Nathan knelt beside Tilly and patted her head. “And here I thought you were just super bloated.”
Groans and loud bleats from the far end of barn made their way to Liam and Nathan. Just like with last year, Tilly was the catalyst that started the chain reaction.
“I hope you like this,” Liam said. “This is going to be our life for the next few weeks.”
“This?” Nathan pointed at Tilly, who was thrashing around on the hay, bleating for all to hear.
“Over and over again.”
“Can I go back to shoveling shit?”
Liam laughed and was about to slap Nathan on the back, but remembered what was on his hands. He gave Nathan instructions for observing Tilly, then jogged to the far end of the barn where another ewe lay on her side. Her bleating sounded more desperate. Liam watched her carefully and checked her out, but fortunately, everything seemed to be going fine.
“It’s your first time as a mum. Excited?” Liam wondered aloud. He had only been sheep farming on his own, but all of his memories from working with his mum and dad during lambing season rushed back to him. He found himself missing them so much in this moment, wishing they could see him.
The ewe groaned and bleated with desperation as she pushed out her lamb. Liam once thought he would be in this position with Kelly in a few years. They both very much wanted children, and Liam prepared to attend lamaze classes and be one of those hands-on fathers. He still wanted that, no matter which gender he wound up with.
He shook out of his thoughts when he heard his name being screamed from the other end of the barn.
Chapter 15
Nathan
“There’s a problem. Something’s wrong,” Nathan said as soon as Liam came over. Panic and concern took over Liam’s face. “She started making these noises, not the ones she had been making.”
Tilly emitted a groan of pain that sounded almost humanlike.
“Like that?” Liam asked.
Nathan nodded yes. “I peeked inside and it didn’t look right. Like the lamb was stuck or something.”
“Is it breech?”
“No. I see the head. It’s not coming out.” Nathan’s first thought was that he screwed something up. Maybe instead of chatting with Tilly, he should’ve been checking on her more, perhaps massaging her stomach to make sure all the lambs just slid out like her womb was a laundry chute.
“Let’s take a look.” If Liam was scared, he didn’t show it. He knelt down and examined Tilly, all while petting her to keep her calm.
“What do you see?” Nathan paced behind him. Tilly caught his eye and held contact. He saw the pain and worry reflected back at him, which might have been his own reflection. He put on a hopeful smile, like a parent does for a kid about to go into surgery, but inside the scene tore him up more than he expected. Nathan was not one for emotions, except the fun ones like anger and jealousy.
“The lamb’s shoulder is out. It’s too wide for the opening. The lamb is like this.” Liam demonstrated by sticking his elbows out like a chicken. “We need it like this.” He held his arms at his sides.
“Can we tell it that?”
“Nah yeah. A newborn lamb speaks fluent English.”
Nathan shot him a look. Desperate bleats came from the far end of the barn.
“Shit. That’s my other ewe who’s in labor. I need you to check on her,” Liam said.
“No.” Nathan said it without thinking. It was compulsory. “I’m not leaving Tilly.”
“Nathan, this is serious.”
“I know.” Nathan didn’t budge. His heart was telling him to stay.
“Fine. Then you need to do this.” Liam looked over his shoulder, to the sounds of the other lamb bleating in labor.
“By myself?” Nathan said.
