Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Thank God Monty had agreed to come. Speckles needed him. Zinnia transferred Tex to Mari and filled the hay net with the alfalfa mix she’d picked up at the Mustang Valley Feed Store last week.
Her mare showed no interest in the pricey food as she wore a track in the straw, while periodically glancing back at her swollen belly. She wanted that baby out.
Zinnia knew the feeling. She’d had a calm and experienced midwife to help her give birth, but when you’ve never been through it, the process seemed endless and scary. She remembered—
“Talk about good timing.”
Mari’s voice pulled her back from that life-changing moment five years ago. “No kidding.” She left the stall and latched the door behind her. “When do you have to leave for work?”
“Not for another hour. If she foals soon….”
“She wants to.” Tex shifted his weight and Mari adjusted her hold on him.
“Sure looks like she does.” Uncle Graham kept his gaze on the Appaloosa. “I don’t have a lot of personal experience, but I’ve heard Monty talk about it. Between that and what we found online, I’d say she’s close.”
“Yup.” He mimicked his great-uncle’s expression as he nudged back his hat.
“Exciting, huh?” Mari moved him to her other hip. “Soon we’ll know if we have another Appy in the family.”
“We will, Auntie Mari.”
“Remember, no guarantees.”
“I asked Speckles. She nodded her head.”
“Works for me.” Mari looked outside. “Shouldn’t he be back by now? What if he got an emergency call? Do we know if he can even stay?”
“He’ll stay.”
Zinnia picked up on the warmth in her uncle’s voice. “How do you know?”
“The gleam in his eyes. That’s how he gets when he’s committed to seeing something through. That’s why I call him Supervet.”
“Good thing you know him so well.” She ducked her head to hide a smile. He was still intent on promoting the guy. Doing a decent job of it, too. Who wouldn’t be attracted to someone with that kind of dedication?
“I’ve been keeping an eye on Monty for years. He’s turned into a good man.“
“Takes one to know one. Hey, Mar, let me hold Tex for a while.”
“Nah, it’s my turn.” Uncle Graham held out his arms. “Come on over, buddy.”
Tex wrapped his arms around his great-uncle’s neck. “I wish she’d have that baby rrright now.”
“We all want that,” Zinnia said. “But you know what? You still haven’t decided on his name.”
“It gots to be a cowboy name.”
“I know.” Her son was adamant on that point. He disapproved of naming horses after two fancy dancers.
Speaking of Ginger and Fred, maybe they should be brought in and fed early, too. She was about to suggest that when her uncle beat her to the punch.
“Hey, Tex, since it doesn’t look like Speckles is going to have that foal in the next twenty minutes, that gives us time to round up the herd. We should do that now, don’t you think?”
Her son readily agreed. He might not like the names his great uncle had chosen but he adored those horses. He’d dubbed Speckles, Ginger and Fred the herd and pretended they had to be rounded up every night.
As her uncle fetched the lead ropes and left with Tex striding along by his side, Mari turned to her. “Think I should put the meatloaf and baked potatoes in now or wait?”
“Let’s start it now. If you put everything in and set the timer, dinner will be done a little early, but at least we won’t forget and end up eating peanut butter sandwiches.“
“Then I’ll go do that.”
“You’re a sweetie for fixing dinner. It doesn’t seem fair that you won’t be here to eat it.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me. Clem’s generous with the food for his employees. Listen, if I have to leave before the big event, take pictures and text them to me, okay?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll be right back.” She hurried toward the open barn door. “Ah, here comes our hero.” She stepped outside and raised her voice. “Monty, just so you know, there will be plenty of meatloaf and I’ll throw in another potato for you. There’s beer in the fridge for toasting the baby.”
“I appreciate that, Marigold. Thanks.” He came in hatless, carrying an official-looking metal case in one hand, a folded cot under his arm and a large insulated jug in the other hand.
“Is that coffee?”
“Warm water for cleanup.” He set it down along with the case and leaned the cot against the nearest wall. “Where’d Graham and Tex go?”
“They’re rounding up the herd.” And here they were alone. She’d planned they’d have a discussion once the opportunity presented itself. Although tension crackled in the air, now wasn’t the time to deal with it.
“He has cattle stashed somewhere?” He unsnapped his cuffs and started rolling back his sleeves.
“No cattle, just Ginger and Fred.” She glanced away and kept babbling.
“Normally Speckles would be out there, too.” She gestured in that direction while offering an unnecessarily long explanation.
“Tex calls it rounding up the herd even though the minute he and my uncle show up the horses trot right over, ready to come back to the barn for hay flakes and maybe some other goodies.”
“Sounds like Tex likes it here.”
“He loves it.” She risked looking at him. He’d crouched down to open his case and the motion stretched the faded denim covering his muscular thighs and tight butt. Oh, baby.
Moving closer to the stall, she rested her arms on top of the shoulder-high wall and focused on her horse. Was it possible to make it through this foaling without embarrassing herself?
The jury was still out. She registered the rustle of his clothing, his steady intake and exhale of air. Then a subtle hitch in his breathing sent a shiver up her spine. Was he struggling, too?
Desperate to fill the charged silence, she kept talking. “I thought Tex would miss the kids he went to preschool with. He does, but the excitement of being here overrides the sadness.”
“That’s good.”
“I didn’t count on his dedication to the cowboy lifestyle. We lived in suburbia and I had to board Speckles. When Tex found out Uncle Graham had a ranch with a barn and two additional horses, he couldn’t wait to move.”
“He’s never been here before?”
“When I was pregnant with him, Aunt Adele made it clear she didn’t like little kids. Or kids, period.”
“Lovely.”
“Yeah, she wasn’t exactly the aunt of my dreams. I guess since they’re divorced I don’t have to call her my aunt anymore.”
“If it makes you feel any better, my family didn’t like her, either.”
“It does make me feel better. Thanks.”
“Mom says she married Graham thinking eventually they’d sell this place and buy a condo on the beach in Florida. When she realized that was never gonna happen, she took off.”
“I figured it was something icky like that. He doesn’t like to talk about it.”
“Can’t blame him.” Snapping the case closed, he stood. “I’m ready to make friends with Speckles.”
“Alrighty.” Showtime. Heart racing, she faced him.
He was armed with an orange roll of tail wrap, his jug of warm water, a couple of thin towels tossed over one shoulder and scissors tucked in his pocket.
Nothing about that should stir her up. But damn, he looked good standing there. “What can I do?”
“Since she doesn’t know me, it’ll help if you’ll make the introductions.”
“Happy to.” Lifting her chin, she bravely met his friendly blue gaze. See? They could keep it casual. They….whoa. In a flash, warmth morphed into searing heat. She sucked in a breath.
So did he.
The moment stretched and curled around them. She gulped. “Listen, I—”
He broke eye contact and his chest heaved. Clearing his throat, he focused on a point over her shoulder. “Sorry. My fault.”
His emotion-roughened voice set her body on fire. “Mine, too.”
He swallowed. “We’ll talk.”
“Right.”
“Later.”
“Right.” Light-headed from lack of oxygen, she fumbled with the latch and finally managed to slide the stall door open. As he followed her in, his nearness made her quiver with longing.
“I won’t start the tail wrap until I’m sure she’s accepted me.”
His matter-of-fact words came out in a husky delivery that conjured up an image of cool sheets and warm bodies. “Okay.”
“Once she seems fine with me being there, if you’ll keep loving on her from the front I’ll take care of things in the back.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Lord help her. She was a sucker for a tender-hearted cowboy. Clearly Monty was a card-carrying member of that brotherhood.
Speckles had been lying down, but she lumbered to her feet and came over, a clear plea for assistance in her eyes. True to her breed, her eyes had a white ring surrounding the brown iris, giving her a human-like gaze. That was one of many reasons Zinnia had fallen in love with her.
“Hey, Specks.” She rubbed the mare’s nose and cheeks. “This is Monty. He’s a friend and he’s going to help you bring your baby into the world.”
“Hi, Speckles.” Setting down the jug, he held out his hand palm down so she could sniff it.
She took her time before lifting her head to study him.
He ran his knuckles lightly along her cheek.
“This is your show, ma’am, but I’ll assist wherever I can.
” Sliding his hand up to her sweaty neck, he scratched lightly under her mane.
“I need to wrap your tail so it won’t get in the way.
I’ll also do a little bit of cleanup to get ready for—"
“Mommy! We—”
A soft murmur from Uncle Graham ended whatever Tex had been about to say.
As the steady thud of hooves on the barn floor grew closer, her son switched to a stage whisper. “We hafta tell her what we thinked up.”
“We will, buddy.” Her uncle kept his voice low. “But quietly. After we feed these two.”
When Fred, a handsome bay, and Ginger, a good-looking roan, passed by the stall, Speckles nickered. Her stablemates responded.
Monty smiled. “She’s glad to see them.”
“She is. It didn’t occur to me she might be comforted by having them in the barn. Looks like we have us a herd, after all.”
“Sure does. Feeling more relaxed, Speckles?”
The mare let out a loud sigh that sounded more like a groan.
“I’ll take that as a qualified yes. I’ll get to work on your tail.” Picking up the jug, he moved around to the mare’s rump. Speckles swung her head around, watching him until he started wrapping her tail. After another sigh of resignation, she nudged Zinnia, clearly asking for more nose rubs.
She snapped out of her Monty-created daze. The guy even smelled good. That fact hadn’t registered until he’d walked away and she suddenly missed that tantalizing combo of soap, leather and a faint hint of spicy aftershave.
“The horses must have bonded pretty fast,” Monty said. “How long have you been here?”
“Only two weeks. We crossed our fingers and hoped that Speckles would fit in. You never know. But she did.” Her mare was much calmer now. Whether it was a result of her renewed caresses, the presence of the other horses, or Monty’s ability to inspire trust, Speckles wasn’t frightened anymore.
Zinnia leaned to her left to check Monty’s progress on the tail wrap. “You’re fast.”
He chuckled. “Patient got his tail wrapped a lot.”
“No wonder he was so easy to shoe. There’s not a problem horse in that barn, but Patient is by far the most cooperative. I told him so, too.”
“I’m sure he liked hearing that.”
On top of everything, the guy had a nice voice.
His relaxed delivery in a normal conversation like this was seductively easy listening.
But his husky tone from a few minutes ago had created scenarios that made her blush.
Good thing nobody could read her mind, although he might have been able to in the moment.
She’d certainly read his. Eventually they’d talk and set some—
“We feeded Ginger and Fred.” Tex’s announcement and the tap-tap of his boots preceded him. He appeared in the open stall door holding an old wooden stool about two feet tall. “Whatcha doing to her tail?”
Monty gave him a quick glance. “I need to wrap it so it won’t get in the way. Her baby will come out the back.”
Tex’s eyes widened. “How?”
“This area here will stretch out.”
“How big?”
“Big enough for her foal to come out.” He snipped off the end of the roll and finished up.
“Then what?”
“Once he’s out, she’ll close up again.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Tex let out a breath. “That’s a relief.”
“Nature’s amazing. Hey, sport, if I toss this out to you, would you please put it on top of my case?”
“Yes, sir!” He put down his stool. “I gots a stool.”
“I see that. Okay, coming atcha.” He lobbed the tail wrap out the door. It plopped against Tex’s chest and he managed to grab it before it fell.
“Got it!” He held it aloft.
“Great catch.”
He grinned. “I know.” He started to leave.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He was still grinning as he left.
Zinnia told herself not to get misty-eyed over the interaction, but damn, why couldn’t her worthless ex have been a nice guy like Monty?
Soon Tex came back, picked up his stool and glanced at her. “Uncle G let me have this so I can see over the wall.”
She nodded. “Smart move.”
“I can’t be in there. Uncle G won’t be in there, either.”
“It might be best if nobody’s in here.” Monty dampened a towel and started gently washing Speckles’ hindquarters. “At least in the beginning. I might need to give her a little assistance, but she’ll mostly handle it on her own.”
Tex studied the process. “She will. She’s a good horse.” Then his attention shifted. “Mommy, me and Uncle G thinked up a name.”
“Oh, you did, did you?” Thank heavens he’d finally settled on something after weeks of discussion. “That’s great. What is it?”
“It’s a really good one.”
“I’m sure it is if you like it.”
“I do. I like it a lot.”
“So? What is it?”
He flashed her a grin. “Monty.”