In the Rancher's Arms

“Don’t worry about it tonight,” he said as they walked across the yard toward a row of buildings. “You can tell me all about yourself when we have more time.”

When Buck led her through a small door built into one of the much larger ones at the front of the horse barn, she looked around. Stalls lined both sides of the center aisle. The dim light in one of the enclosures at the far end was probably where Eli and the mare were.

“Thanks, Buck,” she said, turning to give him a quick hug.

He patted her shoulder. “Just do everything Eli tells you to do and you’ll do just fine, gal.”

When Tori reached the stall, she found Eli, kneeling beside a mare lying on her side in the straw. The poor animal appeared agitated and in pain.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Move slowly and keep your voice low and even,” he said, removing his coat to lay it aside. He knelt by the mare’s hindquarters and started wrapping the tail with a narrow roll of gauzy-looking fabric. “Sit down by her head and try to calm her while I take care of things at this end.”

“It’s all right, sweetheart,” she said, sitting beside the mare to rub her broad forehead. She wasn’t sure of what she was doing or if it was right, but she was determined to do all she could to help the poor animal.

“I don’t think this will take too long,” he said, sitting back on his heels. “She’s had a couple of foals before this one, but I want to make sure everything goes okay.”

“I can understand why. She’s beautiful.” Tori crooned as she continued to pet the horse. “This is a big moment in your life, isn’t it, girl?”

“I see the front hooves emerging,” he said quietly.

She noticed that he didn’t move to help the mare. “You don’t have to do anything for her?”

“No, she’s doing fine on her own and it’s best to let nature take its course,” he said, sounding distracted. “We’re just here in case she has a problem.”

It was probably something she would have known if she had as much experience at farming as she’d claimed. But thankfully, Eli was focused on making sure the mare wasn’t having problems during the birth and had answered automatically without paying much attention to her question.

Once the colt slid out onto the soft bed of straw and Eli cleared the membrane away from its tiny muzzle, he unwrapped the horse’s tail, then motioned for her to leave the mare to walk out into the barn aisle. “We’ll keep an eye on them from here,” he said quietly as he picked up his jacket and followed her. Closing the stall’s half door, he smiled. “You did a great job. Thanks.”

“I didn’t do all that much,” she said, smiling back at him.

She was relieved that she had passed her first trial of dealing with livestock and hadn’t embarrassed herself by showing how little she knew. But it was Eli’s unexpected praise that caused a pleasant warmth to spread through her.

A bit flustered by the feeling, Tori turned to peer over the top of the stall door. As she watched, the mare got up, then turned around to nudge her copper-colored colt with her muzzle.

“What’s she doing?” Tori asked, hoping the animal wasn’t trying to hurt her baby.

“She’s trying to get the foal to stand up,” Eli said, from just behind her.

The heat from his body and the intimate sound of his voice close to her ear sent a tingling sensation straight to the pit of her belly. How could she possibly feel such awareness this fast? Even if they were married, she hadn’t much more than just met him.

“Is the foal a boy or girl?” she asked in an attempt to regain her equilibrium.

“A little filly,” Eli said, draping his arm over her shoulders as they watched the tiny animal try several times to get up before it was successful. “Would you like to name her?”

“Really? You’ll let me do that?”

He nodded. “Do you have an idea of what you want to call her?”

“Can I think about it for a little while?” she asked, watching the filly wobble her way over to the mare to begin nursing. It was a sight she knew for certain she would never forget and helped take her mind off the churning feelings Eli had aroused within her.

“Take your time. There’s no hurry,” he said, giving her a smile that warmed her all the way to her toes.

As they continued to stare at each other, Tori wondered why a man like Eli would feel the need to advertise for a wife. With his rugged good looks and disarming presence, she’d have thought he would have women lined up across the state just waiting for a chance to get him to look their way. And what had compelled him to offer her the job of being his wife over the other applicants?