They needed a baby-name book as well. Their few attempts at coming up with names they could agree on hadn’t got far. She’d done internet searches and made lists but a book was something they could cuddle up with on the couch. There was no rush but already she was nearly at the halfway point of the pregnancy. Perhaps a book would give them ideas for a name for the pup as well. They’d had a lot of trouble deciding on a name for Tarzan.

The toot of a car horn startled her and she looked ahead past the sheep. Some of them had reached the crossroad where a white four-wheel drive was pushing through the middle of the mob. Dan was waving his arms wildly to stop the sheep going onto the side road. There was another toot from the four-wheel drive and it cleared the sheep and sped away. Paula watched helplessly as some of the frightened animals doubled back and ran past her in the direction they’d just come from.

“Bloody idiots!” The sound of Dan’s voice carried on the wind as he turned and ran down the side road. Paula braked at the edge of the crossroad and waited. He managed to get behind the small group of runaways and bring them back to follow the main mob.

She lowered her window again as he arrived puffing, beside her.

“Who were those people?” she said.

“I don’t know but the idiots shouldn’t be allowed out on the road, driving through a mob of sheep like that. They could have hit some.”

“A few got behind me.” She glanced in her rear view mirror where she could see a small group of sheep moving away down the road.

“I know. You keep moving this lot forward and I’ll go back for the others. It’s not far to the gate. I’ve got it open. If you nudge them forward gently, the leaders should go in and the rest will follow.”

“Dan, I’m not sure…”

“I should have the rest back by then.”

He startled her with a thump on the roof of the car before he strode over to the tray top and climbed in. She edged the vehicle forward again. How on earth were these skittish sheep going to go through a gate when there was an open road in front of them?