Hopefully, Ellie thought, she was twenty years wiser.
As for her heart, well, she couldn’t vouch for that.
“Look!” Tyler exclaimed, moving to hunch beside the mare. “I can see the foal’s legs!”
Ellie leaned over Tyler to view the foal’s progress. She, too, saw the legs, which normally appeared first. But she immediately recognized the problem.
“It’s a breech birth,” she explained to Tyler as she bent in to take a closer look. “See, the hooves are pointed upward, toward the top of the mare. With a normal birth the hooves point down.”
Tyler frowned. “I’ve never seen a breech birth,” he admitted. “What does that mean? Should I run and fetch the vet now?” His voice was a mixture of alarm and concern.
Ellie was pleased that the young boy was suddenly so willing to do a task he had not been so eager to perform earlier, but she shook her head. “No need. Breech births don’t generally require a vet’s presence. Let’s just wait and see what happens.”
The boy nodded, his gaze full of compassion as he shifted slightly so he could run his hand down the mare’s withers. “Easy there, girl,” he murmured in the same rich tone his father used with horses.
Ellie smiled softly. Tyler was like his father in so many ways, not just physically. She wished, with a moment’s flash of melancholy, she could see Tyler grow up. But that was not meant to be, and there was no use brooding about it.
The unlikely pair, Ellie and Tyler, waited patiently while the horse strained to birth her foal. After several silent minutes, Ellie knelt down by the mare, on the opposite side of Tyler.
“I think she’s going to need a little help,” she said softly so as not to disturb Sophie.
“Yeah?” Tyler still sounded concerned for the animal, but there was now excitement in his voice, as well.
“Yes,” Ellie agreed, smiling at Tyler. “And I’m glad I have a strong young man like you here to help me. We need to put a little pressure on the foal’s legs.”
Tyler’s eyes were bright for a moment, and then he frowned. “How do you mean?”
Ellie threw him a towel, which he absently tossed across his shoulder.
“Use the towel to get a good grip on the foal’s legs,” she instructed him. “Then gently pull them upward, toward the mare’s back.”
Tyler didn’t speak as he followed Ellie’s instructions. Sweat broke out on his brow as he gritted his teeth and strained to dislodge the backward-facing foal.
“You’re doing a perfect job, son,” Ellie encouraged as the foal’s legs, still covered by a thick membrane, became more visible. “The hips are the hardest part of a breech birth. As you apply pressure, you’re helping Sophie get the foal in the right position to deliver as easily as possible.”
Tyler pinched his lips together in the shadow of a smile. “Yes, ma’am. I can feel the movement. I think she—”
The young man didn’t finish his sentence as the back half of the foal slid from his mother, followed quickly by the head. Tyler whooped in excitement. “Good going, Sophie.”
Ellie broke the sac around the foal’s head and then stood up and took a couple steps backward. “It’s time to let Sophie take over,” she told Tyler.
Tyler grinned, really grinned, this time. “I’ve seen this part before. Never get tired of it, though.” His voice was full of excitement and pride.
“Can you tell if it’s a boy or a girl?” Ellie asked, her own excitement and pride washing through her as she watched the gentle miracle of a mare tending her newborn foal.
Tyler, who had also risen to his feet, leaned over the foal, then took off his tan felt cowboy hat and clapped it against his thigh. “It’s a boy, ma’am. You have a fine colt here.”
“Thank God for a healthy birth,” Ellie whispered and then paused, considering her words carefully. “You know, I’m so glad you were here with me today. I couldn’t have made it without you, Tyler. Sophie and I appreciate what you did.”
Tyler’s face flushed with color, and he returned his hat to his head, low over his eyes, just as his father wore his hat most of the time.
“Yes, ma’am,” was all he said, but despite Tyler’s attempt to shade his features with his hat, Ellie saw a glimpse of his gleaming blue eyes, bright with pride and joy.
“Tyler James Redmond, just what do you think you’re doing out here?”
Buck’s voice obviously startled the boy, making Tyler jump from where he’d been crouching in the stable, staring down at something Buck couldn’t see from his vantage point.
“He was helping me,” came Ellie’s voice from behind Buck, making him jump. Just like a woman to sneak up on a man. Buck whirled around to face her, lifting one eyebrow as he stared down into her gorgeous face. Time had been good to Ellie. She looked just as stunning as she had when she was seventeen—even more beautiful, if that were possible.
“If you’d take a good look over the stable door, you’d see what,” she said, sounding annoyed. “Tyler and I have been busy.”
Ellie made it sound like she and his son were old friends, and Tyler was beaming back at Ellie as if the sun rose and set at her presence.
What had she done to his boy?
This was the same sulky teenager who refused to utter two sentences straight to his own father and never, ever smiled, at least that Buck could remember. Tyler’s constant scowl was a mirror of Buck’s own image, he knew.
But this was something different.
Way different.
Ellie opened the stall door and gestured for Buck to go inside ahead of her. Tyler’s smile changed to a scowl as Buck strode in, but Buck ignored it for the moment. Buck removed his hat and tucked it under his arm.
“So what’s the story?” he asked gruffly. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he saw the answer to his own question wriggling on the soft straw of the stall floor.
“Your son just delivered a foal,” Ellie said, sounding as proud as if she were speaking of her own child. “A breech birth. You should be proud of him, Buck.”
Buck was proud, but he’d never known how to express it, so he just shrugged.
Tyler stared at Buck for a long moment, his eyes narrowing with each second, until finally he muttered something under his breath and turned away.
“What did you say?” Buck demanded of his son.
“If you heard me, why do you have to ask?” Tyler replied sarcastically, then strode from the stall and out the stable door before Buck could say another word.
Buck looked at Ellie, who was staring at him as if he’d grown a third arm. “What did I say?” he queried defensively.
Ellie vehemently shook her head. “This was a special moment for Tyler, Buck,” she snapped, staring off the way Tyler had gone. “The least you could have done would have been to say something nice, something to let him know you are proud of your only son. Was that too much to ask?”
“Give me a break, Ellie. I was caught off guard. I couldn’t think of anything to tell the boy. You know I’m not good at saying things out loud.”
Ellie scoffed. “That I do remember.”
Buck had the distinct impression the subject had changed, though he’d always had difficulty following the train of a woman’s thoughts—especially Ellie McBride’s.
But he wasn’t that oblivious. She was obviously talking about him leaving town without a word