9. Clint
CHAPTER 9
Clint
I ’ll give it to them. Nora and her dad have done everything in their power to make sure that we aren’t repairing a goddamn single thing on that property.
It’s… well, it’s damn impressive. Are they good fixes? No. At the most, they’re mediocre. But damn if they don’t work.
I appreciate that. A little bit of elbow grease and a clever mind will get you far in this work.
For the first time today, our work is somewhat separate from the Fosters. They need to drive their small herd of cattle from one pasture to another. We need to put horses in another field and give them a few days to acclimate so that we can get the vet to check them out before shipping them off to their summer destinations.
I don’t know how we’re going to get enough hay for all of them when we bring them back in for the winter, but that’s a whole separate issue that Shane’s working on. For now, we’re doing… fine.
I respect the hell out of the hustle that Nora and her dad are showing. They’re not letting the ranch fall apart by any stretch of the imagination, which is what I had thought when I heard the rumors about their struggles in town. No, something else must have happened. Between the two of them, they know exactly what they’re doing.
The day rolls by, and by the time the sun is sinking into the mountains, I’m exhausted. Landon is gone, and I run into Shane in the lot closest to the barn.
I glance at him. “You were with Nora and Richard today?”
“Some of the day.” He nods.
“And?”
He studies me for a minute before giving a sharp nod. “They’re…”
“I know,” I cut him off, shaking my head. “I agree.”
Shane and I have been friends long enough that we don’t always have to speak to understand what the other one is saying. I do know what he means. I feel the same way about Nora Foster.
“Do you still want to buy the ranch?” he asks.
My heart stills. The stupidest answer pops into my mind. No.
Instantly, it makes me shut down. What the hell am I thinking? Just because Nora and Richard Foster aren’t the lackadaisical owners I thought they were, I’m cool with just giving up?
“Even though they’re hard workers, doesn’t mean the goals for Wild Spur have changed,” I growl.
Shane studies me for a minute before he nods. “True.”
“Something will come up. The ranch was in poor shape. The finances, we know, are in even worse shape. Something got them here, and we can’t forget that.”
“Yeah, but just because they were neglectful?—”
“We can’t forget it,” I repeat sternly. “No matter how much we like them, we know that Wild Spur needs the room to expand, and this is the only way we can get it. If we can use the land more effectively than they can, we need to do that. For everyone’s sake.”
Shane looks at me with narrow eyes before he shrugs. “Whatever you say, man. But I don’t know that they’re going to end up owing us shit.”
“If they don’t, it’s only a matter of time before their ranch goes belly up, and we can buy it then.”
“So now, what? You’re just going to wait?”
I nod.
Shane sighs and shakes his head. “You can be one ruthless motherfucker, Clint. ”
“It’s for the good of the business,” I snap back. But the comment sits uncomfortably on my skin.
“See you back at the house,” he says, climbing into his truck.
I wave him off. I wanted to go by the barn to check on the two pregnant mares. The vet came by yesterday, but his exam was lacking. I think that he essentially just owed Nora or her dad a favor, and that’s why he was there, but he sure didn’t put any goddamn effort into it.
Heading to the barn, I’m about fifteen feet away when I hear something that isn’t right. A horse in pain, followed by a woman crying out.
I sprint. Throwing the barn door open, I look around.
“Nora?” I yell.
“Help!” I hear her cry. Nora’s a proud woman. Like all of us, I guess, but I’ve never once heard her blatantly ask for help.
I book it for the stall where I heard her voice. Nora is backed into a corner. She’s managed to tuck herself in the front corner, and I can tell the mare can’t really reach her from where she’s lying on the ground.
The mare looks… in pain. She’s wheezing, her huge belly trembling as she struggles. She’s definitely in labor, but it does not look like it’s going well.
I look at Nora. “Are you hurt?”
She shakes her head no, but her eyes are wide.
“Thunder,” she says softly. “She’s in pain, and she won’t let me near her.”
“How long has she been like this?”
“I don’t know,” Nora whispers. “I found her about an hour ago.”
An hour…
I move in, hands held out. Softly, I start clicking my tongue and whispering to the mare.
My dad’s trick was always that it matters what you say. He claimed that even if your voice tone was low and calm, the horse could understand if you were telling it to shut the fuck up, and they responded better to kindness. I don’t know if that’s the case, but it’s what I’ve always done.
“Hey, beautiful,” I whisper. Thunder rolls her eyes at me, letting out a huff of displeasure. Okay then. Not your favorite compliment. “Hey, Mama. You’re right, you’re not pretty, but I see you. Strong, tough. I bet you don’t let anyone give you any shit, do you?”
That seems to calm the horse a little. I can tell that Nora is a little shocked by the silence in the corner. I creep closer, opening the stall door slowly.
“I bet you’re wondering what’s going on, but you got it. You can do this. You’re gonna have a foal after, and you can show them how tough you are. Sound like a plan?”
She snorts, whinnying, but lets me approach. Quietly, I close the gate behind me. I put my hand out. The mare gives me one suspicious glare before putting her nose on my hand. She breathes deeply, smelling me, before she jerks her head away, and a contraction ripples over her belly.
“Tell that baby who its momma is,” I say with a smile.
“You have to have some kind of magic,” Nora whispers.
I shake my head. “No. Just gotta meet them where they’re at.”
Keeping eye contact with the mare, I slowly let my hands slide down her spine and over to her backside. She eyes me warily, but I nod. “Listen, girl. Your baby’s stuck in there. You want it out? You gotta be tough.”
“Clint…”
I wave at Nora. “Come here,” I murmur. Nora inches forward. The mare gives her a mean look, her ears going back, and I click my teeth. “Come on, girl. You’re too good for that. Nora’s just here to get this baby out of you.”
The mare gives her another nasty glare, but when I motion for her to come forward, Nora approaches.
“You delivered a foal before?”
Nora gives me a scathing look. “I was born on a ranch, Clint.”
I see where the mare’s attitude comes from. “Good. Get ready for a tough one, then.”
I wasn’t kidding. The mare is having trouble, and I’m about to try to turn the foal around when the mare releases a huge, shuddering sigh.
A foal, covered in fluids, drops onto the ground.
I smile. “Good job, Thunder.”
The mare leans to try to lick the airway of the foal free. She manages to do so, and the foal takes a sucking breath, blinking at Nora and me.
Then, something seems wrong. Thunder wheezes again, and I look back.
There’s another set of legs sticking out of her.
“Nora,” I say slowly, eying the foal on the ground. “I need you to move this little one.”
“What? Why?”
“Your girl here has twins.”
Nora’s face pales. Twins are extremely rare for horses. Normally one, if not both, of the foals dies. This is going to be bad.
“Move the foal, then call the vet.”
“Thunder—”
“I’ll handle Thunder,” I say confidently.
I move to the mare’s head, and Nora gently to the foal. Thunder’s eyes roll, and she looks back at Nora. She moves like she’s trying to struggle to her feet to protect the foal, but I put a hand on her cheek. If she wants, she can destroy my arm. Better that than destroying Nora, or dying herself, though.
“Hey, girl. You’re gonna be hell on wheels as a momma,” I say with a smile. “You won’t let anyone near these babies, now will you?”
Thunder’s nostrils flare.
“Yeah, that’s right. Somehow, you got two of ‘em.” My heart feels heavy, because the odds that the second foal is as developed as the first one are slim. More than likely, this one will be stillborn.
“Come on, just one more big push,” I whisper.
Thunder gives a grunt, and I see the muscles in her belly spasm. Hard.
“She’s out,” Nora says.
I glance back, and sure enough, there’s a second foal lying in the stall. It’s small, but when it holds its little head up, it looks… fine.
I whistle. “Hell of a horse you got here!”
Thunder whickers, clearly taking the compliment.
I straighten, letting Thunder move to her babies. She seems baffled for a minute, looking at both of them, then noses one, then the other, to stand. Shakily, they both do .
I nod to Nora. “Let’s call the vet.”
“The vet won’t come in here without help,” she says, looking at the three horses.
“Don’t tell me they’re afraid of Thunder, too?” Nora shoots me a look, and I laugh. “Come on,” I say, gesturing to the stall door. “Seems to me Thunder has this handled.”
Cautiously, Nora edges around the mare and comes out into the barn with me. We close the door lightly. The gelding and another mare have their heads poked out over their stalls. I pet one, then the other, letting her sniff my hand.
“When’s she due?” I look at the mare.
“We don’t really know,” Nora says stiffly.
I turn. “When did you breed her?”
“We didn’t. On purpose,” she mutters.
A lightbulb goes off in my head. “Storm, you asshole,” I murmur, petting the mare. “I take it she was out in that far pasture near Wild Spur?”
“Maybe.”
I shake my head, looking at Nora. “Look, I won’t take the foal from you. It was an accident, one that is partly my fault. I need to keep Storm on a better schedule and make sure that the ranch hands know where he is at all times.”
Giving me a very suspicious glance, Nora frowns. “Even with the fence?”
“Even with the fence.”
Steadying for a minute, she gives a sharp nod. “Good. Okay. Um…”
I freeze. “Yes?”
“Thank you, Clint,” she whispers. With that, she turns on her heels and sprints for the house.
I pet the horses one more time before I head out to find Richard.
Delivering foals is not my preferred activity. It’s always scary. Always something that gets my blood going, and after, I pretty much always need a drink. I’m hopeful that I can talk the guys into going to the one bar in town tonight, because I need a little winding down after all that.
Delivering foals is not fun. But Nora’s gratitude? I could get used to that.