Embracing Today, a firefighter romance: (The Trading Yesterday Series, #3) - Kahlen Aymes (old books to read .TXT) 📗

foal’s foot, I’ll help Siri by breaking her water. Then it’s controlled and the baby will come faster. Since she’s laying on her side it will help.”

“Will she stay lying down? I Googled it last week during a slow shift and horses get up and down.”

“They can. I just hope she doesn’t.” I set the towels down on the floor near the opposite wall.

“Pbrrrrbbbbb,” Siri snorted, her legs stiffening again as she strained to push her foal out.

The white sack of fluid at her vagina got larger and a small hoof appeared. “Oh, thank God,” I said with a relieved sigh.

“What?” Ben asked. “What happened?”

I pointed toward the obvious. “Do you see that? It’s a hoof.”

“This is amazing.” Ben was astonished as he watched. “Thank you for letting me be here, Marin.”

“You’ve earned it; besides, I might need your help.” I smiled brightly; happy he was with me.

“Gladly.” He winked.

After a few more hard pushes, the leg and nose started to show outside Siri’s body, but encapsulated in the milky white amniotic sack that was ballooning with fluid.

I put on the gloves Ben had retrieved from the cabinet. The rubber went up my forearms and just over my elbows. “Ouch,” I complained as I crouched down. The spikey hay jabbed my knees and thighs when I knelt behind Siri, reminding me that should have put on long pants, but now it was too late. The rubber boots covered my calves, at least, but made bending down more difficult.

“Can I come closer?” Ben asked.

“Sure, just put on those gloves. And this hay is painful on the knees,” I warned.

“Wait. I’ll be back.” He ran out of the barn and was back within a minute with an empty box from a 24 pack of soda that I’d placed in the recycle bin in the kitchen. He was pulling at the ends and opening it up until it was a flat piece of cardboard. “Here. You can keel on this?” He opened the gate. “Stand up, please.”

I was amazed at his thoughtfulness, but I did as I was told. He placed it on the floor on top of the hay where I’d been kneeling, then bent to brush the stray strands of hay stuck to the skin of my knees. “There you, go.”

“Thank you.” I smiled up him as he towered over me. “What about you?”

“I’m tough,” he said blankly, and proceeded to crouch down next to me after he’d donned the gloves and was holding the squeegee. “Do you need this thing?”

“I will. Can you see the nose of the foal there, just inside the liquid bubble? I’m going to break the water then hopefully both feet and then the nose will come out. Then it will be born soon.”

I reached out and used my index finger and thumb to break the membrane. Water gushed out at first, then ran out in a steady stream.

“Wow, that is a lot. Should I get the towels?” Ben wanted to know.

“No, let’s save those for the foal after birth. We can change the bedding later today.”

We both watched Siri as she strained another push. One of the hooves showed and the black nose. “I need to get the other foot out,” I said. “May I have the squeegee please?” I used it to suction out the foal’s nostrils, then handed it back to Ben. “Thanks.”

Inside I was panicking. I’d seen this done by my uncle… I’d seen him up to his shoulder inside a mare trying to turn a foal, so this should be easy in comparison, but I was still nervous.

Sitting down onto my butt I gently put my hand inside Siri on the other side of the foal’s nose, searching for the other foot. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far up inside her, and I wrapped my hand around it and applied gentle pressure trying to gently pull it outside with the nose and other foot. “Both feet should have presented before the nose. I just have to get it out or it might get caught and it could injure one of both of them.” I pulled with a bit more strength. “Ugggggh!” I grunted.

“Can I help?” Ben asked.

He was stronger than I was, clearly, but it was a balance between helping and hurting. I waited, with my hand still inside, until Siri had another contraction. I grunted and pulled, but still no result. Ben threw off his gloves and got behind me, sliding his hand down my arm and just inside the horse. His fingers closed around my forearm. “So, we should pull when she pushes, right?”

I nodded. His body was close against mine as he added his strength to mine. “Don’t let go and tell me if I hurt you, Marin.”

His grip was firm but gentle and when Siri strained with her next push, we were able to get the foal’s second hoof to present and the head almost to the ears. “Oh, thank God.”

I let go and fell back against Ben’s body. He was kneeling behind me, so my butt was effectively on his groin, his hand still wrapped around me arm, and the other placed around me waist.

“Whoa,” he laughed and then stood up, lifting me as if I weighed nothing to set me on my feet in front of him.

If I didn’t have so much going on with Siri, I would have sworn my ovaries exploded. Feeling his hard body against mine caused shivers all over me. He was all man. I found myself comparing the way Ben felt against me to the softer, less fit body of Carter. If I weren’t eaten alive with guilt over his death, I’d be letting myself revel in the sensations Ben created inside me.

“Will she be okay, now?” His words broke me out of my daze.

“Oh, I think so, but I want to be here, just in case.” I bent to lift the white fetal sack away from the foal’s face. “Ben, can you hand me one of those towels?” I took