Jade kept talking to Polly.
“Get behind me, Bud, and help.”
The foreman wasn’t as big as Sloan, but he wrapped his muscular arms around Sloan’s middle, dug his boots into the floor and together they pulled. Their work began to pay off when the hooves appeared. “Come on, Polly, help us here,” Sloan groaned. There was another contraction and more of the legs showed, then a muzzle.
“Well, looky here,” Bud said.
“Come on, sweetheart.” Jade got into the act. “Let’s show ‘em what you can do.”
With another hard tug from Sloan, the foal was out. He released the legs and let both mama and baby rest. “It’s a filly.”
A cheer went up in the gallery as some of the ranch hands began to gather around. “Great job, boss.”
“Great job, Polly,” Jade added as she continued to stroke the exhausted animal.
Sloan’s gaze caught hers. “I guess this wasn’t in your job description, huh?”
She smiled. “I guess not, but I’d call it an added bonus. I’ve seen my share of babies being born, but nothing like this. Thank you.”
He seemed surprised by her words. “You’re welcome.”
Jade climbed to her feet and brushed off her slacks, not caring she’d probably ruined her best pair.
Sloan was washing off when he handed Jade a towel. “You want to do the honors?” He nodded to the filly.
They turned toward the foal as she was starting to stand. Jade began to wipe the animal down. Then Sloan pulled her back as the mare decided to stand up.
“Be careful,” he warned. “Polly is gentle but she’s also a new mama.” They moved toward the other side of the pen, and finished the job on the foal, then nudged her toward her mother’s tit to feed.
“Good job, Miss Jade,” Bud said, coming up to her. “I think Polly liked having another female around.”
“Thank you,” she acknowledged to the older man who looked as if he’d spent years in the sun.
“Hey, what about me?” Sloan said. “I had something to do with the birthing.”
“And you had my help, kid. Remember I had all the muscle behind you.” He smiled brightly, showing off the lines around his eyes.
“And I was holding on to a slippery foal.”
Jade could easily see the closeness of the two men. It was obvious how much they cared about each other. She hadn’t experienced many friendships outside her mother, and Jim Hamilton had been gone from her life shortly after Jade’s arrival.
Renee had health issues by the time Jade reached high school. She hadn’t had the time for friends with her mother’s advancing MS.
Even when Jade began her career, she’d still spent more time with her mother than friends, except Carrie Bradley. Even Carrie had caused some jealousy with her mother.
She suddenly heard her name. “What?”
Sloan was watching her. “I said, you came through. Thank you.” He glanced over her messy attire. “If Marta can’t work her miracle, then I owe you a blouse and pants.”
“It’s okay.”
“It would be wise to wear jeans during your time here,” he told her.
“Why, will there be more deliveries?”
Sloan didn’t want to like this woman. As far as he was concerned, she was an intruder. “Maybe if you’re good at your job you’ll be able to get my mother back on a horse.”
Horseback riding! “I didn’t know that was in my job description, either.”
Sloan frowned. “You don’t ride?”
She straightened. “Maybe once or twice as a kid. I was raised in the city.”
“You were raised in Texas.”
Bud chimed in. “A few lessons and I bet you’ll be a natural.”
“I don’t have time for lessons. My time here is to be spent with Mrs. Merrick.”
The foreman pushed his hat back off his forehead, showing off his salt and pepper hair. “I’d say once you get to know Miss Louisa you’ll realize how hard she is to keep up with. She was a very active woman. Her stroke slowed her down some, but with your help, we’re hopin’ she’ll be back to normal real soon.”
“I’ll be working on that. I’ll know more after I talk with her doctor.” Jade tried not to think about how her deception could affect Louisa. She wanted to blame everything on Clay Merrick, but she knew that she could have gone to Washington to talk to the man, but she’d chickened out.
Instead when she found this job and put in an application, she’d been totally surprised Louisa called her back. After a short talk, she asked her to come to the ranch for an interview.
“My mother’s a very determined woman,” Sloan said. “But she’s not ready to be cut loose on her own yet. So you can’t let her ride roughshod over you, either.”
“I’m not a pushover, Mr. Merrick. I know how to handle my patients.”
“Mr. Merrick,” Bud repeated and began to laugh. “There hasn’t been anyone here called Mr. Merrick since Sam, your grandfather.” Bud pushed Sloan’s hat playfully. “It’s just Senator and Sloan.”
Sloan shook his head. “We’re pretty informal around here.”
“So it’s first names and wear jeans,” Jade said.
“And boots,” Bud added. “You don’t want to walk around a barn and horses without boots on.”
This time she laughed, no matter how much she didn’t want to.
“We’ve lived here twenty-six years last May,” Louisa said as they sat at the supper table that evening. The meal was in the garden room off the kitchen, another space with lots of windows. A large glass-top table and comfortable chairs was the central feature. Clay pots were filled with live plants that lined the open windows, inviting in the pleasant fall weather.
“Back then, Samuel and Alice Merrick were still alive and this was the area’s largest cattle ranch. And this house resembled a mausoleum. It was very formal and cold.” Louisa smiled at her son. “Then Clay brought us here to live.”
Jade forced a smile, not wanting to think about her father adopting another man’s child, when he’d abandoned his own daughter. But had he even known about Kathryn’s pregnancy?
She shook away any negative thoughts. She was here now, in this house, and so close to finding out who she was. And she had no idea what would happen next.
Her first day had been an interesting one. Once Louisa had woken from her nap, they’d gone into the exercise room that had every piece of equipment imaginable. Jade had to work hard to get Louisa focused on the routine she was supposed to do daily. The woman was in very good shape for her age of fifty-eight, even after a stroke, but exercise would help tremendously for her recovery.
And it helped Jade’s conscience that Louisa wouldn’t be helpless when she left. She did not doubt that when her true identity was discovered, she wouldn’t be welcomed any longer.
She closed her eyes. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It was Clay Merrick who should have answered the door—and been the one to interview her. She’d had a plan to confront him. To question him about her mother and why he left. Now, she wasn’t sure what to do next.
Louisa