Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Zinnia yanked her phone from her back pocket and tapped the screen as she spun around toward the stall. “Graham, she’s in labor.”
“On our way.”
Disconnecting, she moved in beside Monty. Speckles lay on her side, her back to them, her flanks heaving. The straw under her rump was soaked. “Her water broke.”
“Yep. I heard it right after she groaned.” His breath caught. “And here he comes. There’s a hoof. Both hooves. Attagirl. Keep push—"
“Mommy, Mommy!” Tex barreled through the door, his face pink and his eyes wide.
“Shh.” She held out her arms to catch him as he raced toward her. “We have to be quiet.”
“Okay.” His stage whisper wasn’t quiet, but it would have to do.
Standing him on the stool, she wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him. He was quivering. So was she, buffeted by aftershocks from that heated conversation with Monty. And now this, a new life joining her little band of survivors.
Graham took Tex’s other side, placing a hand on his shoulder. “This is it, buddy. What we’ve been waiting for.”
He murmured a soft “I know,” then let out a gasp. “What’s that?” He pointed to the translucent, blue-tinted membrane covering the foal’s emerging muzzle and forelegs.
“It’s called the amnion,” Monty said. “He’s been living inside it all this time while he grew.”
“Can he get out of it?”
“He will, once she pushes him all the way out.”
He nodded, his attention glued to the drama in front of him. “She’s trying to, but he’s stuck.”
“She’ll get there, sport. She just has to work a little harder to get his shoulders through. And here we go!”
“He’s out! Mommy, he’s out!”
“He sure is.” She gulped and swiped at her eyes, awash in relief and gratitude.
“Will you look at that.” Her uncle’s gruff voice gave him away.
Tex didn’t move, clearly stunned by what he’d just seen.
No wonder. A perfect foal lay in the straw, rubbing his black nose against his leg to get rid of the amnion. Speckles lumbered to her feet and came over to help him, licking and nuzzling her baby.
What a miracle. Zinnia had questioned her decision so many times in the past few months. Had breeding Speckles been a good idea or a foolish waste of money? Was all the effort worth it?
Oh, yeah, so worth it. All she had to do was look at her son’s face. As the shock wore off, he was still speechless, but his smile radiated pure joy.
She blinked away fresh tears. He’d missed out on having a daddy, but growing up with a foal that would become his best friend would help balance the scales.
She glanced at Monty and caught him wiping his eyes with a bandanna. And didn’t that just tug at her heart, too?
He gave her a sheepish grin. “Gets me every time.”
“I can see why. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He shrugged. “Speckles gets all the credit. I just watched.”
“But you were here. That meant the world to me, knowing that I didn’t have to worry if something didn’t go the way it—”
“Mommy, look.” Tex pulled on her sleeve. “Monty gots spots.”
“Oh, my gosh, you’re right!” The foal’s dark muzzle was the only solid black on his body. The rest of his coat was decorated with irregular black spots just like his mother’s. Speckles had given birth to a beautiful leopard Appy.
“He’s already trying to get up, the little bugger.” Uncle Graham chuckled as he took his phone from his back pocket. “Guess I’d better record some of this.”
Startled, Zinnia looked at the phone in her left hand. “I blew it. I promised Mari pictures of the birth and I totally forgot.” She let go of Tex and began videoing the foal’s struggle to get his spindly legs under him. “I feel terrible. Now she won’t get to see—”
“No worries.” Monty’s soft voice tickled her sensitized nerve endings. “I got it.”
“You took pictures?”
“A video. I’ll send it to you.”
She sighed in relief. “Thanks for saving my butt. She would have forgiven me, but I probably wouldn’t have forgiven myself. I’m so glad you took it.”
“I usually do unless I’m assisting with the birth. If I’m filming, I can zoom in and check on the progress while still leaving the mare to handle things on her own.”
“Good idea.” What a dedicated professional. She admired that. She also admired his ass. What a mess she was, lusting after a man who’d admitted he wasn’t ready for the only deal she could offer.
“Come on, Monty!” Tex leaned against the stall, intent on the foal’s struggle. “You can do it! I know you can! Go, Monty, go!”
She snuck a glance to check out how the other Monty was taking this. He watched with a bemused expression as Tex continued to use his name to cheer on the foal.
She edged closer to him and lowered her voice. “You hate this, right?”
“I wouldn’t say that. But I’ve never met another person with my name. This is a small town. Whenever someone calls out Monty, I know they mean me.”
“That’ll still be true unless you’re over here.”
“Are you saying you’re not on board with Mister Monty?”
“Only when I’m talking to my son, to avoid confusion. I sure as heck won’t be addressing you that way.”
His cheek creased in a tight smile. “I appreciate that.”
“I suppose I could call you Bridger, though. How would you feel about that?”
“It wouldn’t work in a crowd. There’s a passel of us.”
“I see your point. Maybe you’ll be able to tell in context whether I mean you or the foal. Or by my tone of voice.”
He grinned. “You’ll have a special way of saying my name? That could be interesting.”
“Never mind. Bad idea.”
“What about Montgomery?”
“I thought you didn’t like it.”
“It beats hey, you.”
“Would you really be okay with me using it?”
“I like it better than trying to guess if you mean me or the foal.”
“Then Montgomery it is.” She paused the video. “He’s still not upright. No telling what’s happening with our dinner. Could this be another hour or two?”
“The way he’s going, it might only be five minutes.”
“Really?”
“They normally don’t take long to do it. It’s instinctive since they have to stand to be able to nurse.”
“Is he ahead of the curve?”
He laughed. “Oh, he’s definitely ahead of the curve. After all, he’s my namesake.”
“But you’re not going to call him by it, are you?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“Then you probably shouldn’t spend much time over here.”
“Would you prefer that?”
She met his gaze. “It would be for the best.”
“Doesn’t answer my question.” He had that gleam in his eyes again, the one that turned her brain into a bowl of spaghetti.
She sucked in a breath. “You probably shouldn’t look at me that way, Montgomery.”
“Your lipstick’s gone.”
She automatically touched her mouth.
“Then again, I doubt you’d grab me in the middle of this family-friendly event.”
“Exactly. I’ll put on more as soon as—”
“You did it! You did it, Monty!”
She glanced at the foal, shaky but upright, balanced precariously on those toothpick-thin legs. He took a step, then another, and another. Eventually he reached his mother, dipped his head under her belly and began to nurse.
Belatedly she remembered the phone in her hand. She’d missed the moment once again. “Doggone it! I didn’t get the grand finale, either.”
“I got it!” Uncle Graham held up his phone. “Hey, who’s hungry?”
“Me!” Then Tex looked over at the foal. “But I don’t want to leave Monty.”
“Tell you what.” Uncle Graham tucked his phone away. “You guys stay here and take more pictures while I bring out a card table and the food. We’ll eat in the barn. How does that sound to everyone?”
She nodded. “I’m for it. How about you, Montgomery?”
“I’m in. I like picnics.”
Uncle Graham gave them each a funny look.
“Mommy, you called him the wrong name.”
“That’s his full name. Monty is short for Montgomery.”
“Montgomery doesn’t sound like a cowboy.”
“But he still is a cowboy, right?”
His face scrunched up. “Yeah, but….”
Clearly she’d confused him. “How about this. You keep calling him Mister Monty because that’s the name you like and I’ll keep calling him Montgomery because that’s the one I like.”
He turned to consult his idol. “Which one do you like?”
“Both.”
“You like Montgomery?”
“I didn’t when I was your age. I like it better now.”
Tex blew out a breath. “Well, I’m calling you Mister Monty, no matter what!”
“Alrighty, then. You have your special name for me and your mother has hers.” Amusement flickered in his blue eyes as he gazed at her. “I’m good with that.”
So charming. Did he have to be charming on top of everything else? How was she supposed to keep her distance from this man when all she could think of was kissing him? When she was constantly dreaming up ways they could be alone?
She’d considered sticking her lipstick in her pocket. Should have.