Does this change how I feel about Cade, my father, and myself?No.
I know it’s a cliché, but it holds here.
Too little, too late.
It’s the story of my life…with my father, with Cade….
“Dr. Kirk, good mornin’.” Gilbert is standing outside my clinic, holding two cups of coffee, when I get there. “You take it black, right?”
I arch an eyebrow. “And how would you know?”
He grins mischievously. “I may have asked the barista at Wild Coffee.”
I grin and take the coffee from him. “Ten points for effort,andan A plusfor bringing the coffee. Thank you, Gilbert.”
I sip the coffee, the heat soothing my throat, raw from crying the night before. “So, what are you doing here so bright and early? I thought we were going to go through client lists later.”
“Got a call from the Carsons.” Gilbert shifts, his hat shadowing his eyes. “One of their heifers is down. Calving trouble.”
I can’t wait for calving season to end.
The Carsons were Bodie’s clients. I remember Percy Carson. He’s a salt-of-the-earth rancher, set in his ways, and none too fond of me, which he let me know when I bumped into him at an auction a few months ago.
Won’t this be fun!
I square my shoulders. “Alright. Let’s go.”
We drive separately. I need my truck because it holdsmy equipment, and I have to check on Kincaid Farms in a couple of hours, which I hope will be enough to deal with the Carson heifer.
The Carson ranch sprawls wide, with faded red barns and rusted gates. We find Percy in the calving pen, cursing under his breath as he watches a heifer straining in the straw.
“About damn time,” he mutters when he sees me. His lined face doesn’t soften. “Bodie never made me wait.”
“Well, Mr. Carson, Bodie ain’t here, is he?” I smirk. “I can leave if my presence bothers you.”
He grunts. “We gotta breach. Calf’s stuck, she’s goin’ downhill fast.”
I set my kit down, pull on gloves, and crouch by the heifer. Her flanks heave, eyes rolling white, sweat darkening her hide.
My examinations confirm what Percy deduced: the calf’s backward, hips jammed.
I stroke the heifer gently. “I’m gonna take care of you, mama. You just hold on.” I turn to Percy, who is still glaring at me. “We need to reposition.”
Percy snorts. “If Bodie were here, this’d be done already.”
“Percy, can you stop harassing the only vet in a hundred-mile radius?” Gilbert’s jaw ticks.
That makes me smile and Percy grunt.
We get to work. It’s my first time working with Gilbert as an assistant, and I’m very pleased to find out that he’s very efficient. He hands me whatever I need, chains, flashlight, lube, before Ican ask for it.
I work fast, sweat running down my back as I shift the calf inside its mother, every muscle in my arms straining.
The heifer groans low, sides heaving, pushing against me and gravity both.
She’s tired, worn out, and so is her calf.
“I know, girl. But you ain’t gonna quit on me.”
