Hunter (Stud Ranch 2)

She couldn’t help feeling like she was doing this all wrong. Yeah, she was going by the book, but still? Why wasn’t Beauty passing the food?

Isobel looked Beauty over. Maybe another walk?

After an hour and a half of trying to flush her system, Isobel had stopped and taken Beauty for a short walk up and down the barn. She’d hoped that might loosen things up. They couldn’t go outside since the rain had started in earnest. Not that it mattered much because even in the limited confines of the stable, Beauty had been stiff and not keen to move far. They’d barely made two lengths of the stable before returning to her stall.

Then Isobel had reinserted the tubing and started again with the mineral oil.

And now another half an hour and still nothing. No stools. Not even any passed gas.

“How about another break, sweetheart? You’ve been doing so good.” Isobel patted Beauty on the side of her neck, then withdrew the tubing from her nose. Beauty snorted and shook her head as it came free.

“I know,” Isobel sympathized. “That can’t be comfortable. You don’t deserve any of this. We’ll get you better. I promise.”

But even as she said it, Isobel was terrified it was a lie.

You’re such a failure at everything you try. Do you have any idea how disappointed your father is by you? Like mother, like daughter.

Isobel squeezed her eyes shut against the memories. Why was it always the horrible words that lodged in her head and never any of the nice ones? She was sure her dad had said nice things to her over the years.

Hadn’t he? She didn’t know. She was terrified that all he saw when he looked at her was her mother. History that was bound to repeat itself. He could barely even look her in the face.

“I’ll be right back.” Isobel’s throat was thick as she mumbled the words before stumbling out of the stall.

She wouldn’t do Beauty any good if she had a breakdown right in front of her.

Enough. She couldn’t do this. Not alone.

She lit out for the house, her boots sticking in the now soggy mud with every step. Farm calls took Hunter all over this county and the two surrounding it. It might take him hours to get here depending on what emergencies he already had on his docket. And that was without the rain. If he was close enough to the highway to have cell service.

Meanwhile, colic could turn on a coin and become deadly.

Oh God, she should have called him as soon as she realized what was happening with Beauty. Would Beauty die because she’d been too proud to call for help?

She yanked open the back door and then sprinted to the phone, ignoring the mud she was tracking all over the floor. She pulled the wall phone off its cradle and had Hunter’s number punched in seconds later. She bit her lip and paced back and forth in the kitchen as she waited for it to ring.

And ring.

And ring.

“Dammit.” She raked a hand through her hair.

“Hullo.” Hunter’s easy greeting came over the line.

“Hunter! Is that you? Like really you and not just your voicemail?”

Silence for a second. Then, “Isobel?”

“Oh thank God, Hunter. Bright Beauty, one of the

mares, is colicky. It’s bad. There’s an impaction in her small intestine. It’s bad, Hunter. I’ve been trying to flush it with mineral oil for an hour and it hasn’t moved an inch. I don’t know what to do. I tried to walk her too, but nothing—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there. When did she start presenting symptoms?”

“I don’t know. I just found her down in her stall when I got back from a ride on another horse at, I don’t know,” she searched out the wall clock. It was 3:15 now. “Maybe 2:00? I glanced in on her a few hours early and didn’t notice anything off. But I wasn’t really looking. If I would have just—”

“You give her a painkiller?”

“Banamine. 10cc orally. Heart rate sixty-five. Hunter, I’m really worried.” She took a quick breath. “Can you come out?”