“Well… it’s sort of obvious, Shan. The way he looks at you. Then when I saw you two dancing at my engagement party… Anyway, it wasn’t just me. Zoe picked up on it too.”
Heat rushed to my face, and I hoped that he couldn’t see the pink coloring my cheeks.
“I just wanted to talk to him man-to-man and feel him out to see how serious he is, you know?”
I tried to ignore the butterflies in my gut and focus on my meddling brother.
“This isn’t the nineteenth century, Josh. This little lady can take care of herself. If you have concerns about me, you should bring themtome. Which you didn’t do because you knew I would tell you that it was none of your business. You knew I wouldn’t want you to interfere, and you did it anyway and tried to hide it from me.”
His expression shifted and he looked like he’d been scolded. “Okay, I’m sorry for butting in. It’s only because I care about you and want what’s best for you. We’ve only got each other, you know.”
The gentle reminder about losing our parents was enough to soften me. Josh was right, and even though he’d overstepped, I knew that he’d done it out of love. Just like the time Fiona and I did a sisterly intervention when Josh had been hurting over his and Zoe’s temporary break up. It took almost losing her for him to figure out how to prioritize their relationship over the ranch.
“You’re right, and I know that there are parallels to the way that Fi and I talked to you when you were about to lose Zoe, but—” He started to open his mouth, and I stopped him. “—if you’ll recall, we came toyou. We didn’t talk to Zoe. You’re a bonehead for handling it like that—but I still love you.”
“Aw, I love you too.”
Josh unfolded himself from the chair and strode to me, pulling me into a hug that slowly constricted like a blood pressure cuff, until I finally started laughing.
“Okay, okay, I get it!” I choked out, smacking his back in submission. “You love me!”
“Till ithurts!” he roared, then picked me up and swung me around, making me realize how lucky I was to have him in my corner.
EIGHTEEN
DECLAN
“Ineed you. Can you get over here now?”
Shannon’s panicked voice was enough to startle me awake.
“What’s going on? Is Belle okay?” I asked, sitting upright in bed and looking over at the clock. It was three in the morning.
“She’s foaling, but it’s dystocia,” she blurted out. “I only see one foot and I’ve tried to reach in and shift the foal, but it’s not working. Declan, help me help Belle, please!”
I was already pulling my shirt over my head and running for the door. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Keep her up and moving, okay? No straining.”
“Okay,” Shannon said, her voice muffled. “Please hurry.”
I raced to my truck and threw the flashing light on top. One of the volunteer firefighters had given it to Ruth years before with the understanding that she would only use it in times of extreme emergency. This certainly qualified. A problematic birth was about as extreme as it got. I made it to Lost Valley in under ten minutes, my tires sliding on the gravel, and ran to the barn.
“Hey,” I said, rushing to where Belle was standing.
Shannon looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Please help her.”
Her anguished expression broke my heart. I was going to make it right. Ihadto.
Within a few seconds, I knew exactly what was going wrong. The foal had one foot turned back and the only way to correct it was to gently push it back into the uterus and reposition it for the birth canal.
“You need to hold Belle, Shannon. I’ve got to get in there fast and she might not like it.”
She nodded and moved to the horse’s head. “I’m ready.”
“Talk to her. Keep her as calm as possible.”
Shannon immediately began crooning to the suffering mare. “It’s okay, Mama, Declan’s going to fix you right up, but you need to stay calm for me.” She spoke quietly, heaping praises on the horse.
It was a procedure I’d done dozens of times, and even though I could complete it with my eyes closed, I felt a shot of nerves course through me. I knew how much Belle meant to Shannon, and by association, how much she’d love the foal we were about to bring into the world. I couldn’t afford to let anything happen to either of them.
