Just as he reached to grab the door handle, he glanced into the front window of the coffee shop.
There, he’d seen Robyn.
And she hadn’t been alone, nor with her friend Kima.
She’d sat at a small table for two, across from a man he’d never seen before. The man, dressed in a business suit, said something to her, and her face lit up as she burst out laughing.
Troy’s jaw tightened as he thought back on that moment. Who the hell is that guy?
When I called her earlier and asked her to meet me, she said she couldn’t talk. At the time, he’d assumed she was referring to something work-related. Sitting there, watching her with the other man, he felt like a fool. He didn’t even want to think about what she might actually have been busy doing.
Making love to her had been a magnificent experience. She’d captured his soul in a way no other woman had, and he doubted another woman could. Yet, ever since she’d shared his bed, she’d become standoffish, distant. What’s going on with her?
He left the cart among the others on the side of the building, climbed out and headed for the door. Hopefully, she’d be there, and he could get some clarity on the situation. He knocked on her door, and smiled when she opened it.
“Hey, Troy. Come on in.” She stepped back, allowing him space to enter.
Once he was inside, she returned to her seat behind the desk.
He closed the door and sat down across from her. “How has the day been for you?”
“Busy. You?”
He felt his brow crease. Remembering his grandmother’s advice, he decided not to press her. If there were things she wanted him to know, she’d tell him on her own. “Same. The cows on my section seem awfully thirsty for this time of the year, so I spent a lot of time at the tanks today.”
“We only get an average of three days of rain in October, and we still haven’t gotten any rain even though the month’s half over. Maybe that’s why.” She paused. “You haven’t had any issues with the stock, have you?”
He shook his head. “Not really. One of the new calves is a bit of a wanderer, but we’ve been able to keep him pretty well wrangled.”
“Good. I purposefully had the hands move some of the stock around a bit, so you wouldn’t have to deal with the pregnant animals.”
He frowned. “Why would you do that?”
She looked surprised. “Don’t you remember? You told me you’re not comfortable with calving. I was simply trying to keep things less stressful for you, at least until you get settled into the job.”
So, she literally rearranged the herd, to protect me from my own irrational fear? The prideful part of him puffed up. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know. I just felt it would be helpful.”
He steepled his fingers. “Have you ever made accommodations like that for anyone else on staff?”
“Honestly, no. I’ve never had to.”
He heard what she said, but he also heard what she didn’t say. No one else who’d worked on the spread had ever complained about this aspect of ranch work. She must think I’m pretty weak.
“You took Mama Jeannie to the doctor yesterday, didn’t you? How’s she doing?”
He noted the abrupt change in topic and tried to adjust his expression, in case his face had revealed his inner turmoil. He answered her question by giving her a brief recap of the doctor’s findings. “Basically, she’s going to need surgery. Her biopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning.”
She gave a solemn nod. “Keep me posted on how she’s doing, or if she needs anything.”
“I will.” He thought about how long they’d been talking, and how matter-of-fact her manner was. “I came by earlier, and you weren’t here. When I called you, you didn’t pick up.”
“As I said, it was a crazy day. I was off-site, but still handling ranch business.”
He drew a deep breath, disappointed when she hadn’t taken his opening to tell him the truth, how she’d been having coffee with another man. Had that been ranch business, or just something she didn’t want him to know about? Is she keeping secrets from me?
He pushed aside those thoughts, not wanting to become that guy. They were embarking on a new journey together, one that had to begin from a pure place, a place of trust. Up until now, she’d given him no reason not to believe in her. Maybe she just needed another shot at it. “What do you think about going to dinner tonight?”
She grimaced. “I’d like to, but I can’t. We’ve got two cows we expect to go into labor over the next few hours, so I’m not sure how long I’ll have to stay tonight.”
He nodded. “Okay. Why don’t I go into town, pick something up and bring it back? The café’s not open for dinner, and you’ve gotta eat.”
“That’s really thoughtful. Thanks, Troy.” She offered a soft smile. “How about Mexican? Tacos, maybe?”
“I’m down.”
“Tell you what. I’ll call into The Red Sombrero downtown and make an order. By the time you get there, it should probably be ready.” She scooted her chair back, grabbed her purse and fished around until she pulled out her wallet. “And since you’re so graciously going to pick it up, I’ll cover the food.”
“You don’t have to...”
She waved him off, her phone in hand. “No worries. It’s quicker to pay over the phone. That way they’ll start assembling the order right away.”
Standing, he gave her a curt nod. “All right, then. I should be back in less than an hour.”
She waved, already on her phone with the restaurant.
He turned, shaking his head as he left.
He felt...dismissed.
This whole situation had him perplexed, and he didn’t care for that out-of-sorts feeling at all.
They’d been so close, yet today he felt worlds apart from her. She wasn’t telling him something—something important. He could feel it. Maybe it had been a mistake to let his emotions deepen for her so quickly. Maybe this was just a fling, after all, and he was kidding himself that it could be something bigger.
Chapter 14
After she placed her order with The Red Sombrero, Robyn began looking over reports from the hands. So far, eight of the expectant animals had calved, with one being a stillbirth.
That leaves a little over twenty more to go in all, and two more before this month is out. Just thinking about it exhausted her. The animals had been bred in a way that would hopefully give the staff some recovery time between births. Nature, however, often had other plans.
Her rumbling stomach reminded her how much she anticipated Troy’s return with the tacos.
A knock sounded. “Come in.”
Mary Ellen opened the door. “We’ve got a live one over in the northeast pasture.”
Robyn got to her feet. “Is she in active labor?”
“She’s got all the classic signs.”
Mary Ellen’s walkie-talkie beeped, and a voice crackled over the frequency.
“We’ve got a backward entry here.”
Mary Ellen announced, “Based on that transmission, it looks like the calf is breech.”
Robyn sighed. “So much for tacos. I may need some assistance. Is Victor still here?”
She nodded. “He’s in the main barn, talking to a few of the hands. That’s where he headed after he spoke to his wife.”
Already on her feet, Robyn said, “Get him down to the northeast pasture. And make sure we have the pulley, and the calving ropes set up.”
“I’m on it.”
Outside the building, the two of them climbed into Big Red. Mary Ellen motored off, stopping for a few minutes by the main barn. “Can you help us out, Doc?” she called out. “We’ve got a breech calf.”
“Sure thing.” Victor stopped conversing with the others, and joined Mary Ellen and Robyn in the truck’s cab, as th
e hands brought the proper equipment out of the barn and loaded it onto the truck bed. After they climbed in the back to assist, Mary Ellen got them underway again.
“What kind of breech are we dealing with?” Victor asked, looking to Robyn.
Wedged between M.E. and the new would-be ranch doctor, Robyn shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Mary Ellen’s two-way crackled again. “M.E., it’s getting serious out here. What’s your location?”
She radioed back. “We’re right on top of you.”
They came to a screeching halt next to the pasture’s supply shed. The distressed cow stood near the main water tank, her mournful moos indicating her discomfort. As everyone hopped out, Robyn ran toward the cow and the two hands attending to her.
“Take over, Doc.” One of the hands, Sam, threw his gloved hands up in the air. “There’s one hoof in the canal, along with her tail.”
Victor kneeled near the cow. “Thank God it’s only hip flexion. The full breech position is far worse.”
The hands who’d come along with the equipment started setting up the pulley and calving ropes, while Mary Ellen helped the two vets don the long, transparent gloves typically worn for this type of work. She then applied the proper lubricant.
Tying on her face shield, Robyn flipped a five-gallon bucket and sat near the cow’s tail. “We’re going to have to turn it. Victor, give me a hand here.”
“I’m with you.”
Reaching into the cow’s birth canal, she eased the calf’s leg back inside for better positioning. Then, working in tandem with Victor, she got a grip on the calf’s hock, rotating and lifting until better positioning was achieved.
“We’re doing good, but we need to get it out before its airways are cut off.” Victor stood braced and ready, with the ends of the calving ropes in his hands.
She nodded but maintained her focus. Suffocation was a common problem during breech births, but she was determined to deliver this baby intact and alive. She maneuvered her hands a bit more, finally catching hold of a hoof. “I’m ready for the rope.” As soon as Victor handed it to her, she looped the end of the rope around the hoof.
“All right, get ready. Victor, you lead. All hands on deck to pull the rope while I raise his hock. Let’s see if we can get her out without the pulley.” She saw the machinery as a last resort because there was potential for injury to both mother and baby when it was used. “Ready?”
She saw the hands lined up along the rope, with Mary Ellen nearest to the pulley. Everyone on the line nodded.
“Pull!” Robyn lifted the calf’s hock, bringing it forward in the birth canal while the team worked the rope. Slowing, the tension increased, and she had just enough time to kick aside the bucket and scramble out of the way before the calf’s body slipped out and onto the grass. She landed on her bottom a few inches away.
The calf, though safely out, was lying motionless on the ground.
Robyn’s heart thudded in her chest.
Victor dropped the rope and squatted to examine the calf. Placing his hand behind the animal’s front left leg, he checked for a pulse.
The pasture was silent. Robyn held her breath.
Victor nodded. “She’s still with us.”
She exhaled.
“She’s a bit bluer than I’d like, and not breathing well.” Victor’s voice held concern.
Robyn moved closer, watching, in case he needed help. Breech births put a lot of stress on both mother and baby, and calves born breech often had trouble breathing. “Mary Ellen, a piece of hay.”
With the straw in hand, Robyn placed it gently into one of the calf’s nostrils, then moved it from side to side.
Moments later, the calf’s head popped up, and it began coughing.
The cow ambled over then and began licking her baby clean.
Robyn smiled. “She’s going to be fine.” Not only was the calf breathing well, but her mother was also showing signs of good bonding.
A cheer went up among the group.
Turning to Victor, she said, “Looks like you’ll do fine here. I’d shake your hand but...”
He laughed. “Don’t worry, I think it can wait.”
She stood, and let the hands unroll her messy gloves. Once free of them, she headed into the shed to scrub her hands.
Emerging a few moments later, she looked to her right, past Mary Ellen’s truck.
There was Troy.
He stood near the road, just beyond the pasture fence, with his SUV behind him.
She wasn’t sure what to make of his expression; it was unclear whether he was shocked, or physically ill, but he didn’t look happy. She felt certain he’d been standing there long enough to have seen the calving, based upon his presentation.
Damn. I’m still hungry, but I’d forgotten about the tacos with all this going on. She started walking toward him.
“Who’s that?” The question came from Victor, who was drying his hands on a clean shop towel as he walked alongside her.
She sighed. “That’s Troy, one of my lead ranchers.”
Just as they neared the fence, he added, “Doesn’t seem like he’s got the stomach for the job.” Victor walked away, chuckling.
Troy’s expression changed then. Shoulders slumped, he bowed his head and turned away.
Oh, no. He heard what Victor said. She quickened her pace. But before she could reach him, he turned and bolted for his truck.
“Troy!”
Ignoring her as she called out to him, he got into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. Moments later, everyone on the pasture watched as he drove off.
“Look, I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so loud,” Victor called.
Robyn ignored him as she turned toward Mary Ellen’s truck. “I need to get back to the office.”
“Sure thing.” Mary Ellen followed her, and they were soon headed back to the operations center.
* * *
Driving toward the ranch’s main gate at top speed, Troy struggled to put what had just happened behind him. He’d stopped by the operations building and left the bag of tacos on Robyn’s desk.
Just because I lost my appetite, that doesn’t mean she can’t eat. Hell, she paid.
When he’d returned from The Red Sombrero, the receptionist had told him where Robyn was. She had not, however, informed him that she was engaged in calving. Had he known that, he would have simply waited at the office.
Turning out onto the main road, he left the ranch behind, determined to make it home as quickly as he could. All he wanted to do right now was put distance between him and the ranch.
It had been bad enough to have to witness the difficult calving, his least favorite part of ranching. But watching her work with that man, the same one he’d seen her with earlier, really set his teeth on edge.
His phone rang. He knew without looking who it was.
Engaging the hands-free calling option in his SUV, he answered. “Hello.”
The sound of her familiar voice filled the vehicle. “Troy, it’s Robyn.”
“I know. What do you need?” The words came out a little gruffer than he’d intended, but he let that go. “I left the food you paid for on your desk, if that’s why you called.”
“I got the tacos, Troy. That’s not why I’m calling.”
“Well?”
“Why’d you rush off like that?”
“I think you know the answer to that.” What kind of game was she playing here? “Didn’t you hear your friend? He was right. I don’t have the stomach to be there.”
She sighed deeply. “He’s not my friend.”
“You seemed pretty chummy back there from where I was standing.”
“What are you getting at, Troy?”
His eyes locked on the road ahead, illuminated by his headlights, he said, “I sa
w you with him.”
“I know. So, did everybody else who helped deliver that calf, so I’m not seeing your point.”
“No, Robyn. I mean, I saw you with him earlier, at the coffee shop. You know, when you were just so busy that you couldn’t be bothered to take my call?”
She gasped. “Troy, have you been following me or something?”
“Oh, please. I wanted a latte. I stopped by your office to see if you wanted anything, and you weren’t there. So, I called. And imagine how surprised I was to pull up and see you sitting there, laughing and joking...with him. You seemed to be enjoying yourself immensely while texting me that you couldn’t talk.”
“Hmph.” She paused. “I was calling to make sure you were all right because I know you don’t like calving. And this is what’s bothering you?”
“Both things are bothering me. I can multitask.”
A bitter laugh followed that statement. “Troy, you have no idea how crazy you sound right now.”
He felt weak, emasculated, and it ate him up inside. His mother had spoken to him that way, too, as she reminded him why he’d never be man enough. She’d also been a cheater, not staying true to his father. He knew not all women were like that, but his mother’s behavior had given him a suspicious nature. He tried to fight it, but sometimes failed. Like now. “Then there’s no reason to keep talking to me, is there?” Without waiting for a response, he ended the call and turned his focus back to driving.
She called again, but he ignored it.
When he finally made it back home, he shed his clothes and took a hot shower. With the hot water cascading over his body and the steam filling the stall, he dropped his head into his hands.
When he’d first returned to town, his mind had been on his grandmother and making sure she was okay. Now, Robyn had him so stressed out, he risked losing focus on Mama Jeannie. That had to change.
He emerged from the shower clean, but not refreshed. Throwing on his boxers and a T-shirt, he fell into bed.
Then Came You ; Written with Love Page 12
