"What's going on in here - and out there?"
"We're trying to put a goat stanchion I ordered together - and not having much luck," Carmen said.
He paused beside them and turned a stern look on Carmen. "Where's your sling?"
"I took it off for a while. I'm not doing much, anyway."
"What's going on outside? Do you know there are men out there putting up a fence?"
Carmen nodded. "I hired them. They're fencing off an area for the goats to run. They'll clean up the brush and …"
"You hired them?" He demanded in a controlled voice. "Without discussing it with me?"
Oops. Maybe she should have troubled him with it. She glanced at Gerald, who was looking uncomfortable, and then Sam, who appeared more amused than concerned. Carmen turned her attention to Alex.
"Actually, I thought you'd be glad I didn't trouble you with it. I hired someone instead of trying to do it myself. I thought you'd be happy I was handling it."
"Do you know they're tearing up the fence behind the barn? Did you tell them what you wanted them to do?"
"Yes, I …"
"Did they understand?" he interrupted.
"I think so. I told them to …"
He swung around and walked out the door, leaving her to chase after him. She glanced back at Gerald and Sam before she stepped through the door. Gerald looked worried and Sam was shaking her head. There wasn't time to contemplate why.
Alex rounded the corner of the barn and addressed the man working on the area where the gate was going to be.
"Qué estás haciendo con ese muro?"
Jose stopped working and threw Carmen a questioning look.
"La señora me dijo que pusiera la puerta aquí." He responded.
Alex turned to Carmen. "What do you want a gate there for?"
She scowled up at him. "First of all, he can speak English. Second, I prefer not lifting the goats over the fence to get them into the barn, and third, if you'd let me finish …"
"You can't just put up a fence, Carmen. You have to get a survey."
This was getting out of control. She smiled at Jose.
"It's alright. Go ahead."
Without another word to Alex, she turned and strode toward the barn. There was no point talking to him while he was in this mood. He wasn't listening anyway. What happened between this morning and now?