Nash Brothers Box Set - Carrie Aarons Page 0,47

I try to keep calm.

This is how a life with him will be. We may be in a small town, but he’s always going to volunteer for anyone who needs saving. It’s an admirable quality, but what is the line he won’t cross. Will he leave in the middle of the night when I’m in our bed? Put a patient or his brothers over future children? It sounds insane thinking these things, but … I’ve never had a boyfriend before. And it’s pretty serious between Keaton and I if I’m in a relationship with him, something I’ve never done with another man. These are things I need to consider.

And I need to consider if I can be okay with them.

“I’m so sorry, Pres.” He turns to me, his dark eyes begging for me to understand.

Swallowing my concerns, I step into him and pull him against me for a minute.

“I am, too. But we can take our burgers to go.”

Keaton stills. “You want to come with me?”

I nod. “If you’ll let me. I want to see what you do. And I’m here to spend the night with you, no matter where that takes us.”

Awe, and a bit of storminess, shine down on me as he pins with me his gaze. “This could get ugly. We could lose the babies, or the ewe herself.”

The thought sends an arrow of sadness straight through my heart. “I’m a big girl. Let me come to work with you. Seeing your passion, it will help me understand you better. And I want to understand everything about you.”

Keaton looks like I just told him the secret to life. “All right. But when we get there, you stand back. Only move if I ask you to. Got it?”

I crack a small smile. “Yes, sir.” He frowns, and I roll my eyes. “Of course. I’ll keep out of the way unless you need me to hold a leg.”

We’re there in twenty minutes flat, thanks to Keaton’s speeding. We munch on burgers on the way, eating them one-handed as he details what a twin animal birth can be like. How many he’s seen, what he might need to do for this lamb after looking at the pictures the farm staff sent. Listening to him talk is addicting; even if I know nothing about veterinary medicine, the way Keaton talks about his craft is admirable.

Once we arrive, darkness swamping the fields and barns of this small dairy farm, Keaton goes straight for his trunk.

“Here.” He hands me a rubbery looking suit that I realize after a few seconds are goulashes. “They are probably going to be big on you, but if you want to be in the pen, you’re going to want those on.”

I don’t talk, trying to digest everything that’s about to happen. I don’t mind a little blood and guts, but I’ve never witnessed a human birth, let alone a large animal. Part of me was downright scared, and the other was tingling with excitement.

Keaton pulls out a large case, almost like a toolbox, and then shuts the trunk, walking toward the only dwelling with lights on.

“Remember what I said.” He looks down at me with softness.

I nod and then see his face change. This is the doctor in him, the man who needs to put emotions aside to save the animal in need. He can’t hold my hand right now, and this is his way of telling me that if I can’t handle this, I have to take care of myself.

The dwelling with light is really just a small barn, gated off by large pens where I assume animals are kept. Right now, though, there is only one animal in here, and she’s crying out as if someone was stabbing her. The guttural, anguished sounds of the sheep penetrate my heart and make me suck in a lungful of breath. Anyone can hear and see how much agony she’s in … and I just want it to stop for her sake.

Keaton makes quick work of getting brought up to speed by the farm owners and then jumps right in. He examines the sheep, getting down next to her. From my vantage point, I can see something sticking out of her vaginal opening, and it looks …

Well, I’m no medical professional but it doesn’t look good.

“I’m going to have to get in there and pull the lamb out myself. It’s going to hurt her, you’ll need to hold her.” Keaton’s voice is the epitome of calm.

Two of the men