To Court A Cowgirl. Jeannie Watt

DIDN’T KNOW if Allie expected him to show up on Saturday, but he much preferred pulling nails and sorting boards to hanging around the house, so he headed off to work at the usual time. When he got to the ranch, he parked near the rubble pile and pulled the bucket of tools out of the back.

      “Jason?”

      Allie appeared from around the corner of the canvas building. She looked both out of breath and relieved to see him. “I need help.” She looked as if she half expected him to turn her down.

      “With what?”

      “A calf.”

      “Sure.” He could chase a calf or hold a calf or whatever she needed doing. She gestured for him to follow her to the pasture where the cattle grazed, stopping at the gate to pick up a bucket she’d left there. She opened the gate and held it while he passed through, a quizzical frown on his face. The stuff in the bucket looked medical—medieval medical, because there were chains in there.

      “I appreciate you doing this. This way I won’t have to get the jack.”

      He didn’t have to pretend to understand what she was talking about because she was already on her way across the field to where a cow lay on her side. As they got closer, he could see that she was straining, in the process of giving birth.

      Allie set the bucket near the business end of the cow and pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. She didn’t hand him a pair, so he figured he was good. He was also a touch apprehensive about his role. He’d seen puppies born once and that movie in sex ed, but birthing wasn’t a common occurrence in his world. Judging from the cool way in which Allie was pouring disinfectant over the rear end of the cow and what he could only think of as the feet, it was a common occurrence in hers. She looked up at him, her blond ponytail sliding over her shoulder.

      “Hand me the chains, okay?”

      Jason reached in the bucket and pulled out what looked like a long choke chain for a dog.

      “Have you done this before?” she asked, taking the chains from him.

      He shook his head, but she wasn’t looking at him as she expertly looped the ends around one small ankle, so he said, “Uh, no.”

      “It’s easy. I just hope we’re in time. This is one big baby and I don’t know how long she’s been down. She was pretty exhausted when I found her this morning.”

      “I see.”

      She attached the chain to the other ankle, having to reach inside the cow a little to get the job done. Jason realized that he was grimacing as he watched and forced his face to relax. No worse than a compound fracture and he’d seen a couple of those.

      “Now you take hold of the middle, right here—” she handed him the chain “—and when I say to pull, you apply a steady pressure. We are not jerking the calf out of the cow, we’re just helping her along. Understand?”

      “Yeah.” A wave of sweat broke over his forehead.

      “When I say release, just keep the baby from sliding back in.”

      Allie started massaging the area where the feet were sticking out, then she said, “Pull. Gently.”

      Jason pulled and a bit more leg showed, and then a nose, maybe.

      “Let up.”

      He let up, but kept enough pressure to keep the baby where it was. It truly did want to slide back inside.

      “Pull,” Allie said, reaching in the cow a little to put her hand over the calf’s head. “Let up.” She tore open the slimy bag that covered the calf’s nose and a long bluish tongue lolled out. Jason was grimacing again and he didn’t try to stop. “Pull.”

      Jason pulled. Once the head had emerged, the rest of the body slipped out in a rush of fluid and flopped onto the grass.

      Allie’s shoulders sank in relief. “It’s alive.” She unhooked the chains, then stood up as the mom looked over her shoulder at her new baby.

      “Best stand back.” Allie shot a look at him and then the corners of her mouth twitched. “First birth?” she asked dryly.

      Jason shrugged, feeling distinctly out of his element. “I saw puppies born once. I was six.”

      She laughed as she dropped the chains in the bucket. It wasn’t a full-on share-the-mirth laugh, but it was a start.

      “Were all of these—” he gestured at the two older calves lying side by side in the grass near their grazing mothers “—born like this?”

      “No. They came out the usual way. This mom’s a heifer—first birth. They have trouble sometimes.”

      Well, the cow seemed to be getting into motherhood now, licking her calf all over as the little guy started squirming. “What would have happened if I wasn’t here?” he asked.

      “I would have gotten the jack.”

      “I don’t want to know.”

      She laughed again as she peeled off the gloves and dropped them into the bucket on top of the chains, but when she raised her gaze back up to his, her expression grew serious. “Thank you for the help.”

      “Not a problem.”

      “After our discussion yesterday, I kind of thought—”

      “Let’s straighten a few things out, Allie.”

      “What things?” She looked both wary and curious.

      “I don’t hold grudges. It’s a waste of energy.” He held her gaze to make his point, noting that Allie’s lips were pressed together, as if she were afraid of something slipping out. “I’m not the enemy, Allie. Never have been. Never will be.”

      “I never thought of you as an enemy.”

      “Or treated me like a friend.”

      She gave a slow nod, pressing her lips even more tightly together as she glanced down at the gravel between them. When she looked back up at him he was struck by the shift in her expression, as if she’d just made a momentous decision. She drew in a breath and said, “Would you like to come to the house for a cup of coffee?”

      A half smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “Thank you, Allie. I’d like that.”

      * * *

      JASON FOLLOWED ALLIE into the house and sat down at the table after washing up. She poured him a cup of coffee from the stainless steel carafe she’d filled before going out to check on the cows that morning, her mind racing as she tried to get a handle on this situation. The one she’d taken pains not to think too much about, despite their previous conversation on the matter. As in how much her less-than-friendly attitude had to do with her preconceived notions about Jason, and how much it had to do with the fact that she found him ridiculously attractive.

      Definitely a mash-up of the two, but she was still trying to put her life back on track and it wasn’t fair that he should suddenly appear and introduce unwelcome thoughts and sensations.

      It also wasn’t fair for her to take her frustrations out on him...even if he did cause them.

      Jason took the cup she handed him and then waited until she’d sat down before taking a slow sip. Allie did the same, acutely aware that she was horrible at making small talk because she had no patience for small talk. But something needed to be said. The elephant in the room was growing larger.

      “Kind of reminds me of our chess matches,” he finally said.

      Allie choked a little and set her cup down. “You intimidated me.”

      “Right back at you.”

      “Bull.”

      He shrugged his big shoulders and settled back in his chair. “I’m not going to lie to you, Allie. Birthing that calf was gross.”

      “Birth