“That’s what she said,” he remarked, realizing quickly how juvenile it sounded.
“That’s not at all what I meant,” she continued. “Anyway, it will take a few times but the fish are watching, I can assure you, and we are training them. In exactly four minutes, you will need to catch another one. You’ll have 30 seconds to do so. Throw it in the same spot.”
“That works,” he replied. “I can finish this whole sandwich in three.”
“Don’t forget to vote,” she added, handing him a pen and piece of paper.
“Okay, I’ve got it,” he mumbled, with his mouth full of one square.
The next grasshopper wasn’t so easy to catch, and Sarah laughed as Mac jumped around in a last-minute panic to get it done. She counted out the last ten seconds, one at a time: “five…four…” as he tossed it in and watched it float away uneaten.
“How many does it take?” he asked.
“Three to five usually sets the pattern, but it’s different every time.”
They voted on the sandwiches, picking different favorites.
The fourth grasshopper was hit as soon as it touched the water.
“That’s it!” she told him. “Put the next one on your hook.”
Mac had been saving a big fat slow one in his turned-over drink cup.
“I’ve got just the guy for the job,” he told her. “Do I still have to wait?”
“Nope, you’re good. They’re trained, at least for a little bit.”
He cast his new pole for the very first time and was impressed with the quality of the smooth reel.
Wham! The fish hit his bait, taking the line with it.
“Better tighten my drag,” he said, fighting the large fish for several minutes.
There were no chains on this end to get caught up in, and he pulled the monster rainbow trout up the side of the canal.
“This has to be a record for sure!” he said, smiling broadly.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Thirty-four
Saddle Ranch
Loveland, Colorado
“Dr. Melton!” came a call from behind her. It was one of the Ranch nurses. “Dr. Melton, come quick! There’s something wrong.”
She ran back with the nurse to find her patient expecting twins holding her stomach and crying.
“Are you in pain?” she asked.
“No!” she cried, “but something is not right.”
Dr. Melton listened with her stethoscope, hoping to hear the two heartbeats she had just heard a few hours ago.
After several attempts, she called to a waiting Mac to get the truck and transport her patient to the hospital immediately.
He ran off, leaving his fish and gear on the floor as she radioed the doctors on staff at the hospital to prepare for an emergency C-section.
As carefully as they could, they loaded her into the back of the pickup truck, with Mac at the wheel racing the 3/4 mile down to the West hospital.
Sarah held her hand as she sobbed, asking what was wrong over and over.
Dr. Melton tried to keep her calm, but couldn’t answer her questions. She alone knew there was only one heartbeat, and it was elevated.
Samuel was waiting at the hospital, and he helped Mac transport the woman inside before they were told to go back to work.
Mac radioed Bill and John, informing them of what he knew so far, and headed back up to the Ranch to drop the truck off.
They thanked him, asking for timely updates on her condition.
* * * *
Dr. Melton and her two trainees sedated the mother and performed the emergency surgery.
The cord on the perfect-looking little boy was compressed, and he was not breathing.
Quickly cutting the cord, one of the other doctors worked to resuscitate him in another room. After 30 minutes, he solemnly called it. Time of death: 2:48 p.m.
Dr. Melton delivered the little girl, closely monitoring her over the next hour. She was aware of the lost boy but she would inform the mother at a later time.
The third doctor, a former general surgeon, sewed the mother back up with the help of the two Ranch nurses.
The new mother was handed her baby girl by one of the nurses, not answering the one question she wanted to know. The rest of the providers discussed the outcome in another room. All agreed nothing could have been done to prevent it.
“It happens,” said the surgeon, “and did even in the old world. That doesn’t make it any easier, I know, but it’s the truth. You do know that—right, Dr. Melton?”
“Yes, I do, and you’re right; it doesn’t make it any easier.”
Dr. Melton and the surgeon informed the woman about her lost boy and asked if she wanted to hold him. She did, as they stepped out of the room.
* * * *
Mac retrieved his pole and heard his fish was in a cooler at the Pavilion.
Rico greeted him, having heard about the emergency.
“How is she?”
“I don’t know,” replied Mac. “They are caring for her now.”
“Okay. I have your fish. It was a big one, for sure.”
“Yeah, about six pounds, I think,” said Mac.
“Try 7.2 pounds!”
“You’re joking!”
“I never joke about food… Well, I take that back—I do. But I never joke about the size of a fish, that’s true. Should I have one of my understudies prepare it for you?”
“No thanks. I don’t have much of an appetite. Maybe we can just add it to the communal dinner tonight for whoever wants to try some.”
“Sure, of course. We can do that. By the way, did you get a chance to try lunch?”
“Yes, we both did. I picked number 2, and Sarah went with number 5.”
“Ah, she has taste,” he replied.
“So, it was number five?” asked Mac.
He pulled Mac aside, lowering his voice. “It wasn’t even close.
