“The foal is backward. If I can’t turn it around, I’ll need help pulling it outfast.”
Dax nodded sharply. “I can help.”
“Thanks.” James pushed against the corral and headed back. He sent a prayer heavenward that this would all turn out the way they hoped. He hadn’t failed a foal yet. He didn’t want this one to be his first.
2
Constance
The heart in Constance’s chest galloped, pounding hard against her ribs as she raced through the house to find the items James had requested. She wanted to believe him with her whole soul, even the parts of her that were usually pessimistic. From the curly brown hair on her head right down to her boots, she wanted to believe James was capable of delivering the foal without incident.
She’d even expressed how great James was.
There was only one problem. She’d never seen him in action. And the logical part of her brain was now insisting that she had too much faith in the guy. But what other option did she have? There weren’t any other vets in the immediate area. As far as lifesaving skills, James was as good as it would get.
Every muscle in her body tensed as she stumbled into the kitchen and yanked open the drawer that had odds and ends. She could wrap a towel around Calliope’s tail and secure it with packaging tape. That should hold all the hair out of the way. There had been some rope in this drawer, but now it was gone.
She slammed the drawer shut and whirled around to find Brielle staring at her with a strange look on her face. “Is everything okay?”
“No, it is most definitely not okay. Calliope might lose another foal.”
Brielle’s eyes widened. “What?”
Constance ignored her sister’s question. “Do you know what happened to the rope in here?”
“Did you check the barn?”
“The only rope out there is lassoing rope. It will be too hard to use.” She shoved past her sister and headed for the door. If Brielle was right and there was some out in the barn, she’d be lucky. For now, all she could do was check.
“What do you need the rope for?” Brielle called after her.
Again, she ignored her sister. Brielle never really seemed to like James. They’d gone to high school together and it had appeared they were friendly enough. But that was where their relationship ended. If Constance mentioned what James had planned, Brielle would most certainly make some kind of comment regarding his abilities, and Constance didn’t need that negativity.
She ran for the barn, her hands holding tight to the hand towel and tape she’d found. Her feet hit the concrete in the barn with sharp thudding sounds. Her lungs burned and her heart ached. Rope. Where was the rope?
Constance got to the far side of the barn and dug through the tools and other odd items that usually found their way there. No rope, at least not any that would work. She could bring a lasso, but she wasn’t sure if that would be what James needed.
It was all she could find.
She scooped up the rough, stiff rope and tossed it onto her shoulder, then ran once more. By the time she made it to the corral, a new vehicle was pulling up onto the property. She’d only been gone a total of seven minutes tops. James was moving toward the car that drove up and came to a stop as close as they could get to the corral. A woman with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail exited the vehicle, and together they returned to Calliope’s side.
Constance picked up the pace as much as she could and by the time she reached them, she could barely catch her breath. She wheezed and held her side.
“Oh, good. You’ve got it.” James hurried over to her, wearing gloves with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He took the items she’d collected and told his assistant to start prep work. Their words grew quiet as James got to work. His brow was creased and drops of sweat dotted his temple. He didn’t look confident at all which only made her stomach swirl even more. She moved closer, fully expecting him to tell her to take a step back.
Instead, his head snapped up and he beckoned her to his side. “I can’t get the foal to turn around. We’re going to have to pull on both of its legs when Calliope pushes. Can you fetch Dax for me?”
His words hit her like a train going through a tunnel, echoing through her mind. Numbly, she braced her still aching lungs to work hard once more as she charged toward the corral where Dax and Sarah were working with Sarah’s new horse.
Dax saw her coming before she even got close enough to tell him he was needed. He called something to Sarah, then hurried forward and past her.
A severe feeling of lightheadedness threw her off balance and she had to pause before she passed out. The stress, along with the physical exertion, was wreaking havoc on her body. She steadied herself and headed back toward the group.
The others crowded around her horse, blocking Constance from seeing anything despite standing on her toes or inching around. So rather than watch what they were doing, she moved around to stand in front of Calliope. She pressed her face against her horse’s nose and wrapped her arms around the beast’s neck.
“You’re doing great. You’re going to have a baby and its name is going to be Clio.” Her words of comfort did little to ease the tightness in Constance’s own chest. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get her racing heart to slow. And she was almost certain Calliope could sense it.
She took a deep breath and released it slowly, letting only a little out at a time. Closing her eyes tight, she imagined a good outcome, hugging the baby foal, watching it scamper through the corral with its mother.