Every single day. His smile was worth everything they'd been through. Then we'd better make sure we survive to enjoy it. The next two weeks were the longest of Rose's life. She worked from before dawn until long past midnight, riding out to ranches, sometimes 20 m away.
Word had spread about her skill, and desperate ranchers were willing to pay premium prices for a vet who could save their stock. She treated a prize bull with an infected hoof, a dairy cow with milk fever, a team of draft horses with collic from bad feed. Three separate foing emergencies, one of which required surgery to save both mayor and fo. The money came in steady but slow. $50 here, 70 there. By the end of the first week, she'd earned $430.
Not enough. Not nearly enough. Wyatt was working just as hard trying to sell anything that wasn't essential. Old equipment, spare tac, the wagon they rarely used. He brought in $200 in sales.
Combined with what they'd saved, they had just over 900. Still 300 short with one week to go. Rose pushed harder, took on cases she normally would have referred to more experienced vets. A complicated fracture that required pinning bone back together, a geling with a growth that needed surgical removal. Each case was a gamble.
If she failed, word would spread and the work would dry up. If she succeeded, her reputation would grow. She succeeded every single time. By the middle of the second week, exhaustion was taking its toll. Rose fell asleep over supper twice.
Nearly passed out while suturing a wound. Her hands developed a tremor from fatigue. Wyatt tried to make her rest. Rose refused. "We're so close," she insisted, even as she swayed on her feet.
"One more day, maybe two. We'll have enough. " But on the 13th day, disaster struck. Rose was treating a mare with a difficult labor at a ranch 15 mi out. The fo was twisted, one leg bent back, making delivery impossible. Rose worked for hours trying to reposition the fo internally.
Her arms achd, her vision blurred from exhaustion. She got the legs straightened, got the fo into proper position. The mayor pushed and the fo slid free, alive and healthy. And then Rose's vision went black. She woke in an unfamiliar bed, sunlight streaming through a window.
Her head pounded, her arms felt like dead weight. A woman she didn't recognize sat beside the bed knitting. She looked up when Rose stirred. Finally awake. You've been out for 18 hours.
Rose tried to sit up, panic flooding through her. What day is it? March 14th. Easy now. You collapsed from pure exhaustion.
Doc Miller says you need at least 3 days rest or you're going to do permanent damage. March 14th. The loan was due tomorrow. I need to get back. I need to work.
You're in no condition to work. The woman's voice was kind but firm. You can barely sit up without swaying. Rose pushed herself upright anyway, ignoring the way the room spun. Where are my things?
My medical bag. Your husband came for you this morning. Took your bag and your earnings. Said to tell you to rest, and he'd handle everything. Rose's heart sank.
Wyatt had come for her, which meant he knew she'd collapsed, which meant he knew they were out of time. She dressed with shaking hands, thanked the woman for her care, and borrowed a horse for the ride back to the ranch. Every mile was agony. Her body screamed for rest, but Rose pushed through, driven by desperation and fear. She reached the ranch at sunset to find Wyatt in the barn with Delilah.
The pregnant mayor stood in the cross ties brushed to a shine. And standing next to her was Clayton Burch. Rose slid off the horse, nearly fell. Wyatt was beside her in an instant catching her. "You should be resting," he said, worry clear in his voice.
"What's he doing here? " Rose kept her eyes on Bur making an offer. Bir's smile was Vulpine. I hear you're short on the loan payment. I'm willing to help. We don't need your help, Rose said.
Don't you? Bur gestured to Delilah. Beautiful mayor. Excellent bloodlines. I'm prepared to offer $800 for her right now.
Cash in hand. Rose felt Wyatt go rigid beside her. $800. Combined with what they had, it would be enough to pay the loan. But it would cost them Delilah, the foundation of Wyatt's breeding program. The mayor Rose had saved from certain death by turning her breachful.
The mayor who was days away from delivering what could be the finest horse Wyatt ever bred. No, Rose said. She's not for sale. Rose. Wyatt's voice was strained.
It might be our only option. There has to be another way. There isn't. Wyatt looked at her and Rose saw defeat in his eyes. We're out of time and out of options.
If we don't pay tomorrow, the bank forecloses. We lose everything anyway. So, we give him exactly what he wants. We hand over the one thing that makes this ranch special. We do what we have to do to survive.
Rose wanted to argue, wanted to find some brilliant solution, but her exhausted mind couldn't think of one. They were trapped, and Bur knew it. I'll give you until morning to decide," Bur said, clearly enjoying their desperation. "But the offer expires at dawn. After that, you're on your own. " He left, still smiling.
Rose and Wyatt stood in the barn, not speaking. The silence stretched between them heavy with everything they'd lost and everything they stood to lose. "I'm sorry," Wyatt said finally. "I should have seen this coming. Should have protected us better.
This isn't your fault, isn't it? His laugh was bitter. I'm the one who took the loans. I'm the one who made an enemy of Birch. I'm the one who brought you into this mess.
You didn't force me to come here. I chose this. You chose survival. You didn't choose to pour everything you had into a failing ranch run by a stubborn fool. Rose grabbed his face, made him look at her.
I chose you, Wyatt Thornne. Not the ranch, not the security. You. And I'd make the same choice again, even knowing how hard it would be. Something broke in Wyatt's expression.
He pulled Rose into his arms, held her so tight she could barely breathe. "What do I do? " his voice cracked. "How do I choose between the ranch and my pride? " "You choose the future," Rose said quietly. "We sell Delilah to Birch. We pay the loan, and then we rebuild.
We start over with the horses we have left, and we make it work. " Without Delilah's bloodline, it'll take years to rebuild the breeding program. Then it takes years. Rose pulled back to look at him. But we do it together, and we do it free of debt and free of Birch's threats. Wyatt searched her face.
You're sure? I'm sure. They held each other in the fading light. Two people who'd fought as hard as they could and still come up short. But they were still standing, still together.
That had to count for something. The decision was made. In the morning they would sell Delila to Clayton Burch and save the ranch at the cost of its future. Or so they thought, because that night Delilah went into labor, and nothing about it went according to plan. Rose woke to Hank pounding on the bedroom door at 2:00 in the morning.
Mrs. Thorne, the mayor, she's falling. Rose was on her feet instantly, pulling on clothes with hands that still trembled from exhaustion. Wyatt was right behind her, both of them running for the barn. Delilah was down in the folding stall, breathing hard.