Page 43 of The Cowboy's Miracle Baby

His fingers brushed against the calf’s mouth, and he felt movement. A shock of relief poured through him that the calf was still alive.Good. Good.

Finally, as Deaver gently tugged the first hoof forward, he found the second leg, slightly bent backward. Which explained the stalled labor. Ideally, two legs and the head come out first, in that order, which allowed the rest of the calf to slide right out. But when one leg or the calf’s head were facing the wrong way, it spelled trouble for everyone.

“I’ve just gotta…” He grunted with the effort of turning the second leg. “Gotta get this calf out while it’s still got a fighting chance.”

The heifer mooed a loud complaint.

Deaver’s expression perked up in surprise. “It’s alive?”

“For now,” Gus said as he managed to snag the other hoof and slowly bring it around. “Keep up the pressure. Don’t let this next contraction pull it back. If we need to use the calf-puller, we will.”

“I got it, Doc.” Deaver braced himself to keep tension on the chain.

Gus grimaced; his arm fully disappeared inside the cow as he tugged the calf’s other hoof toward the outside world while making sure its nose followed the hooves out directly. “As soon as this one starts, begin pulling. Hard. Ready? One, two—”

“Three,” came a deep voice from behind them.

Gus didn’t have to turn to know who was standing behind him, watching his every move. They pulled together and slowly but surely, two hooves emerged from the mama and then a nose, a face, and then the whole calf dropped onto the straw-covered floor in a rush of amniotic fluid.

Gus pulled off the plastic sleeve, then tore the sac away from the calf’s mouth and nose and made sure its airway was clear. A little slow to react, the calf took its time drawing breath, but a vigorous rubdown with straw and a little straw poked up its nose seemed to wake the baby up and get it coughing and breathing on its own. It was a little heifer calf. A girl. And Deaver, who generally had the expression of a crack poker player, looked both impressed and pleased, and shook Gus’s hand vigorously.

“Good man, good man! Thank you, Dr. Claymore. I surely thought we were done for here. And I was going to lose my cow, too.”

He clasped the old man’s hand. “So glad it turned out well.”

They watched as the cow licked her baby’s face, instinctively bonding despite the rough ordeal she’d just been through. The calf lifted her head and squirmed in the straw bedding, already anxious to try her legs. But that would take some time. For a preemie, this calf was fairly good sized and looked like she’d make it just fine. It was the lungs that fully developed last, and they were the only concern.

“You’ll have to keep a close eye on her. Watch her breathing. If she has any trouble, give me a call, I’ll come back out.”

“Thanks, Doc.” He turned to Dr. Alden. “Did you see that? This young fella of yours knows what’s what.”

Behind him, Dr. Alden was watching the whole procedure beside Cami without comment, until Gus stepped away from the calf. He poured bottled water over his hands and chest to wash them. Deaver handed him a towel to dry off with.

“Seems you didn’t need me after all,” he said while Deaver was preoccupied with the calf.

“No, he didn’t,” Cami said, beaming at him and handing him his shirt and jacket.

“I know that call was from Deaver, not you,” Alden said. “Don’t take offence. Some of these ranchers are slower to trust than others. You did everything right. You did it just as I would have.”

Gus nodded, pulling on his clothes. “Thanks. I’m glad it was a good outcome. For a while there, I wasn’t sure.”

“Cami,” Alden said, “could I borrow him for a minute? I just need a minute or two, if that’s okay with you?”

Cami nodded. “Of course. I’ll just keep my eye on this baby while you talk. She sure is cute. She doesn’t even look that early.”

“She’s a good-sized calf for a preemie, and I think she’ll do fine,” Gus said. “But we’ll keep an eye on her over the next few days. I’ll be right back.”

Gus and Alden walked out together into the cold dark night as Deaver talked Cami’s ear off about the calf. Alden was walking with a cane and still seemed to have a limp.

“How’s the knee doing?” Gus asked.

“Better. Almost there. I’ve been doing therapy three times a week and… well, takes a little longer the older you get. This Montana cold, you know. Doesn’t always agree with me.”

“You’re not alone there. Winters here can be brutal.”

Alden smiled at him as if considering his next words. “I’m glad, actually, that Deaver called me out. First, it got me up out of the house, which has become much too comfortable. And second, it gives me the chance to talk to you about… well, next steps.”

Gus imagined hearing a bell tolling somewhere in the distance, as the boom was about to be lowered on him. “I know your plan is to come back in the new year. I’ve already got an offer from a good office in Denver, so you don’t have to worry that—”

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