Daisy and Boss: 4 - Casa de Fields
#4 of Daisy and Boss
Ah! Another shortish update. lol I'm just trying to keep this story updated as often as I can so I finish it! Just like the last one, this one is clean with the promise of more savory bits to come and it takes off directly from chapter 3. Warnings are for future chapters. Let me know if you spot something gregariously wrong, I'm sure I missed something! lol
-Lilly
_ _ Daisy and Boss: 4 - Casa de Fields
The house was set in among a stand of lovely maple and aspen trees and some battered looking azaleas. None of them had their leaves due to winters onset but Boss could see that someone had lovingly pruned the hedges into attractive round rows. The house itself was a low ranch style with cedar siding and a red roof. The porch ran the length of the front wall and was covered, with natural burl pillars and railings. Lights were on in every window and as they got out of the car and sprinted the short distance from the drive up the walk to the front door, Boss' keen ears picked up a commotion inside. A thundering of hooves preceded the front door being yanked open nearly off its hinges.
"DAISY!" Cried the group that greeted them.
"Kids!" Daisy cried back. At least six goats clustered at the door, all girls ranging from very young to almost Daisy's age. All different colors they reminded Boss of a herd of little painted ponies, splashes of grey, black, brown, and white in a flurry of bright eyes, floppy ears, and clattering hooves. Daisy laughed out loud and thrust her arms into the mess of them as they leaped on her before they could get past the welcome mat. They bleated, squeaked and giggled all in one clambering riot before a loud booming voice caused all heads to turn back inside the house.
"Well let them in for goodness sake! Back off kids! Back off! Clover! Belle! Don't you two have some homework to do!? It's almost bedtime." Across the large living room strode a big grizzled buck and a mature doe right behind him. Kale Fields was almost entirely black, with faded brown highlights at his throatlatch and the tips of his ears and long sweeping horns that spiraled outward to either side. His mane fur was long and shaggy and stuck up in the back like a riled cat. He snorted at the youngest goatlings and sent them scattering across the carpet to sit neat and well behaved on couches and chairs. The two oldest retreated to the next room with mumbled goodbyes to Daisy and Boss. The doe that had entered with Kale was so obviously Daisy's mother that Boss found himself staring as she rushed over to give Daisy a hug. Flossy Fields was tall and graceful with the same black and tan markings as Daisy, her fur was as short as velvet and shined with health, her eyes were golden although much lighter than Daisy's amber. They were more of a sunshine yellow, and at the moment they were swimming with tears. Kale rolled his head towards the ceiling in a silent plea for peace and order. He turned kindly eyes that were a startling grass green color on Boss and Daisy and waved them in.
"Well don't just stand there with the door open, Sweetheart, get in here. Your Mother is dying to serve our guest some hot tea and damned oat bread." He grumbled goodheartedly in his gravelly voice. Flossy glared at him and flicked her fingers in irritation as Daisy turned to shut the door. She set her bag of wet things down on a wooden bench as her mother beamed brightly up at Boss.
"Ignore him, he was worried, too. And he's been cooped in the house all day with the kids." And to Daisy, in a softer tone, "The rain kept everyone inside pretty much right after you left, dear." Flossie reached out and patted her on the cheek fondly. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right."
"Well I'm home now. It wasn't a big deal." Daisy shrugged off her coat and hung it by the door.
"You have to stay for something hot to drink, at least!" Flossy fussed at Boss. Daisy nodded her agreement.
"Well, sure, that sounds nice actually. Do you have coffee?" Boss asked as he stripped off his brown leather duster and placed it on an empty hook alongside a jumble of kids sweaters and jackets.
"Of course we do, dear. Just make yourself at home in the living room, I'll go get that started." Flossy quipped cheerfully. When he turned back he saw out of the corner of his eye Daisy's parents exchanging a strange look. He would have thought more of it except he was pretty much mobbed by questions the minute Daisy and he stepped into the living room and sat down. There were still four young kids there staring up at him in awe.
"How tall are you?" Piped a black doeling with blue eyes. Immediately followed by a similarly inspired question from a fawn colored doe with deep brown eyes and a white stripe down her throat.
"Are you like, a basketball player?"
"Why are you wearing a suit?" one black and white kid with ears that were too big for her face blurted as the white lawdog sat down in an overstuffed armchair that Kale cleared for him by shooing out the kid that was curled in it.
"This is what I normally wear to work! I'm just shy of six foot four inches... on a good day. But I'm not very good at basket ball." He told the little goats as he looked around at the cozy living space and the many family pictures that covered walls and bookshelves. The couches were older but comfortable looking and were arranged loosely around a fireplace that had a wrought iron screen pulled down over it. The main heat for the house seemed to be coming from an electric oil stove against one wall. But the fireplace still looked like it got used often.
"Did you drive Daisy home?"
"Did she get lost?"
"Was she scared?" That last one came from what looked to be the piebald kid's twin. She was actually nibbling on one of her sister's ears.
"Yes, I drove her home. Because it was raining very hard, but Daisy's pretty tough, I'm sure she would have been fine." Boss nodded. Daisy smiled and took the ear out of the kids mouth. Kale himself came in after talking with Flossy in the kitchen and plunked down on the couch next to the spot Daisy had claimed and gave a grunting sigh as he was immediately climbed upon by the two littlest goats. They clambered and wiggled with elbows and hooves that Kale patiently suffered until they settled on a sharing arrangement on lap space. Boss chuckled.
Daisy watched him subtly from under her lashes, this had been the first time she had seen him out of the brown duster jacket and his dove gray suit, though a bit wrinkled, fit him superbly. He was lean and long legged, and the depth of his chest suggested a level of fitness that made her feel strangely warm inside. She found the way he lounged in the chair almost bonelessly incredibly disconcerting. Movement at his feet brought her attention to his long curling tail that moved occasionally in sweeping motions at his feet. It was impeccably combed and pristinely white even after a day of running around in the rain. She wanted to run her fingers over it and feel if it was as soft as it looked.
"Isn't that right, Daisy?" Kale grumbled next to her and her head snapped up.
"Uh..." She hadn't even heard the conversation. Boss saw her panic and came to her rescue with a glint of something in his gaze. He had been watching her as well and hadn't missed the attention she'd paid to his tail. He'd been moving it from side to side in small increments just to watch her eyes follow the motion.
"So are all of these kids yours Mr. Fields?" Boss asked. Kale shook his head indicating the two black and white twins on his lap.
"These two are my grandkids, Velvet and Lilac. My son Wheaton married three years ago and these two are his oldest. We're kidsitting, cuz someone's getting their room repainted today, and it's still a little fumey for them to sleep there. And we got plenty of room." He scruffed the top of the twins heads briskly with his knuckles to a chorus of indignant bleating. Daisy pointed at the other two doelings.
"Oaks off at college and these are my youngest sisters Petunia and Mayflower. They're eleven. The black and faun twins waved. Clover and Bluebelle are next under me and they're still in high school, they're both sixteen. They've got a test tomorrow, that's why Dad sent them in the other room."
Kale snorted. And turned his head towards the other room and listened carefully a second before giving Daisy a look.
"It's actually TOO quiet in there." He pointed out. "Makes you wonder what's actually going on."
"Belle never studies. That's why her grades are so crappy." The brown doe quipped matter of factly. The black doe nodded sagely in agreement, her blue eyes somber and dissaproving.
"May! Don't say that about your sister." Flossy scolded as she walked in carrying a tray with mugs of steaming coffee and tea in one hand and a wide wooden bowl piled high with slices of home made bread. "She's studying right now, isn't she?"
"That's highly debatable." Kale muttered as he got to his feet and took on of the trays from Flossy, setting it down on a nearby end table made of birch.
A voice from the adjoining room piped up in indignation just as Flossy was handing him a cup of coffee that smelled just wonderful.
"We can totally hear you guys!" came from the other room. "And May, your grades are only good because you cheat! You little eggsucker!"
"Belle! No name calling in this house!" Flossy barked sharply and then turned back to Boss slightly flustered. "Do you take cream or sugar?"