Chance For Love (Colorado Blues)

by Harrison, Ann B

  She nudged the horse and they began their routine crisscross of the large paddock, making sure there were no cows in trouble and the calves that were already on the ground were making progress. She was prepared to move any unstable calves to the barn until they were able to follow their mothers and suckle freely. The last thing she wanted was to find a dead calf with a distraught mother when she could have saved it.

  Sherbet ran ahead and got lost in the long grass. Callie cursed under her breath and hoped it wasn’t trouble. She nudged Sultan and headed in the same direction, her head down, holding the brim of her hat to keep the snow out of her eyes. The chill of cold snowflakes down the back of her neck was starting to take the joy and shine out of the experience for her, and she wished she was back at the ranch house in front of the fire with Chance snuggling on the large rug watching the logs burn down to glowing warm embers as they had last night.

  She listened for the sound of barking and hoped the dog would make it easier for her to find whatever it was that had snaffled her attention. The soft flakes were falling faster and faster, making it difficult for Callie to see where she was going. Everywhere she looked was a sheet of white, making it impossible for her to gauge where she was in the paddock.

  A sharp bark had her turning to the right. “Sherbet. Sherbet, where are you?” She called and called, hoping the dog would keep up its bark to guide her to where she was. After a couple of pauses, Callie honed in on her dog and managed to find her way to a clump of grass hiding a dirty white cow almost invisible against the snow covered ground.

  Callie slid from the saddle and let the reins hang loose over Sultan’s neck. She dropped to the ground and patted Sherbet. “Good girl. Well done.” The cow wasn’t moving and Callie touched her swollen stomach, hoping upon hope she and the calf were still alive. She could see its hooves protruding out of its mother and wondered why she had gone down.

  By the time the small bull calf was pulled from its mother, Callie was exhausted. Her arms ached and she was freezing cold. With no other choice, she picked up the calf in her arms, hooked her hand in the reins, and started walking toward where she thought the gate was. Shivering with cold and weary beyond reason, she was relieved when she saw lights coming toward her.

  Her brother-in-law pulled up and jumped out of the truck.

  “What the fucking hell have you done? Chance is out of his mind with worry.” Tyson’s face was red with fury as he rounded on her. “I had to threaten him with violence to stop him taking the horse and coming to find you. What kind of irresponsible damned farm manager are you anyway?”

  “The kind who gets things done and doesn’t let the stock die because of a touch of bad weather. Now is there anything I can do for you or are you just going to get in my way? I have to find this young man a bottle or a surrogate mother before we lose him too.” Callie brushed past him and headed back to the barn following the tracks the truck left in the snow. When she got there, she struggled to an empty stall, her legs wobbly with fatigue. She kicked the door open and walked in, dropping to her knees to place the shivering calf on the ground.

  Grabbing a handful of hay, she rubbed the near-freezing animal down until it started to struggle and move under her administrations. “That’s the way, fight buddy. I don’t want you to go the same way as your mama. Don’t let me get frostbite for nothing now.”

  “Callie. What the hell happened out there? I was worried sick.” Chance came hobbling into the barn, his face a mixture of relief and anger.

  “Cow went down. She was halfway giving birth so I had to get this little guy out. She didn’t make it.” Callie looked up. “Any powdered milk around at all?”

  He looked a little bit stunned but gathered himself. “Yeah, sure. In the feed bins there’s always a bag of milk for cases like this. Should be a couple of bottles as well. Let me go and look.”

  “Nope, my job. You rest. Seems like you’ve already done more than you should today anyway.” She hurried toward the feed bins ignoring the deathly looks she was getting from her brother-in-law. She could deal with him later, once the calf was settled and warm.

  Tyson followed Chance and leaned over the edge of the stall, his face thunderous. “Chance, this is ridiculous. If that had been a local man you’d hired on, this would never have happened. And you damn well know they could have handled this situation a lot better than she did too. Getting lost in the paddock, scaring the heck out of you. Come on, how much convincing do you need to get decent help? If I hadn’t been available to come to the rescue, what would you have done, gone out yourself?” Tyson glared at her as she brushed past him and went to make a bottle up for the calf.

  “Leave it, brother. We can talk about it later.” He looked down at the calf struggling to find its feet. “Callie did the right thing. He’d have died alongside his mama if she hadn’t found him and brought him in. At least she’s managed to salvage something out of bad situation. Considering it’s her first taste of snow, I’m proud of the way she’s held up.”

  Callie fought the urge to throw her arms around her secret husband in gratitude.

  “What is one calf when it could have been you out there? Hell’s teeth, you’re injured and need to recuperate, not run around after the ‘farm manager.’ Seems to me, you’re going soft in your old age. Sure it wasn’t your head Terror stood on and not your hip?”

  Chance pushed his brother against the wall of the stall and put his face up against Tyson’s. “Give it a rest. Now. I made the decision to hire her on and I fully expect you to respect that. Callie knows what she’s doing and so do I. I don’t need you telling me what to do.”

  She walked back with the bottle in her hand, shaking it to warm the formula and make sure it was mixed properly. “Thanks, boss, but if your brother has any issues he’s more than welcome to deal with me face to face. I can sort out my own problems. Just let me feed this little guy and then he can have my undivided attention.”

  Callie met Tyson’s gaze and didn’t glance away from the hateful look he was giving her. “After all, the animals come first in this job.” She put the bottle on the ground and wrapped her arms around the calf, encouraging it to its feet. She held her hands under its belly until it was more stable on its wobbly legs before slipping a couple of fingers into its mouth. The warm tongue whipped around her fingers and started to suck, banging into the palm of her hand with insistent nudges.

  Callie smiled, breathing a sigh of relief that he was ready and willing to nurse. She picked up the bottle and slid the teat between her fingers, easing them out of the calf’s mouth as it latched onto the teat. The sucking noises filled the quiet barn, easing the fear from her shoulders.

  When he was finished, he turned and tried to nudge her hands looking for more milk. Callie laughed, rubbing his little body with her hands to keep him warm. “Okay if I use a saddle blanket to wrap around him for the night? He needs all the warmth he can get in this weather.”

  “We have calf coats in the tack room. They should be hanging up. Let me go and get you one.” Chance hobbled off before she could protest.

  Tyson walked into the stall and glared at her. “If you do anything so damned stupid again and cause him anymore grief, so help me, I’ll run you off the ranch myself. Do I make myself clear?”

  Callie looked up at him, intensely sorry they couldn’t tell Tyson the real reason she was here. “I’m doing my job the best as I can. I’m not ashamed of the fact this is the first snow I’ve seen, but it doesn’t make any difference. I had to save that calf and I did it. If you don’t like it, tough luck pal, because you aren’t my employer, he is.” Sherbet eased her way between her new owner and the man threatening her. Callie rested a hand on the dog’s head, hoping to calm her before she reacted. Biting Tyson wouldn’t help matters at all.

  “I bet you think he’s an easy grab, a famous rodeo star loaded with cash and a bum leg. Start out working the ranch and ease your way into his bed.” He leaned closer and pointed his finger into her shoulder,
his hot breath rolling over her face. “Let me tell you something for free, girl. You’re not his type, not in the slightest. You don’t even come close to what Chance likes in a women, so do yourself a favor and go back to where you belong cause it ain’t here in Colorado.”

  Tyson stepped away as Chance came back with a cover for the calf. He shuffled into the stall and handed it to Callie, waiting while she rugged the newborn up. “I’ll have to come and feed him every four hours, otherwise he’s not going to make it.”

  “We can set an alarm. Now let’s get you back into the house to get warm and dry. No point you getting sick.” Chance stood aside to let her walk out of the stall, shutting the door behind them.

  “Thanks for coming over, brother. I appreciate it.” Chance patted Tyson on the back.

  “I have to unsaddle Sultan. I’ll be up soon.” Callie hurried over to the horse, and rubbed her hand over his nose, ignoring the chatter from the two brothers. The wind howled when the door opened and Tyson left, his mood no better than when he’d arrived. She took the horse’s bridle off and the saddle, making sure to rug him up well before shutting him in his stall.

  When she was finished, Sherbet was sitting waiting for her. Callie crouched down and hugged the dog. “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here now. Such a good girl, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, she is. Come on you two, let’s get you inside and warm.” Chance pushed his hat back down over his face and waited for Callie to take his hand before leading her back to the house.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Once inside he insisted she take off her boots and jacket and have a long hot shower before sitting in front of the fireplace. By the time she came down with dry clothes on, Chance had made her a bowl of soup and it was sitting on the table in front of the roaring fire.

  “Canned I’m afraid, but better than nothing.” He reached for her, pulling Callie into his chest, his arms wrapped around her. “You had me so damned worried you know. I couldn’t bear to think about what would have happened if you got hurt or lost in that storm.”

  “Hmm, it’s kind of different to what I’m used to. I have to say I think I prefer the heat to the cold, although looking at it from inside the house it’s kind of pretty.” She snuggled against his chest, her gaze on the white curtain of snow outside the window blocking them in from the outside world. “There was no way I wasn’t coming back to this either.” Callie lifted her mouth to his. With a passion fraught with images of loss, she slid her hands up under her husband’s shirt. His nipples pebbled when she ran her fingertips over the small beads of flesh and Chance groaned.

  “You need to eat something warm.”

  She nibbled at his ear, laughing as the goose bumps rolled over his skin and he was unable to stop her. “I need this more. The soup can wait.” Callie pulled him down onto the rug in front of the fireplace, straddling him, careful not to place too much pressure on his hip. Button after button was undone and she spread his shirt open, exposing the wide expanse of chest and stomach to her hungry gaze.

  She kissed his throat, making her way down to the small trail of hair that disappeared under his jeans. With hurried moves, Callie undid his belt buckle before popping the button on the blue denim jeans. “Lift up, cowboy.” Chance lifted his hips and she slid his jeans and boxers down to his knees, exposing his need to her greedy eyes.

  He’d wanted to go out and look for her himself, but he knew it was best to get help since he wasn’t able to ride just yet, not unless he wanted to do some major damage to the bones. What would he have done if Tyson hadn’t found her? The only reason he let his brother have the last word was because he’d brought her back to him. And now he wasn’t ever going to let her put herself in danger again.

  “Take it all off for me.” He pulled her shirt from her old cozy track pants and pushed it up so he could reach her full soft breasts. Chance tweaked the nipples as she lifted her arms and pulled the shirt up before throwing it on the floor beside them.

  “Come down here.” Chance opened his mouth and took in one of her nipples as she leaned down over him. She shuffled lower so she was sitting over his erection, moving around carefully but with enough pressure to make him groan in pleasure. “Oh my fucking God, stay right there.” He switched nipples, lathering as much attention on her other breast as he did on the first.

  “I need you right now.” Callie gasped and moved her heated core over his erection. She lifted herself and reached for him. Slowly, inch by inch, she lowered herself until he was buried deep inside her. The warmth of her body wrapped around him, almost sending him over the edge. He wanted to savor the moment, but knew they both needed sex hard and fast after this morning’s tension.

  Chance started to move his hips, thankful the pain was almost non-existent now. He glanced up into Callie’s face. Her eyes were closed and she had a look of unbridled joy on her face. Her mouth was open emitting small sounds of pleasure that reminded him of a cats purr. She started to move faster, pushing herself down harder and spreading her legs to take him as far as she could.

  He gripped her hips and upped the pace, plunging deeper and harder with each stroke.

  ***

  She rolled off of Chance and onto her back, staring up at the ceiling above them. It might be snowing outside but in the lounge it was hot. She knew that was more to do with the great panic over losing you sex they’d just shared and not the fire crackling in the hearth in front of them. Callie glanced at her half naked cowboy and reached for his hand. “Thanks. I really needed that.” They lay together until the pangs of hunger made it impossible for her not to move.

  As she rose to her feet, she gathered her clothes. Callie dressed in front of the flames before helping Chance pull up his jeans. She stood over him, smiling as he made lewd remarks of where they should spend the rest of their afternoon, making the most of the bad weather. “You’re forgetting I have a job to do and a small bull calf who needs to be fed in a couple of hours. As much as I’d like to do what you suggest, not gonna happen.” She looked at the cold soup and picked up the bowl. “Might have to reheat this, back soon.”

  In the kitchen, she put the bowl in the microwave and walked over to Sherbet who was sleeping on an old horse blanket Chance had given her. Callie leaned down and patted the dog’s head, forever thankful she had been chosen by the beautiful girl and not decided to take one of the pups. “You are the best dog out, you know that right?”

  Sherbet licked Callie’s hand and snuggled back down to sleep, content in the knowledge they were warm and safe inside.

  After washing her hands, Callie made a plate of hot buttered toast and put it on a tray with the soup and two spoons before heading back into the lounge where her husband was still sitting on the rug in front of the fire. She put the tray down in front of him and sat cross legged, taking a piece of toast.

  “I’m sorry you were so worried about me.” She took a bite, the melted butter running down her chin. Chance leaned over and licked it up before placing a soft kiss on her lips.

  “I was frantic and not being stupid enough to try and get on a horse myself, I had no choice but to call on Tyson. I’m sorry he was such an ass to you. He’s just being protective, I know that, but it might be wise if I came up with another reason why I stayed on the circuit and not because I wanted the money for them to get a good start in life.”

  “Could be a good idea. I’d hate for this to drag on for too long. I can only take so much crap from people who have no idea what they’re talking about.” Callie picked up a spoon and tried the soup. “Yummo, have some.” She dipped her toast in, soaking up the fragrant juices before popping it in her mouth. “How come he’s not married himself? If he had his own wife he might not have the time or inclination to worry about you so much.”

  A look of wonder crossed over Chance’s eyes. “Hell, I never thought of that. He’s never mentioned a girlfriend and I’ve been too focused on myself to even give it a thought. I might bring it up next time I see him. Come to
think of it, none of my brothers are hitched with the exception of Rory who is widowed.” He picked up a piece of toast. “Did I tell you he’s coming home?”

  “Nope, you didn’t.”

  “I spoke to him yesterday. Suggested he move back here so he’s close to family and he let out that he’s put in for a transfer. We could use a good sheriff like him in town.”

  Callie smiled at the enthusiasm Chance showed at the mention of his brother. She hoped she could see her sisters again before too long too. It would be nice to have them over to stay and show them where she worked and now lived.

  “What’s that frown for?” Chance cupped her chin in his hand.

  “I was thinking about my sisters. They don’t know I answered a mail order bride advert. I told them it was a job. Not sure they’re old enough to understand what I did just yet.”

  “You can always get them over for a holiday and break it to them when they’re here. Once we win them over with my charm and the ranch that is.” He grinned and Callie let the sadness slide away. She would deal with it when the time was right. Now she had to finish her soup and get rugged up to go and feed the calf again. Every four hours—it was going to be a long night.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Chance opened his eyes and rolled over, reaching for his wife. The spot where her head rested last night on the pillow was cold and empty. He sat up and called her name. “Callie, are you there?” When she didn’t reply he lay back. She must be out feeding the calf again. He looked over at the window, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the snow had stopped. The clouds were still there, but Chance could see patches of blue peeking through. He might as well get up and go and see how his dear wife was coping with the calf.

  As he pulled up his jeans, Chance noticed how much better his hip was feeling. The stiffness had gone out of it and he could walk to the bathroom without the cane. Must be one of the benefits of married life. Sex kept your body supple and loose. He snorted a laugh. Wait until he told Callie that. Not that he thought she would mind considering she was to blame a lot of the time for initiating more than half of the times they had sex.