Page 157 of Scent to the Feral Cowboys

My spoon clattered against the empty bowl, and I stood up quickly. “What kind of problem?”

I wasn’t sure why but hearing that something was wrong with the pregnant cow, made the kind of pain I’d felt burying Grandpa reawaken. Wade and I had checked on Dolly together several times since my arrival. I’d only just gotten up the nerve to kneel beside her and mimic Wade’s gentle touches across her swollen belly earlier today. She had such wide, gentle eyes. Dolly and Ghost made me feel at home, like Grandmother’s sit-around birds. Though, these creatures were living, breathing things. Not decorations.

"Calf’s breach." Wade ran a hand through his hair, leaving the mullet wild and tangled, sticking out in all directions. "There's abnormal discharge, and she's been in early labor for awhile. Progression's just too slow. I’ve been trying to manipulate position from the outside." His anxious eyes met mine. "I've called the vet, but it'll be at least an hour before he can get here. I’ve got to handle it, or it could be bad. I shouldn’t have waited. It’s too far gone for a c-section now.”

As he spoke, his face grew increasingly somber. He was blaming himself.

“Let me get my boots,” I said quickly, racing out of the kitchen, not waiting for Wade to refuse my help.

Behind me, I heard Levi ask if Wade could use another set of hands.

“No, I think Nelly needs this,” I heard him respond, voice muffled by walls and the distance I’d put between us.

I rushed back to the kitchen after shoving on my borrowed socks and boots.

"I'm ready," I said, before I’d fully entered the kitchen. I glanced over at Levi. He’d closed his book on the table, folding his hands atop the cover. He offered me a small, encouraging smile. My return smile was warm, then I looked at Wade, whose face was still tight with worry. He was holding a leather bag now.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Nelly? It might get... messy." He gave me a probing stare.

“I’m sure.” I didn’t let any uncertainty into the two words. I didn’t want him to tell me to stay behind because I seemed nervous.

He nodded quickly, accepting my answer, and turned around.

I followed him out the back door, my chest tight.Why did Dolly mean so much to me? Why was I spiraling at the thought of losing her?Maybe it wasn’t so much the pregnant cow; maybe as it was the idea of losing yet another thing I cared about. Five days here was all it took for the ranch to worm its way into my heart. Now, I found myself waking up excited to greet theanimals, to eat Cooper’s cooking, to watch Boone repair fences and rip out Larkspur, to see Levi wholly focused on his numbers, and to learn another small way Wyatt and Wade were different despite being twins. These men were tattooing themselves onto my heart, as surely as they each had tattooed a sagebrush on their own bodies years ago. I was becoming part of this pack, without meaning to.

Wade moved quickly, cutting through the warm afternoon air towards the maternity paddock and widening the space between us. There was a line of sweat down his back, and his hand gripped the bag so hard his knuckles paled.He was really worried. I picked up the pace, pumping my legs, feet shifting slightly in the boots that almost fit. We were nearly to the fenced destination by the time I caught up.

"Have you delivered many breach calves?" I asked as I fell into step beside him, trying to distract myself from the strange, nervous anticipation I was feeling.

"A fair few.” He used one hand to unlatch a gate, swinging it open and leading the way through. We paused precious seconds while he resecured the paddock’s entrance, then began crossing the grassy Earth—cow patties appearing like polka dots against the green—and headed toward a sturdy, three-sided shelter. The protected space beneath its roof was shadowed, ground piled thick with fresh hay. Wade spoke again, as if no time had passed since his last statement.

“It never gets easier though.”

Something in his voice, made me glance up at his profile. Rays of sun caught in his hair, bringing out highlights. His jaw was set in determination, eyes focused ahead. Ranching wasn't just a job to him. This was his life's work, his purpose. His Alpha aura surged. If visible, I imagined it would be warm, just like the daytime star above. Wade was shimmering gold. He was summer.

“Wasn’t she fine earlier? Didn’t you say things felt okay?” My brow furrowed, thinking back and trying to remember if Wade had seemed concerned, despite his confident words that Dolly and her baby were doing great.

"I suspected she might be heading for a hard time,” he admitted, “Didn’t want to worry you. This possibility’s been on my radar for a week. I just hoped I could turn the situation around.”

“I don’t like it when people keep things from me,” I muttered, feeling betrayed and sad. I would have spent more time with Dolly today if I’d known.

We were mere feet from the wide-open front of the lean-to, but Wade turned around, stopping in his tracks. His green eyes glowed as sun rays fell across his face.

“From this moment on, I’ll tell you everything,” he promised.

I bit my lip, wondering if he really would give me absolute honesty in the future.

God, why was I even thinking about the future? Why did I even care if Wade lied to me later? I wouldn’t be here… would I?

My Alpha with the nurturing spirit and ridiculous mullet—which was beginning to grow on me, despite myself—spun back around, walking swiftly.

My eyes landed on Dolly's large form, and my heart sank. She was lying on her side in the hay, heaving with labored breaths. Next to her knelt Boone's massiveness; he was cradling the cow’s head against his thighs, stroking between her ears and murmuring to her in a steady, soothing stream of words. As we entered the shed, the cow’s eyes rolled toward us, wide with pain and fear. I'd never seen an animal in such distress before. Boone didn’t glance at us, too focused on comforting the cow.

"Hey, sweet girl," Wade murmured, dropping to his knees beside her and placing the bag on the ground; it sunk a fewinches into the loosely packed hay. He ran a gentle hand down Dolly’s neck. "We're going to help you, darling, don’t worry."

I didn’t know what to do. Didn’t know where to kneel. Didn’t even know how to inhale as worry for the cow bloated inside my chest, blocking fresh oxygen.

“Any changes?” Wade asked Boone, moving his hands across her lopsided belly.