“Hello. Herriot Veterinary Services. How may I help you?”
“Yes, I’d like to sign up for the discounted horse clinic?”
“Will you be bringing your horse to the clinic?”
“Can’t you pick ‘er up?”
“No. I’m sorry, we don’t do pick up or delivery. You have to bring your horse at the appointed time,” she explained.
“But you don’t pick up? How am I supposed to get ‘er there?”
“There are horse carrier services, or perhaps you could ask a friend?” she suggested, trying to be reasonable. She’d discussed this with Fiona at one time, and they agreed that they could only do so much to help people. Everyone wanted ‘cheap’ medical care for their animals, but there was only so much the clinic could realistically help them with. These demands also annoyed her since they were providing a service, not a charity.
“I don’t have the money to hire one of them services,” he said in an ornery-sounding voice. “You don’t pick up?” he tried again.
“No, we don’t,” she repeated patiently. She really wanted to sigh loudly and shout, “I said no!”
“Well, if I ‘ave the vet out there’s a service charge and I don’ get no discount?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then that ain’t no service now, is it?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but we are having the clinic here at our ranch for the convenience of our clients.”
“But it ain’t no convenience if I can’t get ‘er there, now is it?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t help you with transportation.”
He ended up hanging up on her but called back later to try again and she had to refuse him again. When he called a third time after having miraculously found transportation, she had to refuse him since all their horse clinic slots were filled. “What? After all you put me through, now you ain’t got no slots?”
“I’m sorry, sir. There is a limit to how many procedures the doctors can do.”
“But I got the transportation y’all required.”
“I’m sorry, sir. We have no available openings for a procedure of that duration. They have all been filled.”
“That ain’t helpin’ me much, now is it?”
Allyssa hated abuse like this. It wasn’t her fault, and she had tried to help him. Still, he wanted his pound of flesh and she listened for as long as she could, allowing him to vent. But when he kept it up, she just hung up the phone. “Oops,” she said as though it were an accident that they got disconnected.
“A fan?” Fiona asked as she came in.
Allyssa laughed, always glad to see her wife. “He was just mad because we couldn’t accommodate his horse. We’ve sold out all our horsey slots.”
“You couldn’t make an exception?” Fiona asked, unsure what was going on. She was pleased they were sold out.
“If I did, he’d have complained about something else. He was looking for the cheapest route,” she explained to her wife and then went on to explain about the verbal abuse and his calling three times.
“Do you know who it was?”
Allyssa shook her head, her blonde hair waving back and forth with the gesture. “We never did get around to his name.”
“Well, if he calls again, I don’t want you to take any guff from him. There’s no reason you have to!” she said forcefully. She’d often defended her wife to those who thought to complain to her about her wife’s handling of a bill, collections, or whatever. She’d trust Allyssa’s version of events over a client’s any day.
Allyssa appreciated the vote of confidence. She’d recognize the man’s voice if he called again. If he used their services, there would be an upcharge because of the abuse. “Hey, aren’t you home early?”
“Yep, we got done and I sent my two cohorts,” she grinned at the title she’d given the interns, “into town for a well-deserved night off.”
“You didn’t give them the keys to the Jeep, did you?” she asked, alarmed.
“Oh, hell no. Not the RV either. I did, however, let them have the old truck. Is that okay?” she asked, suddenly realizing she didn’t really know what they used that truck for on the ranch.
“That’s fine, but I did want to talk to you about that old truck. Let me shut things down here.”
“Let’s take a walk,” her wife said when Allyssa had turned off the computer, put away the current journal that was being transcribed, and straightened up the desk. She held out her hand.
Allyssa took it gladly, both women waddling a little as they crossed the yard. Two of the barn cats began to follow them, their tails in the air and then, Rex ran to join them. They both smiled, delighted his gait was unaffected by both the accident he’d had as a full-grown pup and by being shot. He was in his prime and he looked it. Rex was a beautiful specimen of an Anatolian Shepherd and looked thrilled to see his two favorite humans heading out. Rocky, their horse therapists’ Great Dane, loped along behind their dog.
“Hey, Rhonda,” Fey called to the horse therapist who was working with a horse in one of the round pens. As the woman looked up, she added, “Are you going to be here a while?” At Rhonda’s nod, Fiona advised, “We’re taking Rocky for a walk.” She nodded to acknowledge the information. It wasn’t as though Rocky would have given anyone a choice. He was too big to argue with, and he wanted to go with Rex. As they got just beyond the fence line, Eustis, Rhonda’s miniature donkey, jogged to join them. He brayed excitedly as he joined the two dogs that were a bit bigger than him. Fey and Allyssa laughed at the animals’ antics, watching the cats adroitly avoiding all the hooves and big paws.
“I miss riding,” Allyssa admitted as a few curious and friendly horses began to pace them on their walk. The dogs roughhoused a little, bumping into each other deliberately, enticing each other into loping away and then coming back to the little group. The miniature donkey attempted to join in; he was convinced he was a dog too, but his braying wasn’t as gentle as the dogs’ occasional barks of joy. One of the other barn cats mewed as it jogged to catch up to the little group. Allyssa smiled at their procession. Never in a million years would she have imagined such a gathering a few years ago when she lived in Denver.
“I miss riding too, even if you did cheat occasionally,” Fey teased.
“Me? Cheat? I think you are just a sore loser,” Allyssa said, pretending to be affronted. She missed the challenges they had given each other when they rode.
“Move over,” Fey said to one of the horses that had joined them and was crowding a little too close for comfort as they walked along. She slapped it playfully on the rump as it took a few fast, shuffling steps away. “You’d think we were being herded or something?”
“I think they miss riding too,” Allyssa answered as she watched the playful byplay. “Hey, one of the 4-H moms said she knew one of the kids was interested in the old truck.”
“Is that what you meant when you said you wanted to talk about it?”
Allyssa nodded and then went on to tell her about a truck the other 4-H mom mentioned.
“Do you think we need a truck around the ranch?”
Allyssa shrugged. “Eventually, I think we will as the practice and rescue grow. We can keep my Jeep as a family vehicle so long as we continue to maintain it.” She unconsciously rubbed her belly as she mentioned the word ‘family.’
“We’ve really put a lot of miles on it,” Fey mentioned thoughtfully as they walked. “You know, I often wonder if Erin and Molly walked out here like this?” she asked, not expecting an answer as they walked along beside the fences their renter, Brock Woodson had erected to keep the horses and cattle off the land he was working. They dodged cow and horse plops, avoiding them adroitly despite their expanding girths.
“I have wondered that too,” Allyssa commented as she surveyed the trees growing on the slope. How many of those had grown back after the fires, and how many had the couple culled for their building needs?
They went beyond a set of hills that were frequ
ently dotted with cattle, observing them as they chewed their cuds placidly while watching the humans and their little procession of horses, dogs, cats, and a loud, little donkey making their way. “Hey, can you see that?” Fey pointed out a herd they could see out on the plains before them.
“Do you see the flash of red?” Allyssa asked, excitedly. The red horse had become an important sight to the 4-Hers.
“Yes, she’s a beauty,” Fey answered.
“Are you sure it’s a mare? Rhonda and Woody weren’t sure.”
“I think she’s got a foal with her. Let’s watch,” she answered, and they did just that for the next half hour until the breeze shifted and their little group’s smell alerted the wild horses to their presence. The wild horses took off, their tails held high as they easily outdistanced anyone and anything that would have tried to chase them. A little foal was indeed next to the mare’s flank, almost appearing to be attached by strings as the mare turned one way or another and the foal duplicated her movements. “Beautiful,” Fey breathed, glad she had suggested the walk to her wife.
“Yes, beautiful,” Allyssa agreed and then turned to look at her wife, giving that word another meaning as she looked in the brunette’s soft eyes. She leaned in to kiss her wife just because she could. The heat generated between them was immediate, and they quickly sank into the wild, standing hay, hiding among its growth. Their animal sentinels stood guard, occasionally looking curiously at the sounds emanating from the two humans mating in the hay.
“Oh, what did you have in mind?” Fey murmured as Allyssa slipped her hand inside her shirt.
“I think you know,” her wife murmured, smiling against her lips as they exchanged heated kisses and she felt her up.
Fey loved her wife’s butt. It was taut and smooth and held in oh so perfectly by the jeans she wore—not Wranglers like a lot of the westerners wore but good old-fashioned Levis that felt good under her hands as she cupped both mounds. She ground suggestively against her wife’s spread legs. She liked it even better when she slipped her hands under the rough fabric to the satin below and then, to the bare skin below that. Fey groaned at what she felt in her palms, squeezing it.
“Your hands are so warm,” Allyssa murmured, arching against her wife and spreading her legs farther as she ground, enjoying the sensations.
“We’re not going to be able to do this much longer, so we have to take advantage of every opportunity,” Fey murmured back, already feeling their two bellies bumping together and getting in the way as she tugged off her shirt and then turned to push her wife’s shirt up, so she could access the soft skin below.
“Oh, yes,” Allyssa gasped, encouraging her wife by cupping the brown tresses against her head. As Fey captured an erect nipple in her mouth she sighed blissfully, the warm air of the prairie causing it to pucker up. It wasn’t until her crotch was bared to her wife’s ministrations that she fully realized how exposed she was. The warm air between her legs felt almost as good as her wife’s tongue as she arched and sighed against her.
Fey ground down on her wife’s face after she made her come the first time, gently keeping most of her weight on her muscular thighs as Allyssa’s fingers slid in and out of her and her mouth captured the vet’s clit. Fey looked up to the heavens in supplication, enjoying both the sensations and being exposed to the elements.
Allyssa looked up at her wife, suddenly becoming excited again as she watched her enjoying riding her mouth, her breasts bobbing above her as she ground down into her mouth. Her fingers wet on one hand, she took her other hand and squeezed her wife’s muscular butt cheek.
“Oh, oh, ohhhh,” Fey groaned as she collapsed against her, slowly falling to the side onto her clothes, totally replete from their lovemaking.
Allyssa turned over onto her wife, laying across her legs, feeling the hay pricking at her and admiring the beautiful scene before her with Fey laying nearly naked in the grasses. Eventually, she started to dress, helping Fey as they both rose awkwardly from their impromptu lovemaking.
Smiling in shared joy, they walked back together still holding hands. Their entourage raced out ahead of them as the evening sun set, far outpacing the two pregnant women. Still, the quiet of their walk, the peacefulness of it, was something they rarely shared in their hectic lives and they cherished the time alone. Neither of them realized they were being observed, although Rex and Rocky sensed it. Both dogs looked back occasionally and then loped on ahead of the little group.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Hello. Herriot Veterinary Services. How may I help you?” Allyssa answered on the cordless phone as she didn’t want to be in the hot office. She wasn’t going to turn on the air conditioner until she had to. She’d used it a lot this year already. As the summer progressed, her pregnancy was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. Fey had complained about the cold in the house, and then, when Allyssa was cold, Fey was hot.
“Allyssa? You don’t know how that startles me to hear you say that,” her father-in-law, Keith Herriot boomed into the phone.
Allyssa chuckled, pleased to hear from him. “How are you, Keith?”
“I’m good. How are the two of you doing? Fiona’s pregnancy coming along okay?” He was worried that they hadn’t posted anything online for him to follow and he had to rely on this phone call to find out about his daughter.
Allyssa hated this. Father and daughter had been strained for a few months, ever since Rosemary had first refused and then finally allowed Fey’s sister and brother to come out at Easter. She was sick of the control that Rosemary exerted over her children and her husband, Keith, who capitulated so easily, attempting to keep the peace. Now, Allyssa felt she was being drawn into the middle. She was a little startled that he hadn’t asked about her own pregnancy, then remembered he didn’t know yet. “She’s fine,” she said a little tightly. “How are the kids?” She felt sorry for this weak man, but she never asked how he was doing, and she certainly didn’t care how the mean-spirited Rosemary was.
“They are good. That’s why I’m calling. I was wondering if they could come for the Fourth of July?”
“Certainly,” she answered without hesitation, knowing Fey would love to have her siblings come out to the ranch. She felt it was part of their heritage and they should know the joys of it. They always had a good time when they came. “Are you coming too?” she asked, knowing she would have to drive two hours to pick Fey’s siblings up if he didn’t bring them all the way from their home in Portland. Over two hours there and then back.
“No, I have to work, but I’ll meet you halfway?” he asked, knowing she would agree.
The thought of driving over two hours in the Jeep this far along in her pregnancy didn’t appeal to Allyssa, but she knew Fey would adore having the younger siblings around, and she would do anything to make her wife happy. “Absolutely,” she said, not letting her own feelings on the idea be known. “I won’t be able to return them for about two weeks though,” she said in a joking manner.
“Oh, why is that?” he asked, hearing the tone and smiling. He liked this daughter-in-law of his; his daughter had chosen wisely.
“We are having one of our clinics, and I’m going to put them to work. You know, slave labor?”
“They will love that, you know?” he asked, knowing how much they enjoyed spending time with their older sister since the two women had moved back to the family ranch. They both adored Allyssa too and followed her blogs avidly to glean information about what was going on at the ranch and with the rescue. They had learned not to share anything with their mother, who didn’t approve of the two women. She had never approved of Fiona. She’d manipulated and kept her well away from Keith, and for that, he was very sorry.
They arranged to have the two siblings arrive two days before the clinic instead of the Fourth of July. Allyssa would drive and pick them up, they would stay for two and a half weeks, and then, Allyssa would drive and meet him again. When she told her wife, Fiona was as thrilled as Allyssa had expected.
“Where are we going to put them?” she asked, their two extra rooms taken up by the interns.
“Well, I didn’t put anyone in Traci’s room, so we’re covered there, and Sean will love sleeping in the RV, the mobile home, the loft in the cabin, or even on the porch under a blanket,” she pointed out. Fiona nodded in agreement. He was at an age where those options would appeal to him. They just had to make sure he showered daily, so he wouldn’t stink like the ranch animals. He was also at that stage where showers weren’t high on his list of priorities.
“Did you tell my father about...?” she put her hand on Allyssa’s bulging belly.
“No, but I don’t think I can hide it when I see him.” She laughed. Both women had now ‘popped’ and were showing. Although they hadn’t announced Allyssa’s pregnancy, everyone around them knew.
“No, I don’t think we’re hiding anything,” she answered, joining in the laugh.
Allyssa was right, the drive to the halfway point where they exchanged the kids seemed to take longer. Getting out of the Jeep, she felt a million years old. She was stiff, and the baby was giving her heartburn for not stopping and walking around at least once during the long drive. She also had to pee and was glad to see Keith wasn’t there yet, so she could use the rest stop bathroom. On her way out, she saw him pull up and smiled. Traci saw her first and her eyes popped out of her head when she saw Allyssa’s rounding shape and waddle.
“Allyssa are you going to have a baby too?” she asked as she ran to greet her sister-in-law, pleased to see her.
“Yep,” she admitted as she hugged the younger girl.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked, sounding a little hurt.
“I didn’t know until after you left last time, and after what happened last year, we wanted to be sure it would take before we told anyone,” she said as Keith and Sean walked up and heard her.
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