she had to admit that riding a horse wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was actually enjoying the experience. And if that wasn’t unusual enough, they were traveling across a deserted expanse of land where wild animals roamed free and she wasn’t all that afraid of being something’s next meal. Unbelievable!
Fee glanced over at the man riding beside her. What was it about Chance that could get her to do things that were totally out of character for her and without much protest on her part?
Staring out across the land, she knew exactly why she was willing to step out of her comfort zone and try new things. She trusted Chance—trusted that he wouldn’t ask anything of her that she couldn’t do and wouldn’t allow anything to harm her.
The realization caused her heart to skip a beat. She didn’t trust easily and especially when it came to men. The fact that she had already placed her faith in Chance was more than a little disturbing. Why was he different?
It could have something to do with the fact that so far, he was exactly what he said he was—a hard-working rancher who was more interested in drawing attention to the quality of the beef he raised than being in the limelight himself. Or maybe it was the fact that he was vastly different from any of the men she knew in L.A. Although great guys, most of them would rather sit behind a desk in a climate-controlled office than be outside getting their hands dirty.
She wasn’t sure why she trusted Chance, but one thing was certain: she was going to have to be on her guard at all times. Otherwise, she just might find herself falling for him and end up out of a job.
* * *
As they rode up the trail leading to the north pasture, Chance was proud of the way Fee had taken to horseback riding. At first, she had been extremely apprehensive about getting on a horse, but she’d at least had the guts to try. That was something he admired.
In fact, there were a lot of things about her that he appreciated. She was not only courageous, she was dedicated. He didn’t know any other woman who would go to the lengths she had in her effort to do her job and do it right. Fee was willing to do whatever it took to get him to agree to be the spokesman in her ad campaign, even if that meant getting up at a time most city dwellers thought was the middle of the night and riding a horse for the first time. And from what Sage had told him, she was sensitive to others. Apparently, Colleen had tentatively offered to let Fee use their upcoming wedding as part of the PR campaign to improve the Lassiters’ image, but she hadn’t wanted to exploit their big day and had politely declined.
“Rosy and I seem to be getting along pretty well,” Fee said, bringing him back to the present.
“So you’re having a good time?” he asked, noticing how silky her hair looked as a light breeze played with the blond strands of her ponytail.
“Yes,” she said, giving him a smile. “I didn’t think I would, but I really am. Of course, I might not feel the same way if I was riding a different horse.”
“I was pretty sure you and Rosy were...a good match,” he said, distracted by the faint sound of a cow bawling in the distance. Staring in the direction the sound came from, he spotted a large black cow lying on her side about two hundred yards away. It was clear the animal was in distress. “Damn!”
“What happened?” Fee asked, looking alarmed.
“I’m going to have to ride on ahead,” he said quickly. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be within sight and Rosy will bring you right to me.”
Before Fee had the chance to question him further or protest that he was leaving her behind, he kicked Dakota into a gallop and raced toward the cow. The bay gelding covered the distance quickly and when he reached the cow, Chance could tell that not only was she in labor, she was having trouble delivering the calf.
Dismounting, he immediately started rolling up the long sleeves on his chambray shirt. He could tell from her shallow breathing that the animal had been at this awhile and was extremely weak. He was going to have to see what the problem was, then try to do what he could to help. Otherwise there was a very real possibility he would lose both the heifer and her calf.
“What’s wrong with it?” Fee asked when she and Rosy finally reached the spot where the cow lay.
“I’m pretty sure the calf is hung up,” he said, taking off his wristwatch and slipping it into the front pocket of his jeans. He reached into the saddlebags tied behind Dakota’s saddle and removed a packet of disinfectant wipes.
Fee looked genuinely concerned. “Oh, the poor thing. Is there anything you can do to help her? Should you call the veterinarian?”
“The vet will take too long to get here.” Walking over to the mare, he lifted Fee down from the saddle and set her on her feet. “I’m going to need you to hold the heifer’s tail while I check to see what the problem is,” he said, taking several of the wet cloths from the packet to wipe down his hands and arms. “Do you think you can do that, Fee?”
He could tell she wasn’t at all sure about getting that close to the animal, but she took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“Good.” He couldn’t stop himself from giving her a quick kiss. Then catching the cow’s wildly switching tail, he handed it to Fee. “Hold on tight while I see if the calf’s breech or it’s just too big.”
While Fee held the tail out of the way, Chance knelt down at the back of the animal. He wished that he had some of the shoulder-length gloves from one of the calving sheds back at ranch headquarters, but since that wasn’t an option, he gritted his teeth and proceeded to do what he could to help the heifer. Reaching inside, he felt the calf, and sure enough, one of the legs was folded at the knee. Pushing the calf back, he carefully straightened its front leg, then gently but firmly pulled it back into the birth position.
“Will she be able to have the calf now?” Fee asked, her tone anxious as she let go of the tail and put distance between herself and the cow.
“I hope so,” he said, rising to his feet. Using more of the wipes, he cleaned his arm as he waited to see if the heifer was going to be able to calve. “I’ll have to check my records when I get back to the house, but I’m pretty sure this is her first calf.”
When the cow made an odd noise, Fee looked worried. “Is she all right?”
“She’s pretty tired, but we should know within a few minutes if she’ll be able to do this on her own,” he said, focusing on the cow to see if there were any more signs of distress. When he saw none, he walked over to Fee.
“And if she can’t?” Fee asked.
“Then I become a bovine obstetrician and help her out,” he answered, shrugging. “It wouldn’t be the first time and it won’t be the last.”
“This is definitely one of those jobs you mentioned that most people would consider disgusting.”
“Yup.” He noticed the heifer was starting to work with her contractions and that was a good sign she at least wasn’t too exhausted to try.
“Maybe a lot of people find something like this distasteful, but I think it’s rather heroic,” Fee said, thoughtfully. “You care enough about the animals on this ranch to make sure they’re well taken care of and if that means getting your hands dirty to save one of them or
