Chapter 17 #2
“How she doing?” he asked as he met Jose halfway to her stall.
“It’s just startin’. She should have a while,” he said, pivoting on his feet. Jose wasn’t a tall man, but kept Kitt’s pace, double stepping each of his steps.
“Did you call Doc? Have him on standby?” Kitt asked, opening the gate.
“Yes, sir.” Jose stayed back with all the other men staring over the stall gate watching Kitt adjust his ball cap for her.
“Good. Thanks for callin’ me,” Kitt said absently, his tone getting softer as he entered.
He walked the few steps to Lady. Since he’d first stepped into the barn, her attention had been totally on him.
She nodded her palomino head as he went into her stall, as if she’d been expecting him, waiting for him to get there.
“Hey, sweet girl, you gettin' ready for your big day, or is this one of those false starts that gets us all worked up?” Kitt asked as he began to rub her gently.
He petted her down to her swollen belly, gently touching her udder before moving toward her front.
He could feel her tighter, but there was no sign of her milk.
The foal moved a little under his touch.
“Yeah, you’re close. You know, you could’ve waited until your due date. It would’ve helped me out a lot,” Kitt said, still in the calm sweet tone he used with her. He was right in her face now, looking into her eyes, rubbing her head, and she bent into him knocking his ball cap off his head.
“She’s close. So here’s the change for the day.
Jose, I’m gonna need you to stay with her.
Get Doc out here to do an exam. Call me when’s he’s done, or if anythin’ changes.
I’ll stay with her tonight. Maybe by tomorrow, we’ll have a newborn.
Her momma’s records show she was in labor for a full forty-eight hours before she was born.
Let’s see if that holds, but I don’t want her left alone.
” Kitt said it all carefully, keeping his tone calm.
He rubbed her down as he spoke, picking up his ball cap.
He angled it on his head as he rose and let her knock it off again before he stroked down her nose one last time.
“Lady, you still got jokes even now, huh? You wait until I’m here to have this little guy, you hear me?” Kitt asked. He patted her belly one last time before he left the stall.
“Boss, are you sure?” Jose asked. “I can help you today.” Kitt lifted his ball cap and scrubbed his head thinking over the possibilities.
“No, I can’t take the chance. She needs someone who knows her. You stay.” Kitt looked around at all his men waiting for him to begin. “Let’s get goin’. It’s gonna be a day. I need coffee.”
“Yes, sir!” said his newest, least experienced, field hand.
Everyone scattered as he started toward the small break room in the back of the barn. He moved through the men, lifting an arm to his nose. Kitt could smell Austin on him, his cologne lingered, and it wasn’t a bad thing.
He poured his coffee, bent his head down to smell his chest, smiling when he thought of Austin sneaking in to sleep in his arms. No matter how he fought it, it wasn’t just about sex with them anymore.
Austin was comfortable enough in his home to sleep.
Actually, Austin left his own bed to come sleep in Kitt’s home.
Austin still slept in his bed, and for whatever odd reason, it felt deeply gratifying.
He took a long drink of the coffee and left the break room.
For the first time since leaving his house, he felt the chill in the air.
They kept the barn reasonably climate-controlled, but the doors were open, and everyone was preparing to leave.
Jose stood at the front, giving out directions, speaking Spanish to most of the men.
It was times like these Kitt wanted to hug Jose.
His foreman was worth every dime of his salary.
Kitt had taken Spanish in school for years, and although he understood most of what was being said, he still sounded like a complete dumbass trying to talk to the guys himself.
“Okay, boss, Jesus is bilingual. He’s staying close to you. You tell him when you need something done, and he’ll get it done for you. Jorge and his crew are taking the other cutters out. Half the crew’s going with him over to Smith’s place.”
“Thanks, man. Call me if anythin’ changes,” Kitt said, walking out the door Jose held open.
“Boss, you should let me do this, and you stay with her.” Jose followed him out the door, closing it behind them. Kitt didn’t slow until he put his Styrofoam cup on the hood of his truck and climbed into the driver’s seat to dig around the truck for his jacket.
“Keep a close eye on her and take care of things around here. You can go tomorrow, I’ll stay with her then. I’m thinkin’ we have time but call me when Doc gets here. Tell Lily we’ll be back at lunch.”
They had ten fields scheduled for today and hundreds and hundreds of acres to cover in the next twelve hours.
The sun was just starting to rise, and they needed to be in the first field by the time daylight hit full on.
Kitt shrugged on his jacket, then grabbed his coffee.
He took another big gulp, letting the scalding brew burn its way down and warm him, then headed for the tractor, with the cutter ready to go.
It was a slow drive. The tractor topped out at thirty miles an hour. The men followed behind him. It couldn’t have been much past six in the morning, and as Kitt pulled off the road making a wide turn into the driveway, his phone rang.
“This is an awfully long bathroom break. You left me sleeping, and I was so hopin’ for a little ‘good morning’ sex this morning,” Austin said with a distinct whine in his tired voice.
“Where are you? I can come to you, do you, and then leave before anyone sees me.” The last part was said on a deep yawn.
The engine to the tractor churned so loud Kitt turned the speaker on and the volume up as loud as it would go, and he still needed to practically shove the phone inside his ear to hear.
“I got a call. Lady’s just beginnin’ to foal, and I’m already pullin’ into the Hendersons’ to start cuttin’.
Hold on,” Kitt yelled into the phone over the sound of the engine.
He pulled to the far right of the Hendersons’ property line and came to a stop, letting the tractor idle.
He watched in his rearview mirror as the men lined up beside him positioning themselves to work behind him as he cut.
One ran forward to get the gate opened for his entry.
Every so often, a movement caused Austin’s scent to drifted and an involuntary smile formed without him even realizing it was there.
“I’m back,” Kitt said, again shoving the phone in his ear to hear.
“Is she okay? Does it mess up your day?” Austin asked.
“I think I have to watch her tonight. Jose stayed behind with her. Today’s gonna be longer without him out here, but I need him to keep an eye on her,” Kitt said.
He saw everyone behind him waiting for him to start, but he missed Austin and loved knowing he was talking to him right now while still lying in his bed.
“Anything I can do to help? Mike can come over so Jose can help you today,” Austin offered.
“Nah, Jose knows her as well as I do. She needs someone she knows and who knows her. Jose’s just a worker. He can outwork anybody, but I’m staffed up. Actually, overly staffed. It should be fine,” he said. “I’ll call if I can’t get it done. I gotta go.”
“I’ll be thinking about my missed opportunity. I should have jumped you last night when I had the chance,” Austin said.
“Stay longer and get some rest. You need it.” Kitt was just as unwilling to end the call as Austin seemed to be. They sat there a minute quietly, not saying goodbye.
“I might do that. I can smell your cologne all over these pillows. I might have to take one of these home with me,” Austin finally said.
Kitt didn’t respond. He’d been smelling Austin on himself all morning. He mentally weighed whether to say it out loud or not, but decided to keep quiet, not able to find the very simple words to say.
“I love it when you get quiet, Kitt. I’m beginning to understand it happens when I unnerve you…and that feels really good.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Kitt said.
“Goodbye, be careful today. Let me know if you need us.”
“Bye.” Kitt forced himself to drop the phone in the cup holder next to the coffee.
His eyes darted to the rearview mirror, and he rolled his eyes at the blush on his cheeks and the smile on his face.
His cock throbbed in his Wranglers. Dear God, did he have it bad.
Kitt picked up the coffee cup and carefully took a drink, and then smelled the cologne lingering on his shirt.
“Damn, it’s gonna be a long day!” Kitt positioned the tractor and adjusted himself in the seat as he pulled forward starting to cut the miles of overgrown hay in front of him.
=?=
“You’re in love,” Seth declared as Austin came through the back door.
“You’ve been making fun of me for the last forty-eight hours, and here you’re grinning, whistling, acting like life couldn’t get any better in this aloneness.
In the desert. Texas is a dust bowl, so not the heaven you’ve made it out to be.
” Seth sprawled out on the sofa with the television on and the laptop in his lap.
It was noonish, and Seth already looked bored as hell.
“As per usual, you have no idea what you’re talkin’ about,” Austin quipped, walking through the house, deciding Kitt should be the first one to hear he carried that emotion, not anyone else.