Page 29 of Rival
“I did it while you were wasting the mornin’, sleepin’ in. All of them are already out. Vet’s gonna be here in about thirty.” As soon as we clear the barns, he pushes his horse to pick up speed and I stiffen once more, not sure what I’m supposed to do when Austin starts bouncing us more with his gallop. Mason’s left arm releases his hold on the leather straps to slide across my body again like before, holding me firmly against him. “So,” he breathes into my ear. “You gonna give me the real answer on what happened to your face now? I don’t buy the whole mishap bullshit.”
Staring straight ahead, I’m overwhelmed with his chest moving against my back as we sprint toward the fields. Plus, throw in his hand pressing against my stomach where I can only focus on each finger pressing into my side; I’m at a loss for words.I have to lie. Right? I hate lying.
When I don’t answer soon enough, he digs the tips of his fingers into me and growls. My hands grip the handle harder as I focus on the field in front of us and lie. “I wasn’t paying attention yesterday and knocked my head against a beam.”
I feel him curl his body over me to drop his chin on my shoulder. “I didn’t hear you, girl. Speak up if you’re gonna give me lies.”
Blinking rapidly, I jerk my head to look at him, our faces only inches apart. My mouth opens and closes, more stunned by the closeness than trying to come up with a way to answer him.
Our eyes meet and he raises a brow, huffing at me before pulling back, and I jerk my head forward.What the hell was that?The rest of the ride is made in silence, our bodies rolling together as Austin runs. Mason’s thighs are cradling mine, keeping me braced just enough so I don’t need to worry about falling anymore. His whole body is tight, every muscle tense against mine.
Finally, I see the dots of the calves ahead and he draws Austin up to slow him down until we’re moving at a slow trot, then finally stop. Mason drops the reins and grips my waist, picking me up to drop on the ground. I stumble as I try to catch my footing, then watch as he easily unseats himself and drops next to me.
Handing me the reins, he lifts his chin to the nearest tree. “Tie him up over there. Vet should be here soon.”
His voice is cold, but thankfully he doesn’t seem as angry as before. I do as I’m told, then walk back just as quickly to wait with him. One of the babies comes up next to me, sniffing at my pants. I can’t help my smile as I pet him. My eyes lift to catch Mason watching me, and I quickly drop them to look into the deep brown of the baby’s eyes. Leaning down, I murmur sweet words to him before he trots off to check out a thick patch of grass.
Both Mason and I lift our heads when we hear the engine of a truck, and I move out of the way when it comes to a stop. Steve Williams, the local vet, is from one of the towns surrounding Broken Ridges. I met him a few times, but we’ve never had more than a couple of words in passing.
“Hey there. You ready to get started?” he calls out as he walks around to the bed of his truck to gather his equipment.
“Yup. Just tell me what you need,” Mason hollers back while he slips his lasso around the calf nearest him.
“If you tie ‘em and both of you hold ‘em down, it’ll only take me a minute to get each done.”
Mason lifts his chin to indicate I should come closer. “I’m gonna tie them. I need you to stay up by their heads and do your best to keep them calm. Stay clear of their legs or you’ll get a hoof to the gut. I don’t much feel like explainin’ to your daddy you got hurt, so stay by their heads.”
I nod and hurry over, dropping to my knees by the first one who’s already on his side. Mason is quick to wrap the rope around his legs, laying over the calf’s body to hold him still. Leaning down, I press my lips to the baby’s forehead, his eyes wide and panicked over being restrained.
“This is perfect,” Doc says. He quickly tags the calf’s ear, the tool he’s using snapping so loud that I flinch. Then he grabs a prepared syringe and administers it as fast as he can. Two more shots follow while both Mason and I try to keep the calf from escaping. His eyes are wild, and the moment Dr. Williams is done, Mason releases him from the ropes and he takes off like his butt is on fire.
I watch him run and wish I could follow and snuggle him until he’s calmed down. I’m sure the whole ordeal was horrible for him and a bit painful. When I look over at Mason, I find him studying me hard. Swiping away a stray tear, I stand up and ask, “Which one is next?”
“You know he’ll be fine, right? It’s just a small pinch and doesn’t really hurt them.” I shrug away Mason’s comment, but I can’t help but feel sympathy for the little guy. Even if it’s quick, it hurt him while it was happening and it makes my heart ache.
I force a smile and link my fingers in front of my body to wait as Mason wrangles the next one. “I’m fine,” I tell him. I’m not sure if he believes me, but he busies himself with tying up the next baby just as Dr. Williams drops a hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention.
“He’s right. It’s only a split second where they’re uncomfortable, then it’s like nothing. The whole process is very humane.” He seems like a decent man, and his eyes are warm and honest as he tries to reassure me.
This time when I smile, it’s less forced. “I’m really okay. I’ve never seen this done before, so it just makes me feel bad for them.”
He laughs softly and prepares the next set of injections as Mason finishes with our next victim. I hurry over to him and fall heavily to my knees, taking up my role as the comforter as Dr. Williams does his job. Every time it happens, my heart breaks a bit more for them and by the time we’re done, hours later, my chest is in actual pain, and I’m emotionally wrecked.
Mason thanks the vet for his help and lets him know to send a bill to the farm. As soon as he hops back into his truck and leaves the field, Mason turns to me, his expression thoughtful, but he says nothing.
I wait awkwardly, wondering if I should start walking back toward the barns, but he stops me. “Come on over here. I’ll put you up first this time.”
With Austin’s reins in one hand, Mason is holding a hand out in my direction, so I go to him. I eye him, then up to the saddle, wondering what I’m supposed to do. He rolls his eyes, less annoyed with me than normal. “I’m gonna hang on to himand set you up on his back. Then I’ll get on. Put a hand on my shoulder and as soon as your feet leave the ground, grab on and throw a leg over.”
Swallowing hard, I nod and place a shaking hand on his shoulder. I ignore the way his muscles move under my fingers and close my eyes just as he grabs me and heaves me onto Austin’s back.
The horse takes a small step to the side, but I scramble a bit more gracefully onto his back and right myself as soon as I’m seated. Blowing out a breath in relief that I didn’t go right over him and fall on my face, I tighten my legs around his body and hold on for dear life as Mason steps into the stirrup and slides into the saddle behind me.
As soon as his arms rise around me to signal Austin to move, I feel more secure and close my eyes in relief.
This time, as we head back, Mason keeps our pace slower. I lean forward a bit, not wanting to lie against him. It was a long morning and my only desire at this moment is to not upset him and be as unintrusive as possible.
Mason releases a loud sigh before pulling me back against his body. I’m so short in front of him he’s able to rest his chin on top of my head. The squeeze he gives me is brief, but I notice it just before he lets me go a bit and simply holds me to him so I don’t fall off.
