When she straightened, her face was pale, but her lips were firm. She looked like a woman with a tentative grasp on her control and the determination to maintain it. Can you give me a hand with the calf? Its stillborn and stuck.
Reed stared into her eyes until he was sure she was going to remain on her feet, then he turned to the laboring cow.
Hed seen this happen before when a cow tried to give birth to a calf too big for the birth canal. Half the time, they lost cow and calf. With the calf already dead, the best they could hope for was to save the cow.
He sat in the dirt behind the cow, braced his feet against the animals backside and grabbed hold of the dead calfs legs.
Too tired and battered to help, the cow lay on her side, breathing hard. When the next contraction hit, she bellowed, and tried to push with what little strength she had left.
Reed pulled with all his might. The calf slid out a little farther.
Youre doing good. The woman squatted beside the cow and smoothed a hand over her head. Hang in there.
Another contraction rolled over the cows belly and her legs stretched straight out, her stomach muscles convulsing.
Reaching down to the calfs shoulders, Reed tugged as hard as he could and the calf slid out the rest of the way.
For several long moments, the cow and Reed gathered their strength. Then the cow rolled to a sitting position and nudged the dead calf.
Sorry, girl, this baby didnt make it. The woman patted the cows neck.
While the cow licked at the calfs face, Reed stood and wiped his hands on his jeans.
The woman straightened, the top of her head only coming up to Reeds shoulders. You here about the job?
Yes, maam.
She walked around the cow to stand beside the dead boar. Was I mistaken or did you drop that boar with one shot?
You were not mistaken, maam.
She dusted her hands on her jeans and reached out. Im Mona Grainger. Youre hired.
Chapter Two
She had to give this guy a little credit. He asked without the usual shocked look. That would be me. Shed gotten the shocked response from all the applicants thus far. They expected a wiry, grizzled hulk of a man like her father. Not a petite young woman who barely topped five feet three inches.
Her father had died less than a year ago in a riding accident, leaving her as the sole surviving heir to the ranch. She couldnt change her sex or size. What you saw was what you got. Do you have a problem answering to a female boss?
Not at all. He grinned. I just didnt expect M. Grainger to be sopretty. He stuck out his hand. Reed Bryson. He glanced at his dirty hand. Never mind.
When he started to drop his hand, she grabbed it and shook it with as firm a grip as she could muster.
She may be small, but she didnt want him to think she wasnt tough. A little dirt never hurt me.
Now that she had time to really study him, she wasnt as pleased as shed been at first to hire him. Although not exactly what shed hoped for, Mr. Bryson had proven he could ride and shoot, and he hadnt balked at helping a cow with a stillborn calf. The roping part could be taught. It was the rest of the package that bothered her.
Monas gaze ran the long length of the cowboy who stood at least six feet two in his faded denim jeans and blue chambray shirt. A twinge of apprehension gnawed at her now-empty gut. She didnt like men who were too good to look at. Shed fallen into that trap before and she sure as hell wasnt going there again. Some mistakes were harder to live with than others.
Reed dropped her hand and squatted next to the boar. Should be good eating. Want me to fieldstrip him?
The stench of the hog wrapped around her olfactory nerves and her stomach rebelled. For the second time in the past ten minutes, she ran a couple steps and then hurled the last of the contents of her belly.
On second thought, why dont we get you back to the house. I can come back here later and take care of him and check on the cow.
Fernando raced around the corner, brought his horse to a skidding halt and dropped to the ground. Miss Mona, are you all right? He hurried across the floor of the canyon and wrapped an arm around the woman as if she would break.
With a grimace, she pushed him away. Im all right. Nothings broken.
He snatched her hat from the ground and pounded it against his leg before he handed it to her. A deep frown marred his dark forehead. You should have waited for me to come help you with the cow. Its not something a
Im fine. She shot a glance at Reed. Fernando worried too much about her and her condition. Let the new hand get adjusted to working for a woman before he learned more about her.
Her foreman followed her glance and nodded. This kind of work takes more than one to accomplish. Especially when youre in the canyons. Wild boars arent the only animals you have to worry about.
She knew all too well the risks. But she refused to lose any more livestock to man or beast. Mona turned to the new hand. When can you start?
It seems Ive already started. He glanced down at his dirty jeans and the cow, just lumbering to her feet. Is today all right with you?