Page 24 of Valentine Nook
I watch him storm off. My eyes linger on his ass for way too long.
So he’s my landlord.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
CHAPTER 5
Lando
“So then . . . listen to this . . . Clementine announces that Pierre’s offered to give her cooking lessons.Cooking lessons.” I throw my hands in the air. “Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous?”
There’s a snort of laughter to my left.
“Amazing. I’m so glad I woke up early for this.”
I glare at Miles, who’s wearing one of his more annoying smirks. Not an ounce of him is bothering to hide how amused he is by my plight. There’s no feign of support. Nothing.
I turn to Hendricks, hoping for a shred more empathy. “Henners, don’t you think it’s ridiculous?”
He removes the earbuds of his stethoscope and loops it around his neck.
“I’m a little busy right now. If you’re going to be in here, at least make yourself useful and give me a hand,” he snaps, one of his palms soothing over the heifer’s neck. The other one is nowhere to be seen. “Easy, mama, they’ll be here soon.”
“Sorry. What d’you need?”
I jump down off the stable gate and step closer to Elsa.
We don’t normally name our cows, but Max took it uponhimself to name all the cows last year, and this one stuck, along with Minnie two corrals down. She’s also in active labor, with one of Hendricks’s veterinary assistants monitoring her.
Elsa lets out a loud moo followed by a series of grunts, just to reiterate how uncomfortable she is. Usually, we leave the cows to deliver their calves by themselves like nature intended, with Hendricks keeping a close eye from a safe distance, but Elsa is having twins, so we’re being more hands-on.
At least I am. I’m not sure why Miles is here.
These calves are the last to be born this season. It’s been a busy two and a half months adding to our small herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle. It usually finishes in early May, but Elsa and Minnie needed to be inseminated twice, having failed the first go-around.
“Just keep her calm. I need her to lie down,” Hendricks replies, peeling off a pair of long gloves. “Her amniotic sack is still intact, but we need to get this one out without the other one bursting. I think he’s a big boy.”
A couple of the chickens have come to see what’s happening, unlike Hamish, who’s snoring loudly under the gate. Every few minutes, one of the farm staff pops their head into the corral to check, and we get an update that Minnie’s calf arrived safe and sound.
I stay with Elsa as Hendricks runs the portable ultrasound across her stomach, nodding in approval, and there’s nothing else we can do except wait. Twins are not something we’ve had often. In fact, in the sixteen years I’ve run the Burlington Estate, we’ve only had twins half a dozen times.
I’m about to ask Hendricks how long he thinks we should leave it before we step in and help when Elsa drops onto her front legs and rolls onto her side.
Her huge belly convulses as her first calf finally decides to make an appearance.
“There we go,” Hendricks murmurs as the pink birth sack appears. “Excellent, I can see a hoof . . . and a nose.”
While Hendricks and I have moved to the side to give Elsa some room, Miles, being Miles, kneels in the hay and strokes through her mane. “Well done, darling, you can do it. Babies will be here soon.”
Amazingly, Miles’s presence seems to calm her, proving it’s not just women he has this hypnotizing effect on. It’s females of all species.
God, he’s annoying.
“Come on, girl. Push.”
Another round of intense contractions, loud mooing, and heavy breathing, and the calf’s legs, head, and shoulders make an appearance. From where I’m standing, this all looks good. The sack still hasn’t burst, but it’s a nice, healthy color, and one more big push should have it sliding right out.
Which is exactly what happens, followed by a flood of amniotic fluid, blood, and the placenta, which splatters everywhere.
