Page 23 of Delivered to My Humans

“Can I come? I’d love to see more of the area.”

Could she come? Just the idea of being with her in the car made my heart speed up. “If you want. I’m warning you that it is not glamorous out there. There’s a lot of mud in farmyards.”

She glanced down at her feet in sneakers. White sneakers. “Ummm…I want to come, but I only brought a few pairs of shoes with me.”

I wanted her to come too. “We have extra mucking boots in the back room. Come on and we’ll see if there’s a pair that will fit you.”

In short, there was, and we let the other guys know and off we went. I was excited to show off some of the beautiful countryside and also just spend some time together. In the clinic, we were all so busy that we had not had the opportunity just to talk. But in the car, between stops, we were able to chat about all kinds of things. Getting to know one another better and just enjoying the ride.

Our mate was so intelligent, and she had a great people sense. While I was dealing with the farmers and other staff, she stood aside, watching and finding ways to be helpful. Where a farmer was very nervous about how his favorite cow might handle the big needles, our hopefully mate-to-be distracted him so I could do my job. Another time, she handed me my instruments while I examined a pregnant sheep whose owner had expressed concern about the animal’s progress. Overall, it was an ordinary afternoon on the farms, and in between, Audrey asked questions about the next stop or the one we just left… It was nice. So nice, in fact, that I could not resist pulling over in the middle of nowhere and leaning over to plant one on her. At first, she pulled back, and then melted into me, her body soft and sweet and her lips parting under mine. Her kiss was everything I had dreamed of but so much more. The only thing that ended it was a call from the office adding a stop to our agenda. I read the text and sighed.

“Looks like I’m gonna have my hand up inside a cow.” He kissed the tip of my nose then straightened in the seat. “Ready to see what that’s like?”

“No?” Then she giggled. “Why are you doing that?”

“Owner thinks the cow is about to go into labor and it’s her first time.”

“And that means sticking your hand up inside her?” Audrey sighed, too. “I appreciate how much care you give all the animals, but is it okay if I prefer kissing you to that?”

I kissed her again then off we went to see to the cow. As it turned out, Bossie was indeed in labor and indeed in trouble. As soon as I examined her, I called the office and told them we needed a vet out here. I’d delivered quite a few animals in the past, but this one was firmly wedged, and I needed another set of experienced hands.

The poor cow was bellowing and stomping, and I was doing my best to keep her and her owner calm when suddenly she settled. I looked over to see Audrey standing on the other side of the cow, whispering in her ear and stroking her head.

“Whatever you’re saying, keep saying it.” I went to the other end to see if we had any movement, but this was one stuck calf, and it would be at least another fifteen minutes before Idris could get here. Even with Audrey’s help, the animal was very close to being true jeopardy, so I continued to try to work the calf free, attempting to rotate it, but I just could not get the purchase I needed.

The cow was straining, and my arm was stuck too, for the moment, when Idris arrived and spotted us. “Looks like quite a party here. How are you, Mr. Smith?”

“Worried,” the farmer bit out. “This is a valuable animal and so is her calf.”

“Never mind.” Idris patted his shoulder before joining me behind the cow. “We’ve got this.”

And, between us, we did. It was touch and go for a bit, but we managed the rotation and once the calf was in position, the new mama delivered with no more trouble.

As we stood over her, watching her lick her new baby, I told Idris, “I kissed her.”

“The cow?”

“No, Audrey.” I shook my head.

“How was it?”

“Better than I dreamed of.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Audrey

After my trip to the veterinary office, I was all in. Of course, the kiss didn’t hurt, and their care for all the animals that came into the practice warmed my heart, but watching them deliver that calf?

They were true heroes. Very messy heroes, to be sure, but heroes nonetheless. I’d been whispering promises to the laboring mama that I could only hope Hale and Idris could keep, but they’d done it. It was quite a sight, the two of them up to the shoulder inside the cow’s body, and afterward, they both looked like they’d taken a shower in some kind of multicolored fluid, but they were unfazed. I wore my mucking boots and stayed at the end of the cow, far from where the action was happening.

The two of them rode back in Idris’ truck and had me follow them in the car. That way, only one car was being exposed to the mess, and it gave me a chance to think about everything I’d seen today.

If I stayed, and I knew now that I very much wanted to, I would need to figure out a few things. Like my channel on YouTube. I could hardly continue with the dating theme. In fact, I had never even brought up my match with these three on the channel. I wasn’t sure why, but it hadn’t occurred to me, and then everything happened so fast.

But if I didn’t do a show based on dating, which had really brought me in a lot of subscribers and likes and everything so good, what could I do? After years of doing work for others, I was ready to produce my own content exclusively. But it would have to earn because I was not willing to let the men support me. I’d never been someone who could do that.

We drove straight to the cabins because it was close to the end of the day and Lachlan could handle things at the clinic. I was glad it was light out, too, because I did not relish the idea of making it down that drive in the dark.

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