Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21886 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
“Good,” I say with a relieved smile as I rest my cheek on his seat. “I’m so happy our journey is restarting.”
“Restarting stronger than ever,” he says as he puts his hand on mine.
And this time, I know we’ll make it to the end.
Epilogue
Molly
Two Years Later…
“Are you sure she’s ready?” I ask as I juggle the phone on my shoulder while trying to make Stacy a snack. The cereal goes all over the counter when I see my mischievous little one-year-old crawling into the living room. “Stacy! No honey, don’t.”
Mrs. Davidson is talking on the line as I rush over to grab her. Poor Charlie is trying to sleep in the ray of sun, but Stacy is crawling all over him and pulling his big floppy ears. That girl finds those ears irresistible.
“Her vulva is swollen just like you warned me about and she won’t stop hollering,” Mrs. Davidson says as I gently pry Charlie’s ear out of my little squirt’s hand. “I really think the calf is ready to come out today.”
“Okay,” I say as I put Stacy down in front of her pile of toys and then rush back to get her cereal. “I’ll be over as soon as I can. Until then, keep her comfortable and call me immediately if anything changes.”
“I will,” Mrs. Davidson says, sounding a little better now that she knows I’m on the way over. “Thanks, Molly.”
She inherited the ranch and is new to all of this, so she’s a little nervous. It’s the first time a cow has given birth since she took over from her deceased grandfather and she needs some guidance throughout the process.
“Stacy!” I screech when I see her on top of Charlie again. She’s got a fistful of his fur in one hand and is pulling his ear with the other. He’s such a good dog that he’s letting her do it without so much as a whimper. “Leave him alone, will you?”
She looks at me and her face lights up in a big smile.
I grab the half-full bowl of cereal and hurry over. “Here,” I say as I pick her up and put her in front of the coffee table with the cereal. “Eat this, Miss Troublemaker, and leave poor Charlie alone.”
She squeals out a laugh as she starts ramming Fruit Loops into her mouth by the handful.
“Thanks, Charlie,” I say as I bend down and kiss his forehead. Those big brown eyes look up at me like he’s saying you’re welcome. I love this dog.
Colin comes in from his morning run and scoops Stacy up in his arms with a playful roar. She squeals in delight as he flips her over and gives her a huge raspberry on her little tummy.
She’s still laughing like a happy little gremlin when he puts her down and comes over and kisses me on the cheek. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Hey, hon,” I say with my heart rate picking up. “Mrs. Davidson called.”
“Is the cow going into labor?”
I nod my head as I start to get nervous. It’s not only Mrs. Davidson’s first labor on the farm, but it’s my first calf delivery too. I learned how to do it in school, but there were five other students and a professor with me. I’ve never done it on my own.
Colin must see how nervous I am because he grabs the tops of my arms and stares into my eyes. Even with my nerves ransacking my insides, my breath still gets taken away by those intense dark brown eyes on me. After all these years, he still has such a strong effect on me. He still makes me all weak and shaky inside.
“You can do it, Molly,” he says in a firm voice that immediately gives me a boost of confidence. “You’re the best veterinarian I know.”
“I’m the only veterinarian you know.”
“Irrelevant. Even if I knew a thousand of them, you’d still be the best.”
I roll my eyes and he gives my arms a squeeze to get my attention back on him.
“You are the strongest, smartest, most capable woman I know. You can do anything, baby. You’re going to do great.”
I take a deep breath and nod. I can do this. If Colin thinks I can do this, then I can do this.
“Thank you,” I say as I lean forward and give him a soft peck on the lips. “Are you going to be okay with Stacy?”
“Of course.”
“She needs to nap at one or she’ll be unbelievably cranky tonight.”
I look at her over Colin’s big shoulder and shake my head when I see her feeding Charlie her cereal.
“Molly,” he says, grabbing my attention once more. “I got it. Go be the rockstar that you are.”
“Okay,” I say with a nod.
I gather my things, feeling like the luckiest woman in the world. Colin has been so supportive. He really is amazing.