Always Remember by Sheila Seabrook Read Free Book Online

Definitely a breech birth.”
    Hale muttered a single expletive, drawing Nate’s attention. Laying his hand on the boy’s shoulder, he squeezed gently. “Don’t worry, son, I’ve done this before. Everything will be okay.”
    Jessie felt her breath snag in her throat as the two men looked at each other — one so young and unsure, the other older, confident of his abilities. They might have been father and son — could have been father and son. Did Hale realize how lucky he was to have been sent to Nate?
    Her throat clogged with emotion and she made a silent promise. If the foal lived, she’d somehow find the courage to tell Nate about the baby she’d given away.
    Hands on hips, Nate inhaled deeply. “You two ready? I’m not going to think less of either of you if you choose to leave.”
    Hale looked a little green and Jessie didn’t doubt that she did, too. But she’d done this before, sat at her father’s side while he delivered a stubborn foal into the world.
    She took a deep steadying breath and shook her head. “I couldn’t walk away now, even if I wanted to. How about you, Hale?”
    “No, ma’am.” His voice cracked and he had to clear his throat. “No, sir. I may end up face first on the floor, but I ain’t leavin’.”
    His attempt at humor brought a crooked smile to Nate’s mouth. He turned to Jessie, the grin spreading to his eyes. “Are you sure, ma’am?”
    “If necessary, I’ll supply the stretcher for your assistant, sir.”
    His smile changed, softened by humor, and she realized how much she wanted to touch him. Just to feel the solid comfort of his presence. Just to ensure herself he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.
    She was caught by Nate’s gaze, by the memories they shared, by the awareness passing between them. He wasn’t immune to her, after all. But what difference did that make? She couldn’t go back, couldn’t undo the past.
    “Hale, hand me a couple of those clean towels. Jess, keep her calm for me, okay, sweetheart?”
    She nodded once, her heart caught unawares by the endearment, but he’d already shifted his attention to the mare. Covering his hand with the towel, he reached inside the horse and searched for the hind legs of the foal. Latching onto them, he braced the soles of his boots against the cement and tugged. The mare bucked.
    Softly humming a lullaby, Jessie stroked the mare’s head and divided her attention between keeping the mare calm and the miracle about to occur.
    With his strong hands and firm but gentle motions, Nate set about bringing a new life into the world. He pulled the foal’s hind legs downward toward the mare’s feet. First the hooves appeared, then the hind legs. Inch by inch, the baby ventured forth from the safety of its mother’s womb into the chill air. Coated with protective fluid, it lay in Nate’s arms, still and lifeless.
    Jessie felt her heart stop, then resume pounding with an intensity that roared in her ears. Beside Nate, Hale sat motionless. A different kind of fear enveloped Jessie as Nate cleared the foal’s mouth. He grabbed a straw from the floor and tickled its nose. The foal sneezed and started breathing.
    So did Jessie.
    Tears gathered in her eyes and she glanced at the exhausted mare lying on the floor. “Look, Mama, here’s your baby.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

    Nate shifted the squirming foal in his arms and peered down at the genitals. “It’s a filly.”
    “Oh, Nate, she’s beautiful.”
    He raised his head and saw the wonder on Jessie’s face — tears of joy glistening in her eyes, a silly, wobbly, precious grin that threatened to slip away — and his heart seemed to roll over in his chest. “Prettier than the sunrise, sweetheart.”
    Damn slip of the tongue. Old habits died hard.
    She stilled, her attention shifting from the foal to his face. A self-conscious laugh that sounded awfully close to a sob escaped her.
    Well, he guessed she was entitled to some emotion. After all, she’d stuck right with