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

off my gloves before kneeling again to wipe the face clean. The red bag, as the sack was called, had some blood seeping out. Ben saw it.

“Marin, she’s bleeding!” he exclaimed.

“A little blood is normal. It’s okay, Ben.” I loved how invested he was with Siri and her foal. His love of animals mirrored my own and that was just another thing to love about him. I paused and sucked in a breath. Could I already be in love with him?

“When will he be out? How long will it take?”

“Are you so sure it’s a boy?”

“It’s a gut feeling,” Ben answered easily.

I sat next to my horse and wrapped a hand around both forelegs. I pulled until the head was completely free, careful not to injure the foal. Siri snorted as her stomach heaved again. I pulled in concert with her contractions. “It will just be a few minutes and the little one will be out.”

Ben was sitting on the floor a few feet away, leaning up against the wall. He had a bird’s eye view of what was happening. “Well, this is truly incredible. I’m already in love.”

Again, my heart stopped. I knew he was speaking about the foal, but still, it affected me. “Me, too. How about if it is a boy, I’ll let you name him?”

His face lit up, as I glanced over my shoulder. “That would be fantastic. Thank you, Marin. It means a lot to me.”

“It’s the least I can do.” I turned back to the foal, now halfway out of his mother. I pushed the sack further back and dried off the foal’s shoulders and front legs. He was black as night with no markings on his face. Now that Ben said he was a boy, I started thinking of the little thing that way. I patted Siri on her rear flank. “Rest a little, Siri. My sweet girl.”

“Why don’t you just pull him out of her?”

“I don’t want to injure the placenta or umbilical cord. If it separates too soon it might affect the foal’s oxygen or it could cause internal bleeding for Siri. It has to come out on its own after the birth.”

“I see. Is this the first foal that’s been born since your uncle died?”

I fell back onto my butt with my legs crossed in front of me. “Yes. I’m glad you’re here, so I’m not alone. I would have been sad. This foal was a birthday gift last year.”

“Yes, you told me. That means your birthday is coming up or just passed?”

“In a couple of months. Unfortunately, Siri’s heat cycle didn’t cooperate with my exact birthday. I had to take what I could get.” I laughed softly.

Siri’s four legs all tensed as she started pushing again. “Oh, here we go.” I helped the foal a bit, but he slid out of his mother with her last push. I got rid of the sack and started to briskly rub him dry. His eyes blinked at me, so he was obviously breathing. “He’s out.”

“He?” Ben teased.

The truth was, I hadn’t checked, but as I rubbed his back legs, I looked to determine the sex. “Yes. Hello, little man,” I said softly. “Aren’t you just the most handsome little guy, ever?”

“He is jet black.”

“Like his sire,” I gathered up the damp towels. “In about twenty minutes the placenta should be delivered.”

Siri’s head came up and she sniffed and licked at her foal.

“Doesn’t the horse eat it?”

My face crinkled. “Ugh! No, thank God.”

Ben laughed. “Some animals do. Like dogs. To get the milk flowing.”

“Not horses. She’ll lick him a little, but no, she doesn’t eat it. I do have to save it to show the veterinarian, though.”

Ben’s handsome face showed surprise as he balked. “What the hell for? Remind me to be glad I didn’t become a vet.”

I laughed again as I got up and walked out of the stall to dispose of the towels, my intention also to go into the kitchen to get a large bowl for the placenta. “To make sure it all came out, silly. If some is left inside, she could get an infection and the vet would have to come out and manually extract any remnants.”

“How would he do that?” Ben called after me.

He was just so funny. “He’s got a much longer glove.”

“Sorry I asked,” he said dryly.

I chuckled all the way into the house.

BEN

The shower felt great as it washed away the sweat, slime, and grime of delivering the foal. After that we both went to sleep for a couple of hours, but now the delicious smell of bacon wafted in the air as I walked into the kitchen.

Marin glanced over her shoulder as she worked at the stove. She had also cleaned up and had on fresh clothes. My eyes couldn’t help but roam over her slim back and rounded bottom now encased in clean, but frayed, sexy jean shorts. Her hair was still in the knot on the top of her head and the gracious column of her neck was revealed. My mouth almost watered at the sight.

“Are you hungry?” Marin asked over her shoulder as she cooked.

“Starving, actually.”

She was beautiful, even in this easy, casual setting. It suited her and she had an ease about her that I found extremely attractive. She didn’t have make-up on; she didn’t need it. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

I snapped my fingers and placed my closed fist with the flat of my hand. “It smells mouth-watering, but do I have time to run into town to pick up Gem first?”

She turned around to look at me, setting the fork she was using to turn the bacon frying in a cast iron skillet down. “Yes, that would be great! I miss her!” Her face broke out in a wide smile that only added to her fresh-faced gorgeousness.

“Me, too. I’ve been thinking about her since we started home from Minneapolis.” I pulled the keys to my truck out of the front pocket of my jeans. I was