Sarah takes the loaded syringe from the tray. It’s fitted with a long, thick-gauge needle, clear solution inside. She hands it over as careful as anything, plunger angled back, needle forward. Sam takes it without looking, already focused on parting the cow’s hair and scrubbing the flank clean where he’ll be cutting.
“You’ll block her flank with lidocaine, a line block, so you can make an incision without her feeling it.”
The cow shifts in the chute, chains rattling, and I stay close, ready in case she gets too frisky.
“What happens next?” Sam asks as he works the cow.
Sarah nibbles on her lower lip. “The vet…ah,youwill shave and disinfect the flank, make the incision through the muscle, then deflate the abomasum with a trocar and reposition it. After that, you’ll suture it in place, so it won’t flip again.”
“And what happens if we do nothing?”
“She’d go off feed, lose weight, and eventually die.”
“Excellent, kiddo.”
Sarah beams like he just pinned a medal on her chest.
She doesn’t flinch at the smell or the steam lifting off the incision. When Sam asks for a clamp, she has it ready before the words are out of his mouth.
I am enchanted by this girl.
Usually, girls who play cowboys are tomboys. Small tits. Not so pretty. But this girl is…attractive and not just because there’s something intense about her face; it’s how she carries herself, with graceandstrength.
She has a lush auburn braid down her back.
Her eyes are too big for her face.
She’s not as pretty as the girls I usually date.
They’re all blonde, stacked, and easy.
But there’s nothingeasyabout Sarah Kirk. When most girls her age would’ve turned green and bolted at the first whiff of blood and guts, she appears unperturbed. She just stands by her father, her braid slipping over her shoulder, watching every move as if it were the most crucial thing in the world.
“She’s gonna be okay, Daddy?” she whispers after Sam sutures the last stitch.
“She is, kiddo.”
“She’s tougher than she looks,” I add, unable to help myself.
Sarah glances at me, a shy smile tugging at her lips. It damn near drops me to my knees. As incongruous as it seems, I’ve fallen hard for a girl who has cow’s blood and fluidsall over her.
That’s the problem. My girl looks at Sarah now with that same awe. But I know what Sarah’s capable of. And hell, if I can only convince my own daughter not to see her like I once did.
“Cade,” Noelle cries out.
She and two of her friends, girls I went to high school with, join us.
She’s about to kiss me when I move away.
My kid is with me, and Noelle knows better than to go all PDA when Evie’s around. I’m not about to introduce someone I’ve been casually seeing for a few months to my daughter as mygirlfriend.
That’s a line I won’t cross.
The only time a woman will meet Evie as my partner is when I’m damn sure I’ll marry her. So far, that’s not even remotely on the horizon with Noelle. She’s convenient, that’s all. And it’s not like I’ve got the time—or the patience—to chase one-night stands at The Rusty Spur just to take the edge off.
Evie shifts away from the women and cuddles into me.
I slip an arm around her. She doesn’t like Noelle; I’ve sensed that. She hasn’t said anything, but I can feel it in her demeanor.
