Katie was breathing heavy and pacing, uncomfortable any time she lay down, but lying down nonetheless. Maybe it was the heat. Katie wasn't pushing or giving any other signs of active labor. Given the two choices, labor was the safer one.
Kae looked under the horse's back end to see if her udder was full of milk for her foal. It was. Kae tried to stay calm. Horses could go in and out of labor pretty much at will once they'd reached term. If Kae did anything to make the mare nervous, Katie would postpone. It wouldn't be the first time.
Groaning and grunting, Katie stood up again. Kae walked over calmly, knowing that Katie would be reading her body language.
"Hey, Katie. How about we take a short walk. I have a special area all for you in the barn." The horse wouldn't give birth in the open unless desperate anyway. Instinct forbade it.
Kae led her into a large stall and set out food and water. Katie was definitely ready, walking uncomfortably around, laying down, groaning and breathing deep a few times, then getting up just to repeat the pattern. This could be a long evening... and long night, Kae thought. Days, even. And Katie didn't want an audience, no matter how solid their relationship.
Kae walked as calmly as she could to the stable office to pull out the birthing kit – an emergency first-aid kit with a few extras. Horses didn't have a lot of trouble in this area, but when they did, they needed help fast.
When Kae's stomach growled, she almost resented the intrusion. How could she be hungry now? But Katie would be fine, she told herself. This was her third foal, not first. So she headed back to the house.
She fixed a cucumber sandwich and dialed Aiden's cellphone to share the news, but hung up when she realized the time of day. Cellphone companies charged both sender and receiver too, so she'd just text him. She tried Diane next. No answer. Irritated, she tossed her phone on the couch.
Ten minutes later, Kae felt like she'd literally come apart if she didn't check on Katie. Back in the stall, nothing had changed. Labor progressed, normally. For the next two hours. It drove Kae squirrely. Patience was not her thing, no matter how hard she tried.
She forced herself to sit outside the stall, listening but not peeking. She flipped open the birthing kit, making sure everything was clean and accounted for.
After a while, she walked back to the house. Her laptop would help keep her mind from running in its usual circles. That's what she'd do. Or she'd set up the video surveillance camera. That had been put off way too long, one of many projects on her waiting list.
If she was smart, she'd set it up to stream the video to one of the websites that let others look in and watch, then send a text message to the owner to keep them up-to-date. She already had an account on one.
She was supposed to take a scouting trip to Alexandra's house. But without the cameras, she couldn't go.
The camera was in the garage, in one of about twenty boxes she promised she'd sort and organize into sell, toss, or giveaway categories. She got lucky; it was in the second box she opened. She grabbed the camera and ran out. Then she went back for the power supply, grumbling to herself about not taking it the first time.
She slammed the little side door as she left the garage and headed for the barn, then remembered she'd need the wireless receiver too. Shaking her head, she went back. As she turned to leave again, she heard a vehicle outside. Outside, she saw Diane's car pull to a stop. Kae could see the top of another head in the passenger seat. Diane was here with Becca?
Kae walked over. "Mom called."
"Of course she did."
Kae wasn't sure what to say next. So she waited.
YOU ARE READING
Uncertain Truths
Mystery / Thriller"Two bodies in a car at the bottom of a ravine - one is a stranger, frozen solid; the other is her brother-in-law. Country girl Kaelynn Barrows has a compulsive need to understand what happened, and no respect for secrets. The police suspect h...
