Much Ado About You

“We’re surrounded by over a hundred acres of land here for nearly three hundred sheep,” Roane said as he jumped out and let Shadow out the back of the vehicle.

I hopped out and rounded the SUV, my eyes on the stone farmhouse. The sound of bleating sheep hit my ears, and although there was a faint hint of sea salt in the air, I mostly smelled grass, hay, and the slight sting of fertilizer. The odors weren’t strong, but I imagined on a windy day that breeze swept them from the fields to the farmhouse. “Three hundred sheep? That’s a lot, right?”

“Aye, more than some, less than others.” He took hold of my hand and led me toward the huge modern barn that sat adjacent to the farmhouse. Shadow trotted at our backs as we walked across a hard dirt road. “We rebuilt the barn five years ago.” We stopped at one of three green wooden barn doors that slid open on a wrought-iron rail. I peeked inside, the smell of hay, soil, musk, and something faintly chemical catching my nose. “We use this for lambing season, which you’ve thankfully missed.”

“Thankfully?” I pulled my head out of the large space. “Lambs are adorable.”

“This place”—he indicated the barn—“isn’t adorable during lambing season. Trust me.” With that, he led me around the back of the farmhouse, where an older but pretty substantial rectangular shed stood vertical to the house. There was a pen around the large shed, and the chickens walking around outside gave away its use. “Chicken shed,” Roane said anyway as we rounded the house to the other side.

The two largest buildings on this part of the land loomed over us, and I saw Bobby moving around inside one of them among a lot of sheep. Hence the bleating I’d heard as soon as we approached. The two buildings had no doors, just steel pens, and the corrugated iron walls curved up and over in a semicircle. The first building was messy with hay, and Bobby appeared to be mucking it out through a small door at the back. The second building, although filled with hay, was empty of sheep.

“They’re called hoop houses,” Roane explained. “We bring the sheep here during very hot weather, keep them from being out in the sun too long. They were built when we had less sheep, and they just fit, but we’ll need to build another to give them more room.”

The thought of those poor animals suffering in this heat made me frown. “What about the barn? Can’t they go in there?”

He shook his head. “We need that kind of climate for lambing, but we try to keep them out of enclosed spaces. It can cause respiratory problems.”

“Evie, Roane.” Bobby made his way through the sheep, pitchfork in hand. His T-shirt was soaked with sweat, and he wiped a hand across his forehead. “This weather is grand, eh.”

His tone was bland, but since he was sweating by the buckets and was red in the face, I decided that had been sarcasm.

“How are they?” Roane nodded to the flock in the hoop house.

“Aye, they’re fine.” Bobby grinned at me. “Enjoying the tour?”

“It’s interesting.”

“This is the end of it.” Roane’s lips twitched with amusement. “Nothing else to see, angel, but fields upon fields.”

“What about the arable farm?”

He flicked a look at Bobby before glancing over his shoulder to check on Shadow. “It’s all just the same except no animals. The hoop houses over there are for keeping hay and the barns for holding grain and barley.”

Shadow stood in the shelter of the farmhouse door. “Come.” Roane gestured to the house. “I’ll show you inside. My great-grandfather built this place.”

With a wave to Bobby, I followed Roane to the house. The farmhouse was rectangular with the door jutting out, built into a porch that looked like a mini house with its sharp triangular roof. There were two windows downstairs to either side of the door, and upstairs there were four windows. The windows were made of white wooden frames with six small glass panels in each.

As soon as Roane let us into the porch, I smiled. The porch had two windows on either side, allowing light into the small space. There was a bench under each window, covered in tartan blankets and cushions. An old-fashioned coat and umbrella stand stood in the corner beside a row of men’s shoes. It was fairly cool in the porch, a nice reprieve from the heat outside, and Shadow seemed to agree, sprawling across the cool slate tile floor.

Roane sat down on one of the benches and began to remove his Wellingtons. I followed suit, ridiculously relieved to get out of the hot boots. I pulled my sunglasses off my head, useless as they were up there, and set them beside me.