Page 20 of Fierce Protector
With a hand braced on the side of the shed she’d made it to, she shut her eyes and fought the wave of morning sickness.
Okay, this was not fun. She really needed to make a definite decision.
The smell of the food that remained in the takeout box wafted to her, turning her stomach again.
From some other part of the ranch, she heard low male voices. Then the clank of machinery.
She had to get out of here before someone saw her. With as much composure as she could muster, she hurried toward her car, holding the box away from her so she couldn’t smell it.
After setting the box far away in the trunk, she settled behind the wheel and dragged in a few deep breaths of the fresh, crisp, hay-scented air.
When she came to the Gracey, she really had planned to talk to Ledger about their situation. Her stomach had other plans. Fabricating the lie about her receptionist texting her, gave her a small tug of guilt. She was no wimp and she prided herself on always being open and honest. In her line of work, there was no other course.
At least she hadn’t disgraced herself in front of the hot guy by being sick…and she did have more calls to make.
The next ranch on the list wasn’t far from the Gracey. In minutes, she pulled up to the barn and climbed out.
She stopped in her tracks. Great. In her rush, she’d forgotten her bag in the Graceys’ barn. She’d just have to make do with the boxes in the back of her vehicle, but she ‘d have to return for the bag. Her chances of running into Ledger were too high for her peace of mind.
That determined set of his jaw told her that next time, she wouldn’t get away with avoiding a discussion.
Heaving a sigh, she walked toward the barn. The owners were in the process of replacing some plank boards, and the smell of fresh-cut wood made her nose tingle.
The rancher who stepped out was a familiar face. She’d spent a lot of time with him pregnancy-checking his herd only the week before.
“Hey, Doc.”
“Dean. I heard you have an injured cow.”
“I do.” He jerked his head for her to follow him inside the barn.
She smelled the blood before she spotted it. Then the fresh tracks of blood in the straw finally led to a pool of it.
“Oh god.” She strode straight to the pregnant heifer. “What happened here?”
It looked like…
It wasn’t a typical injury, but it wasn’t completely unheard of in these parts.
“Something attacked her. Found her in the pasture.”
Gashes and bite marks like this could only be made by a big predator.
“Wolf attack.”
He snapped his head toward her and gave a hard nod. “Thought the same. But wolves usually keep away from my ranch.”
“We have to stop the bleeding. She looks about to go down.” The cow wobbled on her feet.
Demi ran back to her vehicle and started throwing supplies into a box. She really had her work cut out for her. The wounds were deep, and any animal attack came with risks of bacteria transferred from mouth to wound. Her mind jumped to each step in the process of treating the cow.
Once she started to work, she didn’t glance up until the rancher moved close to inspect his animal.
“I know you’ve got more cattle out in that pasture. I suggest moving them. When I leave here, I’ll call the ranger and see what we can learn about a wolf pack in the area.”
He nodded. “I’ll get the herd moved today.”
This was going to be a long one. She’d had a good breakfast to give her a good start, but look how that turned out. Now her stomach protested with hunger pains.