Fresh-Start Ranch. Leann Harris

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      “Of course. I called the sheriff’s office before we left,” she snapped. “Joe should be here any minute. We wouldn’t have approached William, but he came charging out of the house like a mad bull.”

      The expression on William’s face hadn’t changed. He wanted a fight. “Let’s wait,” Ethan muttered.

      “Where are the horses?” Tessa asked, coming to their sides.

      The woman looked at her.

      “I’m Dr. Adams’s new associate.” Tessa introduced herself, answering the question on the woman’s face. “Dr. Grant.”

      “Mary Jensen, the lawyer for this local rescue group.” She offered her hand to Tessa. Turning, she looked back at the dilapidated stables. “Some of the horses are in the stables, and there’s a paddock in back of the house where the rest are kept.”

      They heard a distressed whinny come from inside the miserable excuse for a stable. The man, William, glanced over his shoulder, then looked back at the group. Clearly, he was torn whether to go to the animal or hold off the group.

      Tessa moved toward the man. “I’m a vet. Dr. Grant. Can I offer you any assistance?” Tessa knew a cry of pain when she heard one. Was the man more concerned for his animals than the people trying to take them away? With his confusion clearly etched on his face, he looked back at the stables, then at her.

      The horse whinnied again.

      The man’s face lost all color, and he looked back at the stables.

      Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

      The moments stretched out as they all stood silent, waiting, waiting for his decision. Tessa prayed.

      “Yeah, my mare needs some help,” William said at last. “She’s been down too long and the foal ain’t coming.”

      “Would you let me help?”

      He looked around the group, his jaw tense. “Only you.”

      “That’s fine.” She looked back at Ethan. “Will you bring my medical kit?”

      “Sure.” He walked back to her truck.

      The man opened the gate and motioned her in. Closing it behind her, he walked her into the stable. He rested the shotgun by the open door.

      “My mare’s in the last stall on the left.”

      Tessa hurried to the stall. The white horse was on her side on a pile of hay, her eyes rolled back in her head. The hay wasn’t clean and the mare was seriously underweight.

      “Hello, girl. I’m here to help you,” Tessa crooned. “Will you let me?” Tessa stepped to the mare’s side. The horse didn’t raise her head. “What’s her name?”

      “Lady.”

      Gingerly, Tessa knelt by the mare’s bloated side. She ran her palms over the horse’s flank to see if she could feel the position of the foal.

      A hard knot was there right above the horse’s back hip. “Okay, momma, I’m going to see if I can feel your baby’s feet.” Tessa turned to the owner. “How long has she been down?”

      “Don’t know.” He shrugged. “When I walked in this morning to check on her, she was like that.”

      “I need my medical bag.”

      The man disappeared for a moment, then reappeared with her tackle-box medical kit. She threw open the lid and poured the cleanser over her hands. “Okay, Lady, let’s see how your baby’s doing.”

      Tessa tried to find the foal’s hooves, but instead found the tail. She sat back on her heels and looked up at the owner. “The foal’s breech.”

      The man lost his color. “I don’t want to lose that baby. She’s sold.”

      Tessa tried to get her mind around what she’d just heard.

      “I need for you to save that foal.”

      Lord, give me grace. It sounded as if the man was more concerned with his money than the horse. “I’m going to try to turn the foal, but—” Nothing else needed to be said.

      “William, this is Sheriff Teague,” came the voice over a bullhorn. “I’m here to enforce the court order.”

      The owner disappeared. Tessa didn’t pay attention to the conversation outside. She looked at the mare and prayed.

      * * *

      Ethan watched as William came out of the stables. He held the shotgun in his right hand.

      “Put that thing down, William, before you hurt yourself,” Sheriff Joe Teague ordered.

      William looked at the people standing around. “This isn’t right. You shouldn’t be taking Ma’s horses.”

      “You can take that up with the judge.”

      Ethan carefully watched William. He had been in Ethan’s sister’s graduating class. As a teenager, William hadn’t really fit in with either the kids in the rodeo circuit or the kids who were on the college track. He’d been a loner and apparently still didn’t know his calling.

      They heard another whinny followed by Tessa’s voice. “Easy, girl.”

      William turned and started toward the stable. “You better hurry before my mother gets back, because she’ll object.” He disappeared into the stables.

      The sheriff turned to the gathered crowd. “No sense in moving that mare until she’s delivered. Let’s get the rest of these animals loaded.”

      Ethan knew exactly where he needed to go. He walked into the stables and saw William standing at the last stall at the back of the structure. When he looked at Ethan, William’s ashen face sent alarm bells going off in Ethan’s head.

      He rushed to the stall and saw Tessa on her knees. Sweat plastered the curls to her face and neck. Her eyes met his. He saw her concern and seriousness of the situation, but he also saw a woman who knew what needed to be done.

      “Can I help?”

      “The foal is breech and I need to turn it.”

      “What do you need for me to do?”

      “Talk to this sweet lady and calm her while I work to turn the foal.”

      Could she do it? He didn’t know, but they were about to find out.

      As they worked together, they were able to rotate the foal so the front legs were in the right position. Ethan helped Tessa, keeping the mare calm.

      “That’s it, Lady. You’re doing a great job.” Tessa looked at Ethan. “One of the foal’s legs is still folded partially under the body. I’m going to try to straighten it out.”

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