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is base, come in.”
    “Yeah, Madge, what is it?”
    “The weather report has changed. Now they’re saying temps in the twenties and six inches of snow.”
    “Damn! I should’ve known. Get the nursery ready, Madge, just in case. When is it supposed to hit?”
    Madge told him it was predicted sometime in the afternoon, around three to four. Then she signed off.
    “The nursery? What’s he talking about?” Rachel asked.
    “It’s that small pen on the outside porch. We keep the babies in that pen sometimes, so they won’t freeze to death.”
    “But wouldn’t their mothers keep them warm?” Rachel asked. “I don’t know much about cows, but—”
    “The calves we keep in the pen don’t have mamas. Some cows don’t make it through birth.”
    “Oh, poor babies.”
    “I’ve got to get the bottles ready after I fix up the porch.”
    “Can I do something to help?”
    “The bottles are in that last cabinet on the top shelf. Why don’t you get them down for me?”
    Rachel was pleased to have something to do, but it didn’t take long. Then she went to the inner porch, a place for J.D. to clean up before coming into the kitchen. She peeked through the door to the outer porch and discovered Madge trying to tie down a canvas cover on the north end.
    “Can I help you, Madge?” she called.
    “Don’t come out without a coat,” the housekeeper warned.
    Rachel hurried back to her bedroom and pulled onjeans, a flannel shirt and a sweater. Then she grabbed her coat and stuck her feet in boots. She hurried back to the porch.
    “I’m all bundled up, Madge,” she announced.
    “I’m struggling because the wind is so strong. We have to tie down the sides so this tarp won’t blow away,” Madge explained.
    After tying the north end, they fastened the east side, the longer one.
    “Do we leave the south side uncovered?” Rachel asked.
    “Yes, so they can bring the babies in. Now I’ve got to spread the hay out.”
    There was a bale of hay on the porch, and Madge began to tear off handfuls and toss them into the small pen nearby. Rachel copied her.
    When they’d finished that chore, Madge got out a heater and plugged it in not far from the pen. “That will start making the place warmer in a few minutes. Now we’ve got to go fix the bottles.”
    Rachel was delighted to be included.

Chapter Four
    “Boss, you want me to take the calf up to Madge?” Bluey asked when J.D. dismounted in the barnyard.
    “No, I’ll take it up. Can you give my horse some oats while I’m gone? How are things here?”
    “Just fine. We’ve got a barnful of mamas and babies.” The old cowboy eyed the small red-and-white animal in J.D.’s arms. “That one’s kind’a tiny, ain’t it?”
    “Yeah, Bluey, it is. I’m not sure it will make it. But maybe Madge can pull it through. I’ll be back in a minute.”
    J.D. spared a hand to settle his hat more firmly on his head before he braved the cold north wind. Mixed in were tiny bullets of ice that dug into his skin. He hurried for the back porch of the house, but it was awkward to run with both his arms wrapped around the calf.
    As he approached the porch he saw Madge’s old hat and grinned. He’d threatened to buy her a new hat and she’d refused, saying her hat was special. He hoped having it made her calm because he’d need all her skills to pull this calf through.
    “I brought you a new patient, Madge,” he called as he lowered the tiny calf into the pen. The head wearing Madge’s hat turned and he almost fell off the porch. “Rachel!”
    “Oh, J.D., that one is so little. Did its mother die, too?”
    “Uh, yeah. What are you doing out here?”
    “I’m helping Madge with the babies. She showed me what to do. Hand me the new baby. I’ll hold him while I feed him. He’s so tiny.”
    “Madge!” J.D. roared. His summons brought results; Madge came running.
    “What’s wrong? What is it, J.D.?”
    “Have you lost your mind? What’s Rachel doing out in this