Chapter Six
He couldn’t sleep. Glancing at the clock again, Micah squinted, trying to read the time. He couldn’t decide whether or not to get up. It wasn’t as if he was sleeping anyway. He’d feigned sleep when Tucker climbed into bed earlier, but there was no way in hell Micah was catching any z’s with all the shit running through his head. He looked over at Tucker, sound asleep, and sighed. Micah’s mad had worn off and now he was just…dejected.
He snagged his glasses off the nightstand and put them on. Easing out of bed, he tried not to disturb Tucker. Even if Tucker didn’t want Micah, for whatever reason Tucker had decided he was once again Micah’s keeper. And Micah really didn’t want to argue right now. He checked the clock again.
Three twelve a.m.
Oh yeah, Tucker would definitely tell Micah to get back in bed and then the fight would be on. The really warped part of Micah’s brain told him to make noise and
accidentally
wake Tucker. The kiss earlier and Tucker’s abject horror in having initiated it stung. A good fight would do nothing, nothing constructive anyway. Micah hunched his shoulders a bit. Geez, what was wrong with him? They never used to disagree. He wished they could go back there, back before
that night
.
After quietly gathering his clothes, he went into the bathroom. He’d told AJ to come get him at three for his watch. Maybe Miss Kitty had gone into labor. Micah and AJ always took turns when a horse was about to foal. It just made no sense for both of them to stay up and wait, especially now that they’d let go of all their ranch hands. It would also keep Micah’s mind off Tucker’s rejection.
Micah took off his sleep pants and pulled on a pair of jeans. He threw on a T-shirt and stuffed his socked feet into his boots. The excitement was already beginning to build. There was nothing quite like a new foal, or a calf for that matter, but they didn’t have many foals around The Bar D. They only bred horses for their use. It brought to mind the first foal he’d helped deliver. He’d assisted Tucker. It was the summer he’d turned thirteen. He’d come home from school and found Tucker in the barn by himself. Tucker had immediately put him to work. There hadn’t been much to do other than watch. It had been exciting, not just watching the new colt be born, but spending time alone with Tucker.
Mierda
, there he went, thinking about Tucker again. The man was a plague.
Turning out the light, Micah crept from the bathroom and through his room. It was strange sharing his room with someone. Being quiet wasn’t easy to do on the creaky old wood floor, but Micah managed it out of habit. He knew which boards creaked the loudest because he’d snuck out plenty when he was a kid. After a stop in the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee—thank you, AJ, for keeping a pot on—he headed into the cool Texas night.
He loved this time of night. It was so peaceful. The sound of the crickets was like music to his ears. Micah took a deep breath and inhaled the country air. The coffee cup kept his hands warm, but the rest of him…brrr. The air was a little chilly. Making his way to the barn, Micah alternated rubbing his arm with one hand and holding his coffee with the other. Thank goodness the barn would be warmer.
Just as he reached the barn, the back screen door slammed shut. He turned to find Tucker jogging toward him.
Tucker’s hair was mussed, making him look more like he belonged on a ranch rather than in a boardroom. He wore jeans, a T-shirt and boots, like Micah. He had to have thrown them on in a hurry. Hugging himself, Tucker rubbed his arms. “What are you doing?”
Micah took a sip from his cup. It looked like they were going to ignore what happened earlier in the evening. Hell, it was probably for the best. What was there to say anyway? “I’m going to relieve AJ. What’re you doing?”
Tucker stepped up to him, grabbed his cup and poured it out.
“Hey!”
“The doctor said no coffee. Damn, it’s fucking cold out here,” Tucker mumbled. “I came out here to find you.”
Glaring at Tucker, Micah wrapped his arms across his chest to keep warm. “Well you found me. Now what?” Irritation prickled his temper over Tucker’s actions, but Micah dashed it away. Tucker had always been bossy. Micah had taken it in stride when they were younger and he was going to try to do so again…within reason. He had work to do and he wasn’t letting Tucker get in the way of it. Micah walked farther into the barn, confused as hell. He wanted to be mad—it would keep him from getting too attached to Tucker again. Yet at the same time Micah longed for that closeness.
“I don’t know. Don’t guess you’ll come back to bed, will you?”
“Nope.” But Micah sure as hell wished Tucker would go back to bed. It would be best if they stayed away from one another.
When Micah got to the birthing stall, he groaned. AJ was slumped against the wall, sound asleep, and Miss Kitty was lying on her side breathing heavily. “
Dios mio
. AJ, wake up.”
AJ jerked awake. Yawning, he located Micah and glanced over at Miss Kitty. AJ jumped to his feet so quickly he had to grab the side of the stall. “Fuck. How long has she been like this?”
Micah caught AJ’s shoulder to steady him. “No clue. I just got here.” The mare’s eyes were a little wild and that more than anything concerned Micah. He moved farther into the roomy stall and walked toward her rear end. Squatting, he dragged his hand across her side and tried to soothe her. “Hello, beautiful.”
She huffed a piece of long black mane off her forehead and raised her head. Her eyes were wider than normal as she watched him. He glanced up at Tucker, then to AJ.
“AJ, go to bed. We’ll watch her.” Tucker slapped AJ on the back and handed him Micah’s empty mug. “Put this in the sink when you go in.”
As AJ left, Micah continued to pet the mare. A contraction made her groan. His instincts screamed that there was something wrong.
“What is it?”
Micah noticed Tucker staring at him. “Go get me some gloves out of the cabinet in the tack room.”
Tucker nodded, already turning away. “If I remember correctly it shouldn’t take too long at this point. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing, but…” Micah shrugged.
“You obviously think something is. It’s written all over your face. Should we call the vet?” Tucker yelled from the tack room.
Micah shook his head, then realized Tucker couldn’t see him. “No. Just hold on and let’s see what we’re dealing with. Even if there’s something wrong, he’ll never make it here in time.”
Coming back, Tucker held one shoulder-length glove open for Micah.
Micah stood and let Tucker help him put the glove on. “Thank you. Just hang on to the other until I take a look at her.” Scooting to the side, he slipped his fingers over her rump toward her genitals. When she laid her head back down, he lifted her tail out of the way and pressed into her body with his gloved hand. “It’s okay, Mama. You’re doing fine.”
She made a distressed sound.
“I know, beautiful. I’m getting a little too familiar here, aren’t I? I promise I’ll get you something nice later, a little gift, huh?”
Tucker chuckled. “No wonder your love life is nonexistent.”
“Smartass. And who says my love life is nonexistent?” Damn, the baby wasn’t in the vaginal canal. Micah felt further, finding the cervix. There was a bump. What was it?
A tail.
Damn it!
“The baby’s breech.”
“Shit.” Tucker sobered. “That’s not good.”
“The foal’s legs are back.”
“Can you move them?”
Micah kept his face blank, trying not to show his concern. “I’m gonna try. You think you can help me out?”
Tucker nodded. “It’s the only way I’m going to get you back in bed.” His grin was a little wicked and a little worried. Was he flirting? Micah had seen it before, just not usually turned on him.
“What’re you gonna do with me once you get me there? From what I saw, you’re the one with a rocky love life.”
Oh shit.
If Micah hadn’t had his hand up a horse, he’d have slapped it over his mouth. Why had he said that? Tucker was only trying to lighten the mood. He hadn’t been serious.
“My love life is not rocky. I don’t have a love life, I have a sex life. And I promise you, I can think of a few things to do to you once I get you back in bed.” Tucker squatted next to him, so close Micah could feel his heat. “We can go back and you can pretend to be my blushing, shy, virgin bride.”
A shiver went down Micah’s spine at Tucker’s words. Or maybe it was his nearness. It made concentrating on Micah’s task more difficult. “Can that bride shit.” His mind reeled with the fact that Tucker hadn’t been serious about anyone. That shouldn’t make Micah happy, but it did.
“You’re right, you weren’t shy and blushing even when you were a virgin. Guess I’ll have to find another fantasy.”
Yeah, and Tucker should know. Micah snorted as he traced the foal’s hip and found the right hind leg. “Suffocating me with a pillow?” Cupping the foot and fetlock in his hand, he began to maneuver it.
“I assure you I don’t plan on—”
The foal jerked its foot, startling Micah and almost dislodging his hold.
He must have gasped because Tucker asked, “What?”
Grinning so big his cheeks hurt, Micah held tight. It was hard not to whoop and holler like an idiot. “We have a live baby.”
“Yes.” Tucker bobbed his head, dislodging a piece of blond hair into his eyes. He batted at the hair. “Remember the last time we did this together? When Dotty had Waldo?”
“It was a lot more simple.” Sweat beaded on Micah’s forehead, dripping into his eye. He blinked and bent his head toward the sleeve on his free arm to wipe it off.
“It was.” Tucker beat him to it, using his hand to mop away the sweat then clean it on his jeans.
Micah froze at the intimate action, staring at Tucker. This was how they used to get along, working together without words. In the past, they’d instinctively known what the other needed. A jittery feeling came over Micah that had nothing to do with his nervousness over delivering the foal.
“Do you still ride Waldo?”
Nodding, Micah smiled. Tucker had always been good about making Micah feel more comfortable. He was the first one of the Delanys to really make Micah feel like family all those years ago. Micah had been so awkward and shy and Tucker had constantly soothed him and helped him put his best foot forward. “Yeah. Waldo is out in the paddock.”
The horse raised her head again. Her eyes were wide.
Without being told, Tucker started crooning to the pregnant horse. His voice dropped to a slow, sexy drawl, but his eyes stayed focused on Micah.
Miss Kitty snorted a little, but she lowered her head and listened to Tucker.
Micah could listen to that voice forever. If only—
Yes!
The leg slid out of the uterus. “Tucker, in the tack room cabinet there’s some brand-new nylon cording. Bring it to me and tie a noose at the end of it.”
Tucker scrambled up and headed to the tack room again. He called over his shoulder, “What about infection? Do we have anything to sterilize it in?”
“No time. We’ll give her an antibiotic shot and call the vet out tomorrow.”
By the time Tucker came back, he was already tying a noose. After he finished the knot, he replaced the glove on his shoulder with the rope. He helped Micah into the glove before handing Micah the noose. “Here, let me know when to pull.” He sounded so sure, like he knew what he was doing, and it bolstered Micah’s courage. In some form or other, it seemed Tucker had always given him strength.
“’Kay.” Micah pulled his arm out of Miss Kitty, grabbed the cord and went right back in after that foot. Luckily, it was still there. He wasn’t betting it would stay there until he got the other one though, so he looped the cord around the foal’s fetlock joint. “Okay.”
The rope tautened and Tucker’s heat pressed against Micah’s back. His hand landed on Micah’s shoulder and squeezed. The little touch went straight to Micah’s heart.
Micah went back in for the other leg. This time he tore the amniotic sac. Not much fluid leaked out because the foal’s butt was blocking it. He located the other foot, and a contraction clamped around his arm, making him wince.
Shit.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. We’re almost there. Just a few more minutes, okay?” He moved the other leg out of the uterus.
Now for the tricky part.
He had to get this foal out quick.
After getting his hand around both the foal’s back feet, Micah waited. “Okay, you can let go.” On the next contraction, Micah pulled. In a huge gush of fluid, the foal came out.
A sigh of relief sounded behind Micah.
“Yes! We did it.” Tucker chuckled.
Micah removed the rope from the foal, and Miss Kitty raised her head, looking at her baby.
Tucker kissed Micah’s cheek and stood. He hauled Micah up with him and wrapped an arm around Micah’s waist. Tucker pressed his face next to Micah’s. “Damn, I’ve missed this.”
Micah fought back cathartic tears and nodded. He was excited and relieved. His pulse should be slowing, not racing, but Tucker’s nearness was going right to Micah’s head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but he was way too aware of Tucker’s body touching his. Micah needed to extract himself from Tucker’s embrace before he did something stupid.