The Reluctant Cowgirl by Christine Lynxwiler

needed to see faith and hope rewarded.
    “Please,” he whispered. A minute later, he felt movement beneath his hands. “It’s coming,” he said and suddenly Crystal was beside him guiding the slippery calf to the ground.
    The cow turned her wild-eyed glance toward the bundle on the ground. Jeremy and Crystal stripped their gloves off and watched in silence as Anastasia took care of her tan and white baby.
    “How can anyone see this and claim there is no God?” he asked quietly, swallowing against the lump of emotion in his throat.
    She shook her head, and he thought he saw a hint of moisture in her eyes. “I don’t know.”
    “You okay?”
    She nodded. “I’m just so glad it all worked out. I was pretty nervous.”
    No wonder she’d gone into acting. “You deserve an Academy Award then, because you sure didn’t seem like it.” He smiled at her. “And you handled Anastasia like a pro.”
    “Nice name, by the way. Granny would have been proud of you.” She pushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. “I was always the tomboy who followed Daddy around like a shadow. I’ve helped on more births than I can count. But it’s been awhile.” She sank down on the grassy hillside.
    “Guess it’s like riding a bicycle.” Jeremy could feel the grin stretching his lips. Funny. He’d grinned more since Crystal McCord had breezed into town than he had since Lindsey took Beka. For some reason, the thought wiped the smile from his face. He couldn’t afford to lose his focus. “Anyway, I’m glad you were around.”
    “Me, too.” She pointed and he followed her gaze.
    The calf, front legs still bent, extended his wobbly back legs and pushed himself up. Just before he stood upright, he trembled and fell back to the ground. But in less than a second, he tried again. On the third try, he stood, shaky but standing.
    Jeremy smiled. “It looks like our job here is done.”
    She nodded but kept her gaze on the calf, getting a good start on his first meal.
    He adjusted his hat. “So I guess I’m going to call it a day and go get cleaned up.”
    She waved absently. “Good deal.”
    “See you in the morning.” He climbed up on Nacho’s back and shifted the reins. When he was almost to the main road, he glanced back at the tiny white dot that was Crystal still sitting on the hill watching the cow and calf.
    One advantage of farm life—usually things were exactly what they seemed to be. Especially for the last several months, that fact had allowed him to operate on automatic pilot. But with Crystal McCord around, he had a feeling those days were long gone.

CHAPTER 8
    Crystal lifted the oblong casserole dish out of the hot soapy water and handed it to Elyse.
    Her sister ran it under the faucet. “So you helped Jeremy deliver a calf today?” Elyse’s voice shook a little.
    Crystal smiled. “You make it sound so scary. The cow was glad to have our help. And we didn’t have to do much. It could have been a lot worse.”
    “Yeah. You could have gone back to New York, and I could have had to help him.” Elyse shivered.
    Crystal decided a change of subject was in order, for both their sakes. She didn’t want to think about how badly she needed to be back in New York. And she knew Elyse would rather not think about cows.
    She passed Elyse a plate. “As crazy as it may sound, it feels good to be doing dishes with you again. Don’t tell the others, but I always kind of liked kitchen duty, especially before Mama got a dishwasher.”
    Elyse arranged the glass pan in the draining rack and swiped her hair away from her face with the back of her hand. “I’m glad my lack of a dishwasher is good for something. Even if it’s just a shot of nostalgia for you.”
    “Aw c’mon, admit it.” Crystal slid the last plate beneath the bubbles and attacked it vigorously. “There’s something cathartic about washing dishes by hand. Life seems so simple when you’re up to your elbows in suds.”
    Elyse shook her head.