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He sobered. “I remember everything about you, Jessica.”
“If I didn’t know you were such a good guy, I would say you kind of sound like a stalker.”
He shrugged. “Tomato, toe-mah-toe.” With his finger, he flicked her cowboy hat to the ground. Then he traced her face from her forehead down the side, then along her jaw. “When this is all over, I don’t want this to end.” Ian chuckled.
The statement on its own was a little silly, but she understood what he meant. When the crazy lifesaving stuff was all over, he wanted their relationship to continue. Though her brain wanted her to, she couldn’t disagree.
Her voice hitched as his thumb trailed over her lips. His intense focus remained on her mouth for a moment before he lifted it to meet her eyes. “Please tell me you feel the same,” he whispered.
Jessica nodded. “I’d like that.”
His face broke into a wide smile. Ian’s hands gently cupped her cheeks. Jessica gasped as his mouth came down over hers, stealing the breath from her lungs. His lips roved over hers, careful and delicate like he didn’t want to hurt her. “You don’t know how happy that makes me.” His husky whisper brushed against her ear, and her whole body reacted with sparks of electricity.
Kissing Ian was like nothing she’d ever experienced. The heat and fire rolling in her stomach proved it with each passing minute.
Ian saw her to her core. She wasn’t just a girl he wanted to kiss. She was the only girl he wanted to kiss because he adored her. That little detail was the one missing piece she’d never had in a relationship, and it made all the difference.
Ian’s lips returned to hers, and their kiss deepened. “Jessica,” he muttered as he pulled back.
Her eyes fluttered open, the warmth of his touch dissipating.
“As much as I hate to say this, I think we should take it slow.”
The fog of desire that hung between them continued to thin. She pressed her hands to her cheeks and took a deep, shuddering breath. “I think you’re right.”
Ian smiled, his thumb grazing her jaw. “I—” He shook his head. “You’re amazing.”
Loud mooing pulled their attention. Ian peered in the cow’s direction. He frowned. “Something’s wrong.” His hand slipped into hers, and he pulled her forward at a swift pace.
“What’s happening?”
“I think the calf is stuck.”
She sucked in a breath. “What does that mean? Is it going to die?”
He shook his head. “Not if I have any say in the matter.”
They came up to the cow, who continued mooing at one of the loudest levels Jessica had ever heard. Ian dropped down on his haunches and took a closer look at the calf that was dangling from the backside of the cow. He glanced up at her. “Run to the barn. There is a birthing crate I have set up for reasons like this. It has blankets, a bucket and a few other things in it. I’ll also need the bucket filled with water. There’s a faucet right outside the barn.”
Jessica nodded and spun around. She sprinted toward the barn, but her clunky boots caused her to stumble a few times. She stopped, kicked off the boots and ran in her socks the rest of the way.
She leapt between the corral bars and skidded to a stop just inside the dark barn. Her eyes had to adjust to the dim lighting. There had to be a light switch somewhere, but there wasn’t enough time to go hunting for it. She peered around the area just inside the structure, unable to make out anything but odd shapes and silhouettes.
Jessica leaned down and felt around, seeking out anything soft. Her fingers brushed along plastic, rope, and a shovel before they finally found what she was looking for. A wooden crate with blankets on top. She grabbed it and charged for the door.
The moon shone on the property, making everything so much brighter outside. She could even see the silhouette of Ian beside the cow. Running with the crate was more difficult than she’d expected, and getting it on the other side of the corral fence when she was nowhere near the gate was a chore. She got to Ian’s side, dropped the crate, dug through it, grabbed the bucket, and left again without saying a word.
Once she filled the bucket with water and deposited it beside Ian, she was finally able to catch her breath. Her chest heaved with each labored breath she took. Lungs burning, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and watched as Ian rinsed his hands, put on gloves that went up to his shoulders, and prepared to help the cow.
“How—how do you know it’s stuck?”
He glanced at her, his brows furrowed in concentration. Gesturing to the calf’s legs, he grunted. “These are the rear legs. All babies should come out head first. Sometimes they can birth successfully this way, but there are times when intervention is necessary.”
Carefully, Ian pulled the calf out farther. When the calf’s ribcage had escaped the confines of the mother, Ian’s pace quickened. In a matter of seconds, the rest of the calf was out of its mother and on the ground. The cow turned around to look at her baby. She licked at the calf’s nose and face, cleaning it off. Then she moved to the rest of its body.
Ian scrambled back and shook out his hands. His chest rose with each breath he took while his eyes remained on the calf. The small animal’s chest rose and fell with each breath it took. Then he glanced at her and smiled. “Step back. She’s going to be really protective of her baby and you don’t want to get hurt.” Once they were both back a few steps, he grinned at her. “Now we keep an eye on them. The calf should be standing on its own in two hours or so.”
Her eyes widened. “It happens that fast?”
