in a really long time.
Between running the business and monitoring the boys, he didn’t seem to have a lot of free time on his hands. Dating had been one of the things that had fallen by the wayside as he struggled to keep up with being a vet, business owner and parent.
Frankly, he missed having a social life, but in two years his life would be back. Kind of. He was beginning to understand that parenting never ended.
Jodie was still half smiling when she set the pen she’d used back in a fancy-schmancy carved holder, and Sam did not like the effect it was having on him.
“I’m going to take the stitches out of the horse’s chest. Want to watch?”
Jodie’s smile instantly faded and she shook her head. “No. Thank you. Just tell me how the bull is doing before you go.”
“I’ll tell Lucas.” Sam didn’t particularly want to see Jodie again before he left.
“That works.” She gave him a long speculative look before opening a file drawer and slipping the contract into a folder, making him wonder what she was thinking.
Probably best if he didn’t know, just as it was best that she never find out what he’d been thinking.
Sam went to the barn, checked the bull—which appeared less lethargic now that the magnet was drawing the nail or wire out of the ruminant wall—and then removed the stitches from the horse’s chest. He was pleased with how well the area was healing. There’d be visible scars, but they weren’t nearly as ugly as they could have been; in fact, with a growth of winter coat, they’d barely be noticeable. He’d done a decent job in spite of the shaky light and numbing cold. Joe wouldn’t see it that way, of course, but screw him.
Sam found Lucas fueling up the tractor, and told him the bull was improving and that the horse could go back out into the pasture. It was the first time Sam could remember the guy not reeking of alcohol.
“Jodie said I can call you for help with the difficult calves?” His breath crystallized in the cold air.
“Yeah.”
“Why?” Lucas asked point-blank.
“Because Joe isn’t here and I need the money.”
Lucas looked back at the bull. “Same reason I’m here. I don’t suppose you need any help around the clinic come spring?”
“I have the boys, and even if I did need help, I couldn’t pay you.”
Lucas nodded. He reached up to adjust the faded yellow silk scarf that protected his neck, then took the fuel nozzle out of the tractor’s gas tank.
“But give me a call anyway,” Sam said, feeling for the guy. It had to be rough, starting your life over in your early sixties. “You never know. Maybe I’ll win the lottery or something.”
F OR ONCE THE Zephyr Valley Ranch was experiencing a zephyr rather than a fierce north wind. The warm breeze blew for two days, melting most of the snow and creating a quagmire in the pastures. Lucas was having trouble feeding the animals without getting the tractor stuck, but so far had managed to get the big machine back to the barn every morning.
“This’ll be followed by a freeze and two feet of snow,” Lucas predicted. “Just in time for the first calves. I don’t know what it is about freezing cold, but it makes cows give birth.”
“Wonderful,” Jodie said, but she wasn’t as concerned now as she had been a week ago. Sam had cashed the retainer check, so she knew he’d be at the ranch when called, ready to save the day. Her father would not be thrilled when he discovered that he’d not only lost all his hired help, but had regained two that he’d fired. However, drastic times called for drastic measures. Jodie’s goal was to make certain as many animals were alive when he came home as when he’d left.
With five weeks of his vacation to go, she was beginning to hope that maybe her father would arrive before the early calving. Lucas assured her there was no way that was going to happen. Calves were coming, probably within a week. But on a positive note, the sick bull was eating again
Between running the business and monitoring the boys, he didn’t seem to have a lot of free time on his hands. Dating had been one of the things that had fallen by the wayside as he struggled to keep up with being a vet, business owner and parent.
Frankly, he missed having a social life, but in two years his life would be back. Kind of. He was beginning to understand that parenting never ended.
Jodie was still half smiling when she set the pen she’d used back in a fancy-schmancy carved holder, and Sam did not like the effect it was having on him.
“I’m going to take the stitches out of the horse’s chest. Want to watch?”
Jodie’s smile instantly faded and she shook her head. “No. Thank you. Just tell me how the bull is doing before you go.”
“I’ll tell Lucas.” Sam didn’t particularly want to see Jodie again before he left.
“That works.” She gave him a long speculative look before opening a file drawer and slipping the contract into a folder, making him wonder what she was thinking.
Probably best if he didn’t know, just as it was best that she never find out what he’d been thinking.
Sam went to the barn, checked the bull—which appeared less lethargic now that the magnet was drawing the nail or wire out of the ruminant wall—and then removed the stitches from the horse’s chest. He was pleased with how well the area was healing. There’d be visible scars, but they weren’t nearly as ugly as they could have been; in fact, with a growth of winter coat, they’d barely be noticeable. He’d done a decent job in spite of the shaky light and numbing cold. Joe wouldn’t see it that way, of course, but screw him.
Sam found Lucas fueling up the tractor, and told him the bull was improving and that the horse could go back out into the pasture. It was the first time Sam could remember the guy not reeking of alcohol.
“Jodie said I can call you for help with the difficult calves?” His breath crystallized in the cold air.
“Yeah.”
“Why?” Lucas asked point-blank.
“Because Joe isn’t here and I need the money.”
Lucas looked back at the bull. “Same reason I’m here. I don’t suppose you need any help around the clinic come spring?”
“I have the boys, and even if I did need help, I couldn’t pay you.”
Lucas nodded. He reached up to adjust the faded yellow silk scarf that protected his neck, then took the fuel nozzle out of the tractor’s gas tank.
“But give me a call anyway,” Sam said, feeling for the guy. It had to be rough, starting your life over in your early sixties. “You never know. Maybe I’ll win the lottery or something.”
F OR ONCE THE Zephyr Valley Ranch was experiencing a zephyr rather than a fierce north wind. The warm breeze blew for two days, melting most of the snow and creating a quagmire in the pastures. Lucas was having trouble feeding the animals without getting the tractor stuck, but so far had managed to get the big machine back to the barn every morning.
“This’ll be followed by a freeze and two feet of snow,” Lucas predicted. “Just in time for the first calves. I don’t know what it is about freezing cold, but it makes cows give birth.”
“Wonderful,” Jodie said, but she wasn’t as concerned now as she had been a week ago. Sam had cashed the retainer check, so she knew he’d be at the ranch when called, ready to save the day. Her father would not be thrilled when he discovered that he’d not only lost all his hired help, but had regained two that he’d fired. However, drastic times called for drastic measures. Jodie’s goal was to make certain as many animals were alive when he came home as when he’d left.
With five weeks of his vacation to go, she was beginning to hope that maybe her father would arrive before the early calving. Lucas assured her there was no way that was going to happen. Calves were coming, probably within a week. But on a positive note, the sick bull was eating again
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