She frowned over at him. “Birthed?”
“No, someone dropped them off. Daryl has been letting a few other ranchers know that if they have trouble animals, they can drop them off for rehab.”
“You work with goats? Aren’t they pretty stupid animals?” She chuckled.
He stilled his horse, and she pulled her horse to a stop too.
“Lady Di would be shocked if she heard you talk about her kind like that,” he said, shaking his head.
Kara laughed even more. “You have a goat named Lady Di?”
“She came with the name, and she’s as intelligent as… well.” He motioned to the horse she was riding. “Whatever her name is.”
“James,” she supplied, and he smiled and leaned down and took a closer look at the horse.
“Right, sorry ol’ chap.” He started walking Bolt again. “James and Larry.” He shook his head with a chuckle. “Nice names for horses.”
“That’s Bolt, right?” Kara motioned to his horse.
“Yup.” He gave Bolt a pat on the neck.
“James is pretty smart. You’re telling me a goat could be as smart as James here?” she asked.
He glanced sideways at her. “We could wager on it?”
She laughed. “Right.”
“Chicken?” He egged her on.
She pulled James to a stop again, and he and Bolt had to back step a few steps to be neck and neck with them.
“What kind of wager?” she asked.
“Well, we could run them through simple commands at first.”
“No, I mean, what would we bet?” she corrected.
He thought about it. “If I win…”
“If I win, you stop coming around and trying to run the ranch,” she interrupted.
He felt like he’d been kicked in the gut. “Trying to get rid of me?” he asked, trying to sound lighthearted.
“No, it’s just…” She turned a little pale. “No, it’s just…” she said again. “I’ve waited my entire life to run this place. By myself.”
He nodded and took a deep breath. “If I win, you go out on a date with me.”
Her eyes went wide.
He held out his gloved hand and waited. She hesitated for a split second, then shook his hand.
“I won’t lose. James here is our smartest horse.” She lifted her chin slightly.
Nick smiled. “What do you say you ride him over to my place in the morning, and we can see who is smarter. A dumb goat or an old gelding.”
She nodded slightly. “First thing in the morning.”
He started to turn Bolt back towards his place but stopped when she called after him.