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that when they’re unsure of something. “They communicate with sounds and body language. It’s really amazing.”
    They all came over and gathered around, like they were inspecting us. I’ve been around cows before, and they pretty much just want to eat and poop and ignore you. But these animals seemed really smart, curious about us.
    Mr. Morris told us an ounce of alpaca fur is worth more than my weekly allowance, and they produce 6 to 10 pounds of fleece each year.
    “We’re shearing them just before we leave, so they’ll look a little different. It’s their summer buzz cut.”
    A big one stood off by itself out in the field.
    Mr. Morris said, “That’s Samson, one of our males. We keep them separated from the females until it’s time for them to breed.” He pointed to the corner of the barn. “Back there in the shadows is Whitney. She’ll have her baby in a couple of weeks, probably just after we get back from vacation.”
    Whitney had a rich brown coat and a white face. A tuft of lighter brown fur covered her eyes and made it look like she was wearing a stylish hat.
    Mr. Morris told us he used to work for a computer company in Denver that wanted to move him to California. “So I quit and bought this farm. Then I had to figure out what to do with it. Our kids are still small, and we homeschool them, so we thought about cattle or sheep, but they’re too messy. Then we heard about alpacas.”
    He lifted one of the animal’s legs and showed us its foot. It looked a little like the pad on a dog’s foot. “Cows have hooves that tromp down the grass, so we’d have to have hundreds of acres to raise them. But we can raise a lot of alpacas on a few acres.”
    “And alpacas aren’t messy?” Bryce said.
    Mr. Morris shook his head. “They’re like cats. They just go in one place.”
    “Who lives over there?” I said, pointing to a huge house near the mountain.
    “The Rugers. They got a daughter about your age.”

Chapter 26

    Ashley fell silent, and I knew why. Ruger was Denise’s last name.
    Mr. Morris showed us what to do. The alpacas ate in the field during the day but needed a supplement, which looked like small dog food pellets, added to their troughs in the afternoon.
    I was glad we wouldn’t be taking care of animals that would be on someone’s dinner table the next day. The worst that would happen to these was a painless haircut.
    “As for Whitney, just keep her calm. She’ll want to stay in the barn. If she gets spooked or acts stressed, that can affect the pregnancy, so you’ll want to call the vet.” Ashley was taking notes, and Mr. Morris handed her a card with the vet’s phone number on it. She copied the number down and stuck the card in her pocket.
    We were to come each morning and evening to feed and check on the animals. “Buck will look after them while you’re not here, but you’ll need to keep his water and food dish full too.” He showed us where the dog food was kept.
    “Thanks for calling,” someone said inside.
    I jumped. It certainly didn’t sound like anyone’s wife.
    “That’s Lewis, our parrot. My wife will tell you what to do with him. I’d like to duct tape his beak, but that’s me. Come back tomorrow morning, and we’ll run you through an average day.”
    “We’ll come over on our ATVs before church. That won’t scare them, will it?”
    Mr. Morris chuckled. “They might look up as you drive in, but that’s about it. Strange dogs or cats moving around their pens will upset them.” He gave Ashley the number to punch at the front gate. “Hey, you could spend a few nights here while we’re gone. We’ve got satellite TV and pizza in the freezer.”
    I thought I saw Ashley glance at Denise’s house. “We’ll see,” she said.

Chapter 27

    Mom was still nervous about the mountain lions, bears, and coyotes, but Sam convinced her that Buck would take care of us as well as the alpacas.
    The cool air felt good on my face as we rode through the field