She tried to imagine her own mother giving birth. Had she suffered? Cried? Rejoiced?
Zoe had no way of knowing and no one to ask, and the injustice of that was hard to take. Had she been a good baby or a sickly one?
Had she been loved?
'Zoe, touch her.'
She did, whispering soft, inane words of encouragement as she fought emotions she didn't know she had. Time passed, could have been a moment, maybe an hour, but Zoe was so attuned to Abby and her pain it didn't matter. Abby's struggle became her own, so that when Abby made a horrible straining cry, so did Zoe.
Ty's jaw tightened, his hands spread wide on the horse's belly. The muscles in his shoulder and back rippled through the cloth of his T-shirt as he moved over the horse. 'Another contraction,' he clipped, his hands smoothing over Abby's bulging belly. Then they disappeared and Zoe held her breath as he checked the foal's position.
'Come on, baby, come on. Help me,' he muttered, sweat beaded on his forehead. His face was tight with worry and fear, his voice perfectly calm as he let Abby know how much he cared in every breath he took.
What would it be like to have a man like that on his knees, desperate to relieve her pain? To have him care for her above all else?
'Talk to her, dammit,' came Ty's low command.
Zoe, stroking Abby's face gently, did just that while the horse strained and pushed. 'You can do this,' she whispered, wondering if Abby really could. 'I know it's awful, but women go through this all the time. Of course human babies don't have four legs and weigh… how much does a foal weigh, I wonder?'
Abby quivered and Zoe's heart constricted. She stroked some more and whispered more silly comments, anything to help calm her down. 'You know what I wish? That the stallion that did this to you had to deliver the baby. Now, that would be justice.'
'It's coming,' Ty called. 'Come on, Abby, you can do it.'
Abby lifted her head and screamed-and it sounded so real, so utterly human, and so full of suffering, Zoe's throat closed. Her heart tightened in her chest. 'Oh God,' she whispered. 'Oh God. Abby, honey, hang on, it'll be over soon! Ty is doing everything he can.'
Abby screamed again, shivered once, then fell so still Zoe shot up to her knees. 'Ty?' she cried, desperately afraid for the horse. 'Ty!'
His wide shoulders were hunched over Abby, his face contorted into a grimace born of fear and stress. Sweat ran down his face. 'I've got a hoof!'
A hoof? Just one? Zoe groaned and sat back down, leaning close to Abby. 'Come on, Abby, almost there. Push. Do it for me. Do it for Ty.'
Then suddenly Ty was shouting with triumph, his face split into a grin as he quickly helped clear the mucus and birth sac from the foal. He rose over Abby to see Zoe. 'He's perfect!'
Abby lifted her head, saw her baby sprawled out wet and shivering, half in Ty's lap and half between her back legs, and struggled to get up.
'Let her,' Ty said quietly when Zoe tried to hold her back. 'She has to get to him.'
Abby managed, though it was painful to watch her as she was so shaky. She whinnied softly, and the baby lifted its head, still and hopeful, its little nose sniffing.
Abby reached down and licked her new baby, awe and love in her warm, intelligent eyes, and Zoe watched, amazed as her baby responded instinctively, nuzzling close.
Zoe had never come close to seeing anything like this, though she'd dreamed of it often. A surge of yearning and excitement filled her unexpectedly. This was real life. And it was beautiful. Messy but beautiful. Deep inside, some part of her wanted more of this, wanted it so badly she had to blink back hot tears as she became overwhelmed with emotion.
She hadn't made a sound, but Ty's head whipped up and their gazes collided. Everything she felt, everything that had so awed and overwhelmed her, she saw mirrored in his own eyes.
New life. New beginnings. They'd just experienced it, and with all her heart Zoe knew she wanted more.
But 'more' meant reaching out and taking it. As she stood there, locked in time, staring at Ty, she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't face the pain it would bring.
Better to not feel anything than to allow herself to feel and lose.
As if he could read her mind and the cowardly thoughts in it, Ty looked away, breaking eye contact.
Zoe felt the loss more keenly than she'd felt anything, but the moment was gone. Whatever had passed between them was over.
The foal struggled awkwardly to his feet and went instinctively for Abby's milk.
Ty had risen and moved out of her vision, but now be was back, handing her a towel. She realized tears were streaming down her face, which she wiped at, horrified at the weakness.
'You okay?'
She would be if he'd wrap her in his arms. But he didn't, and she didn't ask. She forced her usual unfeeling mask into place with huge effort.
For a moment he only stared at her. 'Thanks,' he said stiffly. 'I couldn't have done it without you.'
He turned and walked away, without a cocky smile, without the teasing she'd grown to count on, without so much as a single sexual innuendo.
It had been exactly how she wanted things between the two of them. Casual. No strings attached.
It was exactly as she would have done in reverse, if she'd been on the receiving end of that distancing look.
But as he left her standing there in the stall staring after him, she wondered why she felt suddenly so empty.
Chapter 10
Why had she come, Zoe wondered, alone in Ty's barn. Had she really imagined she'd be able to swallow her pride and ask him for help?
Yes. For her sisters she would.
Anything for them, including facing the one man with the ability to rock her world.
The bright sun felt good on her face when she left the barn, and she tipped it up, standing still for a moment.
Ty looked up from the water hose where he'd been washing up, and froze at the sight. Zoe faced the sun, her long neck exposed, her lips curved in a half smile as she soaked up the heat.
From where he stood he could see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, could see the tension from her body slowly drain as she grappled with, then won some of her annoying self-control.
Why he found that so arousing, he hadn't a clue. Always before he had preferred his women mild-tempered. No sharp tongue. A much softer appeal. And if they were blond and long-legged, so much the better.
So why he was drinking in the sight of this petite, fire-tempered little wildcat? She made him furious and hot at the same time, and never had he encountered such a woman.
He was still hurt at her cool and easy rejection of him, so he turned his attention away from her and continued to wash up. A shower would have suited him better than splashing icy water on his chest and arms, but he didn't have time. It was Sunday and he was alone. There was too much to do.
But even with his back turned, the image of Zoe was imprinted on his mind, the way she'd looked when Abby had given birth-elated, sweet, loving, touched. To dispel the picture, he dunked his head, ignoring the iciness of the water as it dripped off him. When he was as clean as he was going to get, he turned off the hose and shook it off. He lifted his head and his gaze hit Zoe's.
She'd not moved, not a muscle except her face, which was now turned directly toward him. Her mouth was open a little, as if she couldn't breathe.
Frowning, he took a step toward her, instantly forgetting his promise to stay clear of Ms. Trouble. It wasn't something he did consciously, for he wasn't a man used to caring about others, but caring about this woman and her sisters seemed to be something he would have to live with.
