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Jessica glanced at Ian, her brows furrowed. “What do you think is wrong?”
Ian shrugged. “Just because he’s running this way doesn’t mean something is wrong. Cal gets worked up over a lot of stuff.” That wasn’t entirely true. Cal seemed to have one of the most level heads out of all of them, but occasionally he did overreact.
Cal made it to their side and bent over as he took deep breaths. “Ian,” he gasped, “it’s one of the cows. She’s trying to have her baby and something’s wrong.”
Jessica sent a worried glance in Ian’s direction.
Ian frowned. “Which one?”
Cal rolled his eyes. “Does it matter? You need to get back to the pasture and help out. The vet can’t make it up here. She’s dealing with some other problem at the Callahan’s ranch.”
“What’s going on?” Brock wandered toward them, his bag weighed down on his shoulders. He lifted a strap over his head and deposited the bag onto the ground.
“One of the cows needs help. Ian has to come right away.” Cal grabbed Ian’s forearm. “Come on. You can finish picking apples later.”
Ian shot a look at Jessica, who nodded. “Go. I’ll ride home with Brock.”
He shuffled away, dragged by his brother. “Do you want to tag along?”
She glanced around at the fruit trees. “I think I’d like to pick some more, if that’s okay with you.”
Brock came up to stand behind her. “She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to bring her home in one piece.” He smiled at Jessica, the kind of smile that he used to charm people.
Ian wanted to punch that smile right off his brother’s face. Brock probably didn’t even notice what he was doing, but Ian had. And there was no way he wanted to leave Jessica here with Brock alone for any amount of time. He opened his mouth to protest, but Cal had moved behind him and was now pushing him forward.
“Hurry! We could lose both of the animals if you don’t help.”
Jessica gave him a small wave. Ian spun out of Cal’s grasp and jogged back to Jessica. He took her face in both his hands and crushed his mouth over hers. The desperation wasn’t normal. He could say that with clarity, and yet he couldn’t deny this sense of urgency he had. It was like some outside force was telling him he needed to be careful and hold onto what he had while he still could. The realization hit his stomach like a bag of rocks. Pressing his forehead against hers, he whispered, “I love you.” Then he turned his attention to Brock. “Don’t letanythinghappen to her.”
Brock rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing dangerous out here.”
“Ian! Now!” Cal yelled from a few yards away.
“I’ll see you in a few hours.” Jessica placed her hand against his cheek. “I’ll have a surprise for you.”
“Ian!” He dragged himself away from her, forcing himself not to look back. These worries weren’t healthy. Whatever he was experiencing had everything to do with his own insecurities, and he needed to figure out a way to nip them in the bud before they pushed Jessica away from him.
