The Sweet Spot by Laura Drake Page A

pathetic creature, Charla.”
    She drove to the pasture gate and opened it. Pulling in, she repeated the gate exercise
     in reverse, scuttling into the cab as the herd converged. The truck bumped over the
     uneven ground, trailing cows like the Pied Piper. A few hundred feet into the meadow,
     she shut off the ignition.
    Putting on canvas gloves, she looked down and lifted the door handle, jumping when
     a wet nose appeared in the crack of the door. “No, no!” She swatted at the invader,
     then slammed the door shut. The startled cow gave her an indignant stare, and Char
     yelled through the closed window, “Humans inside. Cows outside.” The cow lowed and
     continued the stare-down. Char waved at the interior of the truck. “Cow-free zone!”
     The heifer licked the window, her huge tongue smearing drool over half of it. Char
     grimaced. “Oh, yuk.”
    “First, I’m jealous of my father’s nurse, and now I’m arguing with a cow. I’ve got
     to get a life.”
    The cab darkened as the cattle surrounded the truck, their huge bodies filling the
     windows. After thinking a moment, Char twisted in the seat to slide open the back
     window. Crouching, she wriggled through the narrowopening. After a dicey moment when her hips hung up, she squirmed until she fell in
     a contorted ball into the truck bed.
    Not a graceful entrance, but only cows witnessed it. Pulling a pocket knife from her
     jeans, Char slit a bag of feed on the tailgate. “Such demanding broads.” She waited
     for the flow to stem to a trickle before upending the rest onto the ground.
    Char noted a few new calves in the herd. What she didn’t see was a black-and-white
     spotted hide. “Dang that Tricks. If she’s out again, I swear, the minute she drops
     that calf—”
    As she straightened, a tail of wind, harbinger of the front, hit her like a slap.
     She glanced up. The advancing army of black, bruised clouds obscured fully half the
     sky. Brushing wind-blown hair out of her eyes, she scanned the rolling pasture and
     caught a flash of white out of the corner of her eye. That suspicious white bulge
     under an oak, on the distant rise; were those black spots?
    Char slit the second bag and dumped it on the ground. Eyeing the crowd surrounding
     the truck bed, she decided on the prudent exit, squeezing through the back window
     once more. It was harder this way; she ended up between the seats, parking brake poking
     her kidney, one leg stuck in the window. “Danged useless animals.” She squirmed, tugging
     at her leg. “If they’re not running away, they’re drooling on you or trying to die.
    Finally settled in the driver’s seat, she fired the engine and left the herd behind.
     Nearing the hill, the white spot coalesced into a downed cow. Tricks, in labor. Had
     beenfor some time by the look; her flanks were slick with sweat. Char pulled up, shut
     down the engine, and stepped out. Tricks seemed unaware of her approach, head flat
     on the ground, eyes unfocused. The massive side shuddered, and the cow strained, eyes
     rolling. Something was wrong.
    Char reached into the pocket for her phone. Nothing. She slapped her chest, looking
     for pockets. Hands over boobs, the truth sank in. The cell phone sat in the charger,
     plugged into the bathroom socket.
    “Rats! Of all the gol-durned, brainless—” She shot a hopeful glance to the house,
     then back to the cow. By the time she drove there, phoned the vet, and he got out
     here, it would be too late.
    Whoa up, Charla Rae. What are you considering here? You know zip about animal husbandry.
     Even if you were strong enough, which you aren’t.
    Tricks lowed as another contraction hit, but nothing was happening at the business
     end.
    Heart jackhammering her ribs, Char wrenched her gaze away, taking one hopeful scan
     of the darkened meadow for the cavalry. Only a golden laser of sun remained at the
     horizon, ominous smoky-black clouds loomed overhead. Another gust of wind whipped
     through the