Henley-style long-sleeved shirt. “How many layers have you got on? You do realize this isn’t Antarctica. I promise I won’t let you freeze here in the barn, but you need to take all that off.”
“Portland is quite a bit warmer than it is here. I just haven’t gotten used to the cold yet,” Ty explained, pulling his long sleeved shirt over his head. It appeared he fought the urge to shiver as cool air skimmed over his bare arms.
Lexi fought a few shivers of her own as Ty’s T-shirt slid up his well-toned abs while he was removing his other shirt.
“Now, I need you to scrub your hands.” While he washed at the barn sink, she set a box of gloves on the shelf beside him. “Dry your hands and pull on a pair of those,” she said, pointing to the long gloves.
Convinced the gloves were an obvious sign he would hate whatever they were about to do, he pulled them on, struggled to get the ends over his biceps and up to his shoulders.
As he worked to get the gloves on, Lexi peeled off her coat and outer layers, down to the tank top she wore.
Ty swallowed hard as she washed her hands and yanked on a pair of gloves. He’d envisioned what she’d look like beneath her bulky coats and heavy shirts, but his wildest dreams hadn’t conjured up such a delectable image of her in the tank top with faded jeans and dusty boots.
She smeared lubricant on the gloves and directed Ty to the stall where the painful moans of the heifer echoed off the walls.
“I would normally let Swede take care of this, but since he and the rest of the hands are gone, this little lady needs some help now and can’t wait.” Lexi stepped beside the frightened heifer where she labored on a bed of straw. “I’m going to stick my hands inside and see if the calf is heading the right direction. Depending on what I find, I may need you to help pull it. For now, if you can try to hold her still, that would be great. The goal is to keep her down and not kicking me. Okay?”
“Okay,” Ty said, scared not of the cow, but of Lexi getting hurt. Although she was tall and looked strong, she had a smaller frame and he didn’t think it would take much effort on the cow’s part to knock her down. “Does she have a name?” he asked as Lexi examined the heifer.
“What’s on her ear tag?” Lexi asked as she determined the calf was not breech, just too big for the poor little heifer to have on her own.
“A number.” Ty glanced at the ear tag.
“That would be her name, unless you’d like to give her one.” Lexi pulled her arm from the cow and stepped out of the stall. She returned with a set of chains that made Ty’s eyes widen uncertainly.
“What are those?” He rubbed the cow’s head with a calm he was far from feeling.
“Calving chains.” Lexi slipped them around the feet of the calf. “This is where I need your muscle. Come back here and help me pull.”
Lexi instructed Ty on how to position himself. On the count of three, she told him to pull for all he was worth.
If pulling the calf hadn’t required her full attention, Lexi might have fallen into a transfixed state as Ty’s muscles bunched and strained while he worked. His physique was more than a little impressive and a lot disruptive to her normal ability to block out everything except what needed her attention.
Ty was worried about hurting the calf and the cow not to mention Lexi hurting herself with the strenuous pulling. After he gave another strong tug, the baby slipped out. Lexi wasted no time in cleaning out its nose and mouth, laughing when it bawled pitifully. The cow moaned as she finished her work then turned to look at her offspring.
“You did a fine job number fourteen-seventy-three.” Lexi pushed the baby toward the heifer’s nose. The mama sniffed her newborn then started licking it and mooing softly.
Ty was on his knees in the straw, observing both the cow and calf. He’d never witnessed a birth and the miraculous experience left him experiencing a rush of
“Portland is quite a bit warmer than it is here. I just haven’t gotten used to the cold yet,” Ty explained, pulling his long sleeved shirt over his head. It appeared he fought the urge to shiver as cool air skimmed over his bare arms.
Lexi fought a few shivers of her own as Ty’s T-shirt slid up his well-toned abs while he was removing his other shirt.
“Now, I need you to scrub your hands.” While he washed at the barn sink, she set a box of gloves on the shelf beside him. “Dry your hands and pull on a pair of those,” she said, pointing to the long gloves.
Convinced the gloves were an obvious sign he would hate whatever they were about to do, he pulled them on, struggled to get the ends over his biceps and up to his shoulders.
As he worked to get the gloves on, Lexi peeled off her coat and outer layers, down to the tank top she wore.
Ty swallowed hard as she washed her hands and yanked on a pair of gloves. He’d envisioned what she’d look like beneath her bulky coats and heavy shirts, but his wildest dreams hadn’t conjured up such a delectable image of her in the tank top with faded jeans and dusty boots.
She smeared lubricant on the gloves and directed Ty to the stall where the painful moans of the heifer echoed off the walls.
“I would normally let Swede take care of this, but since he and the rest of the hands are gone, this little lady needs some help now and can’t wait.” Lexi stepped beside the frightened heifer where she labored on a bed of straw. “I’m going to stick my hands inside and see if the calf is heading the right direction. Depending on what I find, I may need you to help pull it. For now, if you can try to hold her still, that would be great. The goal is to keep her down and not kicking me. Okay?”
“Okay,” Ty said, scared not of the cow, but of Lexi getting hurt. Although she was tall and looked strong, she had a smaller frame and he didn’t think it would take much effort on the cow’s part to knock her down. “Does she have a name?” he asked as Lexi examined the heifer.
“What’s on her ear tag?” Lexi asked as she determined the calf was not breech, just too big for the poor little heifer to have on her own.
“A number.” Ty glanced at the ear tag.
“That would be her name, unless you’d like to give her one.” Lexi pulled her arm from the cow and stepped out of the stall. She returned with a set of chains that made Ty’s eyes widen uncertainly.
“What are those?” He rubbed the cow’s head with a calm he was far from feeling.
“Calving chains.” Lexi slipped them around the feet of the calf. “This is where I need your muscle. Come back here and help me pull.”
Lexi instructed Ty on how to position himself. On the count of three, she told him to pull for all he was worth.
If pulling the calf hadn’t required her full attention, Lexi might have fallen into a transfixed state as Ty’s muscles bunched and strained while he worked. His physique was more than a little impressive and a lot disruptive to her normal ability to block out everything except what needed her attention.
Ty was worried about hurting the calf and the cow not to mention Lexi hurting herself with the strenuous pulling. After he gave another strong tug, the baby slipped out. Lexi wasted no time in cleaning out its nose and mouth, laughing when it bawled pitifully. The cow moaned as she finished her work then turned to look at her offspring.
“You did a fine job number fourteen-seventy-three.” Lexi pushed the baby toward the heifer’s nose. The mama sniffed her newborn then started licking it and mooing softly.
Ty was on his knees in the straw, observing both the cow and calf. He’d never witnessed a birth and the miraculous experience left him experiencing a rush of
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