his hind legs out. In a normal birth
he would have come
out front hooves first.
Ian watched in amazement as she
slowly pushed the calf
forward. As the cow began to strain
again, she stopped and
held the position. It was a long,
slow process. He couldn't take
his eyes off the scene. He'd never
witnessed anything like it
in his life. Colby, up to her
shoulders in work a lot of men
wouldn't have the fortitude to do.
She approached the effort
matter-of-factly, when she
spoke, her voice low and soothing.
He saw that she, too,
sympathized with the cow's pain.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
Her coveral s had been splattered
with blood, and a
strand of her hair clung to the side
of her face. He subdued
an unexpected urge to smooth it back
for her.
After what seemed like forever, she
said, “Okay. I've
got the back hooves out. We're on
the right track now.
Ian stood to the side of the cow,
his arms folded across
his chest, the drama of the
situation making him tense. The
process went on for a good while
longer, with the cow
pushing and Colby helping to pul the
calf forward until it
final y slid onto the straw in a
heap.
“There you go,
Colby said, smiling. “You were doing
your best not to join us out here,
weren't you?
Harry picked up the calf and moved
it close to its
mother, placing it back on the
straw. Wonder assaulted Ian.
He thought about his own son's birth
and how incredible it
had been to hold the tiny body in
his arms. He recal ed the
instantaneous love he'd felt for
him, and his chest ached
with the memory of it and a yearning
for things to be right
with Luke again.
“Let's get the
other one, Colby said, reaching back
inside the cow.
When the second calf emerged onto
the straw with
Colby's help, the same sense of
wonder washed over him.
This one was noticeably smal er, its
eyes round and startled.
Ian's heart contracted.
“Okay, girl.
We're almost there, Colby said to the
mother cow, looking up at Ian and
adding, “I just need to
make sure there's not a third.
“She could have
another one? he asked, incredulous.
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“Oh, yes. I've
had it happen.
Amazed, Ian hoped for the cow's sake
that it didn't
happen now.
A minute or so later, Colby said,
“Looks like that's it.
She sat back on her heels and patted
the cow's side, her face
alight with satisfaction and what
looked like the same kind
of relief he felt for the animal.
“You're all finished.
Ian bent down and stroked the cow's
head. He'd never
real y thought about it, but he
would have imagined this sort
of thing became routine for a
veterinarian. But the look on
Colby's face suggested it was just
as gratifying to her now as
it would have been the first time
she'd helped with a
delivery.
The second calf raised its head and
let out a
halfhearted bleat. Colby laughed.
“Looks like she arrived
with an appetite.
Harry Pasley bent over to give the
cow a pat on the
side. “You did
good, girl. You, too, Doc. But then you
always do.
The cow weakly reached around to
swipe the closest calf
with her tongue. If the birth of the
first one amazed Ian, the
second seemed like a miracle.
“These three have
some bonding to do. Colby wiped
her damp forehead on her shoulder,
then looked up at Ian
and smiled. “Thanks
for being so patient.
Ian didn't remember a smile ever
affecting him quite
the way hers did in that moment.
He'd witnessed
something incredibly special. He
thought of the business
he'd put his life into over the past
seventeen years and
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
couldn't remember one incident
during that time that made
him feel this way.
Crazy but true.
And he had no idea what to make of
that.
83
12
olby finished cleaning Til y up and
gave her a shot
Cto fight off infection. “Let
me know if they have
any problems, Harry.
“I'll do that,
Doc. Thank you for coming out so late. I
really appreciate it.
“No problem. She
pul ed a fresh pair of coveralls
from her bag and said, “May
I use your office to get into
these?
“Sure thing,
Harry said.
Alone, Colby wondered what Ian
thought of being here.
It couldn't have been his cup of
tea, but throughout the
past few hours, she'd been surprised
by the range of
emotions she'd seen on his face:
sympathy, interest,
amazement. After she'd changed, she
left the office and
returned to the stal , where Harry
still stood. “Good night,
she said. “Cal me
if you need me.
“Night, Doc Wil
iams, Harry said. “Thanks again.
Outside, Colby found Ian staring up
at the night sky.
“Sorry to keep
you waiting, she said, coming up behind
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
him and glancing at her watch.
“It's after midnight. I didn't
realize it was that late.
He turned around, his gaze finding
hers. “I'm in no
hurry. How did you do that? he
asked, pointing at the
coveralls.
“I keep an extra
pair in my bag. You don't want me
riding in your car with the other
ones on, she said.
“It wouldn't have
mattered, he said, shrugging.
“Are you sure you
don't mind taking me home? I
could ask Harry—
“Of course not,
Ian said. “Come on, get in. You're
probably tired after al that work.
Giving in, she got inside the car
and gave him
directions to her house.
He put the car in reverse and backed
up, cutting the
wheel to the right.
“I wouldn't turn
around in the driveway if I were—
Before she could finish, the two
back tires dropped off the
gravel. “Uh-oh. I
should have mentioned the mud back
there. You can't see it in the dark.
“Shouldn't be any
problem. He pushed the gas. The
back wheels made a whirr-hissing
sound, spinning uselessly.
“I'l go get
Harry, Colby offered. “He'l give us a pull
with his tractor.
“That's okay, Ian
said, opening the car door.
“Watch out! she
warned just as he slid out and mired
up to his shins in mud.
Silhouetted in the light shining
from the car's interior,
he looked at the ground where his
two feet were currently
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held prisoner. He pul ed one free,
then the other. They made
a loud, sucking noise.
Laughter bubbled up in Colby's
throat. She clapped
her hand over her mouth to stop it,
but failed miserably.
Ian ducked his head back inside,
chagrined. “Guess I
should have taken Mr. Pasley up on
those coveralls, huh?
She did her best to keep a straight
face, but the tears
leaking from the corners of her eyes
gave her away.
“Can you slip
across and get behind the wheel? I don't
recommend getting out.
“Sure. Colby's
cheeks hurt with the effort of trying not
to laugh.
He made his way to the back of the
car, mud slurping at
his shoes with each step. “I'l
let you know when I start to
push, he cal ed out. “Give
it the gas when I say go.
“Okay.
She adjusted the seat so her feet
reached the pedals. A
few seconds later, he said, “Al
right. Hit it.
She pushed the pedal. The car
groaned and protested,
the back tires whirring again.
She stopped, and he called out,
“One more time.
They repeated the process, only this
time the tires spun
once, then the car shot out of the
mud like a launched
rocket.
Back on the gravel, Colby parked and
got out.
Harry came out. “What
happened?
“We got stuck,
she said.
“I'd have pulled
you out.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“It only took two
pushes, she began, and then stopped
when Ian stepped back into the light
shining from the barn.
She stared at him in disbelief.
“Oh, no!
“It kind of
splattered, he said, wiping a hand across the
side of his mud-covered face.
Harry chuckled. “I'll
say.
Colby couldn't hold back her
laughter any longer. The
sophisticated New Yorker beside whom
she'd sat at dinner
earlier that evening now stood
covered in mud, head to toe.
“I'm sorry, she
said, trying to stop. “It's not funny. Really.
It isn't.
“No, actually, it
kind of is, he said, his smile broader
now.
“How about those
coveral s? Harry offered. “I've got
a hose inside if you'd like to rinse
off.
“I think I'l take
you up on them this time, Ian said,
disappearing inside the barn with a
grinning Harry.
Colby waited outside, drying her
eyes with the back of
her hand. At least the man had a
sense of humor. She
thought about Doug and the
comparisons she had made
between the two. When she and Doug
started dating, she
brought him home one weekend to meet
her parents. She'd
taken him out to the Bower farm,
where she'd worked part
time in high school, doing odd jobs.
She tried to teach
Doug how to milk one of the cows,
and when he'd been less
than gentle at the task, the cow
planted a hind hoof beneath
his chin. From then on, Doug did a
poor job of hiding his
eagerness to leave Keeling Creek.
She'd often thought that
was the point at which she should
have seen they had no
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future. The Doug she had known would
not have laughed
about what happened here tonight.
Harry and Ian reappeared. Ian wore a
pair of old blue
coveral s that would have sold
Today's Farmer
a record
number of copies had he been wearing
them on one of
their covers.
He had apparently taken Harry up on
the use of his
hose, too. His hair was wet, the mud
no longer evident on
his face and hands.
“Sure you trust
me to drive you home? he asked with a
sheepish grin.
“Of course, she
said.
Shaking his head, Harry waved
goodnight and went
back inside.
Ian threw his discarded clothes in
the trunk, and they
both got into the car. Their gazes
caught and held for a
second before they started laughing
again.
When she final y stopped, Colby
wiped her eyes and
said, “I'm really
sorry about all this.
“Hey, it's not
your fault. I'm the one who backed into
the mud and then insisted on playing
Superman.
She chuckled again. “Yeah,
but I should have warned
you.
“I'm a little bit
like Smidge. I might have to bumble my
way through a few mishaps before I
get the hang of country
life.
“That could have
happened to anyone.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“Right, he said,
looking skeptical. “Thanks for trying
to save my pride, but I already left
it in tatters back there in
the barnyard.
Colby smiled. “You've
been a good sport tonight.
“You're the one
who did al the work, he said as they
headed down the driveway. “That
was pretty amazing in
there. Are twins uncommon?
“Not real y. With
the hormones they're giving the cows
these days, the odds are increased.
Unfortunately, the little
girl will probably be sterile. She
won't be of much use to
Harry.
Ian frowned. “Meaning?
“He'l sell her to
the stockyard.
“Oh. That's too
bad, he said, sounding more than a
little bothered by the thought.
“That's one part
of my job I don't think I'll ever get
used to. Farming is a business. Feed
costs money.
He stayed quiet for a moment and
then said, “You
were great in there.
The offhand compliment pleased her.
“Thanks. So,
you'd never seen anything like that?
He shot her a sideways smile.
“City born and bred. We
don't have too many cows in
Manhattan.
“How did you end
up in Keeling Creek?
“I had a realtor
looking in this part of the state.
“It's a long way
from New York. In more ways than
one.
“I think I pretty
much found that out tonight.
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Colby turned her gaze back to the
road. It had been a
strange night, yet she felt more
relaxed than she had in ages.
She couldn't remember the last time
she laughed so much.
Even if it had been at Ian's
expense, she had the impression
he real y hadn't minded. Although
she wouldn't admit it to
Phoebe in a mil ion years, she
actual y enjoyed his
company.
Ian swung the vehicle into her
driveway, braking to a