As mentioned yesterday, here is the first scene for Milk Money from my author galley. Enjoy!
Milk Money – A Barbour Heartsong Presents Title!
ISBN: 978-1-60260-255-7
Coming January 2009!<\/p>\n
Chapter One (the first scene)<\/p>\n
Dumbfounded, the accountant gazed at a cow giving birth. He dropped his briefcase when he saw the feet of the baby sticking out of the mother\u2019s canal. A rope was looped around the legs of the young animal, and a brown-skinned woman pulled so hard that the muscles in her slender arms flexed. Her eyes squeezed shut while she grunted, reminding him of the noises people made when they bench-pressed weights.
She opened her eyes. <\/p>\n
\u201cCasey, hold on,\u201d she cooed. When he watched the birth, his sour stomach worsened, and the bagel and cream cheese he\u2019d managed to eat for breakfast felt like a dead weight in his belly. Her tears mingled with the sweat rolling down her face. She continued to pull and glanced in his direction. \u201cOh, thank God you came. Come and help me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A plethora of unfamiliar scents tingled his nose. He swallowed, losing his voice. What was he supposed to do? She continued to look at him, pulling on the rope periodically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already left a message on your answering service that it was coming out backward.\u201d Pushing the door open, he entered the room adjoining the barn, still hoping he wouldn\u2019t throw up. She nodded toward the rope, still tugging. \u201cWith both of us pulling, maybe we\u2019ll be able to get the calf out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d He swallowed his nausea and pulled, mimicking the way he used to grunt when bench-pressing heavy weights. He followed her example, keeping tension on the rope and pulling each time the cow had a contraction. She grunted also, and their noises continued until the calf exited the birth canal minutes later. She dropped the rope, and he rushed behind her to look at the young animal. He touched the newborn,
awed by the birth. She glanced at him as she cleaned gunk off the calf \u2019s nose and mouth.<\/p>\n
Her sigh filled the space when she noticed the animal was breathing. \u201cAren\u2019t you going to examine the cow and calf?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before he could respond, a young man holding a large black plastic tote entered the pen. \u201cThis the Cooper farm?\u201d<\/p>\n
Confusion marred her face when she glanced at Frank. Then she focused on the new arrival. The newcomer rushed to the baby cow and began examining it. \u201cI\u2019m Dr. Lindsey\u2019s son. I\u2019m taking over my daddy\u2019s practice this week since he\u2019s on vacation. He told you that, didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded, still looking confused. \u201cI left a message on your answering service earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vet grunted. \u201cI was down the street at the horse farm helping out with another birth, so I couldn\u2019t leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre the cow and calf okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey both look fine.\u201d He stopped his examination and looked at them. \u201cI\u2019m glad you had somebody helping you. You might not have gotten him out in time if you\u2019d been pulling him on your own.\u201d He pulled a tool out of his bag. \u201cYou have antibiotic on hand for the calf, right? If not, I\u2019ve got some.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attractive woman nodded, her dark hair clinging to her sweaty neck as she promised the vet she would give the new calf the medicine. Frank watched, mesmerized by the whole process. A short time later, the newborn nursed from the mother. \u201cThank you, doctor,\u201d said the woman, patting the man on the shoulder.<\/p>\n
The doctor shook his head, placing his tools back into his bag. \u201cDon\u2019t thank me. You two got him out in time.\u201d He told Emily he would send her the bill, and then he left the farm.<\/p>\n
Emily glanced at Frank, as if taking in his khaki slacks and oxford shirt. Noticing his bloody hands, she beckoned him over to a room containing a sink and a large steel tank. After ripping off the long plastic gloves covering her hands and forearms
and dropping them into the trash can, she turned the water on, pumped out several squirts of soap, and washed. \u201cI thought you were the vet,\u201d she said, continuing to scrub her hands and forearms. \u201cI\u2019ve never met Dr. Lindsey\u2019s son, so that\u2019s why I
assumed you were him.\u201d After rinsing, she pulled paper towels from a dispenser and gestured for Frank to use the sink.<\/p>\n
Frank shrugged and walked to the sink, placing his hands under the running water. \u201cSorry. I helped you out, but I didn\u2019t have any idea if I was doing it right. It\u2019s probably good I showed up when I did. It looked like you\u2019d been trying to help
that cow for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head. \u201cCows are tough. They can be in labor for hours before giving birth. When you came, I\u2019d just started pulling the calf out with the rope.\u201d She continued to stare, frowning. \u201cWell, if you\u2019re not Dr. Lindsey\u2019s son, then who are
you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He offered his recently washed hand, glad the nauseous feeling had evaporated from his stomach. \u201cI\u2019m Franklin Reese, Certified Public Accountant.\u201d<\/p>\n