and rested her fingers around his. “I love this stuff. Makes me feel useful. Okay, here we go. You need to pull hard and smooth, and don’t stop until I say so. ‘Cause she’s getting ready to push.”
Push the cow did, and Sawyer took a deep breath, took a firm grip and pulled.
And then pulled that little bit harder .
“ Steady,” Ella murmured. “Nice and even, just a little bit more. Out and down. Yes, just like that.” And then the cow kicked and shifted, and then the calf’s back legs were out and then the pelvis and then the rest. One slimy, limp little calf, and Ella was moving forward, putting the palm of her hand to the baby’s chest, just behind its front leg, and then that hand was moving again, pulling mucous away from the mouth and stripping it from its nose and then the calf was moving, and coughing and Ella was calling it a good girl and moving away, cleaning her hands and arm with snow, and then the hay, and then finally wiping her hands on her jeans before reaching for her shirt. “I will shower before dinner. I promise.”
Sawyer laughed as he got to his feet in order to avoid being trampled by one very eager mama cow who was up and turning toward her calf. Moments later she was nosing and nudging and licking its little face. “What now?”
Now we wait for the calf to get to its feet and have a drink. Ella glanced at the sky, her eyes narrowing. “And then I think we might help dry the calf off and put it on the sled, and get them to shelter with the others. The cow will follow.”
Ella picked up her coat and shook it out, put it on and shoved her hands into the pockets. “Brrr. Bit chilly out.”
“ And you do this how often?” he asked politely.
“ Not that often.” She looked bright eyed, rosy cheeked and utterly content. “You did well, bartender.”
“ What would you have done if I hadn’t been here?”
“ Used the calf pullers strapped to the sled. But a hand-pull has more finesse, and besides, I wanted to see what you could do. You’ve a strong and steady way about you, Sawyer, underneath all that charm. You made it look easy and I know for a fact that it’s not. Gonna make a cowboy out of you yet.”
“ Let’s not get carried away.”
“ You don’t want to be a cowboy?”
“ Put it this way… did you ever dress up as a kid?”
Ella nodded. “Annie Oakley, sharpshooter.”
“ I was the fireman.”
Chapter Six
It had turned five by the time they’d got cow and calf settled with the others, all of them protected from the worst of the incoming storm by a stand of trees and a horseshoe shaped hill. It was the most protected corner of the ranch when the weather was coming in from the south east and was a godsend when it came to winter calving.
Sawyer had followed her lead, easy as you please, when it had come to g etting the calf onto the sled. He’d held the calf in place, with Ella driving and the anxious mother cow bringing up the rear. Not too fast and not too slow, with one eye on the encroaching weather and the other eye on all concerned. They unloaded the calf and the rest of the hay once they reached their destination, and Ella waited until cow and calf had settled before bumping shoulders with Sawyer to get his attention. “Now we can go.”
He nodded, and she took him the fast way back to the barn, stopping only for Sawyer to open and close gates along the way. Driver drove, passenger got the gates. It was a time honored tradition – ask anyone on the land. And still…
“ Am I bossy?” she asked once they were back at the barn and she’d parked the snowmobile and sled up against the western wall, just shy of the big double doors that now stood closed. Fat flakes of snow drifted down on them, not a blizzard yet, but not far off. Sawyer’s pickup would get them the house with this amount of snow on the ground, no problem. Hard to say whether it’d get them to Marietta tonight though. “Did you find me bossy out there?”
Sawyer
Push the cow did, and Sawyer took a deep breath, took a firm grip and pulled.
And then pulled that little bit harder .
“ Steady,” Ella murmured. “Nice and even, just a little bit more. Out and down. Yes, just like that.” And then the cow kicked and shifted, and then the calf’s back legs were out and then the pelvis and then the rest. One slimy, limp little calf, and Ella was moving forward, putting the palm of her hand to the baby’s chest, just behind its front leg, and then that hand was moving again, pulling mucous away from the mouth and stripping it from its nose and then the calf was moving, and coughing and Ella was calling it a good girl and moving away, cleaning her hands and arm with snow, and then the hay, and then finally wiping her hands on her jeans before reaching for her shirt. “I will shower before dinner. I promise.”
Sawyer laughed as he got to his feet in order to avoid being trampled by one very eager mama cow who was up and turning toward her calf. Moments later she was nosing and nudging and licking its little face. “What now?”
Now we wait for the calf to get to its feet and have a drink. Ella glanced at the sky, her eyes narrowing. “And then I think we might help dry the calf off and put it on the sled, and get them to shelter with the others. The cow will follow.”
Ella picked up her coat and shook it out, put it on and shoved her hands into the pockets. “Brrr. Bit chilly out.”
“ And you do this how often?” he asked politely.
“ Not that often.” She looked bright eyed, rosy cheeked and utterly content. “You did well, bartender.”
“ What would you have done if I hadn’t been here?”
“ Used the calf pullers strapped to the sled. But a hand-pull has more finesse, and besides, I wanted to see what you could do. You’ve a strong and steady way about you, Sawyer, underneath all that charm. You made it look easy and I know for a fact that it’s not. Gonna make a cowboy out of you yet.”
“ Let’s not get carried away.”
“ You don’t want to be a cowboy?”
“ Put it this way… did you ever dress up as a kid?”
Ella nodded. “Annie Oakley, sharpshooter.”
“ I was the fireman.”
Chapter Six
It had turned five by the time they’d got cow and calf settled with the others, all of them protected from the worst of the incoming storm by a stand of trees and a horseshoe shaped hill. It was the most protected corner of the ranch when the weather was coming in from the south east and was a godsend when it came to winter calving.
Sawyer had followed her lead, easy as you please, when it had come to g etting the calf onto the sled. He’d held the calf in place, with Ella driving and the anxious mother cow bringing up the rear. Not too fast and not too slow, with one eye on the encroaching weather and the other eye on all concerned. They unloaded the calf and the rest of the hay once they reached their destination, and Ella waited until cow and calf had settled before bumping shoulders with Sawyer to get his attention. “Now we can go.”
He nodded, and she took him the fast way back to the barn, stopping only for Sawyer to open and close gates along the way. Driver drove, passenger got the gates. It was a time honored tradition – ask anyone on the land. And still…
“ Am I bossy?” she asked once they were back at the barn and she’d parked the snowmobile and sled up against the western wall, just shy of the big double doors that now stood closed. Fat flakes of snow drifted down on them, not a blizzard yet, but not far off. Sawyer’s pickup would get them the house with this amount of snow on the ground, no problem. Hard to say whether it’d get them to Marietta tonight though. “Did you find me bossy out there?”
Sawyer
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