by Paty Jager
****
In the morning, Carina woke to the slow drone of a motor. Cocking her head to one side, she listened. The even purr in one spot must be Brock warming up the truck. She dressed and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. The humming grew in volume as she walked downstairs.
The rousing aroma of brewing coffee perked her senses when she entered the kitchen. Maddie stood beside the table, her hands hovering over a bowl as she pulled open an egg. Carina poured a cup of coffee and sipped, watching the child deftly crack more.
“You’re up early,” Carina said, taking the bowl from the girl.
“I always get up and make breakfast for Daddy when he comes in from checking the cows.”
“Is the sound I hear his truck?”
Maddie laughed. “No, that’s the generator. The power lines must be down.”
“Oh.” Carina listened. The monotone sound of the motor droned at a steady pace. She smiled. “Well, now that we have that straight, how about we spice up these eggs with some onion and bacon?”
Maddie ran to the pantry and pulled out an onion, then to the refrigerator and pulled out a package of bacon. They were frying the bacon when a pickup slid to a stop just short of the back door.
Brock sprinted up to the door shouting, “Maddie, get your boots and coat.”
The girl jumped into action without hesitation.
“What’s going on?” Carina asked, turning from the spattering bacon.
“Got a cow down. I need Maddie to drive the pickup.”
“She’s too young to drive.”
“She’s been driving since she could reach the pedals. Hurry!” he shouted down the hall as he poured a cup of coffee.
“I’ll get Tate. We’ll come too.” Carina turned the burners off under the pans.
“You’ll just get in the way.” The look he threw her said he didn’t want her interfering.
“You can’t tell me the help of another adult isn’t necessary to get a cow… whatever.” She ran upstairs, grabbed a coat, and scooped Tate out of his bed, picking up his shoes and a coat on the way out.
Brock and Maddie were headed to the pickup. Roscoe stood in the back of the vehicle barking, instructing everyone to hurry. Carina slapped the screen door shut behind her and ran to catch up. Tate laughed and patted her head as she ran.
“Scoot,” she said, pushing Maddie to the middle of the seat as she and Tate climbed in.
“I told you to stay.” Brock glared at her and ground the pickup into gear.
“I said you could use more help.” Carina glared back and slammed the door shut. The vehicle spun out of the yard and down the drive. She shoved Tate’s feet into his shoes and his arms into the coat.
“Don’t you at least have a car seat for Tate?” Carina searched the interior of the cab and spotted an antiquated car seat strapped to the jump seat as Brock jerked his thumb over his shoulder. She leaned over the seat, buckling Tate in as he squealed in delight.
“What do you mean by cow down?” Carina settled herself into the seat and dug for a non-existent seatbelt. The backend of the vehicle swerved one way and then another.
“If a cow lays, say in a hole or small ditch, she can’t get up. The more she thrashes about the more she ends up on her back. The gases in her stomachs—”
“Stomachs?” No wonder cows were so big if they had more than one stomach.
“Yeah, stomachs as in three. Anyway, the gases flow and mix causing her to bloat. If she’s down too long she actually poisons herself.”
Carina’s stomach started to gurgle with displeasure. “So what do you do?”
“Save the cow.”
The pickup bounced and slid down the muddy road. The wipers moved sluggishly pushing at the mud thrown up on the windshield by the large tires.
“Eeeee!” Carina shrieked as the pickup slid sideways down the road.
“You should have stayed.” Brock gave her an annoyed ‘I told you so’ look as he managed to get the vehicle under control.
Wiping a hand across her clammy brow, Carina lurched forward when the pickup slid to a stop.
“Now what?” she asked, peering through the mud streaked windshield. How could he know where he was going? She couldn’t see a thing.
“You’ll see.” He swerved the pickup off the road and over a metal contraption, rattling her teeth. As she tried to ask what that was, they launched over a bump in the road.
A dog yelped.
Tate laughed behind them as Carina grabbed the dash with one hand and clasped her other arm around Maddie, hoping they didn’t get in a wreck the way Brock drove.
“I see her!” Maddie hollered and pointed.
Brock slammed on the brakes and was out the door followed by Maddie before Carina had time to unbuckle Tate and find the door latch.
Roscoe ran around the mound in the mud, barking.
“Quiet, Roscoe!” Brock ordered before turning to her. “Why’d you take him out of the car seat?” He threw her a disapproving look and returned his attention to the cow. “Stick Tate in the pickup bed and grab that rope.”
“But he’ll fall out!” Carina stared after the man striding toward the mound in the mud where the dog bounced. He knelt beside a behemoth of an animal and patted its head. Brock talked to the cow in a soothing voice that would have melted her knees if she weren’t so upset with him and the whole episode.
“Put the boy in the bed and bring me the rope!” he ordered, glancing up from the cow. Did that come from the same man who moments before crooned to the beast?
She glared at Brock’s back. Against her better judgment, she placed Tate in the pickup bed and grabbed the coil of rope. She moved toward the cow, Brock, and Maddie. The creature raised its head, a long tongue stretched out of the cow’s huge mouth as the animal bawled and rolled her eyes.
Brock grabbed the rope from Carina’s hands. He quickly tied it to the cow’s two front feet. “Maddie get in the pickup. When I yell—go forward slowly.”
Carina stared at the man as he looped the other end of the rope on the back of the pickup. What was he thinking?
“Maddie’s only twelve. I’ll drive.” She headed toward the driver’s door of the pickup. Tate laughed and slapped the side with his hand. “And Tate is in the back.”
Brock moved so fast, she was held tight against him before she knew what happened. “They’ve both done this before. Maddie, go.”
The girl climbed into the driver’s seat. The lights in the back end of the pickup flashed red and white as she put it in gear.
When the rope tightened on the cow’s leg, Carina realized what they planned. “No! You can’t pull on the poor animal’s ankle like that.” She shoved out of Brock’s hold and ran to the hitch, trying to untie the rope.
“It’s a hock and it’s no different than me pulling a little on your arm.” He grabbed her arm and gave a tug, pulling her against him.
Ignoring the sparks of irritation in his eyes, she said, “You aren’t as strong as a truck.”
“And you don’t weigh close to twelve hundred pounds.” He pulled her to the side of the vehicle and waved to Maddie. The tires spun, throwing mud up before the pickup slowly pulled the huge animal out of the indention in the ground.
Annoyance at the man’s arrogance and her own lack of knowledge infuriated her. A twelve-year-old shouldn’t be driving such a large vehicle and definitely not with her baby brother in the back. And then to yank on the animal as if it were an inanimate object. The whole episode seemed barbaric.
“How do you know it doesn’t hurt the cow?” she asked not even trying to hide her annoyance.
“I didn’t say it didn’t hurt. But I’m sure you would rather have a little pain than death.”
Carina flinched. She would give anything to be in physical pain and still have her child alive. The emotional agony was hell. His gaze lingered, staring into her eyes. He mustn’t see her guilt. If he knew she wasn’t capable of keeping her own child alive how would he react to her t
aking care of his children?
She motioned to the cow. “How far do you need to pull her?”
“Whoa!” he hollered and Maddie stopped the vehicle. Brock walked over to the cow and removed the rope from her feet as Maddie backed the pickup. He twisted and looped the rope, sliding it over the beast’s head. It looked like the rope contraptions she’d seen on horse’s heads in magazines.
Brock stood up, still holding the end of the rope. “You two get behind and push. We have to get her in at least a sitting position or we’ll lose her.”
Maddie hopped out of the cab of the pickup, up into the truck bed, and tossed out a pole as long as she was.
“Come on, Carina.” The girl grabbed the pole, dragging it to the side opposite of where Brock pulled on the rope and the cow’s head.
Carina followed Maddie, who dropped the pole down beside the cow and gave it a kick tight against the animal’s back.
“Come on, push,” she ordered, pushing on the side of the cow as Brock pulled. Carina touched the rough hair and wrinkled her nose at the smell of cow manure, mud, and the gases slowly seeping out of the animal.
“Push!” Brock hollered and tugged. Carina leaned into the beast and pushed with her legs. The cow moved slightly and Maddie kicked the pole under the animal, moving her closer and closer to a sitting position. Carina’s legs burned from the activity. This was a lot different than running on an inside track three times a week. Her thigh muscles bunched, and her calves seared from the stretching. By the look on Brock’s face, the animal was just about where he wanted her.
The beast grunted and thrashed with her head and legs.
Maddie fell backward onto her bottom. The animal swung her massive head, butting Brock and knocking him to the ground. He landed with an audible ‘omph’ as she slid into the mud beside the cow.
Using the beast to pull herself up, she looked over the mound. “Are you all right?” she called out. Maddie gave her a weak smile, but Brock didn’t move. Fear crept up her spine. She had no clue where to go for help if he was injured. Running to Brock, she knelt beside him. She heard his teeth grit as he opened his eyes.
Pushing her away with an arm, he headed back to the cow. “Got to get her up, she’s been down at least two hours. Who knows how long before I spotted her.” He started pulling on the rope again, and Maddie pushed on the beast’s side and kicked the pole.
Carina couldn’t believe they were back at it when the animal didn’t want any help. Let the thing die.
“Why are you busting yourselves to keep her alive? It’s obvious she doesn’t want our help.” She looked at their mud covered clothes. “One of us could get hurt. Is it worth that chance?”
“She’s worth five hundred dollars and the calf inside of her is worth that much in six months.” Brock glared at her. “Push!”
Carina bent down, shoving on the cow, putting all her frustration and anger into moving the animal. He was no different than Perry. He cared more about the money than his family’s safety. The knowledge he was no better than the man who left her when she was financially strapped and emotionally empty fueled her efforts. She left a selfish oaf behind only to be up to her knees in mud, pushing on a smelly, stupid cow for another one. Carina looked at the mud-covered man tugging on the rope. His jaw had a determined set as his whole body wrenched on the rope pulling the cow’s head.
“She’s up. Maddie, curl her legs under her,” Brock said between puffs and grunts, pulling on the animal.
Carina kicked the pole under the cow while Maddie tended to the legs.
When the beast sat up in a comfortable position, Brock released the rope and took off his hat, knocking the mud from it. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. Maddie leaned against him and he gave her a big hug. “Don’t know what I’d do without you, Freckles.”
Watching the camaraderie and closeness of the two, regret washed through Carina. She’d never know what it felt like to accomplish something with her child. She’d lost her chance to experience that closeness.
She turned from the sight. Sadness and grief enveloped her.
Brock watched the woman before she turned. She was covered with mud. Her hair hung in hanks like a cow’s tail. She’d proven she wasn’t as fragile as she looked. He smiled and was about to make a comment on her appearance when he noticed the sadness in her eyes. He didn’t understand his need to make her smile. But the agony in her eyes tugged at his conscience.
“Not bad for a wisp of a city girl,” he said, slapping her on the back with his hat.
“Do you do this often? I never knew cows were so stupid.” She kept her eyes cast down at the animal. What was in their depths she tried to hide?
“It mainly happens when there’s lots of mud and they’re pregnant. They can’t get traction to get up, and their bodies are heavier.” He looked at her mud-covered clothes. “You’ll have to wash those right away. This clay stains the heck out of things.”
“Will she be all right?” Carina continued to stare at the cow. “When is she due?”
“We start calving next month. I don’t think this caused too much trauma. Cows are pretty tough.”
“But this episode could cause her to go into labor?”
The fear in her voice stunned him. “No, I doubt it. Like I said, cows are pretty tough. It would take more than this to make her lose the calf.”
“I’m hungry,” Maddie chimed in, pulling out of his embrace and taking Carina by the hand.
The woman shook her head like coming out of a trance. “I hope we can make something edible out of breakfast.” Carina forced a smile as Maddie dragged her to the passenger side of the pickup.
The woman’s concern about the cow was close to hysteria. He’d grown up on this ranch. His grandfather and then his dad taught him everything he knew about cattle and the land. The ranch and the lifestyle oozed through him like his own blood. He did things instinctively. He knew he’d been gruff with the city woman when she had balked, but damn it, every cow meant getting out of debt and saving the land and daughter he loved.
Removing the rope halter he’d put on the cow, he could see where some of what they just did would look cruel to a city person. And why his mom left the ranch the minute his dad passed away. He rolled up the rope, tossed it in the back of the pickup, and grabbed Tate. The boy picked globs of mud from his hat and threw it toward the cow.
“That’s my boy. Put the mud back where it belongs.” He set Tate on the seat and slid in behind him as the boy climbed over Maddie to land in Carina’s lap.
“Oh, Tate! Now you’re just as muddy as the rest of us,” she said with a hint of dismay in her voice as she strapped him into the car seat.
“We better get back. Jack’s bound to be there by now and wondering what we’re doing today.” Brock turned the key and floored the accelerator, fishtailing the pickup and making Maddie and Tate laugh with glee. He noticed Carina clung to the arm rest on the door.
After they crossed the cattle guard and were back on the main road, Carina looked at him. “Who is Jack?”
“He’s a Basque sheepherder who no longer herds sheep. He works for me as a hired hand.”
“It takes more than one person to handle this ranch?” She pushed a muddy strand of hair behind her ear and grimaced.
Brock hid the smile her actions triggered. She was out of her element. But he had to accept she did an admirable job of staying composed.
“There’s a thousand acres and four hundred head of cattle to keep an eye on.”
“Are all of them going to have babies?” The wonder in her voice made him smile.
“They’re called calves, Carina,” Maddie said, entering the conversation.
The woman smiled at Maddie. “I stand corrected. Are they all going to have calves?”
“All but the bulls. The more I can keep alive the better.” He knew he had to have an above average number of calves survive in order to pay off the loan and have enough to get them through the next year. After that, they woul
d be fine—until Maddie and Tate went to college. But he’d take care of that hurdle when the time came.
“Will they all be born before the snow comes?” He heard the worry in her voice.
“If they go as planned we should have all the calves on the ground by the end of December.”
“But won’t you have snow by then?”
“It depends on the year. Some years we don’t get it till after the New Year and some years it can start in November. Keep your fingers crossed the snow comes late this year.” He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he could see it wasn’t working.
They pulled into the yard. Jack’s Toyota wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Brock got out and looked around. Where could he be? The man hadn’t missed a day in ten years.
“Something’s wrong.” He stomped into the kitchen banging the door behind him and tried the phone. Silence.
“Willie T’s coming!” Maddie hollered.
Brock went back out. Carina carried Tate to the house and Maddie stood by the pickup pointing south. Sure enough, on the horizon he saw a horse and rider making their way down the small hill. He followed Carina into the kitchen.
“We got company coming. I’ll put a pot of coffee on while you and Tate get cleaned up.”
“Willie T?” she asked, pulling the muddy coat from Tate.
“Yeah. Maybe he has news about Jack.”
“Do they live near one another?”
“No.”
“Then how will he have news?”
Brock shrugged. “Willie T just seems to know everything.”
Carina frowned and slipped out of her muddy coat, leaving it in a pile beside the washing machine.
“There’s a shower in there,” he pointed to the small bathroom in the corner of the mud room. “And a robe to get you up to your clothes,” he added. The shy smile on her face as his words sunk in, gave him a glimpse of the real woman. For all her spunk and bossiness, she had a streak of shy. He snorted as she and Tate disappeared into the bathroom. She’d been pretty damn bold staring at him in his shorts the night before. Just remembering her eyes on him hardened a part of his body he’d been ignoring since Cindy drove away.
