Page 44 of Wasted On You

He said something to Kinley and then walked over to Ivy and Gord, a smile on his face, which relaxed them both. Ivy didn’t want to end the day watching something bad go down for this young girl’s horse.

“Everything okay?” Gord asked.

“It seems that Melba is about to give birth.”

“Birth?” The man was shocked.

“Daddy,” Kinley said excitedly, jumping up and down. “Melba’s going to be a mama.”

“I don’t…” Gord frowned and looked at the horse. “The folks at the auction never said a thing.”

Mike Paul shrugged. “They might not have known.”

“The vet didn’t say a word, and we had her checked.”

“You bought her out of state?”

The man nodded. “We called a local to come out and see her before we brought her home.”

“He probably just checked for any obvious signs of disease and didn’t do a thorough exam.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. When is the baby coming?”

Mike Paul looked at Ivy, then back to Gord. “Hard to say for sure. But she’s showing all the signs. Her udder is waxy, there’s some milk leaking, and her back end is soft. Her body temp is up, she’s restless, off her feed. I think she’s close. Could be a couple of hours. Could be a couple of days. But most mares like to pick their own time, and they like it quiet.”

“Can you stay and make sure she’s okay? I don’t think she should be alone.” The girl was anxious, her wide brown eyes fixed on Mike Paul like he was her savior. Ivy knew the look well.

“Tell you what. I’ll stay for a bit. As long it’s okay with Ivy. After I take her home, I’ll come back. How’s that sound?”

The girl turned to Ivy. “Can you stay, please?”

Ivy nodded, suddenly as excited as the young girl. “Of course.”

By this time, the Pampered Chef herself, Bev, had come out to the barn, and the five of them spent the next two hours watching Melba pace back and forth, then paw at the ground. It was obvious the mare was uncomfortable, and Kinley was not handling it well. Ivy tried to keep her occupied with stories from the road with Cal and the band, at least the PG versions, and when it was nearing six in the evening, Mike Paul checked over the horse and grinned back at them.

“It’s coming.”

The young girl was so excited she couldn’t speak. She grabbed hold of her mother, and they all moved into the stall for a closer look.

Now, Ivy had seen animals born before. You didn’t grow up in Montana and not witness the live birth ofsomething.There were the piglets at Miss Baker’s farm when she’d been in 4H, and she’d seen a cow drop a baby once out at the Bridgestone place. But she’d never seen a new foal come into the world, and she stood with Kinley and her parents, breath held in anticipation as Melba rolled onto her side.

Mike Paul was positioned closer to the animal. He kept up his horse talking, which seemed to calm the mare, and ten minutes later, two small hooves appeared, followed by a muzzle. The horse was laboring, and tears poked Ivy’s eyes as she watched Mike Paul murmur to the animal. Nothing was immune to him. Not even a horse. With one final push the baby was born, and after a few moments, the mare got to her feet.

Mike Paul stood back with a cautionary glance their way. “We’ll let Mama figure things out on her own. I don’t like to interfere unless necessary.”

“You okay?” he asked, walking toward her.

Ivy nodded, voice husky and filled with emotion. “That was beautiful,” she whispered.

“It never gets old.” He winked at Kinley. “You’ve got a little colt there, and he looks perfect.”

“Can I pet him?” she asked, her voice full of wonder, her eyes wide.

Melba was licking her baby, her mothering instincts already at play.

“We should leave them alone for a couple of hours. I’ll come back to make sure he’s feeding on his own and check on a few other things.”

“Thank you so much.” Kinley threw herself at Mike Paul and he grinned, giving her a big hug.

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