Page 68 of A Rancher's Love

“Would I ever do such a thing?” Absolutely deadpanned.

His uncleharrumphedagain, but a hint of a smile twitched at the corner of his lips.

Tucker was getting ready for bed, well pleased with the work that he had done on the sly up in the hayloft that evening. A secret that he couldn’t wait to let Ginny know about.

His phone rang, a text message arriving simultaneously.

He put his clothes back on and hurried to the barn where Alex and Luke were in the stall with the pregnant strawberry roan.

She was agitated, stepping uncomfortably with her head wavering from side to side. Luke did his best to calm her while Alex came forward to get Tucker up to speed. “This is early, and she’s definitely not right.”

“You call the veterinarian?”

“On his way.”

Luke spoke quietly, soothing the mare. “Quiet, darlin’. You’ll be okay.”

Tucker moved carefully, sliding a hand along the mare’s extended sides as he checked her. Her skin rippled under his hand, twitching as he passed.

This wasn’t Tucker’s area of expertise, but he knew enough to agree it wasn’t something simple gone wrong.

The three of them worked together best they could to ease the mare’s discomfort. Tucker was very relieved when the barn door swung open in the distance, announcing the arrival of the expert.

Only it wasn’t Josiah Ryder’s familiar face that appeared. Instead of the sturdy veterinarian who had become a Heart Falls mainstay, it was the far smaller woman he’d hired as an assistant.

Yvette Wright strode forward with an easy confidence though. Laying a hand on Luke’s back, she spoke quietly to the horse. “Hey, beautiful. Sounds as if you need a little help.”

“Where’s Josiah?” Alex asked.

“Busy.” Her gaze danced over the horse as she shrugged her way out of her coat then pressed it into Alex’s arms. “Here. Make yourself useful.”

Tucker blinked at the change in her tone of voice from sweetness with the horse to dry disdain for Alex.

He examined the other man’s face. Alex stared after Yvette with something akin to puppy love.

Oh boy. Tangled webs always showed up at the most awkward times.

It only took a few minutes before Yvette was ready. “Tucker, come help me,” she ordered quietly. She gave him directions that he followed explicitly as she slipped a hand into the mare, confusion slowly shifting into comprehension.

“Well, sweetheart, no wonder you don’t feel so good. Your babies are a tangled mess. I’ll get you straightened out as soon as I can,” Yvette promised.

It took an hour and a half, and by the end of it Tucker felt as if his arms had been put through a wringer. He had no idea how Yvette stayed on her feet, working inside the horse to untangle the limbs of a rare set of viable twins.

By the time the tiny beasts arrived, the crowd around the pen had expanded by a few. Ashton had shown up. Luke had contacted Kelli, who had obviously sent a message to Ginny in case she wanted to get in on the action.

Ginny brought a thermos of chai, and once Yvette had washed up, she wrapped her hands around the mug Ginny handed her and took grateful sips. “Thank you. That hits the spot.”

“Glad to help,” Ginny said quietly.

Inside the pen, Strawberry Delight was now resting comfortably, one of the tiny foals fast asleep as the other nursed.

“That’s a sight we don’t see too often,” Ashton said with approval.

Tucker couldn’t take his gaze off of Ginny’s face. The wonder in her eyes, her happiness as she glanced between the newborn fillies and Yvette. The young woman finished her drink, and Ginny moved ahead of her, grabbing her coat and helping the veterinarian into it.

Constantly helping. Constantly aware of others—

“It’s turned out to be a good evening,” Luke said, coming forward to shake Yvette’s hand. “Thank you.”