From Ranchhands To Soulmates (A Yellowstone Fanfic)

Chapter 25

 Caroline's POV

I was just getting out of the shower, drying my hair when I heard rushed footsteps running up the stairs, and an exasperated grunt. "Angel, I'm sorry to bug you baby, but there's an emergency at the corrals." Jimmy said, his face pale and worried. I nodded quickly throwing on my maternity jeans and boots. "Could you hand me my shirt please?" I asked him, as I quickly brushed my teeth. Jimmy nodded as he walked over to my bed and brought my tank top to me. "Thank you, baby." I said graciously. "Whew... damn..." I gasped deeply, holding the spot the babies were currently kicking. "Everything okay?" Jimmy asked worriedly as he hurried back over to me. I nodded immediately and looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm okay, the babies... they're just kicking me right now... hard might I add..." I answered breathlessly. I took a deep breath and sighed before pulling on my tank top and throwing my hair into its usual bun. "Okay, let's go," I said, walking out of my bathroom to grab my phone and sunglasses, quickly spritzing my favorite perfume on and leaving the room.

Rip's POV

"Damn Lloyd!" Walker hollered as he trotted over to Lloyd. "What?" Lloyd asked facing Walker. "That's the third one I've seen." Walker said. "One what?" Lloyd asked. "Stillborn buffalo calf..." He answered crossing his arms over the horn of his saddle. "Where?" Lloyd asked after an exasperated breath. "Right back there," he said, cocking his head behind him. Lloyd immediately trotted over to the stillborn calf, then rushing over to the herd. "Ah shit this ain't gonna be good." I said as Lloyd ran over to Mr. Dutton and I. "Buffalo from the parks been in this pasture!" Lloyd hollered as he got closer to us. "Found two dead bison calves there... stillborn. Walker said he seen two more of 'em!" Lloyd explained to Mr. Dutton and I as Ethan ran over to us. "Lemme guess you found a stillborn bison?" John asked Ethan as he ran over. "Two..." Ethan confirmed. "Why would that happen?" Clara, Mr. Dutton's new personal since he won the election for Governor, asked. "Brucellosis, Clara," John simply answered. Kayce then trotted over and gave us a look. "Found something you're gonna want to see..." Kayce said worriedly. "We found it, too." John stated, pursing his lips. "Can cattle get it?" Clara asked, concerned. "Yes, Cattle can get it." John answered. "Well, how can you tell?" Clara asked. "Well, we'll have Caroline test them for it. And if one cow has it, the state destroys the whole herd." John explained.
"All our cows have calves." Kayce said worry written all over his face. "We're not gonna solve this on the side of the hill. Let's get em to headquarters. We'll figure it out there." John said and we all rounded the herd and guided the cows all back to the ranch.

Caroline's POV

"Sweetheart, you're not goin' in there." Rip sternly said as I approached the chute. I smiled and chuckled as I looked up at his masculine face. "No, no Jimmy just came to get me saying there was an emergency down here." I said, squinting my eyes through my sunglasses as I looked up at him. "Yeah, we uh, we found a bunch of stillborn bison in the fields." Rip explained to me, which explains why the herd is now in the pens and being herded into the chutes. "Shit...we've gotta test them for Brucellosis asap." I said as I watched Colby and Ryan rope a calf as Teeter injects the medication. "Already on it, darlin," Rip said before pulling me into a loving hug. "Hey, Lloyd! Bring Care a chair over here would ya?" Rip hollered from our place by the arenas. Lloyd nodded and scurried to the barn to grab a lawn chair and brought it to me. "Thank you, Lloyd." I say graciously before hugging him appreciatively. "Oh, it's no problem, Miss Caroline. It's my pleasure, really." Lloyd said with a smile as he tipped his hat before going back over to the arena. I slowly sat myself down and observed the activities in front of me. Kayce was talking to his dad down by the barn, surely worried about the results of the brucellosis test. Carter and Tate were doing their chores, shucking the stalls and putting fresh hay out for the horses, smiling and laughing between the two of them. Oh, the joys of adolescent innocence. Maranda was brushing the horses while the boys did their chores, happily.