by T M Morris
Laughing, Lilly spun around to give him the whole picture. "So I look okay?"
"No, not okay.” When she looked hurt, he rushed on, “No, wait. I think you misunderstood me. I said 'wow' as in I can't believe my eyes. You look awesome. My jaw dropped. You aren’t the little girl next door anymore are you?"
Shrugging off his comment about the girl next door nonsense she asked, "So I do look acceptable?"
She was surprised when Dusty grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him saying, "I'm sure I'm going to regret this but—” He lowered his head and let his lips meet hers. Her soft little moan encouraged him to continue kissing her.
When he pulled away from her, she whined, "Why'd you stop?"
He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. “Because if I don't, we won't get to church and then we'll have some confessing to do."
Confused, she pulled away from him. "I guess. Oh. Oh! Yeah. We need to go." Understanding washed over her followed closely by embarrassment. "I'm sorry. Let me get my coat."
Dusty waited by the door. "You don't need it, but I guess it can't hurt to have it." He muttered when she came back in the room carrying her coat and purse.
They were quiet for the first thirty minutes of the drive. Lilly wasn’t in the mood to talk. All she wanted to do was remember the feel of his mouth on hers. She liked it, a lot. It was something she used to imagine when she was a young teen. She would daydream about Dusty kissing her. That was a long time ago. Lilly finally sighed, "I hope you don't regret kissing me because I'm not going to."
"But it changes what we are."
"Does it? You kissed me the other night, and we aren’t different."
"How can it not?"
"I don’t know. I'm not going to regret it even if you do. I've never—” Lilly stopped talking, biting her lip. She wasn't going to give Dusty anything to brag over.
"You've never what? You've never kissed anyone?"
She snorted. "Yes, I have been, several times just not like that."
"How was it different?"
"Is that any of your business?" She snapped. She was quickly getting in over her head. She regretted saying anything, but she would never regret kissing Dusty.
"Well, yeah it is. I want to know how it was different in case I need to adjust my technique," Dusty said as he tried not to look like a strutting peacock behind the steering wheel.
“As if.”
Dusty lifted an eyebrow. “Are you saying I don’t need to make any adjustments?”
“I’m not saying anything except—”she was doing it again. She was about to tell Dusty more than he needed to know. He didn’t need to know she was putty in his hands. That he, with no effort, could mold her into whatever he wanted her to be.
“Except what? Come on, Lilly, don’t make me pull over to the side of the road and kiss you till you answer me.”
“You wouldn’t.” She gasped as he guided his truck to the shoulder. “Dusty. Stop this nonsense. We’re going to be late for church. Dusty.”
He leaned over and held his lips a mere millimeter above hers. “Tell me. What do I need to do to improve?”
His words tickled her lips. Her thoughts were a confusion of feelings and inadequate words. “Nothing.” She breathed.
He kissed her softly. “Nothing? Are you sure?”
She pulled away from him, dazed. She shook her head. “Nuh-uh.”
“You’re not sure whether I don’t need to change anything or I need to change something?” He tilted his head and kissed her again.
“Stop. Please, stop. Not on a Sunday.” She breathed. Her equilibrium now thrown out of kilter she felt almost tipsy. She began to push against his chest in an ineffectual attempt to regain some space and some sense.
Dusty smiled as he slid back behind the wheel. “So I don’t need to change a thing.” He didn’t have a chance to dodge her fist that slammed into his shoulder. “What was that for?”
“A friend doesn’t kiss a friend senseless on the side of the road. What if someone had driven by and seen us?”
Dusty shrugged trying to act like he was unfazed. He may have been doing the kissing and she the one getting kissed, but he was just as dazed and a more than a little confused. “I don’t think we’re just friends anymore, Filly Lilly.”
She growled. “Stop calling me that.”
He chuckled as he pulled back onto the highway. “If that’s what you want Lillian.”
“Dustin.”
He laughed as she harrumphed and turned to look out her passenger window at the fence posts flying past.
Before worship, Miss Hazel leaned over and asked, “I keep forgetting to ask. When is Otter supposed to come home?”
Lilly shrugged. “I’m not sure actually. It won’t be for a few days, but surely before Thanksgiving.”
Miss Hazel nodded. “They need to keep him in there a while. We don’t need that hard headed nincompoop trying to take care of those fool cows of his anytime soon.”
“No ma’am, we don’t.”
“Y’all are coming to my house this year since Addie’s laid up in the hospital.”
Lilly hugged her. “Thank you, Miss Hazel. I was trying to figure out what we were going to do. I’m sure Dad will want to be with Mom, but we have time to figure it out. I may join Uncle David and Aunt Lorene. I don’t know yet.”
“I’ll get with Lorene. Don’t worry yourself about it. You have too much on your plate right now as it is.”
Lilly hugged her again. “I love you, Miss Hazel.”
“I love you too, Sweetie.”
Chapter Twenty
Lilly shivered as she struggled to unlock the back door with her arms loaded down with sacks of groceries. She regretted her moment of faulty logic that told her carrying them all in at once would not only save time; she wouldn’t have to go out of the house until she was all bundled up for her cow check ride. Now here she was loaded down and unable to open the door. She set the sacks on the ground and unlocked the door. In no time she was in the warm kitchen thawing out as she stowed away the supplies.
Having finished stowing away her few groceries, she made a sandwich and ate it standing in front of the kitchen sink looking out the window toward the far pasture. It looked like the cows were on the far side of the hill. She needed to hurry. It was getting late. It was nearly four, and it would be dark in less than an hour. She shoved the last of the sandwich into her mouth and bounded up the stairs two at a time to her bedroom to add more layers of clothing. Miss Hazel wasn’t kidding when she said it was going to get cold. She could feel the cold seeping through the glass of the window above the sink. She thought, ‘Dad needs to caulk or replace the windows.’
After donning an extra sweater, leggings under her jeans and another pair of socks on her feet she rushed down the stairs skipping every other one. Her mother would have cautioned her to take each one so she wouldn’t break her pretty little neck. She sighed as she grabbed the rifle and crammed her cell phone into her coat pocket. She desperately prayed that her DNA would be compatible for a bone marrow transplant for her mother.
Lilly jogged to the barn, which was probably a mistake considering she worked up a sweat under all those layers. She was going to freeze once she sat on her horse. She opened the barn and flicked on the light. “Which one of you critters has their turn for riding out to visit the cows? Tank? It’s your turn isn’t it?”
He replied with a whinny. The others objected. “I’m sorry. I can only ride one of you at a time.” She set the rifle against the wall by Tank’s stall and went into the tack room. She reappeared with Tank’s blanket and her saddle. She set it down by the rifle and went back in for a bridle. With Tank’s bridle in hand, she slipped into his stall. Within seconds she had him in his bridle and out into the main hall tied to a hook. She threw the blanket over him and quickly saddled him. She slid the rifle into the saddle scabbard and led him to the door. The other horses neighed and whinnied. As she switched the lights off she called,
“Hush now. I’ll get you all fed when I get back.”
She and Tank slipped through the door, and she closed and latched it before mounting onto the gelding’s back and trotting off toward the calves’ pasture. Every last one of them looked happy and healthy. She dismounted and went to the feed shed in the middle of the field and pulled out three sacks of calf feed and poured them out in the long troughs. She was barely able to stay on her feet from being jostled by the baby bovine brutes. Lilly wondered how old they had to be before the males were castrated. She wished she’d paid more attention when she was growing up. She had been too busy with frivolous girlie things then.
Having finished her business with the calves, she remounted the gelding after giving him a hug and whispering sweet little praises into his ear and headed off toward the field to count the expectant mothers. The light was beginning to fade when she reached the top of the hill. She pulled Tank to a stop and surveyed the field below her. Counting heads she came up one short. She counted them again. She was still one short. She eased the gelding into motion, and they trotted down the hill.
She scanned the small herd noting everyone she counted. Bessie was missing. Lilly’s stomach cramped. Bessie was Otter’s favorite heifer. He never came out and said it, but Bessie was the only one in the maternity ward that he named specifically and asked Lilly to watch closely. She shivered. The thought of telling him Bessie was missing and the cold chilling the sweat under her clothes made it difficult to stop the shivering.
“Come on, Tank. We have to find Bessie. Where do you think she went? She has to be in this pasture somewhere. Do you think she went into labor?” Lilly wasn’t sure why she asked the horse. He didn’t know, and he sure wasn’t about to answer her. Sighing, she looked around. The white face heifer was red which wasn’t at all helpful in the tall dead grass and scrub. She would blend in.
Lilly rode around the herd and out to the fence. She rode along looking for a break in it where Bessie may have gone through. It was a long shot. If one cow went through a break in the fence she usually didn’t go alone. About three quarters around the perimeter, she spotted the heifer lying near the small copse of trees. A few of the older cows had come to stand around her. Lilly felt sick.
If Bessie was down and in labor, she was in trouble. Lilly clucked her tongue and urged Tank into a canter down the hill. They pulled up a few feet from where Bessie lay. Lilly felt as if she were going to throw up from dread. She could only imagine what her father was going to say to her when he found out he’d lost his favorite heifer. Bessie was lying flat on her side with a half-born calf showing. She wasn’t even lifting her head.
Heaving a huge sigh, Lilly dismounted and tied Tank off to a low hanging branch on the nearest tree. Slowly she approached the tableau wondering just how she was to rectify the situation. One of the older cows lowed at her, and she reached out and patted her on the neck. Another cow mooed.
Bessie lifted her head and let out a bellow.
Lilly nearly fell over her own feet rushing to the heifer’s side. There was still hope for the girl. Lilly knelt by her side and stroked her neck telling her it was going to be okay. She stood and moved to see what exactly was going on with the calf.
After a few moments, Lilly decided Bessie was going to need help. It looked like the calf was not only stuck but dead. Lilly dug in her pocket for her cell phone. “Dusty.” She panted. “I need your help. Bessie’s down with her calf stuck half way out, and I think it’s dead. What do I do?’
“Listen. The temperature is already below freezing. Build a fire close by so you can keep Bessie warm. If you can, try your best to get that calf out. She needs to get up as soon as possible and she won’t as long as she’s only half way delivered. Do you think you can pull the calf out?
Lilly sniffed. “I can try.”
“That will have to do, won’t it? Listen. I’m over here at Ambruster’s dealing with a foaling. I’ll be there as soon as I’m finished here. Keep me posted, okay?”
“I will. How much longer do you think you’ll be?”
“It’s not this mare’s first foaling, so I’d say maybe a couple of hours.”
Bessie bellowed in pain. Lilly winced. “Okay. I need to get to work. I’ll let you know if I manage to get the calf out. I’ll just text you.”
She ended the call and shoved the phone back into her pocket as she marched over to Bessie. “Okay, Bessie. Dusty says I—we need to get this calf birthed. So, I’m going to pull, and you’re going to push, or whatever it is you cows do. Okay? Here we go.”
Lilly tentatively looked for a place to grab hold of the calf’s head but couldn’t find a good one. She grabbed hold of the hooves instead and began to pull. Bessie bawled, and the few cows surrounding her began voicing their objections also. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m only trying to help.” Lilly cried.
Tears were rolling freely down her cheeks as she again gripped the little hooves in her hands and pulled. Bessie bellowed, and the rest of the cows complained. Lilly cried and pulled again. To Lilly time had stopped. She focused on Bessie and removing the calf. Time and time again she pulled. Several times she lost her footing and slipped in the mud the amniotic fluid had made. After hitting the ground for the umpteenth time, Lilly laid there gulping for air. Her cheeks were soaked and chapping from the tears she shed.
Bessie gave out a tired groan. Wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeves Lilly sat up. “Don’t give up Bessie. I’m not giving up, and neither are you. You hear me?”
Lilly stood and set her feet as firmly as she could and took hold of the calf once again. She had no idea how long they had been struggling to remove the calf when its shoulders finally came through the pelvis opening and began to show.
Lilly fell over on the cold ground and panted for a few minutes. If she were this exhausted, she couldn’t imagine how Bessie was feeling. She took a few gulps of air and gathered up some strength from somewhere and took hold of the calf’s feet. Panting, she said, “Okay, Bessie. We’re almost there, just a few more minutes. You can do it, Bessie. I can do this.”
Lilly leaned back on her heels and pulled with all her might. Again and again, she pulled. Finally, she gave one last full body heave away from Bessie, and the calf came with her and landed on her coating her with goo and amniotic fluid. She gagged and wretched as she struggled under the dead carcass to get it off of her. She rolled onto her knees and heaved a few exhausted breaths. “I don’t know about you, Bessie, but I’m pooped.”
All the cows that had stood around mooing their encouragement began mooing and bellowing. Lilly assumed they were encouraging Bessie to get up, but Bessie was not moving. She had barely moved the whole time. Not knowing what else to do Lilly pulled out her cell and texted Dusty. ‘Calf’s out. Now what?’
While she waited for a response, she gathered up kindling and small limbs to start a fire. She hoped and prayed there was a box of matches or a lighter in one of the saddle bags. After gathering a good supply of deadfall to make a fairly good sized stack of wood, she kicked a place clear of grass down to the bare dirt and surrounded it with stones. She arranged the dead grass she’d kicked up and laid a few small sticks on top.
Standing she brushed her hands off on her cold, wet behind as she strode to where Tank had stood patiently. She dug around in the saddlebags until she came across a fire starter. ‘Great,’ she muttered, ‘I always had trouble with this thing. Why can’t I find some matches or something else I know how to use?’ Frowning, she went back to her little fire ring. Kneeling next to it, she began to work at lighting her little pyre. After what seemed like an epoch a few sparks caught in the grass. She knelt down and cupped her hands around it to protect it from the wind that had begun to blow she breathed softly on it to encourage the spark to grow.
Lilly laughed with glee a few moments later when she had a small blaze going. She put a couple of the small branches on it and waited to make sure it wouldn’t go out before she went back to tending to Bessie. Her cell phone b
egan to play the special ringtone she’d picked for Dusty. “Hello?”
“Lilly. It’s Dusty. I’m finishing up here, and I’ll head that way in a few minutes. What do you have out there?”
“Not much. I have a fire going, finally. I have Tank, a bunch of cows telling me what to do, a cow that won’t get up and a dead calf. I’m fixing to drag the calf off, so it won’t attract coyotes.”
“Okay. I’ll bring coffee and some food. Is there anything else you think you might need? Extra clothes? It’s supposed to get down below zero.”
“I could use some dry clothes. When the calf came out, I fell over, and it landed on me. I’m wet and gross, and I’m freezing.”
“I’ll also bring a couple of tarps so we can make a little bit of an enclosure. It’s going to be a long, long night. Do you know where your parents may have stored sleeping bags?”
“Sleeping bags? I don’t know. We used to keep them in the top of the closet in the extra bedroom. I’d look there. If you can’t find them, just bring all the blankets off my bed.”
“Okay. The key still hidden in the same spot, isn’t it?”
“I haven’t moved it, and no one else has been home.”
“Fine. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m going to stop at the clinic to get some supplies too. Try to stay warm and keep trying to get Bessie to stand up.”
“I will.” The connection broke before she could say anything else.
Chapter Twenty One
Dusty pulled into the side yard of the Caldwell house. Rooting around in their house was not something he wanted to do with no one home, but Lilly had given him permission and she needed some things from in there, and he was on his way, so he was going in. Retrieving the key from its hiding place he unlocked the door. After replacing the key, he went inside and went straight to the coffee pot and got it brewing. Then he turned his attention to the pantry and pulled out a couple of Miss Addie’s canvas shopping bags she used to gather vegetables from her garden.