Cade’s gaze locks on mine—then slides away.
“Guess even she has to be useful sometimes,” he says coldly.
The shame burns hotter than the barn floodlights.
“Enough.” Bodie’s bark cracks through the barn like a whip. “Either shut up or get the hell out of this barn. We’ve got a calf to save.”
Silence falls except for the ragged groans of the laboring cow.
I push my arm deep, working by feel until I find the twisted hind legs, slick and wedged tight. Bodie braces beside me, ready to take over if I falter. But he’ll be waiting a long damn time—I know what I’m doing.
I clear my mind of all the poison being thrown at me and narrow my focus until there’s only me, the cow, and the fragile life inside her.
The world can call me a liar, slut, pariah—but right here, right now, I’m the vet, and I know exactly what to do.
“Got the hocks,” I murmur, adjusting, easing one leg forward, then the other. “Okay, push, girl. You can do this.”
Minutes bleed together in sweat and strain until finally, with one last pull, the calf slides free, collapsing into the straw in a wet heap.
Alive.
The heifer turns her head, lowing softly, licking the calf clean. Relief floods my body so fast my arms go weak.
Bodie blows out a breath, his voice rough. “Fuckin’ hell.”
“That’s about right.”
My arms ache all the way to the shoulders, my shirt plastered to me with sweat. Still, the sight of that calf twitching, its chest hitching on its first breath, is enough to make my heart feel lighter than it has in days.
Then Bodie’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He taps at his earbuds and listens. “Son of a bitch.”
I squint at him, still crouched in the straw. “What now?”
“C-section over at the Campbell place. Twins. Second calf’s twisted.” His face is grim as he rips off his gloves. “If I don’t go, they’ll lose both.”
“You need help?” I ask.
He shakes his head, already grabbing his bag. “Need you here. Can you?—”
“I got this.Go.”
“Thanks, Sarah,” he says over his shoulder as he jogs out of the barn.
I roll my neck to ease it.
“You’re not needed here,” Noelle steps forward.
I raise both my hands, palms out. “Okay. Then you get the calf dried out. Keep her warm and make sure she latches. And check the heifer for tearing ‘cause I think she needs stitches.”
Lyle, who’s standing by the barn entrance, scowls, mutters something under his breath, and stalks out.
Noelle stands close to Cade, but neither of them says anything.
He puts his arm around her, kisses her temple. I remember that. He used to do that to me. Easy affection.
“So…you ain’t gonna get your manicured hands messed up?” I deadpan.
Noelle glowers.
