Fragile Hearts (Poplar Falls #4) - Amber Kelly Page 0,12
Foster enters with wash buckets and sponges.
Pop hands off a feeding bottle to Brandt, and he promptly coaxes the colt to suckle. Once he latches on, Pop places his hand on my shoulder.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m great now that the little one is here and is going to be okay.”
“We’ve got it from here. Go get cleaned up and have some lunch,” he tells me.
I nod and turn toward the door.
“You did good, Bellamy,” Brandt calls after me.
“Me? I didn’t do anything. You just saved them,” I say in awe.
“I couldn’t have done it without your help,” he states before he looks back down and starts tending to the patient.
“I think you should get to name him, Bells,” Pop says.
I look at the newborn lying in front of Brandt, and I say, “Ali. His name is Ali. He’s a little fighter.”
“Ali it is,” Pop proclaims.
I walk to the house, filled with joy at watching that baby struggle to make it into this world and a little in awe of our handsome vet. That is the first breech birth I’ve witnessed on this ranch, where both momma and baby survived.
Bellamy
I make my way back to the house and find Momma and Miss Elaine chatting over coffee.
“Bellamy, what in the world happened?” Momma asks as I climb the steps.
“I had to help Brandt deliver a breech foal,” I offer in explanation of my appearance.
“My goodness, is everything all right?”
“Yep, Doc was amazing, and he was able to save them both,” I praise.
“Thank the good Lord. Oh, honey, you go get yourself cleaned up, and I’ll heat you up some lunch.”
I scurry into the house, and enjoy a long, hot shower before I rejoin them on the porch in clean clothes, my hair still damp.
Momma sets a bowl of hot stew in front of me, and I devour it in minutes. She offers me seconds.
“I guess delivering babies makes you hungry,” she muses.
“Ravenous. I hope you have enough for Brandt. He deserves a whole pot to himself. He was amazing out there,” I tell them, still filled with admiration for the doctor.
“Is that so?” Momma asks as she brings her eyes to Miss Elaine.
“Yes, ma’am. You should have seen him. He kept his cool, and before I knew what was happening, he’d saved that mare’s and colt’s lives. I was scared out of my mind, but he was steady as a rock. It was like watching a superhero in action or something,” I recount for them. Reverence clear in my tone.
“That’s his job,” Miss Elaine states. “It amazes me every time I see a sick animal with a distraught owner come through the doors of our clinic and then leave with a new lease on life. That boy makes me proud every day.”
“How is the clinical practice?” Momma asks.
“Busy. Too busy for me sometimes. He had a mixed practice in Oregon, too, but he wasn’t the only vet in town, so it wasn’t that stressful. If he was out on large-animal calls, our vet techs would see to the routine visits, and if there was an after-hours emergency, there was an emergency clinic about twenty minutes away,” she explains.
“Maybe he should look into hiring a technician to help out,” Momma suggests.
“It’s part of the plan. We’ve just been so busy that we haven’t had a chance to start looking properly. I intended to go home and visit my daughter and grandchildren for a couple of weeks this month while they were out of school, but I can’t leave him without any help.”
“I can help,” I offer.
Both their eyes come to me.
“I mean, I can work temporarily while you go for your visit. I promised Pop I’d help out here on the ranch until Myer returned from paternity leave, but after that, I’m free for a few weeks. I won’t be leaving for Denver until the end of summer. That is, if you trust me to do a good job.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Momma says. “She has a degree in animal science, and she’s great with animals, has been since she was a little girl. She’s a perfect candidate to help in a veterinary clinic.”
“Are you sure you want to spend what’s left of your summer break working?” Miss Elaine asks, but I can hear the hope in her question.
I shrug. “Sure. It’s only a couple of weeks, right? Besides, maybe I can even talk Dr. Haralson into calling in a personal recommendation on my behalf afterward.”