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Chapter Fifteen

IZZIE

“W e don’t have an equine vet truck here.” I tell Jackson.

“We’ll have to make do without one.” He veers for his car.

“That’s insane.”

He looks at me with the most anguished expression. “Are you saying there’s nothing in this clinic you can bring with you?”

Flora comes running with a large bag in her hand. “Here, take this.”

“There you go. Now let’s go.” Jackson veers for the door, and I rush after him.

He insists that we ride in his car. I don’t fight him. This is an emergency after all.

Once we get on the road, I understand what he meant by he’d make sure we arrived at his ranch in time. He drives so fast, my back is flat against the seat. It’s a miracle we don’t get pulled over.

He doesn’t say a word during the ride, and he doesn’t turn on the radio either. Oddly, the silence isn’t uncomfortable. He keeps his attention on the road, which gives me the opportunity to watch him without being caught.

His expression never wavers from tense. There’s no denying he’s worried about his horse. The fact that he asked for my help said as much. I know he doesn’t like me. The feeling is mutual. But I put my animosity toward him aside and empathize with his plea.

We arrive at the ranch in thirty-five minutes. There’s barely any illumination on the driveway save for the car headlights, and I see the outline of the main house only when we’re near the large building.

Jackson drives past the front of the house and keeps going down a gravel path that’s a little bumpy. I grab the oh-shit handle automatically. The lights inside the stables are on, and I can see that building better than I could the house. It’s also big, and my guess is that it can house at least a dozen horses. Jackson parks right in front of it.

“How many horses do you have?” I ask.

“Six.” He gets out of the car, and I quickly do the same.

I put my medical bag in his trunk, but Jackson beats me to it and grabs it for me.

“I can carry that,” I say.

“I know you can, but I have it already. Let’s go.”

I shake my head and bite my tongue. There’s no point arguing with him about it.

Two people greet us inside the stables, and Jackson is quick with the introductions. Mickey and Dione Miller are a couple in their fifties. They manage the ranch for Jackson and live in a separate house on the property.

“How long ago did you notice the mare was in a labor?” I ask as Mickey leads me to the stable.

“Six hours or so. Fleur’s a maiden, so we know it can take longer, but not that much longer. We called our vet, Dr. Lawrence, but he is sick, and his replacement is attending to another emergency.”

Fleur is pacing in her stall, and when she turns, I see the amniotic sack poking out. “Oh, she’s close.”

“That wasn’t there before,” Mickey says.

I turn to Jackson. “My bag?”

Jackson hands it over, and when I turn my attention to Fleur, she’s already lying down flat. The more severe labor pains have started.

“All right. It’s time.” I crouch behind her, and immediately notice a problem.

“What’s wrong?” Jackson asks. He must have noticed my frown.

I break the membrane. “See how one whole leg is out and the other isn’t?”

“Yeah. Damn it. That’s not good, right?” He crouches next to me.

“It’s not ideal, but it’s okay. I need to get the other leg free.”

“Do you need anything from the bag?”

“Not yet.” I glove up and grab the bent back leg with both hands and apply steady traction. But after a minute or so, I realize that perhaps I’m not strong enough because it’s still stuck.

“Is it working?” Jackson asks.

“No. I need a third hand.”

When he doesn’t move, I look at him. “ Your hand.”

“Oh… okay.” He reaches over and grabs the leg just above where my hands are. “Now what?”

“Now we pull until the elbow lock loosens.”

“All right.”

With Jackson’s help, that second foot finally comes out and it’s now parallel with the first. I exhale in relief. This is my first time doing it by myself, and I was getting a bit nervous. Not that I’d let Jackson notice.

“That’s it. We’re almost there,” I say.

“I see the elbows!” Jackson blurts out, all excited.

“Yes! Keep applying traction, always down.”

“Got it.”

A moment later, the head is out, and then the hips. “We can stop helping now.”

“Shouldn’t we continue to pull? The foal is almost out.”

“Oh no. We need to leave the hind legs in the vaginal vault for fifteen minutes or so.”

“Why? I mean, I’m not questioning your judgment. I’m just curious.”

I can see the openness and wonder in his eyes, and it almost makes me lose my train of thought. But I recover fast. “Is this your first foaling?”

“Yes. Can’t you tell?” He laughs nervously.

“You’re doing great. And to answer your question, it’s good for the foal if it stays partially inside the mare. Blood will transfer from the placenta to the foal, which will give it more strength.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that.”

“That’s true,” Mickey pipes up.

I forgot he was there. He could have helped me—he obviously has more experience than Jackson—but I’m glad that he didn’t offer to assist. I like that I shared this experience with Jackson, and my accelerated pulse is proof of that.

“Thanks for helping me. This was my first foaling too,” I confess. “I mean, the first one where I had to assist the mare.”

I look at Jackson and our eyes meet. We don’t speak for several beats, but this moment doesn’t require words. For the first time since I met him, he has his guard down. There’s no contempt, annoyance, or malice in his gaze. I’m seeing a person full of wonder after witnessing the miracle of life, and it speaks to my soul.

“Thanks so much, doc. I can handle things from here,” Mickey chimes in again, breaking the moment.

I glance at the mare and the foal, a beautiful filly the same brown color as the mare. “I can wait.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jackson replies.

I don’t look at him again, but I can’t help the upturn of my lips, or the fluttering in my stomach. I’m acting like a high school girl, sitting next to her crush, which is totally crazy when, hours ago, I was ready to punch Jackson in the throat.

What’s happening to me?

* * *

JACKSON

The adrenaline from helping Izzie deliver the foal has left my body, and tiredness finally sets in. I’m usually in bed a couple hours after I get home from a game. We waited until the foal was completely out, standing, and nursing from its mother, and then Dione pretty much dragged us out of the stable.

“We should get going,” I tell Izzie, then a yawn sneaks up on me.

“Are you okay to drive? It’s very late.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll drink an expresso before we go.”

“Why don’t you two spend the night?” Dione chimes in. “It’s not safe to drive at this hour when you can barely keep your eyes open.”

I think about not having to make the long trek back to Miami, and I’m tempted, but then I glance at Izzie. I’m sure she doesn’t want to stay.

“It’s up to you,” I tell her. “The house has plenty of rooms and you can pick one far from mine.”

“It’s fine. We can wait until morning to drive back.”

My brows shoot up. “For real?”

She tilts her head. “Why do you sound surprised? It’s been a long night for both of us. I can survive sleeping under the same roof as you. I just need to call the clinic and let them know I’m not coming back.”

“Okay. Good.” I veer for the car, then I look at myself and realize I’m covered in birth fluids.

“Do you mind if we walk? I don’t want to get your car dirty.”

Before I can reply, Dione butts in. “Oh dear. You probably want to shower. I’ll get you fresh clothes.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”

“We can walk back,” I tell Izzie.

“We’ll drive to the house and get everything ready for you,” Dione adds.

I give her my car key. “Sounds good. Thank you, Dione.”

Izzie and I start the walk to the house, and I try to think of something to say, but she beats me to the punch. “Thank you for asking me to come.”

“I’m the one in your debt. I don’t know what would have happened to Fleur if you weren’t here to help.”

“You gave me the opportunity to bring a new life into the world. I’ll never forget it.”

I take a peek at her. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness, and I can make out the hint of a smile. She seems content, and that makes me strangely happy. “You’re welcome.”

We fall silent again, but my pulse is pounding in my ears. What is this strange reaction to a woman who, not long ago, I could barely tolerate?

“You didn’t mention you had a horse ranch when you came to visit ours,” she says after a moment.

I was wondering when she’d mention that. “No. I got distracted.”

“Distracted by what?”

“You.” The confession rolls off my tongue, surprising me.

“Me?” Her voice rises in pitch.

“Yes.” I glance at her. “I didn’t expect to have anything in common with you.”

She holds my stare for a couple of beats, then looks ahead. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to have anything in common with you either.” After a moment, she continues. “About Jane and Chad… do you swear that your motives have nothing to do with hockey?”

“I do. You can trust me on this, Izzie. I have many faults, but lying isn’t one of them.”

“And if I help you, do you promise to stay out of their relationship?”

Hell. That will be a hard one for me, but I promised Chad I’d be supportive.

“Yes.” We’re outside the main house now, so I stop and turn to her. “Anything else you want me to agree to?”

She narrows her eyes. “Yes. I’d like you to be nicer to Jane.”

I flinch. “I was never rude to her.”

“But you were never warm either.”

I think about all my interactions with her sister, and maybe she has a point. “I guess that’s fair. I can be nicer to Jane, but only her, not you?”

She smirks. “I don’t need you to like me, Jackson.”

But what if I want to like you?

The thought pops into my head unbidden, leaving me wondering where the hell it came from.

The front door opens and Dione appears. “What are you doing standing there? Come in already.”

I’m strangely tense and my heart is pounding, but I try to hide it as I point at the house. “Ladies first.”