Page 13 of Lucky in Love

Fiona stuck by my side during a time when we didn’t know if I would have the chance to grow old. I just wish she would open herself up to the possibility of romance.

“Paige, you came!” Ginger is walking toward me hand-in-hand with a man that looks a lot like a clean-shaven, short-haired version of Baylor. “I want you to meet Branson.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” He smiles warmly. “I hear you’ve met my brother. What’s going on there?”

Branson’s outgoing personality shines through, highlighting the differences between the two brothers. “Oh, we’re just friends,” I blurt and I can feel the red creeping up from my neck.Why does that sound so incriminating?“I mean, I’m a vet. I examined his horses.”

“Well, that makes more sense. My brother doesn’t have friends.” He’s still smiling and I’m sure he doesn’t mean anything by the comment, but for some reason, I have the urge to defend Baylor.

“Actually, we are friends,” I say. “I’m a vetandwe’re friends.”

“I told him to come out tonight. Let me give him a call and see if he’s going to get out of the house and join the land of the living,” he say, pulling his phone from his back pocket

I shrug and try to look casual as he walks away with the phone to his ear.

“I heard you met my Granny Pearl,” Ginger says with a wide grin.

“Yes! She is amazing. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her. She even helped me find a receptionist. I think Hayden is going to be a good fit.”

Branson drapes an arm over Ginger’s shoulder and says, “My brother will not be joining us this evening.”

“I’m not surprised,” Ginger says with a sad smile. “Socializing in public isn’t really his thing.”

“Believe it or not, he was planning to come out. I think there was someone special he wanted to see,” he says, tilting his head not so subtly toward me. “But he has a legitimate excuse for canceling at the last minute. His horse is in labor.”

“Stella is in labor?” I stand up too quickly and have to steady my barstool to keep it from falling over.

“He said he needed to monitor her. He sounded kind of worried.”

“I need to go.” I push my full beer out of the way. “You guys can have this. I need to check on the horse.”

On my way through the parking lot, I pick up my pace.Baylor sounded worried. Did that mean something was wrong? Or was Baylor just anxious about the labor and delivery? Either way, I need to be there.

???

When I reach the barn, Baylor is pacing in front of a stall. He looks up at me with no trace of his usual stoic expression; in its place is a vulnerability I’ve never seen before. I catch a glimpse of what he must’ve looked like as a little boy and I resist the urge to pull him to me and comfort him.

“Is she okay?” I ask.

“She’s in labor.”

“Any signs of distress? Anything unusual?”

“She didn’t have any of the usual signs this morning, but when I checked her this evening on my way out, she was kicking at her belly and biting her flanks. I guess I should have checked her more often throughout the day.” He runs his fingers through his hair and starts pacing again.

“Some mares show all the signs like clockwork and others show hardly any signs at all,” I say, thinking about some of the cases I saw in my internship.

Baylor continues pacing and staring at the floor like he hasn’t heard me at all. I get the feeling this reaction is just a ripple in a much larger pool. “Baylor.” I step in front of him and put my hands on his shoulders. “Baylor, look at me.” His eyes find mine. “For some mares, this is perfectly normal. I’m going to check on her. But as far as we know, there’s nothing wrong, okay?”

He nods, eyes locked on mine. “You look pretty,” he says quietly.

“Thank you. I was going out tonight, so I dressed up a little.” The compliment lights me up inside and I want to wrap my arms around him, but I need to check on the horse to make sure there isn’t anything wrong. I wash my hands and arms at the sink nearby and step into the large stall.

“Do you know how long she’s been having contractions?” I ask.

“I can’t be sure. I came out to check on her about 30 minutes ago and found her like this.”

“Her water hasn’t broken yet, so she’s still in the first stages of labor. Everything looks normal. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about right now, but I’m going to stick aroundjust in case. ” My voice is calm and soothing, an attempt to help calm the horse and her owner.

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