by Cat Schield
“Yes. I can’t exactly afford to walk away from ten million dollars, but I can make sure that after I’m gone the land will revert back to his family.”
Chelsea was silent for a long time. “This really sucks.”
“Yes, it does.” Brandee was starting to think that no matter what she did, her time with Shane was drawing to a close. “Whoever Maverick is, the person has a twisted, cruel personality.”
“Still think it’s one or all of the terrible trio?”
“I can’t imagine who else.” Brandee hadn’t given up on her suspicions about Cecelia, Simone and Naomi. “Although it seems a little extreme even for them.”
“But you’ve really been a burr in their blankets and I could see them siding with Shane.”
“And considering what Maverick wants...”
“Money?”
“Fifty grand isn’t all that much. I think Maverick asked for money more to disguise the real purpose of the blackmail, which was getting me out of the Texas Cattleman’s Club.” Something she could see the terrible trio plotting to do. “Regardless of what I do or don’t know, the fact is that I can’t afford for Shane to find out the truth.”
“But if you don’t win the wager, what are you going to do?”
“As much as I hate the idea, I think I’m going to do as Maverick demands.”
“So, what does that mean for you and Shane?”
“I think from the beginning we were both pretty sure this thing was going to end up in a stalemate.”
“So neither of you is going to admit that you’ve fallen for the other.”
“Nope.”
“And yet I’m pretty sure you’ve fallen for him.”
“I can’t let myself go there, Chels.” Brandee rubbed her burning eyes and let her pent-up breath go in a ragged exhale. “There’s too much at stake.”
“And if the fate of your ranch didn’t hinge on you admitting that you had it bad for him?”
“The problem is that it does.” As much as Brandee wished she was brave enough to risk her heart, she could point to too many times when trusting in things beyond her control hadn’t worked in her favor. “So, I guess that’s something we’ll never know.”
* * *
The rain began shortly after three o’clock that afternoon. Brandee fell asleep listening to it tap on the French doors in the guest suite, a rapid counterpoint to the steady beat of Shane’s heart beneath her ear. It was still coming down when she woke several hours later.
They hadn’t moved during their nap and his strong arms around her roused a contentment she couldn’t ignore. For as long as she could remember, she’d bubbled with energy, always in motion, often doing several things at once and adding dozens of tasks to the bottom of her to-do list as she knocked off the ones at the top.
Around Shane she stepped back from the frenetic need for activity. He had a way of keeping her in the moment. Whether it was a deep, drugging kiss or the glide of his hands over her skin, when she was with him the rest of the world and all its problems slipped away.
“Ten more minutes,” he murmured, his arms around her tensing.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
His breath puffed against her skin as his lips moved across her cheek and down her neck. “I can feel you starting to think about everything that needs to get done in the next twelve hours.”
“I’m only thinking about the next twelve minutes.” She arched her back as his tongue circled her nipple. A long sigh escaped her as he settled his mouth over her breast and sucked.
In the end it was twenty minutes before she escaped his clever hands and imaginative mouth and made her way on shaking legs to her shower. As tempted as she’d been by his invitation to stay and let him wash her back, they’d already lingered too long.
They grabbed a quick dinner of May’s chili to fortify them for the long, cold night, before heading out. With the number of cows showing signs of delivering over the next twenty-four hours, it was all hands on deck.
Icy rain pelted Shane and Brandee as they maneuvered the cows. By three o’clock in the morning, Hope Springs Ranch had seen the addition of two heifers and three steers. On a normal night, emotions would be running high at all the successful births, but a sharp wind blew rain into every gap in their rain gear, leaving the group soaked, freezing and exhausted.
Brandee cast a glance around. Although most of the newborns were up on their feet and doing well, a couple still were being tended to by their moms. That left only one cow left to go. The one Brandee was most worried about: a first-time heifer who looked like she was going to be trouble.
“We might want to take this one back to the shed,” Brandee shouted above the rain, moving her horse forward to turn the heifer they’d been keeping tabs on in the direction of the ranch buildings.
Her water had broken at the start of the evening and now she’d advanced to the stage where she was contracting. They’d been watching her for the last twenty minutes and things didn’t seem to be progressing.
Shane shifted his horse so that the cow was between them and they could keep her heading where they wanted. It seemed to take forever and Brandee’s nerves stretched tighter with each minute that passed. As many times as she’d seen calves drop, each birth held a place of importance in her heart.
They got the heifer into the barn and directed her into a chute. At the far end was a head gate that opened to the side and then closed after the cow stuck her head through. Once the heifer was secure, Brandee put on a long glove and moved to her back end.
“I’ve got to see what’s going on up there,” she explained to Shane, who watched her with interest.
“What can I do?”
“There’s an obstetric chain, hooks and a calf puller over there.” She indicated a spot on the wall where the equipment was kept. “Can you also grab the wood box propped up against the wall, as well?” Two feet square and four inches high, the box was used to brace against the heifer when she started pulling the calf out.
“Got it.”
Now that they had the cow inside where it was dry and light, Brandee needed to examine the birth canal to determine the size and position of the calf. She was dreading that the calf was breeched. Most calves were born headfirst, but sometimes they were turned around, and if the legs were tucked up, it would mean she’d have to go rooting around an arm’s-length distance to see if she could find a hoof and wrap the chain around it.
Brandee knew she was in trouble almost immediately. Chilled to the bone, exhausted and anticipating a hundred things that could possibly go wrong with this birth, she cursed.
“Problem?” Shane stood beside her with the equipment.
“Calf’s breeched.” She took the chain from Shane and indicated the puller. “You can put that aside. We’re not going to need it yet.”
She hoped not at all. If she could get the calf straightened out, the cow’s contractions might be able to help her. Brandee just hoped the heifer wasn’t worn-out from pushing the breeched baby.
“What do you do with that?” Shane indicated the chain. It was several feet in length with circles on each end, reminiscent of a dog’s choke collar.
“I need to get this around the calf’s legs so I can get them straightened out. Right now its hind end is toward the birth canal and its legs are beneath it.”
“Isn’t this something a vet should handle?”
“Only if things get complicated.” And she hoped that wouldn’t happen. “I’ve done this before. It’s just tricky and time-consuming, but doable.”
“What can I do to help?”
Her heart gave a silly little flutter at his earnest question. Usually she had one of the guys helping her with this, but they were all out, tending to little miracles of their own. She could handle this.
She
eyed Shane’s beefy shoulders with a weary but heartfelt grin. “I’m going to let you show off your manly side.”
“Meaning?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.
“You get to do all the pulling.”
Her last glimpse of Shane before she focused all her attention on the cow was of his sure nod. He had his game face on. This aspect of ranching was one he’d never known, but he’d stepped up and she respected him for that.
Brandee made a loop with one end of the chain and reached in until she located the calf’s legs. The snug fit and the way he was positioned meant that getting the chain over the hoof required dexterity and patience. To block out all distractions, Brandee closed her eyes and “saw” with her fingers. Before she could get the loop over the hoof, she lost the opening and the chain straightened out.
Frustration surged. The miserable night had worn her down. Feeling raw and unfocused, she pulled her arm out and re-created the loop before trying once more. It took her three attempts and ten agonizing minutes before she’d captured both hooves. She was breathing hard past the tightness in her throat as she turned to Shane.
“Okay, now it’s your turn.” Her voice was thick with weariness and she struggled not to let her anxiety show. “We’ll do this slow. I need you to pull one side and then the other to get his hooves pointed outward. I’ll let you know which to pull and when.”
Working together in slow stages, they got the calf’s back legs straightened so that both were heading down the birth canal. Both Brandee and Shane were sweating in the cool barn air by the time stage one was complete.
“What now?” Shane asked, stepping back to give Brandee room to move around the heifer.
“We need to get her down on her right side. It’s the natural position for birthing. I want as little stress on her as possible.”
Brandee slipped a rope around the cow right in front of her hip bones and tightened it while rocking her gently to get her to lie down. Once the heifer was on her side, Brandee made sure the chains were still properly positioned around the calf’s cannon bones.
“Good,” she said, noting that the cow was starting to contract once more. “Let’s get this done.”
She sat down on the ground and grabbed the first hook. When the cow contracted, Brandee pulled. Nothing happened. She set her foot against the cow for leverage and switched to the second hook. With the next contraction, she pulled again without success. This breeched baby was good and stuck.
“Let me help.” Shane nudged her over and sat beside her.
After alternating back and forth between the two chains a few times, Brandee dropped her head onto her arms as frustration swallowed her whole.
“Damn it, I don’t want to use the calf puller.” But it was very much appearing like she’d have to.
An uncharacteristic urge to cry rose in her. She wanted to throw herself against Shane’s chest and sob. Brandee gritted her teeth. She never got emotional like this.
“Come on,” Shane said, bumping her shoulder with his in encouragement. “We can do this.”
His focus was complete as he timed his exertions with the cow’s contractions. Following his example, Brandee put her energy into willing the damned calf to move. The heifer groaned, Shane grunted and Brandee’s muscles strained.
After four more contractions, they were able to get more of the legs out and Brandee felt some of the tension ease from her chest. There was still no guarantee that the calf would be alive when they were done, but at least they were making progress.
“Here,” she said, shifting the wood platform and sliding it against the cow’s backside between the calf’s legs and the floor. Now she and Shane had a better brace for their feet. “He’s starting to loosen. A few more contractions and we’ll have him.”
Then like a cork coming loose from a champagne bottle, the rear half of the calf was suddenly out. They scooted back to make way and then scrambled to their feet. With one final contraction and two mighty pulls from Brandee and Shane, the calf slipped free in a disgusting expulsion of amniotic fluid and blood.
Shane gave a soft whoop as he and a very relieved Brandee dragged the limp calf ten feet away from the cow.
“Is it alive?” Shane bent down and peered at the unmoving calf while Brandee peeled the sack from its face and cleared fluid from its nostrils.
“It sure is.” She exuberantly roughed up its coat in a simulation of its mother’s rough licking and watched it begin to draw breath into its lungs.
Shane peeled off the rubber gloves he’d donned and turned them inside out to avoid transferring the gore to his skin. “What a rush.”
“It can be.” Brandee released the head gate and walked out of the birthing area. “Let’s get out of here so she can get up and smell her baby.”
The calf still hadn’t moved, but now the cow got to her feet and managed a lumbering turn. She seemed a little disengaged from what had just happened.
“She doesn’t seem too interested in her baby,” Shane commented, his voice low and mellow.
“Give her a minute.”
And sure enough the cow ambled over to the baby and gave him a good long sniff. This seemed to stimulate the calf and he gave a little jerk, which startled the cow for a second. Then Mama gave her baby another couple sniffs and began licking.
“What do you know.” Shane gently bumped against Brandee. “Looks like we did okay.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “We sure did.”
Within an hour the calf was on its feet and Brandee wanted very badly to get off hers. Several hands had swung by to check in and thumped Shane on the back when they found out he’d participated in his first calf pulling.
“I think we can leave these two for now,” Brandee said, pushing away from the railing. “I really want a shower and some breakfast.”
“Both sound great.”
Twenty minutes later, clean and dressed in leggings and an oversize sweater, Brandee pulled her damp hair into a topknot and padded into the kitchen, where Shane had already put on a pot of coffee and was staring into the refrigerator. He hadn’t noticed her arrival and she had an unguarded few seconds to stare at him.
He’d been a huge help tonight. She wondered if he still disliked ranching as much as he had when he’d first arrived. Seeing his face light up as they’d pulled the calf free had given her such joy. She was starting to get how being partners with someone could be pretty great. Too bad there was a sinkhole the size of Hope Springs Ranch standing between them.
He must have heard her sigh because he asked, “What are you hungry for?”
He turned to look at her and she realized he was the manifestation of every longing, hope and fantasy she’d ever had. She had closed the distance and was sinking her fingers into his hair before the refrigerator door closed.
“You.”
Eleven
Shane’s arms locked around her as their mouths fused in a hot, frantic kiss. She was everything sweet and delicious. And sexy. He loved the way her hips moved against him as if driven by some all-consuming hunger. He sank his fingers into them and backed her against the counter.
If he’d thought she made him burn before, the soft moans that slipped out when he palmed her breast awakened a wildness he could barely contain. The big island in the kitchen had enough room for them both, but before he could lift her onto it, she shook her head.
“My room.”
For an instant he froze. Over the last week, she’d made it pretty clear that her bedroom was off-limits. What had changed? He framed her face with his hands and peered into her eyes. She met his gaze with openness and trust. His heart wrenched and something broke loose inside him.
“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known,” he murmured, dipping his head to capture her lips in a reverent kiss.
She
melted into his body and he savored the plush give of her soft curves. Before the kiss could turn sizzling once more, Shane scooped Brandee off her feet and headed to her bedroom.
She’d left the nightstand lamps burning and he had no trouble finding his way to her bed. Setting her on her feet, he ripped off his T-shirt and tossed it aside. She managed to unfasten the button on his jeans before he pushed her hands aside and finished the job himself. Once he stood naked before her, he wasted little time stripping off her clothes.
Together they tumbled onto the mattress and rolled. Breathless, Shane found himself flat on his back with a smiling Brandee straddling him. Gloriously confident in her power, she cupped her breasts in her hands and lifted them in offering to him.
Shane’s erection bobbed against her backside as he skimmed his palms up her rib cage and lightly pinched her tight nipples. He wanted what happened between them tonight to be something neither one would ever forget and tangled one hand in her hair to draw her mouth down to his.
Again they kissed with more tenderness than passion. The heat that had driven them earlier had given way to a curious intimacy. Shane kissed his way down her throat and sucked gently at the spot where her shoulder and neck came together. Her fingers bit into his shoulder as she shivered.
“You like that,” he said, teasing the spot with his tongue and smiling at her shaky laugh.
“I like a lot of things that you do to me.”
“Like this?” He brushed his hand over her abdomen. Her thighs parted in anticipation of his touch, but he went no lower.
“Not like that,” she murmured, pushing his fingers lower. “Like this.” Her back arched as he slid a finger along the folds that concealed her intimate warmth. “Almost, but not quite...there.”
Her shudder drove his willpower to the brink. Sensing she’d rush him if he let her, Shane eased down her body, gliding his mouth over the swell of one breast, and then the other. Brandee’s fingers sifted through his hair as she sighed in pleasure.