Page 43 of More Than Anything

“Yep. Sure is. Y’all stand back.” Lydia and Avery stood and moved away, and a wave of nausea swept over Avery as the vet pulled out his rifle and ended the cow’s suffering. “We’re going to vaccinate the rest right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you lost another couple. Not surprised at all.”

“You just tell me what to do and I’ll do it,” Avery choked out, a cold sweat rolling down his back.

“Let’s set it up so we can move them one at a time. We can keep up with who’s been inoculated that way.” The vet handed Avery one halter and lead and Lydia another. They each caught a cow and brought them up. When he’d inoculated one, Lydia would lead it out to the gate, move it through into the other pasture, take the halter, and go and get another, then Avery would do the same. It took them the better part of four hours to inoculate all the cattle, but they got it done.

When they were finished, Avery was exhausted, his spirit battered. Lydia stood and talked to Dr.Tompkins, but Avery returned to the dead cow and stood over her.I shouldn’t be doing this. I don’t know how to take care of them properly, he thought to himself, shame and guilt landing squarely on his shoulders.I should sell them all, give Lydia back this farm. I don’t deserve to be here.Her voice pulled him out of his self-imposed shaming session. “Avery?” He just stood, head hung. How could he face either of them? “Avery? Come here. Dr.Tompkins wants to talk to you.”

Totally spent, Avery stepped up to the two of them. He didn’t get a chance to say a word before Dr.Tompkins said, “Before you say what I think you’re going to say, know that most of the cattle ranchers around here have never seen a case of blackleg.”

“That’s no excuse…” Avery started.

“Yes. It is. You did good, noticing her out there. She’s black and it’s getting dark. She might’ve laid there all night and died, and you wouldn’t have found her until morning. I’m telling you, you did good, son,” the old vet told him, clapping him on the shoulder. Then he turned to Lydia. “I’m proud of you, young’un. I’m surprised you knew, given you’d never seen a live case.”

“I kinda am too. But I’m glad I was here.” To Avery’s surprise, Lydia’s hand came up and stroked down his back between his shoulder blades. “You did good, Avery. I’m sorry I yelled at you a. while ago. I was just upset.”

“I know. But I still feel bad. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. Maybe I?—”

“Nonsense!” Dr.Tompkins announced. “You’re doing fine. These cattle are putting on weight at a good rate and they look great. No rain rot, no foot rot. You’re taking good care of them, and I can see you care about them too. You’re the kind of rancher we need these days, not somebody who’s so intent on turning a buck that they let the cattle suffer. Good job. Now, keep them over in the other pasture and watch them over the next few days. If you see another one go down, don’t hesitate to put it down, but bring it over here first, away from the others. There’s nothing we can do for them once they get it, but by inoculating them, they have a fighting chance to keep it at bay. Check three times a day. I’ll be back in four days to do booster shots. If you don’t see anything for two weeks, you’re in the clear and the vaccine will do the rest. Got it?”

“Got it,” Avery said with a nod. “And thanks for coming out so quickly.”

“Not a problem. It’s my job. And I do love my job,” Dr.Tompkins said with a wink. “Y’all have a nice night. Go get plenty of lime to put in with the carcass and I’ll have WadeSimpson call you tomorrow. He’s got a backhoe and he can come bury the cow for you.”

“Thanks, sir. Thanks so much,” Avery told the vet with a handshake. They watched him drive away in his truck until he was out of sight.

“Guess we’re going to have to leave the rest of the cattle there, huh?” Lydia asked, pointing toward the other pasture.

“Yeah. They can’t be out here with the dead one. I’ll move them to another pasture farther away in the morning. Right now, I think I just need to go back to the house and have a beer.”

Lydia nodded. “I think that’s a good plan.” She started back to the four-wheeler, but Avery stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, and she turned and smiled. “What?”

“Thanks. Thanks for being here with me. And thanks for staying.” Avery had never felt so helpless in his life, his heart in tatters and his head spinning.

“I’m glad I was here. I know you didn’t want me around, but…”

Avery smiled, and he hoped she could see that smile in the near darkness. “You know, you’re good company when you’re not yelling at me.”

She chuckled. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He swallowed hard. “So thanks again.”

“You’re welcome. I’d say my pleasure, but I don’t think it’s ever anyone’s pleasure to watch suffering like that.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

“So I’ll just say I’m glad I could be here for a… friend.”

“Yeah. I’m glad a friend could be here for me too,” Avery said. “Your shoulder doing okay?”

“Eh. Some days better than others. But it’ll be fine. Think you’ve got time for me to have another brownie?” she chuckled.

“I’m sure I do.”

“Where in the world have you two been?” Beverly asked as soon as they opened the back door. “And who was that in the truck that went sailing past here?”

“The vet. I had to have a cow put down and all the others vaccinated,” Avery explained, all the while not really wanting to talk about it anymore.

“Put down? As in killed?”

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