* * * *
“That was amazing, Anna. Absolutely amazing,” Ben said as he pulled her into his arms.
Anna laughed as the cow and the calf remained next to one another and Charlie got cleaned up. A few ranch hands came inside to continue to care for the animals and clean up.
Ben caressed her cheek and held her close to him.
“Where did you learn to do that?”
“Do what?” she asked, sounding breathless in Ben’s arms.
“Learn to calm a cow down during labor? We thought for sure she wasn’t going to make it.”
“I had my doubts,” Charlie blurted out as he joined them.
Anna shrugged her shoulders.
Ben caressed her lip with his thumb before he leaned forward and kissed her softly. It was a quick kiss but left Anna blushing.
His button-down, blue, plaid shirt sleeve brushed against her neck. He smelled of straw and cologne, and it appealed to her. He was muscular and good looking with his dimples and all.
Charlie took that moment to take her hand into his own and bring it to his lips. The feel of his large hands holding her small hand made her feel protected. He kissed her knuckles as he held her gaze. Her imagination jumped into overdrive as she imagined him taking each digit into his mouth and sucking. She swallowed hard.
Get a grip, woman!
“You’re an amazing woman. Thank you for helping.”
Anna smiled then they walked outside of the barn to the fenced in corral. She was relieved for the fresh air and the open space. Back inside, between the two sexy men, she’d felt claustrophobic.
Both men leaned on either side of her against the fence.
She leaned against the fence and looked out between the rungs of the fence and at the horses that gathered in the corral.
“So, where did you learn how to help deliver calves?” Charlie teased.
Anna chuckled. “That was my first calf delivery.”
Charlie nudged his shoulder gently into Anna’s shoulder.
“It was impressive.”
She smiled then she thought about her mother. Tears filled her eyes. She wrung her hands together as the scene of horses before her began to blur from her tears.
“My mom was very sick with cancer…and I took care of her,” she whispered.
The men leaned in closer to her and turned to face the corral. They were taller than her, so they looked over the top rung of the fence.
“My mom used to get so clogged up with fluid or some side effect from all the medications that she was on that she would have trouble breathing. It made her panic and could set her into an anxiety attack or worse. We couldn’t rush her to the hospital every time this happened, and I couldn’t afford nursing care, so I took care of her on my own.”
Anna sighed.
“I would talk to her calmly, try to get her to focus on my voice instead of the inability to take full breaths and, eventually, calm her down.”
She wiped the tears away, embarrassed that she shared such information with Charlie and Ben. She had to admit, she trusted them and was growing fond of them.
“I don’t know what the heck made me think it would work on a cow!” she blurted out then pushed away from the fence and began to walk a few steps away.
Charlie stopped her by pulling her back towards the fence between himself and Ben.