Chapter 8
TANNER
Buzz buzz
I fumbled for my cell on the nightstand. Three a.m. Crap. Nothing good ever came from a middle-of-the-night phone call.
“What’s up, Josh?” I asked groggily.
“It’s Hazel. I think she going into labor.”
I sat up quickly. “Now? It’s too soon. What’s going on?”
“Her breathing is off, and she’s got the shakes. I rang the emergency number at Lou’s office and tried his cell, but—”
I jumped out of bed, almost tripping over Lila as I scrounged for my clothes. “I’ll be right there.”
I lived in one of the bungalows meant for ranch employees.
The two or three-bedroom houses were strategically located near the barns and stables without being too close.
No one wanted the aroma of cow dung to compete with the scent of baked chocolate chip cookies.
They also didn’t want to live too close to the main lodge, either.
Oak Ridge Lodge was where our dude ranch guests resided while they soaked in the cowboy experience—riding horses, checking on the herd, petting piglets, and feeding goat kids—in between massages and gourmet meals under the stars.
It was a grand, beautiful place with a lush green lawn, a wraparound porch, tall ceilings, fancy chandeliers, and even a view of the ocean from the second story for a few lucky guests.
Nice place, but too noisy and too posh for my taste.
I hurried along an illuminated pathway lined with white roses and lavender and jumped the fence leading to the south barn. I could see my breath and was glad I’d grabbed a thicker jacket. The temperature shift between day and night could be dramatic at this time of year.
But of course, it was warm in the barn. I unzipped my leather jacket and nodded a greeting to the ranch hands on duty, Josh and Vic.
“How’s she doin’?” I asked, though I could see for myself that the poor cow was in distress.
She was trembling and panting. However, I didn’t think she was in the early stages of labor. That was a gut feeling based on years of experience, but I wasn’t a vet.
“Her food and water haven’t been touched since this morning, so we can add loss of appetite to her symptoms,” Josh reported, stroking Hazel’s neck. “I tried Lou again…still no reply, but Axel should be here soon.”
“Good.”
“I didn’t realize he lived twenty minutes away.”
“He won’t mind. This is an emergency.” I set a hand on Hazel’s flank and rubbed gently.
Vic removed his baseball cap and scratched his bald head. “We’ve tried everything to make her comfortable, but—”
“What’s going on?” Axel burst into the barn, carrying his sleepy daughter on one hip and holding a supply bag.
Vic and Josh spoke over each other in their haste to explain Hazel’s symptoms while I admired the view.
Let me just say…no one did middle-of-the-night emergency chic quite like our new vet. He’d obviously dressed in a hurry and rushed out of the house, bringing only the essentials with him—his unsupervised kid and his vet bag.
Axel’s hair stood on end, his beard had grown significantly overnight, his plaid shirt was buttoned unevenly under his leather bomber jacket, and he’d forgotten his hat. I’d never seen him so unkempt, and yet somehow, he’d never looked better.
“It’s got to be early labor, but she’s not due for a month,” Vic said. “Will the calf make it if—”
“She’s not in labor.” Axel set his veterinarian bag on a bench and adjusted Phoebe in his arms before turning to me. “Sorry. I had to bring her.”
“No need for apologies. Of course, it’s fine,” I assured him. “But she’d probably more comfortable in a cozy bed. Can Phee stay at your house for a few hours, Josh?”
“That’s not necessary. If I can get a couple of blankets for her, Phee’ll be okay on that bale of hay in the corner while I see to Hazel.”
I frowned, but Josh shook his head and stepped forward.
“Tanner’s right. She’ll be comfortable at our house.
I know she just met us, but we’re up the lane from here.
It’s a five minute walk…less if you’re in a hurry.
We can put a blow-up bed in the girls’ room where it’s nice and warm…
and clean. Angie’s awake. She was just texting me to see how Hazel was doing.
I’ll call her now and have her get ready for a pint-sized guest.”
Axel froze. A myriad of emotions crossed his handsome face—irritation, annoyance, gratitude, and maybe…acceptance.
“That’s generous of you,” he grunted in his usual crusty manner.
I motioned for him to pass Phoebe to me. “In the meantime, let me take her, so you can examine Hazel.”
Another frown, and maybe a hint of a growl, like a wolf, protective and territorial. But Axel gently set her in my arms, waiting a beat to be sure she didn’t wake. With a brusque nod, he pulled off his jacket, donned a vet’s heavy-duty apron, and marched into the stall.
Phoebe’s golden hair cascaded over my shoulder.
I brushed a stray strand from her eyes, noting the contrast of her delicate long lashes and chubby cheeks.
She literally looked like an angel. I thought she had her dad’s eyes, but everything else about her was so petite that I had to bet she was the spitting image of her mom.
Yeah, I was very curious about that particular missing link in Axel’s story. Where was Phoebe’s mother? Was there a messy divorce? Was she an unfit parent or did they have a complicated joint custody arrangement? He hadn’t given the slightest hint about her.
It was none of my business, but I wanted to know what made Axel tick. He was quite possibly the most intense and contradictory person I’d ever met. Aloof yet present, gruff one moment and tender the next.
I watched him examine Hazel, modulating a clinical delivery to Vic to something sweeter for the struggling cow.
“Don’t you worry, girl. We’ll get you feelin’ right as rain,” Axel cooed, snapping at Vic to grab a vial from his bag.
Josh moved to my side, slipping his cell into his pocket. “Ang is getting the bed ready. It’ll be easier to carry her to my house than fuss with a car seat. Think the big scary bear will mind?”
My lips curled in a lopsided half grin. “Yep, but he can’t be in two places at once, and she’s just a kid. She needs sleep.”
Phee stirred in my arms, blinking to consciousness with a confused frown. “Where’s my daddy?”
“He’s with Hazel.” I gestured to the stall. “She’s sick, but your dad is going to make her feel better.”
“It might be a while yet. We made a bed for you at our house. You can have a sleepover with Abby, and in the morning, we’ll make pancakes. What do you say?” Josh whispered.
Phoebe’s eyes widened. “A sleepover? Did Daddy say yes?”
“He did,” I confirmed. “Say good-bye real quick. Josh will take you, and Abby’s mom will you show you her room.”
“Okay, yes.” Phoebe wiggled out of my arms and ran to the stall, stopping at the entrance like someone who’d learned a few rules about large animal care.
“Thanks, Josh. This is really nice of you. Tell Angie thanks, too,” I said.
“It’s no problem at all. The kids will be excited to have a surprise guest over.” He zipped his jacket and yawned. “I’ll be back as soon I can.”
“That might not be necessary. Shoot me a text, and I’ll let you know where we’re at.”
“Sounds good.”
I saw Phoebe and Josh off before joining Axel and Vic. “How’s Hazel? Do you think it’s milk fever again?”
“No.” Axel tapped a syringe. “It’s early-stage toxemia.”
“Oh, shit.”
“It’s more common in beef cattle than dairy, but it happens.
Dennis’s herd was hit harder by illness than he wanted you to know,” he grumbled, meeting my gaze.
“Hazel suffered from dehydration after her last pregnancy and she shouldn’t have been bred again so soon.
I’m giving her a glucose, calcium bicarbonate, and magnesium solution.
This will have to be administered daily until we can safely induce labor.
She’ll be all right, though. I’ll see to it. ”
I inclined my chin. “I know you will. What can I do?”
Axel closed the distance and spoke in a low tone, for my ears only. “Just stand there and look pretty for me, cowboy.”
I smacked his arm and scowled, grateful the dim lighting hid my certain blush.
“You can head on home, Vic. Get some rest. I’ll hang out with Axel. The early shift will be here within the hour anyway.”
The older man didn’t have to be told twice. “If you’re sure, I don’t mind if I do. Thanks, Boss.”
Once we were alone, I tried again. “All right, smartass. I’m helping. I’ll clean the stall while you handle medication and fluids. Sound good?”
Grunt.
All right. I’d take it.
We worked in companionable silence for a while. I brought in new hay, fresh blankets, and feed, turned on the heating lamp and triple checked the temperature. Axel dealt with food, water, medicine, and wrote up a detailed treatment plan for Hazel.
“You’ll want Lou’s recommendation too, but this is somewhat standard procedure,” Axel reported, washing his hands in the basin outside her stall.
“You worked for Dennis for four months?”
“A little less than that, but yeah. He lost a couple of heads due to fucking ineptitude. I think the vet he’d hired before I came along warned him, but Dennis was no businessman.
You saw the state of his ranch. He was bleeding money.
Something had to give, and the herd suffered.
I can’t tell you how glad I was that he decided to sell.
It might have sucked for me job-wise, but he never had the resources to handle health issues. It’s criminal.”
“Hazel’s gonna be okay.” I tossed a paper towel into the nearby bin and waved to Andy, a ranch hand on the early morning crew. “Looks like reinforcements have arrived. Let’s give Andy a rundown and get some rest. It’s going to be a long day.”
“Yeah, I’ll pick up Phoebe. Where does Josh live?”
I furrowed my brow and checked the time on my watch. “It’s not quite five a.m., Axel. Let them be. Josh texted an hour ago that Phoebe had already drifted off. Their whole house is asleep now.”
“Hmph. I’ll catch some shut-eye in my truck and—”