A crash from the direction of the equipment shed made her jump. Then came a string of colorful curses that definitely weren’t coming from any shadow. “Come back here, you little troublemaker!”
Clint? Alice moved toward the voice, curiosity quickening her steps. As she rounded the corner of the barn, her hand flew to her mouth and she stopped in her tracks. Clint, normally so composed and capable, was flat on his backside in the mud, while a small calf pranced just out of his reach. The little thing looked for all the world like it was laughing at him.
“Need a hand?” Alice couldn’t keep the amusement from her voice.
Clint’s head whipped toward her, surprise flashing across his face. “Mrs. Sweet. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t. I was just about to start breakfast.”
The calf, taking advantage of Clint’s distraction, darted behind the water trough.
With a muttered curse that cut off abruptly, Clint scrambled to his feet. “Little escape artist got out of the pen somehow.” Wiping his muddy hands on his equally muddy jeans, he shook his head. “Mama’s raising a ruckus in the barn, and I’d rather not wake the whole county.”
As if on cue, an angry bellow echoed from inside the barn. The calf’s head popped up, ears perked, before it took off again.
“Well, we can’t have that.” Alice pushed her sleeves up her forearms. “I’ll circle around the other side. We can herd it back together.”
Clint looked like he might object, but another crash had him nodding in agreement. “Just be careful. Ground’s slick.”
They split up, Clint heading left and Alice circled wide to come around from the other direction. The sky was lightening now, the first hints of pink and gold touching the horizon, giving her just enough light to see by. The calf emerged from behind the shed, spotted her, and changed direction. That little stinker was small but surprisingly quick, darting around with the agility of something much less clumsy-looking.
“This way!” she called to Clint, who was now behind the calf, trying to drive it toward the barn. “If we can get it to the paddock gate…” Her words cut off as the calf made a sudden, sharp turn, heading straight for her. Instinctively, she spread her arms wide, making herself bigger. “Whoa, little one!”
The calf skidded to a halt, looking confused. For a moment, they stared at each other, Alice and this small, stubborn creature caught in a silent standoff. Then, from behind the calf, Clint lunged. Everything happened at once. The calf bolted sideways. Clint’s momentum carried him forward, straight toward Alice. She stepped back reflexively, her heel hitting a patch of slick mud. Her feet went out from under her. Arms windmilling, she felt herself falling. A strong hand grabbed for her, catching her arm.
Startled by the commotion, the calf took off across the yard. From the barn came the mother cow’s frantic bellow, louder now, more insistent.
“Oh, crud. If it makes it to the main gate, it might get hurt trying to cross the cattle grids.”
Clint nodded, and as if the dang animal could understand English, it circled around and began rushing in the opposite direction.
“At this rate,” Alice heaved a sigh as she started running, “we could be at this all day!”
The chase was on again, the two of them circling wide, trying to flank the small black-and-white blur that darted back and forth across the yard with the energy only a young animal possesses.
As the morning light strengthened, Alice caught glimpses of Clint’s face—focused, determined. Thank heaven for their new foreman. Now if they could just nab the blasted calf.
This blasted calf was going to be the death of him. Clint cut across the yard at a diagonal, boots digging into the wet earth, trying to head off the small blur that was currently making a beeline for the south pasture. For such a small creature, it moved with incredible speed and agility, darting left when he went right, feinting one way before breaking in another direction entirely.
Near him, Alice Sweet kept the pace, her breath coming in quick puffs of white in the cold morning air. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her working the ranch—hard, and yet, with mud splattered up the legs of her jeans and determination etched into every line of her face, he was struck by the strength of the family matriarch.
“We need to cut it off before it escapes again!” She changed direction to circle wide around the water trough.
Clint nodded, adjusting his own trajectory. The sky was lightening rapidly now. If they didn’t catch this little troublemaker soon, the whole household would be up andwitness to their ridiculous chase. The thought of the Sweet siblings seeing their dignified mother covered in mud and running after a calf was almost enough to make him smile. Almost.
The calf skidded around the corner of the equipment shed, hooves kicking up divots of wet earth. It spotted Alice coming from the left and veered sharply right—straight toward Clint.
“I’ve got him!” Clint dived forward. His fingers grazed the calf’s hide before the little escape artist spun away, bleating what sounded suspiciously like laughter. Clint landed hard on his knees, mud splattering up his already-filthy jeans. “Son of a—” He bit off the curse, remembering who was with him.
“I’ve heard worse.” Alice hurried past, surprisingly spry for a woman wrestling mud that gripped at your boots like suction cups and a calf that might just outwit them both.
The calf made a break for the open space between the barn and the corral. From inside the barn, the mother cow’s bellows were reaching a fever pitch, echoing across the yard. He had no clue how the young calf had managed to escape and not the mama.
“We need to work together,” Alice called, circling back. “Drive him toward the barn door. I’ll block the exit if he tries to bolt.”
Clint nodded, pushing himself up. They moved in tandem, Clint herding from behind while Alice positioned herself to block potential escape paths. The calf darted one way, then another, finding itself increasingly boxed in. Its movements grew more frantic, less coordinated.
“Easy now,” Alice murmured, her voice suddenly gentle. “Easy, little one. Your mama’s waiting.”
