"Okay, I'm going to say it. You smell like a farm."
When Ezekiel spoke, Cassandra looked up to see that Jake had entered the main part of the Annex from one of the side corridors. He rolled his eyes at Ezekiel's comment, but continued on his way towards the desk she was sitting at, a small smile on his face.
"Got something I think you might like to see, Cassie," he said, tipping his head back to indicate the way he had come.
Well, that was interesting. Jake, when not pouring through the vast number of texts in the Annex archives, had a tendency to poke around in the many rooms that held some of the odder things in residence. Sometimes he did this alone, other times he trailed after Jenkins, learning all there was to know about the Library.
"Ooh, What?" she asked, taking his outstretched hand and letting him pull her from her seat. She knew he wouldn't be looking at her with that smile if it wasn't something good.
Instead of answering, he just shook his head. "That'd spoil the surprise," he said with a playful wink and led her out of the room, Ezekiel following so as not to be left out.
It didn't take them long to reach one of the myriad of doors and step through it...seemingly onto a sunny farm yard. Jenkins was standing by a pen, talking to whatever was kept in it.
As they drew closer, Cassie gasped. "Baby Goats!"
"Uh huh," Jake agreed, pointing to the goat Judson was speaking to. "She just had kids a few weeks ago. They're starting to get bouncy, so I thought…."
"You thought right," Cassandra said, hurrying over to the pen. "A few years ago, I was seeing a nice young woman who made and sold goat cheese at the Farmer's Market. I went out to her farm a few times and got to see the goats."
"Why is that one using the other one as a trampoline?" Ezekiel asked, pointing to a pair of goats.
Jake chuckled. "Cuz they're fundamentally cute little assholes. Boots especially."
"You named him Boots?" Cassandra and Ezekiel chorused, though in far different tones.
"Yeah...on account of the black lower legs," Jake said, looking slightly embarrassed, but Cassandra just smiled at him and he relaxed. "Wanna go in and play with them? They like attention."
"I'm out," Ezekiel said. "Barnyard shenanigans are not my cup of tea."
"Speaking of tea, I could use a cup," Jenkins said, then looked at Jake. "Gertie said Flower is having some digestion issues, so don't overtax her."
"Got it," Jake assured him as he climbed into the pen behind Cassie, who was already crouched down to pat on of the cute little animals. He sat near her and Boots immediately climbed him so as to use his shoulder as a launching pad from which to tackle his siblings.
As much as Cassie enjoyed running around on adventures, a peaceful day in a baby goat pen made for a wonderful respite, Cassie thought. "Thanks for bringing me here, Jake."
"Anytime, Cassie. Anytime."