Page 15 of Unyielding (Poplar Springs #3)
FIFTEEN
DECLAN
I t was early when I headed out to Lost Valley Ranch. Ever since I’d inserted the sample in Iris, I’d worried about whether it would take. While I stood by the advantages of using AI, live cover was far more straightforward with minimal requirements for veterinarian interactions.
Ford yipped where he sat next to me in the truck and I rolled the window down so he could stick his head out.
I pulled up near the barn and was surprised to see Josh. I didn’t think Shannon had shared any of this with him yet—and if that was the case, I didn’t want to give anything away. It should be her story to share.
“Hey! Good to see you,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand. “This must be Ford.” Ever the ham, Ford wagged his tail so hard, his butt wiggled along with it.
“Yep. My sidekick. How are you doing? Everything okay?”
“Business is fine. Nervous about the upcoming wedding,” he said. Josh had crouched down to pet Ford who’d promptly fallen over and presented his belly for rubs.
“The engagement party was great, so you’re off to a good start. And honestly, given the way the two of you were looking at each other, all you really need to do is survive all the wedding details. Then you’ll have the rest of your lives for everything else.”
Josh rose back up and clapped me on the back. “I was a bit worried about what advice you might give, but you didn’t do too bad,” he joked.
“Hey!” I paused. “Actually, though, you might want to ask me again after I’m a bit more awake. I’m not actually sure how coherent I am right now.”
“I’ll do that.” Josh chuckled. “We didn’t have an appointment. Are you here to see Shannon? Are her horses okay? Any problems with Belle?”
I couldn’t tell if this was her brother talking or the owner of the ranch, so I decided to be cautious with my answer. “No emergency. Just a friendly vet visit to check on things.” I am a terrible liar.
The door slammed at the house and Josh looked that way. “Here she comes now. I’ll leave you to your ‘friendly vet visit.’” With a final pet on Ford’s head, he headed for the barn.
“Hey! Thanks for coming out so early. This must be Ford.” Shannon bent down to pet him. “He’s a cutie. I like him.”
“He likes you too,” I said as I watched my dog practically dance to get her attention. “Shall we go check on Iris?”
“She’s in her stall. I was coming out to bring her out to the pasture when I saw that you were here.”
Shannon swept her arm in an arc and Ford took off at a run, beating us into the barn.
He slowed down once he was inside and went from stall to stall sniffing and greeting the horses who all popped their heads over to see the strange new visitor.
When we got to Iris, she did the same. Ford reared up on his back legs to sniff at her nose.
“Whoa, he’s really good around the horses, isn’t he?” she said.
“He is. At least the calmer ones. I try to keep him away from the more excitable horses until they get to know each other. And he’s made some attempts at herding sheep that failed spectacularly,” I said with a chuckle.
“He definitely sounds more like a lover than a fighter,” Shannon said.
I unpacked the portable ultrasound. “You know how this works. Today, I’ll check for endometritis and see where she is with ovulation. But we won’t know for sure that she’s pregnant for at least a couple weeks.”
The exam went quickly. Iris checked out as healthy. Since I was there, I offered to check on Belle. She was in the next stall. Shannon opened the door and immediately started stroking her favorite mare on the nose. I placed my hand on Belle’s side and she leaned toward me with a groan.
“Oh, Mama, you definitely seem about ready to burst, don’t you?
” I crooned to her as I checked her out.
“Her heart rate’s a little high, but that’s normal at this stage and…
” I found the foal’s heartbeat, “Baby is doing fine.” Belle groaned again, and I felt the foal kick. “Ouch, that definitely had to hurt.”
Shannon was immediately at my side. “Is she okay? What happened?”
“They’re both fine, but the racehorse she’s carrying wants a bit of a stretch. Maybe hand walk her today and give them both a bit of exercise.”
Shannon nodded but her attention was on Belle and she seemed to have forgotten about Iris.
“Hey, Declan? If you have a minute, could you come check out Indigo? He seems a bit colicky and I want to make sure it’s nothing bad,” Josh shouted.
“Be right there!” I looked back at Shannon. “Are you good?”
“I am—and I’m happy that both Iris and Belle are too. Thanks, Declan. For everything.”
“Hey, what are friends for, right?”
“Right.”
I packed up my equipment. “Keep giving them the feed I recommended and if anything changes, call me.”
“I will,” she said. “Oh, and don’t forget the Cattlemen’s Association meeting is tomorrow. Get ready to put your politician’s hat on and start shaking those hands.”
I groaned. “Don’t remind me. Ruth’s been drilling into me the need to keep everyone happy. That’s a lot of plates to spin when all I want to do is work with the animals.”
“It’s the same for me, just not with the same intensity. As much as I’d rather spend all my time with my horses, if I want to pay the bills, I have to deal with humans, too,” she said.
“Hey, Dec, you coming?” Josh shouted. “Looks like he’s got diarrhea.”
“Oh, joy.” I rolled my eyes making Shannon laugh. “Coming right now,” I shouted to Josh. I shouldered my bag and left the barn, whistling for Ford to follow.
While it was too soon to tell if Iris was pregnant, I was hopeful. With all the small changes I’d suggested for Shannon’s program, Josh was sure to see that she was trying. In light of that, I had high hopes that she’d get the mare she wanted.
Now all I had to do was get the ranchers of Poplar Springs to see that I was the right candidate to take over Ruth’s practice and I might finally be able to relax.