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“Got a problem with it?”
“No. Moving one’s upper and lower body in tandem is an overrated skill.”
“That was just for fun,” Drew said with an arched brow. “When it comes to the dance floor, I’ve got skills you could only imagine.”
It was at precisely this moment Maisie had a vivid recollection of how well both their bodies had moved in sync in the past—not so much dancing, exactly, unless you counted doing the horizontal tango. Maisie’s body spontaneously erupted in flames, and she cursed the good weather. This would’ve been a great time for an icy blast of arctic air.
Drew yawned, either for real or because she was taking a similar stroll down memory lane and needed to get inside to splash some cold water on her face. “Better hit the hay. There’s one cow I’m going to need to check on first thing when the sun comes up, if not before.”
“Is something wrong with her?” Concern furrowed Maisie’s brow.
“Not liking the way she was looking tonight. There was only a hint of the calf’s hoof showing, so I can’t be sure, but I fear it’s breech.” This time, Drew’s yawn was definitely legit. Maisie had to admire how hard the woman worked, never seeming to begrudge the exhaustion when it came to giving her animals the care they needed.
“Sleep well.” Maisie let Drew get all the way to the front door before she made a move toward the house herself. It was safer that way, less chance of launching herself at Drew’s body, which even exhausted and covered in who knew what from a day of helping cows give birth, was still enticing enough that Maisie found herself wishing she wasn’t headed to her bedroom alone.
* * *
Movement outside Maisie’sbedroom door woke her, and while it seemed like only five minutes had passed since she’d turned out the lights, the clock told her it was after midnight.
In the hallway, Maisie saw Drew tugging on a black hoodie, followed by the dark coat that hinted at a change in the weather. “What’s wrong?”
“What isn’t?” Drew grumbled. She was bleary-eyed, but Maisie got the impression she’d been out of bed for a while already, if she’d ever managed to get any sleep at all. “The cow I was worried about before is definitely breech. A snowstorm rolled in overnight. We’ve already had four inches, and the newborn calves are at risk of getting froze down.”
“The calves are going to freeze?” Maisie asked in horror.
“No, froze down,” Hannah repeated as she came up behind Drew in the hallway. Like her sister, she was dressed and ready to brave the elements. “It means when a newborn calf doesn’t get up quick enough to start sucking colostrum. That’s what comes in before the milk, and without it, they start to get weak, which makes it even harder for them to stand on their own.”
“What can you do?” Maisie asked.
“Get ’em up,” Drew responded, making her way to the front door as Hannah and Maisie followed. “Get ’em warm. Cord’s out there now in the Gator, bringing one in. Hannah, can you get the calf warmer turned on? I need to find the breech and bring her into the chute.”
With this, Drew was out the door, a swirl of white engulfing her. As Hannah put on her coat, Maisie felt useless in pajamas and bare feet.
“Can I help?” Maisie asked.
“The more hands the better,” Hannah said. “I’ll wait for you so you don’t get lost between here and the barn, but be quick.”
Maisie rushed back to her room and pulled on the first warm clothes she found, all the while wondering how bad the snow must’ve gotten if she could get lost in it between the house and the barn. Surely Hannah had been exaggerating. But when they stepped out into it, Maisie had to admit it might’ve been an understatement. As they stumbled forward into the wind, Hannah grabbed Maisie’s forearm. The bite of the sideways blowing snow against Maisie’s exposed cheeks felt like sandpaper, and it was only a few steps before her toes were so numb they felt like rocks inside her boots.
Maisie and Hannah had just reached the barn when Cord arrived. A bedraggled calf sat on the passenger side floor, barely moving. Instantly, Hannah scooped it out of the vehicle and started across the barn with strides every bit as long as her big sister tended to take. Maisie went after her at a gallop. Cord was already on his way back out to the pasture.
“Open the lid.” Hannah nodded toward a big blue plastic contraption that reminded Maisie of a super-sized version of those silver food holders they used in buffets to hold scrambled eggs. “Flip that switch right there.”
Maisie did as she was told. Rolling back the lid, she saw a sturdy plastic grate inside the warming device. As soon as the switch was turned on, warm air began to rise through the grate. Hannah placed the calf on the grate and closed the lid to keep it inside.
“There we go, baby boy,” Hannah cooed. “You’ll get toasty warm now.”
Maisie was astounded. “You mean to tell me between the door and here, you checked its gender?”
“Of course.”
“What do we do now?” Maisie yawned. It was quiet for the moment, but she had a feeling the answer would not bego back to bed.
“Cord may come back with another calf, or else my sister will be here any minute with the cow.” Hannah shrugged, though clearly not from boredom. Her eyes shone with excitement, like she’d been waiting for this moment for weeks. “Right now, we wait.”
They didn’t have to wait long. The sound of horse’s hooves rang out, muffled somewhat by the snow. The shape of a cow appeared in the shadows, followed by a horse and rider. Maisie recognized Drew from her posture, straight and proud in the saddle even in the middle of an emergency. Or, maybe, because of it.
“Hannah!” Drew hollered. “Come get Stormy and take him back to his stall while I get this cow into the chute. We’re going to have to pull the calf.”
