Page 21 of The Rancher

“I don’t care.” He pulled her closer until they were chest to chest, with only their arms between them. “You’re wrong. We areveryimportant. I want to give us a chance and I’m willing to do whatever it takes for that to happen.” He leaned down, his lips a whisper from hers.

She watched him. Her eyes searched for lies, but she saw only concern before he pulled her close. She was sure he would kiss her, something she desperately wanted, and her lids slowly dropped shut.

When nothing happened, she opened her eyes. She found him looking at her with a smug smile.

“Nothing between us, huh?” He let go and walked back to his office.

She clenched her teeth and breathed hard, her chest heaving. Lyris wasn’t sure she’d been this angry in years. She stomped to Majesty’s stall. Standing outside it, she calmed herself before going in. The horse needed her to be calm and reassuring, not screeching like a maniac about what a butthead Ray was.

Lyris walked up to the black mare. She didn’t have a hint of white. Majesty had the longest lashes Lyris had ever seen on a horse, and they actually were curled just a little. She placed her arms around the mare’s neck. “How is my special girl? Are you getting ready to let that little baby come out and meet me?”

“And me.” Ray’s voice came from behind her.

She turned toward him. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I’d be here for the birth. I try to be there for all the foals born on Whispering Wind Ranch. Though I’ve missed a few lately.”

For some reason, Lyris found that rather commendable, and she didn’t want to feel anything nice about Ray. That made her angry all over, and at herself, not him.

“That’s nice but doesn’t it make it harder to give the foals to their owners?”

“Not really. I know when the baby is born who it belongs to. I guess I look at them like a doting uncle, not a parent.”

She chuckled. “You’re a funny man, Ray Kincaid.”

He grinned. “I’m many things, Lyris Jennings. I intend for you to find out about all of them.”

Lyris pursed her lips. “Not, bloody likely.” She turned back to Majesty, ran her hand down her back, then over her belly. The foal felt like it was in the proper position to be born.

Majesty’s teats were leaking milk. She was ready to have her baby.

Running her hand over the mare’s belly, she felt a hard contraction.

Majesty walked away and circled the stall. The floor was covered with a thick layer of hay so she could eat when she wanted and had a soft bed to give birth on.

Finally, after circling a couple of times, she laid down, then rolled to her side.

Lyris saw the birth sac appearing.

Majesty lay like that for a while and then stood. She ate a little hay and drank some water. Then she circled again several times before returning to her side and then rolling to her back.

The foal worked its way out after several more rounds of Majesty walking in circles, lying on her side, and rolling to her back. When the sack finally succeeded coming out, she was on her back and the foal was headfirst on the floor of the stall.

Majesty helped break the sack, and the foal worked its way out. It lay there for a few minutes and then attempted to stand. It fell more times than Lyris kept track of, but after about five minutes of trying, it stood.

Lyris walked over and checked on Majesty to make sure there was no excess bleeding. She didn’t like to interfere in the birthing process unless necessary. After determining that Majesty was all right, she checked the sex of the foal. It was a little filly.

The mare was fine. Tired, but still more interested in her filly than anything else. She stood and sniffed the baby’s rear.

When the baby was standing and surer of herself, she went to her mother’s side and found her way to her nipples, where she began to nurse.

“She’s pretty small.” Lyris rubbed the baby with a towel to dry her quickly. “I’ll run some tests.”

Ray shook his head. “I think you should wait a few days and see how she acts. Both her sire and Majesty are on the small side, so she’s predisposed to be little.”

Lyris considered his request for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. If she shows signs of trouble, though, I’ll remove her from Majesty. Doing that would hurt me, but leaving her in a bad situation, hoping it will get better, would hurt worse.”

“I agree. But we’ll just watch.” He stayed a while longer.