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Back in military school, one of the boys invited him to stay at his family’s ranch during holidays. The Texas spread wasn’t as impressive as this, though he’d learned fast to keep from looking inept.
As he galloped, he drank in deep pulls of fresh mountain air. The tang of pines and the loam of the earth flooded his senses.
Too bad none of it was as strong in his head as Meadow’s perfume. Or the luscious scent of her arousal.
In the cramped truck, he’d damn near drowned in that scent. It made his mouth water and his dick pulse with lust.
Riding grew difficult as his cock swelled again. He had to cut that woman from his mind—she wasn’t for him.
He navigated the fence line, inspecting the herd to make sure they were all healthy and happy as he was taught by Marks. The guys told him to keep an eye out for late calves. As he slowed the horse, he picked out one pregnant heifer from the rest of the herd.
According to Forest, the horses were the main income source of the ranch, but Angus beef was nothing to scoff at. From what Forest said, he thought his father was missing out by not concentrating more on this side of the business. Horses required training, boarding and money dumped into them before they turned a profit.
Cows were different.
Riding the fence to the very end of the line, he inspected every head of cattle there. His friend had talked about this part of the ranch often, especially how the pasture led down to a beautiful pond fed by a mountain spring.
The nostalgia of the talks he shared with the friend he missed so much pushed Colton to keep riding.
Where the fence ends, look down over the hill. The land curves to the left. The pond is there.
Inflating his lungs, he pushed on. As soon as he spotted the small pool shimmering silvery-blue, he paused at the top of the ridge to gaze out over the landscape. Imagining Forest here was easy.
It also caused a lot of pain.
He couldn’t even imagine what Meadow and her father must feel like, living and working where Forest had once thrived, laughed and enjoyed life.
His friend had embraced anything that brought him joy. He always had a smile on his face and often commented that Colton rarely smiled.
The excuse that he had less to smile about didn’t fly. Forest had lost a parent during his formative years. Colton’s parents were alive and well—he just didn’t want to associate with them any more than they tried to understand him.
A low moaning noise of an animal in pain sounded from somewhere behind him. He automatically turned the horse away from the view to go inspect the noise.
As he peered at the cattle grouped together, foraging in the tall grass, he spotted a black hump on the ground.
“Damn!” It might be nothing. Or it might be one of the brooding heifers.
He brought the horse to a halt and slid from the saddle. He knew the gelding he rode wouldn’t go far and a mere whistle would bring him back, so he didn’t bother to tie it.
The fence wasn’t electrified in this part of the ranch, so he was able to scale it and drop into the pasture. Luckily, the cows were desensitized to the humans who fed them, and they didn’t pay him any mind.
Swiftly, he hurried to the downed cow. It wasn’t unusual for one to lie down and sleep, but he could tell by the awkward way it listed to the side that nothing about this was natural.
He moved up to its side and leaned over it. The cow strained its neck forward, tongue out, and issued another of those long moaning sounds.
She must be hurt.
Or calving.
The huge bulge of her abdomen seemed to ripple. Placing a hand on her sun-warmed hide, Colton felt the contraction roll through her.
Crouching in front of the huge beast, he contemplated his options. Ride for help. A second opinion would be welcome in this situation that he knew little about. But asking the other hands for advice rankled.
He was a goddamn SEAL. He delivered enemies to the gates of hell. Watching nature take its course when it came to a cow should be nothing.
Only Forest talked about how calving wasn’t always foolproof. Often he and his father spent long, sleepless nights in the field assisting a birth so they didn’t lose the calf, mother or both.
Life meant a different thing out here. On those ops he and Forest fought in, they protected life in a much different way.
