Page 106 of Brands

Blue’s lopsided smile shows off his dimple. “More like a million chances,” he snorts as he gets off the call. “Vet’ll be here in about an hour. What can we do in the meantime?”

“I’m gonna jump on the tractor and bring in some more sawdust. If they’re calving, they’ll need to be comfortable. Can you pull those loose panels against the wall and partition them off?” I point to the extra fencing we keep stacked on the side.

“Yes, ma’am.” He doesn’t hesitate, but after about four long strides he stops.

“Lib?” He turns.

“Yea, babe?” I’m already halfway down the corridor.

“Do you think you are?” His voice carries a hopeful lilt.

“Why…are you thirsty?” I cup my breasts through my shirt before stepping out into the early morning sun.

“Always, rebel.” He grabs the first panel, the rest of his words lost as I fire up the old diesel John Deere.

My heart races, pounding in my ears.

Both at the thought of what could be, and with worry about my herd.

I remember that someone did this to Mason’s cows. He said he ended up losing a few just from the hemorrhaging.

And they never found out who did it.

The assumption was that those two guys who hurt April did it.

But there isn’t any proof.

It makes my stomach roll thinking that there’s someone else out there actively poisoning animals.

Fuck. We’ll need to batch test the milk too.

After I dump the first load, I text Devon to let him know he’s going to need to hold the milk, just in case there’s some kind of contaminant and we’ll have to purge it.

Damn it. Only Dr. Ray will be able to clear it.

I’m just finishing the last round when I see her walk in. Her dark hair is up in a bun, two big bags in her hands.

“Hey, doc. Thanks for coming so quickly.” I lean against the newly assembled gate.

She tugs on a pair of gloves, then pushes her glasses up with the back of her wrist. “No problem. Is it just these girls?”

Blue nods. “I went through the others as Devon was prepping them. These are the only ones acting off.” Hislips purse. “We’re worried it was like what happened to Mason’s last year.”

Her dark eyes shift to me. “If that’s the case, if you’re pregnant, or planning to be any time soon, you shouldn’t touch them.”

Blue’s arm moves around my hips and he leans close enough his mouth brushes my ear. “Better safe than sorry, baby.”

“It’s hard seeing this.” I take a deep breath and lean into his embrace.

She does a fast assessment, then stands. “I’ll need to test their water. Did they get into any pine needles? That can cause this too.”

“We keep the pastures clear, but I’ll check.” It won’t take super long on the tractor to see if a tree fell across the fence line somewhere.

I jump back into the seat. “I’ll be right back.”

Cruising down the north line, I veer around the wet area from the creek overflow. Late spring always makes a standing pond there until usually close to July.

But what the hell is that?

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