by Susan Arden
“Aren’t we staying here to eat with your father?”
He turned around so fast she collided with him. “I’ve had quite the time watching every Tom, Dick, and Rory try to show you how to hammer a goddamned nail. You’d think they’d invented fire, the way they explained their methods.”
“Are you jealous?” she exhaled with a giggle as if it were too funny for words. “Well, if it isn’t the green-eyed monster.”
“Keep it up.” He dipped his mouth against her ear and gritted out, “There are plenty of secluded places where I can take care of that smart little mouth. Just one more word, and you’ll have to blame your saddle for walking crooked for a week.”
She laughed, again. “I didn’t do anything but act cordial.”
“Dr. Rodriguez, you better come with me,” he snapped, unable to reel in this primal urge. He wasn’t a mouth-breathing cave dweller, yet she pegged him alright. He reached for Carolina’s arm to silence her before things really got out of control.
Except, she tore away from him. Who would believe a girl could run that fast! Her laughter rained down on him in waves until he couldn’t help but smile.
Well, if she wanted to race, he’d give her one. Matt took off after her, giving her credit for darting, employing a stop-and-go movement as she zigged, then zagged. But soon enough, he unravelled her pattern and caught hold of her. Matt encircled the good doctor in his arms as she giggled and squirmed. She squealed when he lifted her up, onto his chest and squeezed her tightly.
“Hah, that’s what you get,” he grunted. “You’re worse than a polecat caught after stealing a mess of chickens. Riled up and ready to fight, but I’ve got you.”
She suddenly stopped and gazed into his eyes. “You sure have, cowboy. More than you probably realize.”
They kissed. It felt wild and free, hot and enlivening. He never wanted this to end. He wanted to tell her to stay. Matt knew what this feeling was: he was falling. Falling too fast and too hard to stop the ground rushing up to meet him and suddenly, he no longer cared. All he wanted was right here in his arms.
“Matt,” Brandon called across the field. “Matt!”
Carolina wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The feel of her curves had him on the verge of doing something off-the-charts. They stood chest to chest. Their gazes were locked, their hearts beat hard in time. Bone deep, he knew he could never let this woman go without a fight.
She brushed her lips against his, pushing back, murmuring, “Your brother’s yelling. He sounds upset.”
Only when she pulled away, only when a good foot existed between their bodies, did Matt absorb the full-brunt of Carolina’s words. He regarded Brandon.
His brother waved his hat, yelling, “Matt, there’s an emergency. I need your help!”
Chapter Twenty-One
They were behind a haystack. A lucky break. Or maybe not, considering it felt as if her hair were on fire. Maybe they ought to move away from a bunch of dried grass. From the sparks leaping off Carolina’s skin, it would be just her luck to cause a haybale to go up in smoke. Thanks to McLemore, her lips were once more kissed swollen. Ablaze from their face-to-face encounter, Carolina tried to right herself, which was no easy task given she was a trembling mess, from head to toe.
“We’d better see what Brandon wants,” Matt growled, releasing his hold on her waist.
Walking, heck talking took a great effort. Matt looked as though he were just as out in orbit as she still felt. No wonder, they’d both been close to a repeat performance of what had occurred this morning.
“Maybe something’s up with the heifer?” she asked, pulling her shirt back in place. Carolina’s feet might’ve touched down, but not her heart. It still thundered in her chest. Sweet Jesus, what was she becoming?
In Matt’s arms, she didn’t need anything. Time stopped. The earth moved, or really tilted. Carolina almost cringed at the direction of her thoughts. It was like she was a billboard of clichés. If Sam where here now, she’d give her a stern talking to. Unfortunately, her cousin was currently on a honeymoon somewhere in the South Pacific. Would calling her be considered uncouth? Carolina needed a lifeline and she needed it right, right now!
What was going on between Matt and her? Lust, no joke! But it felt bigger. More explosive. Things were just changing, they were diving off a cliff. From dancing around a searing attraction, they were like charged magnets ready to combust. It felt wild, dangerous, and so not safe. That old saying, ‘be careful what you wish for’ could go straight to hell!
“Baby,” he said and she almost jumped a foot.
“Right here,” Carolina gulped.
“You nailed it, Dr. Rodriguez.” Matt held out his cell phone.
She read the text. “Heifer is having problems. Need you both here.”
Brandon waved his hat. “Matt,” he said, out of breath. “Bring Carolina. The heifer isn’t doing well. She’s trying to bear down. It’s too early.”
“Are you sure?” Matt asked his brother and took her by the elbow.
“Yeah. She’s in pain. Worse than I’ve ever seen.”
Carolina abhorred any senseless suffering. She should’ve stayed with the cow. Frustrated, she said, “Time to deliver a baby.”
Matt pulled her close and whispered, “You sure that you’re up for this? It can go from bad to worse in the span of a heartbeat.”
Striding forward, she gritted out, “Cowboy, it’s too late to start questioning my ability.”
He stiffened. “Carolina, I might’ve been out of line, but I’ve seen men lose their lunch when a calving goes south.”
She met his gaze. “Then I’m glad I’m not a man.”
“Me, too. Until now.” A thrumming pulse set in his jaw.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Carolina crossed her arms over her chest, marching over the uneven land, going from happy and infatuated to ready to do battle.
“Sue me if I’d rather you not have to deal with this type of situation. Let’s hope we don’t have to…”
She stopped and faced him. “Finish what you were going to say?”
Matt’s eyes were shuttered. For a long moment, he gazed down at her mute as a brick.
Carolina refused to be cowed. “I’m only going to imagine a worst-case scenario, so you might as well tell me the truth.”
“It’s the chains,” Brandon said, sidling up next to them. “Carolina, don’t take it as a slight. The last vet we had here made a bad situation ten times worse.”
She’d forgotten that Brandon was bringing up the rear. “I can handle whatever is thrown my way,” she said softly to both men. The expressions that they wore spoke volumes, varying degrees of masculine pride and uneasy weariness at what was to come. “I volunteered. This is my choice. Okay?”
“I have full confidence in you,” Matt said with conviction.
“Same here but we need to hurry.” Brandon picked up the pace over to his truck.
“Don’t leave,” she told him.
Matt hollered, “Bran, we’re riding back with you. I’ll text Rory to deal with our horses.”
“What will your father think?” she asked Matt, then shook her head. “Right, we can use my faint womanly ways as an excuse. Hopefully, this time we can be more imaginative than a headache.”
“I’ll tell him it’s your time of the month. That’ll stop any comments or questions.”
She blasted back, “What century is this!”
Matt winked, holding open the cab door. “Any one you’d like, darlin’.”
Her thoughts shot to what they’d need as she climbed into the cab. “My medical bag is in the SUV.”
“We’ll send one of the stable hands to pick it up,” he replied. “That isn’t a problem.”
* * *
The heifer was down on her side. Carolina listened to her heart and lungs. Matt and Brandon crouched next to her. The heifer panted in pain and Carolina murmured, “Give me the med
s.”
Matt handed over the syringe of painkiller and she administered it to the cow. “What’s your prognosis?” he asked.
“She’s not doing as well as I’d like. Water’s still not broke.” Carolina didn’t share that the delivery difficulty was edging up to be severe. Instead, she said, “We need to confirm dystocia.”
“Isn’t this too early for a ruling?” Matt asked.
“Not in my opinion. Would you rather do this?” She held out the stethoscope. “Either you’re back up or in the lead.”
He frowned. “I can, but I prefer a professional. Just tell me what you need.”
Carolina leaned down on her knees. “Can I get some PPE?”
“Personal protection equipment,” Matt said to his brother.
Brandon scouted through the box of ranch supplies, removing two sets of rubber gloves and arm shields.
After donning them, Carolina got down to examining her patient. It required that she internally probe the heifer’s uterus. With her arm submerged past her elbow, she felt the cervix, searching for movement. “She’s fully dilated. The calf’s misaligned, though. Not only that, there’s an obstruction along the pelvic rim of the dam.”
“You’ll turn the calf?” Brandon asked.
“That’s the plan.” It was the only viable way to save heifer and calf. Carolina brooded if there was another way. There was no second guessing and she explained, “This calf is large, just as you suspected. We’ll need traction. I don’t use chains. I’ve got nylon cords if we need them. We can’t risk introducing anything that will have this cow or calf going septic. Mix up the obstetric lubricant.”
“I’m on it,” Matt said.
She glanced back at the heifer now trying to rise. “We may need up to ten or fifteen gallons. Get a clean blanket to keep the cow warm.” Assisting the heifer, Carolina frowned. She didn’t like that its ears were down or that it was less than responsive.
“Be careful,” Matt warned, “She might bite you.”
“If you don’t do what I requested, I’ll take a bite out of you,” she scoffed, before tacking on more to his and Brandon’s to-do list. “I’ll need about five gallons of warm water. We’ll mix it with the lubricant to help distend the uterus. Then I should be able to turn the calf.”
“How’s the calf doing?” Brandon asked, carrying in two large white buckets.
“Still alive.” Time was running out. “Once the heifer’s water has broken, I’ll check reflexes. Then we’ll know the next step.”
Matt poured in a gallon of concentrated antiseptic into each bucket. The steam of hot water misted around Carolina. Precious seconds ticked by in her head.
“It’s ready,” Matt said of the buckets filled with steaming dark green antibacterial solution.
In silence, Carolina scrubbed her fingers, hands, and arms. Then she set to work on washing down the cow. It was a laborious task that she did as fast as humanly possible with Matt’s help. Together, they patted the hide of the heifer dry. She strove to make her patient comfortable, murmuring soothing words.
Brandon brought in her bag and set it down. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s a trooper,” Carolina replied, exchanging the ranch stethoscope with her clinical one. As if reading her thoughts, Matt handed over a powerful headlamp that she fit on top of her head and turned on. “I’ll need a flashlight as well. There’s one in the case.”
Fully equipped, Carolina flashed a beam of light into the cow’s eyes. “Her pupils are responsive, but her eyes are filmed. She’s low on calcium.”
Matt rolled out several five-gallon buckets and Brandon filled each with warm water. Carolina opened and dumped lubricant into each of the buckets and mixed. She slipped into a Tyvek suit and goggles. Both Matt and Brandon did the same. Afterwards, she mopped up the seepage of fluid from the heifer that had turned bloody.
“I’m going to open the uterine sac and then we’ll define her posture and position. Her heartrate is increasing. She’s stressed. I’ve attached her to a heart monitor. That would be a good addition for the ranch to own for future births. Her lungs and heart are on her left side, but I’ll track her trachea on the right. Do you have a pump for the lubricant?”
“We use a funnel.”
“Then give me a second to set one up.” Carolina removed a U-shaped tool and a set of scalpels. She set up the pump and showed Matt and Brandon how to use it. Next, she applied lubricant up and over her arms. With the tube in place, Brandon began to pump the lubricant solution into the heifer. Matt filled another bucket with water and mixed in lubricant.
“It’s time to deliver the calf,” she said to Matt.
He finished mixing lubricant, then came over and knelt by her side. “I’m all ears.”
The amniotic sac was distended from the heifer. Carolina placed a rubber channel into an empty bucket to capture the fluid. “On three, I’m going to make in incision.”
She counted then used a scalpel to pierce the sac, directing the pinkish white fluid into the bucket. Matt wiped up the splattering on the floor. Carolina made a larger incision, wide enough to permit her arms. More liquid rushed out, overflowing the bucket toward the drain.
She examined the calf, running her fingers over the head and body. “Reflexes are good. Baby wants out.”
“What do you need?” Matt asked.
“Leverage to bring the calf to a forty-five-degree angle.” She gritted her teeth, kneeling down into position at the rear of the heifer.
“Use my legs.” He scooted up next to Carolina on the floor. “I’ll wedge them under your elbows.” Matt hoisted her off the cement floor.
Carolina held onto the calf’s hooves and she was able to reposition it. “There’s nothing I can do about the protrusion on the pelvic bone of the mother. I’d like to deliver the calf before any pelvic lock occurs. I’ll need your help to extract the calf.”
“What about the cords?” Matt’s hands continued to cradle her hamstrings and rear-end.
Brandon eyed them not saying a word.
“Let’s see if we can use an extra set of hands,” she said, getting to her knees. “Instead of forcing an extraction. Matt, slide your hands down next to mine. I need to turn the calf and position its hooves to come down the birth canal. Typical problem may be the neck turning. I’ll guide the calf’s hooves if you can keep your hands on its head.”
It took them nearly an hour and a half to turn the calf and reposition it. Carolina was drenched in sweat. She took a moment to re-examine the dam and calf. “You’ve got an energetic male here. Let’s try to get this little man’s head closer to the surface.”
She sat on the cement floor with Matt angled up behind her. Together they worked, moving the calf in time with the dam’s labor contractions. The calf’s hooves were extended and its nostrils were visible. They had to change position on the floor to come at the heifer from a diagonal angle. “The contraction is peaking. Let’s move this calf.”
They pulled in tandem. Calving was like removing a huge cork that was vacuum-sealed. At the end of the contraction, the calf retreated half the distance they’d assisted it. The contractions were coming every few minutes. “I don’t like the way the calf’s tongue is swollen. We’ve got to get him out. Now. Let’s stand and we can use our legs.”
At the beginning of the cow’s contraction, they positioned their hands. Matt’s arms and torso were pressed up against her. Carolina lifted the calf’s shoulder over the rough spot of bone, afraid the breastplate of the baby would snag. Her glove tore and a sharp pierce assailed her forearm, fiery and burning. There was no time to think, the calf was coming down the birth canal, right toward them.
“Help me lift and rotate the calf a quarter-turn.” Carolina’s shoulder and arm muscles contracted into aching bands. She gritted her teeth and rasped, “That’s it. A little more. Now slowly rotate and pull.”
In a rush of fluid, the calf was born. Matt held onto it as she wiped
off the little guy’s face with a clean towel. Carolina suctioned out the nostrils, and removed her ripped gloves to clear the calf’s mouth of mucous.
“You’re hurt,” he said. Blood flowed down her arm from a deep gash and he thundered, “Brandon.”
“What happened?” His brother came charging into the space.
Matt pressed his fingers over the wound. “Bran, get something for a tourniquet.”
“That isn’t necessary, but I could use a fresh pair of gloves. We’ve still got work to do. This calf needs help breathing.” Carolina palpated her youngest patient’s chest. “The dam needs to drink some warm water, then we have to present the calf to her.”
Brandon tossed Matt a clean pair of gloves. He held one out, then the other as she slipped her hands inside. Only after the cow began to lick her calf did Carolina allow Matt to treat her arm.
“Got your horses back to the stable,” Rory supplied, coming into the birthing area.
“Thanks,” Matt said to his youngest brother.
Brandon filled Rory in on the calving. They took over cleaning up and moving the cow and calf to a pen.
“You did good. Real good, Dr. Rodriguez.” Matt held out his hand. “Now, let me see your arm.”
“In the scheme of things, it’s not a big deal.”
“For a vet, you stink at self-diagnosis,” he retorted, examining her arm. “We’ve got to get you to a hospital. You need stitches.”
“I’ll make do with medical tape and butterfly the scrape. I’m not leaving until I see the cow and calf are stable. Once she delivers the placenta, then I’ll be satisfied.”
***
All in all, it took nearly five hours for the birth to be completed. They were exhausted arriving at Matt’s house. “Bath?”
“That sounds great.” Carolina glanced down at their dirty, stained clothes. “We should strip out of these clothes in your mudroom.”
He shrugged. “I don’t have a mudroom.”
“Really? But this is a ranch.”
“Thanks for the tip.” He laughed, walking past the front porch. “I opted for a laundry room.”