Ashes of the Red Heifer (35 page)

He frowned. She put a hand on his knee. “I’ll be okay. I just need a minute.”

He looked doubtful but stood up and started for the door. “I’ll be right outside. Call me if you need anything.”

She nodded and watched him walk out.

There had been enough death and she couldn’t let the poor calf suffer. Maybe she could simply notch an ear with a scalpel. It was a common enough procedure to mark cattle. The heifer with the black calf could nurse the baby along with her own calf. The innocent animal deserved to live.

She stepped around the pool of blood and reached for the scalpel she’d used for the c-section. Fighting herself every step of the way, she made her way to the secret door.

She took another step, her vision clouded with tears. Her fingers felt for the latch as she’d seen David do. She found it and leaned against the door, opening it wide.

The little red form on the floor stirred and then startled. She jumped to her feet and moved forward, burying her nose in the corner of the room, her tail flicking furiously. Annie stood motionless and felt deep sorrow as she saw the little tail switch. It seemed so long ago that she’d waited anxiously for Esther’s calf, excited to cure BA 23.

She swallowed. “Okay, let’s just get this done. I’ve notched a million ears in my life and will probably notch a million more.”

Gripping the scalpel she leaned over. “Who wants to be perfect, anyway?”

The calf turned her face to Annie, her eyes wide.

Annie blinked and stared at the calf. The scalpel plopped in the dirt. Annie dropped to her knees and smiled for the first time in what felt like decades. Her heart, broken by sorrow, expanded with hope.

Annie stared at the beautiful newborn calf. At birth she had been perfectly red. Now a soft patch of white hair marked her muzzle.

ABOUT AUTHOR SHANNON BAKER

Shannon Baker has an MBA and is an accountant by trade, which is why she writes thrillers. The constant right brain/left brain conflict explains a lot about her personality. A lover of mountains, plains, oceans and rivers, she can often be found traipsing around outside.

Ashes of the Red Heifer is Shannon’s first novel.

Visit Shannon’s webpage at

http://www.lldreamspell.com/ShannonBaker.htm