“You mean like stuff for the walls?”
“Why sound so surprised?” he asked with amusement twinkling in his eyes. “I like art and pottery. There’s a wall hanging a friend of my mom’s made. Or are you more surprised that I know how to use a computer? I’m a rancher, Hadley, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have other skills.”
He seemed insulted when he said it, and she’d never meant for anything she’d said to be an insult. But she must have touched some kind of nerve because he definitely had withdrawn.
Taking a cookie from the tin, he stood. “If you could keep an eye on Amber, I’m going to check on the other horses. Just yell if you need me.” Then he gave her a look. “Yell if Amber needs me. I have the feeling you’re the type of woman who doesn’t need anyone.”
Leaving her sitting there with her mouth practically open, he left.
* * *
Eli had to admit he didn’t know what had gotten into him. Maybe he’d just wanted to put some kind of wedge between himself and Hadley since they’d been thrown into this situation that had seemed to produce a potent attraction. Or maybe, truth be told, he’d never put his failed relationship with Elaine in the past. He thought he’d gotten over any insecurity he might have had about not going to college or seeking a higher education. At the time, he’d told himself it was an unnecessary expense and not essential to a good life. After all, he could read on his own, and he did. He knew about subjects from inorganic chemistry to horse husbandry, and he had traveled. He’d traveled with Elaine.
When she’d left, any wanderlust he might have had went with her. Hadley, with her education and expertise and adventurous spirit, had reopened past wounds without even knowing it. It wasn’t her fault. She was who she was. The problem was—she was damned attractive. But she seemed to have an attitude that he was a cowboy, a rancher who couldn’t see farther than the end of his nose. That’s what had gotten under his skin. Granted, he was self-taught at computer skills, but he could master any program or app. He didn’t care about just barbed wire and the best boots to wear on the ranch.
He was emptying a sack of feed into a bin when Hadley called to him. “Amber is down again.”
Without hesitation, he rushed to the horse’s stall, wondering if this time the foal would be born or if something else was going on. He saw right away that Hadley had wrapped Amber’s tail. Smart move, and he should have done it.
“Do you need the foaling kit?” he asked. He had one and kept it well stocked.
“No, I have my bag.”
He could see the placental sac had broken. The pressure of Amber lying down had probably ruptured it.
“She’s starting to push,” Hadley said, kneeling on the straw beside Amber.
Eli knew this part of the labor. It should happen fairly quickly. If it didn’t happen in an hour, then there was trouble.
Amber was making groaning sounds now, and Hadley was concentrating on her and what was happening. “I see it,” Hadley said, and he knew she was talking about the white sac that covered the foal.
But Eli realized suddenly that this wasn’t going to be a normal birth. The foal was in the breech position, hind feet first.
Crouched down beside Hadley, Eli asked her, “What’s the best way to handle this?”
They both could see the hooves, and they were flexed upward toward the mare’s tail. “Are we going to lose it?” he asked, his chest feeling tight.
“We are not going to lose it,” Hadley assured him. “Breech births are more difficult, but we can still make this as natural as possible without complications.”
As Amber groaned, Eli’s elbow brushed Hadley’s. Their eyes locked for a moment, and he said huskily, “I’m glad you’re here.” He meant it, feeling something deeply comforting because of her presence. And it wasn’t simply because she was a vet.
“I’m glad I’m here, too,” she murmured. Then louder, she admitted, “I haven’t done anything like this since an apprenticeship with a vet right after college. But I know what to do, Eli.” This time Hadley pulled on gloves that reached to her elbows.
His thoughts seemed to be in an uproar until he pulled one free. “What are you going to do?”
“Just give her a little help if she needs it. Let’s just see if nature takes its course. I don’t want to step in if I don’t have to.”
He was experienced enough to know that letting nature take its course was the best route to take. Amber giving birth was a natural process. Yet he didn’t want to lose either the foal or the mom.
The foal’s hocks delivered, and Eli knew the foal’s hips and tail would follow. Yet there seemed to be a problem, and Amber was straining hard.
Hadley murmured almost to herself, “The hips are the foal’s widest part when delivery happens this way.”
“Can you help? Can you get her baby unstuck?”
“I don’t want to interfere too much, and I don’t want to hurt either of them. I remember when Charlie did this...”
“Charlie?”
“The vet I worked with. He was seventy and had been delivering horses for almost forty years. I can picture exactly how he handled the birth. I’m going to grasp the foal’s feet and just pull gently down toward Amber’s hooves. That should rotate the foal’s pelvis so it can pass through the birth canal more easily. Say a prayer.”
As Hadley did what she said she was going to do, Eli did say a prayer. They both seemed to hold their breath as the foal slid out, making its appearance into the big wide world.
In the next few moments, Hadley removed an instrument from her bag and broke the sac surrounding the foal.
When Eli glanced at Hadley, he saw her eyes were misty. The birth of Amber’s foal had touched her deeply. His throat constricted too because a miracle lay before them. What would have happened if Hadley hadn’t been here?
“You saved them,” he said, close enough to Hadley to kiss her.
She seemed to be eyeing his lips the same way he was eyeing hers. “You could have done the same thing,” she whispered.
He got a whiff of that vanilla scent of hers that right now seemed as magical as an aphrodisiac. Shaking off the feeling and gathering his concentration, he conceded, “Maybe. But you knew what you were doing. I’ve only read about it.”
Her eyes searched his face. “You were prepared for this?”
“I try to be prepared for everything. But I’ve never delivered a breech birth.”
Awareness of the fact that he and Hadley seemed to be breathing in unison swept over him.
He was also aware of the way Hadley’s bangs lay near her brows...aware of her high cheekbones...aware of the curve of her lips. With a supreme effort, he forced himself to focus on the situation at hand.
“They’ll
