by Kate Pearce
Not that she was getting ahead of herself. Danny hadn’t exactly gone down on one knee and proposed to Sonali right in front of her.
“How long has Sonali been working at the Red Dragon?” Faith asked.
“A couple of years now. Her brother, Dev, is an architect. He’s been doing a lot of work for the redesign of Morgan Ranch and the town redevelopment scheme.”
“Morgantown looks very prosperous,” Faith commented. “Surprisingly so for a little town in the middle of nowhere.”
“Yeah, because as a community we got together to decide what we needed to do to keep people here. Before there wasn’t enough housing and a lot of our school friends ended up moving away to bigger cities for the opportunities. Chase Morgan’s plan is to reuse the historical infrastructure of the town and turn it into housing and build new places for his ranch hands out on Morgan land.”
“All very admirable.” Faith looked at her brother. “You sound quite passionate about it.”
“Well, I am. I love living here and I want this place to thrive.” Dave raised his eyebrows. “What?”
Faith grinned at him. “It’s just nice to see you being so positive about something.”
Even as Dave went to reply, their food was delivered and they both set about eating. Faith soon realized that the new Red Dragon not only looked a whole lot better but offered amazing food as well.
“This is so good,” she breathed through a mouthful of tender chicken.
Dave was too busy stuffing his face to form words but nodded vigorously. Faith set about eating as fast as she could, aware that she’d been so busy she’d barely managed to find time to stop all day. Just as she was scraping the plate, she sensed someone standing beside her and found Danny looking uncharacteristically stern.
“Hey, sorry to disturb your meal, but Dad just called. He says two of the calves are in bad shape.”
Faith grabbed her napkin and wiped her mouth. “I’ll come right away.” She paused. “Do you want to come with me, Dave, or should I take you home first?”
Danny turned to Dave. “Evan can give you a ride home if you like.”
“That would be great,” Dave said. “Just tell him not to go without me while I finish up these fries.”
Faith left some money on the table for the meal and followed Danny out to the parking lot. Even as she walked, she went through all the possible scenarios she might encounter up at the ranch. Dehydration was dangerous for calves and sometimes could be fatal.
“I’ll meet you up there,” Danny called out as he strode toward his truck. “I’ll leave the lower gate open.”
“Thanks.”
Faith got into her dad’s old truck, glad that she’d been the one driving and hadn’t had to go back to the house to exchange vehicles. Every veterinarian stocked up differently. She preferred knowing exactly where everything was whereas Dave flourished in a more chaotic environment. As far as she was concerned being able to lay her hands on something that might save an animal’s life quickly was worth the endless list checking and restocking.
She followed Danny out through the town and onto the county road before taking a right up to the Millers’ ranch. The cow barn was all lit up while the house was almost in complete darkness. She found Adam, Danny, and Jeff gathered around the calves.
“You’re too late,” Jeff said. “One of ’em’s already dead.”
“That’s not her fault, Dad,” Danny said. “She came as quickly as she could.”
Faith stepped over the metal barrier and went to check on the calves. One was definitely dead and the second was failing. She glanced over at the row of concerned faces.
“I’d like to try some intravenous fluids if that’s okay?”
“Sure,” Adam spoke up. “What do you need?”
For the next hour, Faith shut everything out except the calf and its problems. While Adam fetched some hot water for her to scrub up with, she checked the other two calves, who were well on the way to recovering.
Time passed and she became aware of how hard the barn floor was and how her back was locked into a crouched position that would take days to get the kinks out of.
“Here.” She started as Danny set a travel mug beside her. “I made some coffee.”
“Thanks.”
He squeezed her shoulder and looked down at the calf. “How’s it going?”
“Hard to tell right now,” Faith said.
“I’m going to try and persuade Dad to go to bed, but I don’t think I stand a chance unless you can give him an update.”
“I’ll come and speak to him right now.”
She went to rise and groaned as her back protested. Danny steadied her as she finally straightened up.
“You good?” He ran an assessing eye over her. “You look almost as tired as Dad.”
“It’s been a busy week. Lots of new calves.”
She walked over to where Jeff was sitting on a hay bale. “Hey, Mr. Miller. The calf is responding well to the intravenous fluids. She’s not in the clear yet, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do right now other than get some sleep and be ready to help out again in the morning.”
“You’ll be staying then?”
Faith nodded. “Yes, of course.”
“Good.” Jeff nodded. “You sound just like your old man. I appreciate it.” He rose to his feet.
“Just one more thing before you go—do you want me to send sample tissue to the state lab from the dead calf for further analysis?” Faith asked.
Jeff snorted. “Waste of money when the calf’s dead.”
“How about a fecal sample from the other calves?”
“Do you think that’s necessary yet? We’ve only had one calf go down.”
“That’s up to you.” Faith held his skeptical gaze. “But if there is some kind of infection running through the herd, the earlier we know, the easier it will be to treat it.”
“Talk to Adam about it,” Jeff said abruptly. “He’s in charge now.”
“Okay.”
Faith stared at Adam, who looked almost as surprised as she did. Jeff stomped back to the house muttering, which Faith completely understood because to a good rancher losing even one healthy calf was a disaster.
Adam waited until his father had gone inside the house before he cleared his throat.
“I’d like to do the testing.”
“Great. The best thing is that they can run a multiple PCR panel to check for common viruses, bacteria, and parasites all in one hit.”
“Sounds good.” Adam nodded. “I just wish I knew where this infection was coming from.”
“Until we know for sure you’ll need to observe strict hygiene rules,” Faith reminded him. “Keep everything including feeding equipment, boots, and clothing that you use in the barn away from the rest of the cattle.”
“Already doing that.”
Danny looked up from his position beside the calf as lights from a turning truck flashed across the open door of the barn. “That’s either Evan or Kaiden. Do you want me to go and let them know what’s going on?”
“I’ll go,” Adam said. “You stay where you are and help Faith.”
Faith checked her bag and gathered up the stuff she’d need for the test.
“How much calf shit do you need?” Danny asked.
“Not as much as you’d think,” Faith replied. “Ten grams should do it and I’ll take it from all four calves if I can.”
“Be my guest.” Danny grimaced as he smoothed a hand over the barely breathing calf’s flanks. “The sooner we get this sorted the better.”
* * *
His father wasn’t the only one impressed by Faith’s handling of the calves. Danny was in awe of how she’d handled his father, who had a tendency to set people’s backs up without even trying. Before his heart attack he’d regularly gotten into shouting matches with Ron Mac and other ranchers in the valley. Faith had given it to him straight in a calm and professional manner, which had left his dad no room to maneu
ver.
“Danny!” He looked up as Adam shouted from the door. “Incoming.”
He shot to his feet as Evan and Adam came into the barn carrying a calf between them. Faith rose as well.
“Same symptoms?” she asked.
“Yup.” Adam looked grim. “And there’s another one in the back of Evan’s truck.”
“Shit,” Danny breathed as he moved the railing to one side to allow them to bring the calf through. “Literally.”
“Okay, you two start with fluids by mouth,” Faith said. “I’ll come and check them over as soon as I’ve got the sample ready to go.”
Danny went back with Evan to get the second calf while Adam settled the first one in new straw on the opposite side of the enclosed space. To his relief, neither calf looked in as bad a way as the one he’d just been caring for, but he also knew that things could go downhill rapidly.
“Evan?” Adam called out to his brother. “If Dad’s still up when you go inside, don’t tell him what’s happened. I want him to get some rest. He’ll work it out himself in the morning.”
“Sure. I’ll text Kaiden to let him know what’s going on.” Evan nodded, his usual easy smile for once missing. “I’m going to check the field again and see if I missed anything. I’ll come back and help after that.”
“Good.” Danny patted his brother’s shoulder. “I think we’re going to need it.”
* * *
Four hours later in the early morning light of the dawn, the second calf died, and Faith cursed out loud.
“Sorry.” She apologized immediately. “I thought we’d gotten to her in time.”
Danny patted her shoulder. “You did everything you could.”
“I still hate it, though.” She pushed her hair away from her face. “At least all the others are stable now.”
Danny urged her to her feet. He only knew how exhausted she was when she rocked and hung on to his arm. “We’ve got this. Why don’t you go on home, sleep for a while, and come back?”
“Because I promised your father I’d stay.”
“He won’t know if you leave because he’s currently snoring like a pig and none of us are going to tell him.”
“That’s not the point.” She raised her chin and met his gaze. “I’m not some fragile flower, Danny. I’ve slept in more barns than you could probably imagine.”
Despite everything he smiled down at her.
“What?”
“Still the same stubborn old Faith.”
She sighed. “The one and only.”
“How about I get you a pillow and a sleeping bag so you can at least be comfortable?”
She touched his cheek. “Now that would be wonderful.”
He was still smiling as he walked back to the house. He wouldn’t have to go farther than the mudroom, which was where they stored their outdoor gear. Kaiden was the only one currently going into the kitchen to get fresh coffee and anything else they needed. He’d already laid out fresh clothes for them all on top of the washing machine and added a stack of towels to the shower. No one would be tracking anything infectious into the main living space if Kaiden had anything to do with it.
Danny yawned hard and checked the time. Evan hadn’t found any more sick calves, but Adam was already talking about whether to move the pregnant and nursing cows into another field just in case an infection had taken root in the current location. Until they knew exactly what was causing the diarrhea, it was difficult to know just how to react to the threat.
He grabbed a sleeping bag and a pillow, added a travel mug full of hot chocolate that Kaiden had also left sitting by the sink, and returned to the barn. Adam had fallen asleep in one corner and Evan was nowhere to be seen. He walked over to Faith, who was checking the calves.
“How are they looking?”
“Good enough for me to take a twenty-minute nap.” She looked up at him. “If you can stay awake that long.”
“I think I can manage it.” He set the sleeping bag against the wall. “I brought you hot chocolate.”
“My favorite. Thank you.”
“Yeah, you always loved that, didn’t you? I remember . . .” Danny stopped himself. “Sorry, I’m sure you don’t want to reminisce with me right now.”
She wrapped the sleeping bag around herself and sat down, her booted feet sticking out onto the straw. He stuck the pillow behind her neck, and she leaned back and briefly closed her eyes.
“That’s heaven.”
“Only the best at the Miller Ranch,” Danny said. “No need for all that fancy Morgan Ranch stuff.”
She chuckled. “They’ve certainly got an amazing operation going on up there. Jenna took me to say hi last week. I was impressed by all the changes.”
Danny sank down beside her, his back against the wall, his shoulder touching hers. “Dad thinks they’re sellouts.”
“He would.”
“I think they’re doing their best to keep this valley alive.” He paused. “Did you know my brother Ben does trail rides for them?”
“Ben who married that big movie star?”
“You heard about that?”
She snorted. “Everyone heard about it—even people like me who try not to notice what’s going on in this particular part of the world.”
“Is that part of the reason why you never came back?” Danny asked softly, aware that he didn’t want Adam to wake up. “You just didn’t want to remember this place?”
She drew the fabric more closely around her body. “Actually, it was part of the deal I made with my parents.”
“Your idea or theirs?”
“What do you think?”
He studied her carefully. “To be honest, I’m not sure.”
“Dad said that if they paid for my college education, I had to stay away from Morgan Valley.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I got the distinct impression that they didn’t want any more friction with your family, and that me constantly coming back would create problems for everyone.”
Danny took the time to think that through. “I wish they’d asked me.”
She angled her head so that she could look right into his face. “Would you really have wanted me back? After what I did?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. I was angry with everyone. As far as I knew you’d shut me out, made your own decisions, and decided not to come back because you hated me or something.”
She grabbed his hand. “Why would I ever hate you?”
“Because I got you pregnant?”
“We were both stupid and irresponsible,” Faith said firmly. “We both share the blame.”
“That’s kind of you, but—”
She interrupted him. “Danny, you didn’t take advantage of me. In fact, I think I was the one who seduced you.”
He found himself smiling. “Yeah, you did.”
“So, if anyone is to blame, maybe it’s me for throwing myself at you.”
“Bullshit,” Danny said succinctly.
“Exactly.” She raised her eyebrows. “Maybe we should just agree that we were equally responsible, leave it at that, and stop beating ourselves up over nothing?”
He stared at her animated face for a long moment. “You always were the smart one.”
“True.” She yawned and rubbed her cheek against the sleeping bag. “Now, I really need to get some sleep. Can you wake me up in twenty minutes?”
Even as she was speaking, her eyes closed, and she let out a sigh. Danny couldn’t help but lean in and drop a kiss on her cheek. She smiled, making her dimple appear. Danny stood up and walked as far away as he could go before leaning up against the wall. How the hell could he still lust after someone who had kicked him in the teeth so thoroughly that he’d sworn off ever being in love again? What kind of fool was he? With a soft curse, he set his alarm for thirty minutes and started checking the calves while both Adam and Faith slept on. How long and how far did Faith McDonald have to stay away from him to finally make him stop caring?
<
br /> Chapter Seven
He’d kissed her cheek.
Faith unconsciously rubbed the spot where Danny’s lips had landed as she parked up at the clinic. Even though she’d been falling asleep she’d felt his touch. For a crazy second, she’d wanted to wrap her hand around his neck and keep him close while she slept. He smelled the same. Like the boy she’d made love with in the sweet-smelling grass, whom she’d run to for comfort knowing his arms would always be open for her.
She’d left the Millers’ place with the remaining four calves now in a stable condition. Jeff wasn’t happy that another calf had died when he hadn’t been present, and she’d left him arguing about it with his sons. There were already a dozen vehicles in the client parking lot at the clinic, so Faith knew she was in for a busy morning.
While she’d changed clothes back at the house, she’d spoken to Dave, who was out dealing with calving emergencies in the valley. He’d offered to ask Jenna to help them out while Faith focused on dealing with the scours outbreak. The state lab was usually quick to get results back and Faith could only hope they’d have something concrete to go on soon. Not that the treatment for the calves differed that much from what they were already doing, but knowing what kind of infection they were facing and tailoring that response to each individual ranch would help contain any outbreak much faster.
She went through the back door of the clinic, checked on their recovering patients, and continued into the office, which looked way more organized since she’d arrived.
“Hi!” Trina, the youngest vet tech was sitting at one of the desks typing away at her tablet. “We’ve got a full house this morning.”
“So I see.” Faith put on her lab coat. “Any particular reason why it’s so busy?”
“End of the month,” Trina reminded her. “Payday.”
“Makes sense.” Faith nodded. “What would you think if we expanded the business and held small pet clinics in town? There’s space available in the new medical center.”
“I love that idea!” Trina hesitated. “I was thinking about applying for full-time veterinary college in the fall, which means that if I qualify there might be a job here in the valley for me one day.” She grinned. “Not that I’m making this all about me or anything.”
