Page 42 of Back in the Saddle

“Aye.”

“The vulva loosens.”

“Aye. The last common one now. Think of a human.”

“The shape of her belly changes as the foal drops.”

“Perfect.”

Ciaron looked around the room. “We don’t expect the non-horse staff to recognise all of this. But horse staff will be looking for these signs every day. You may think that this makes it easy. Not necessarily. Some horses don’t show any signs until they’re in labour, others might only show one or two.”

He repeated the signs again. And added a few more, including different behaviours. I enjoyed watching him and the way he moved and made eye contact with everyone. The passion in his voice fuelled their enthusiasm. And his smile; it lifted everyone up.

Over the years some of the new short-term staff would be enraptured by him, and even blush if he looked their way, but he never took any notice. And they soon got over it. Observing him, I could see why his charisma would have that effect.Andhis body. He had a damn fine arse and muscular legs. I must have forgotten to pay attention over the years. Stupid me. I loved Ciaron but forgot to be in love with him.

Maybe that’s what happened when you were married for a long time. Your love changed to acontenttype of love instead of aneed youtype of love. The drought would have contributed too. The longer hours and more hands on we became the more tired we were. We existed beside each other but not in each other.

“OK, what about when a horse is in labour,” Ciaron said, drawing my attention back to the meeting. “What do we expect to see?”

Everyone discussed it at length and then Ciaron continued the video. I watched him as he leant against a table at the front of the room. The angle he was on caused his green work shirt to stretch across his broad shoulders and chest. His hands rested on the edge of the table. Those calloused but gentle hands could work wonders on my body.

Ciaron looked at me almost as if he knew I was checking him out. I didn’t avert my eyes. His mouth lifted on one side. My heart leapt. There was a glimmer in his eyes I hadn’t seen in a long time. I returned his smile.

“OK. Now that we’ve all watched the video, Ciaron’s next question will be what are the signs of labour, what did we miss before,” Rachel said.

Ciaron broke eye contact and stood up. The video had finished, and we hadn’t even noticed. I glanced at Rachel who was smirking at me. I blushed as I tried not to grin at her and turned my attention back to the discussion.

After that segment came difficult labours. With every new segment, Mary’s eyes widened. When the video showed chains being used to pull a foal out, her hands clenched.

The video stopped. Ciaron addressed us all again. “This is the best time of year on the farm. Watching a new life come into this world and being a part of it is exhilarating. It can also be heartbreaking. We can do everything right but still lose a mare or foal.”

Nods from the staff.

“I want you to remember we are all a team. If something doesn’t feel right, make the call. You won’t be the first person to think a horse was in labour when all it was doing was having a snooze.”

Rachel laughed and called out, “How many times has that happened to you, Ciaron?”

He cracked a grin. “I don’t know Rachel. Are you keeping count?”

I loved how he could lighten the mood in a room by making fun of himself, that he wasn’t embarrassed about his mistakes.

“I think it was three times last year,” he said.

“That we know about. How many was it, Taylor?” Rachel said.

All eyes turned to me. How did she know that Ciaron and I were no longer in silent mode and we could now tease each other again? News travelled fast on the farm.

I chuckled. “I don’t think it’s fair to betray my dear husband’s confidence.”

Rachel rolled her eyes.

I grinned at Ciaron. His eyes widened when he realised what was coming.

“I can say it was at least six,” I said.

Rachel roared with laughter.

Ciaron shook his head at me even while he smiled. My grin widened. It had been a long time since we could poke fun at each other.

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