out.
She wandered into the living room, where the boys were playing with Minnie and being overly energetic. It was no wonder—they’d been cooped up in the store most of the day. “Hey, guys. I need you to tone it down before someone gets hurt.”
The boys agreed, but their energy levels didn’t come down much.
Nate gave a nod of satisfaction when the three feedsfinally loaded on Bailey’s phone. “I’ve got the cameras linked. Do you want me to show you how this works?”
She took a chair at the small table and scooted it next to his so she could see the screen more easily. Her shoulder brushed his briefly, and he did his best to ignore the scent of her shampoo or whatever it was that had her smelling like something soft and floral.
He explained how to view all three feeds together, how to enlarge each one, and then how to look up past instances of activity that would be recorded from now on.
“It should only record human activity. I told it to ignore animals; otherwise, you’d get an activity report for every bird or squirrel that moves on screen.”
Bailey accepted the phone from him and touched the feed showing the front gate. “This is great. Thank you.”
