Page 54 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
There was the distinct sound of metal clattering, followed by the loud and annoyed honking of Granik’s geese. A moment later, Abraxis came running around the corner in a decidedly suspicious manner. As if to confirm his mischief, his horn was still glowing. There was another round of clattering, and then I heard the sound of hooves. The mini-mini Highland cows raced from the back of the house and rushed off in the opposite direction of the snufflecorn.
“What did you—” Granik was asking when we spotted the result of whatever mischief Abraxis had started.
The entire herd of shrieking goats appeared, several of them with laundry wrapped around their heads or in their mouths. The clothesline had managed to get tangled between the goats, and now they were all upset and racing around nonsensically in full panic. One of the goats had already fainted and was lying stiff beside the water trough, a pair of panties wrapped around its leg.
When Andulf, the leader of their miscreant crew, finally spotted Granik, a look of relief crossed the goat’s face.
And then, he opened his mouth.
“No, no, no, no,” Granik called, but it was too late. Andulf belted as loud a protest as he could.
A moment later, I felt the goat’s truth spell wash over me.
“Granik!” I called, pulling his attention away from the goats. “Granik. I need you to hear me.”
“Junie?”
“Granik, I love you!” I shouted, feeling tears well in my eyes. “I love you and not just as a friend but with my whole heart. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before. I must be very stupid. I love you more than anything in this world. Please, please don’t make your declaration of bachelorhood. Please. I don’t know what we are going to do now, but I can’t live without you. Please. Granik. I love you.”
Granik set down the feed buckets he was carrying.
“You love me?” Granik asked as he made his way toward me. “Really love me?”
“With all my heart.”
“I love you too, Junie,” he said with a shuddering inhale. “I don’t want to make a declaration. If I do, it means I can’t be with you. And I love you. I love you!”
With that, Granik ran toward me and pulled me into his arms, squeezing me tight. When he finally pulled back, he looked down at me.
“You love me,” he whispered.
“Yes.”
“You mean it?”
“Yes!”
“You swear on…on all the sandwiches, ever, in the whole world?”
“I do,” I said with a laugh. “But I’m also under your stupid goat spell, so I can hardly lie.”
“Hmm…Want to get married on Saturday?”
“I already have a dress,” I said, then laughed.
With that, Granik pulled me close and set a deep kiss on my lips.
We were surprised by cheers and claps from the porch.
Pulling apart, we turned and looked to find Granik’s family gathered there.
“Gree-Gree,” he called. “It was all a lie. Juniper and I were fake engaged, so I didn’t have to marry some stranger. I’m sorry we lied to you.”
His grandmother laughed. “I know, boy.”
“You do?”
“Of course. There isn’t even a girl named Tigga Grapplefist. We sent Larrik to see you with a lie.”
