Rough Ride CV4 by Carol Lynne Read Free Book Online

really relish the thought of sitting in mud and cow shit anyway. Nodding, he leaned forward in the seat, trying to see the heifer in distress. “Where abouts do you think she is?” he asked Richard.
    “Should be up ahead another hundred yards or so,” Richard answered.
    As they slowed to a crawl, Ezra pulled his leather gloves out of his pockets and put them on.
    Richard spotted the heifer first and pulled up beside it. Wyn could see she was definitely in a lot of pain. He turned to Ezra as the big man started to get out. “Do you suppose the calf’s breech?”
    “Most likely,” Ezra said. He gave Wyn a quick kiss before closing the door. Richard got out next, and he was left alone in the cab.
    He felt helpless watching as Ezra assessed the downed heifer. With the rain pounding against the truck’s roof, he couldn’t hear what they were talking about. He saw Ezra shake his head. That didn’t look good. Ezra took off his jacket and started rolling up his sleeves as Richard walked back towards the truck.

    ROUGH RIDE
    Carol Lynne
    38

    Without opening the door, he reached in the back and pulled out the come-along.
    Richard was on his way back when Wyn couldn’t take any more. He pulled down his dad’s battered cowboy hat and stepped out into the pounding rain.
    “What’s going on?” he asked.
    No one answered him, both men either too busy or unable to hear because of the storm.
    Standing next to the truck, Wyn watched as Ezra stuck his hands inside the heifer.
    Wyn watched in awe as Ezra seemed to use all his strength to manoeuvre the calf still inside its mother. After ten minutes of working, Ezra dug his heels into the muddy soil and began to pull.
    He heard Ezra’s grunts and groans above the storm as he continued to try and free the calf. When at last the calf slipped free, Ezra and Richard both worked quickly to get it cleaned. Ezra took off his shirt and wiped the small animal’s face as Richard worked on its body.
    A few minutes later, Ezra stood and said something to Richard. Richard pointed to the truck. Ezra gave him a nod and walked towards Wyn. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Is the calf going to be okay?”
    “The calf will be fine,” Ezra answered. “You need to get back inside.” Ezra opened the door and fished behind the seat.
    Wyn went to his side. “What’s going on?”
    “Get inside the goddamn truck, Wyn!” Ezra yelled, pulling out a gun.
    Wyn shrunk back at the verbal attack. His arm automatically went up to shield the blow he knew was coming.
    Ezra stopped in his tracks. Wyn had never seen that particular look on Ezra’s face. It was somewhere between mad and sad. Ezra started to say something but shook his head and walked off, carrying the rifle.
    Wyn was frozen to the spot. He couldn’t believe he’d just done that. He knew Ezra would never strike him. Maybe he wasn’t as over Brian Doles as he’d thought.
    A gunshot ringing in his ears made him jump. He turned around in time to see Ezra pull the barrel of the rifle away from the dam’s head.
    Ezra handed the rifle to Richard and sat on the ground, pulling the calf into his arms.
    Wyn felt his eyes sting as he watched Ezra’s shoulders shake as he rocked the newborn. Was Ezra crying?

    ROUGH RIDE
    Carol Lynne
    39

    Richard came back to the truck and lowered the tailgate. He motioned for Wyn to get in as he got into the cab.
    He didn’t know what to do. Should he do as Ezra had asked, or should he go to him and apologise for the way he’d acted?
    Ezra stood, still cradling the calf in his arms and carried it to the truck bed. After depositing the calf in back, Ezra climbed in after it and lifted the baby into his arms once again. The look on his face told Wyn not to approach him yet.
    Turning away, he got into the truck and shut the door. He said nothing as Richard manoeuvred the truck around the dead heifer and back onto the farm road. Wyn felt numb.
    How could he have screwed so much up in such a short