holding her foot while he listened. He heard a low whine and smiled. "Daisy might be having her pups."
Something made him look at her. Her eyes were animated, and her smile took his breath. "I love puppies," she breathed, tugging her foot out of his hand. "Let's go see 'em."
"One thing at a time." But he had to smile back at her while he took the polish off her fingernails. She was practically bouncing with excitement.
They found Daisy curled in the hay he'd put out for her at the back of the shed. Dan squatted, rubbing her silky head. "Hey girl," he crooned. "Brought someone to meet you and your babies." He turned to Cynda, who'd apparently forgotten how much she liked the dress, since she was kneeling in the hay. "Daisy can't see very well these days. Let her sniff your hand first, then pet her. She might growl," he warned, but Daisy seemed okay. Cynda petted the old English Setter's head. He tensed. Daisy could be snappish in labor, and she was protective of a new litter for the first couple of weeks.
"Cataracts, like my grams," Cynda whispered, noticing Daisy's white-glazed eyes. "She's beautiful. Hello, Daisy girl, are we being rude to visit while you're birthin'? Such a pretty girl."
Dan was trying to see the pups. He moved Daisy's back leg aside and saw one nursing babe. "Just one so far, girl?" Daisy had done a good job cleaning it up and the pup was suckling eagerly. "We'll leave you be for now. Hope to see a few more when we get back."
He left Cynda kneeling beside Daisy. Crossing the backyard, he grabbed the stainless bowl and filled it with fresh water from the garden hose. By the time he returned, Cynda was stroking the pup's faintly-spotted back and fondling its one black ear.
Dan placed the water bowl where Daisy could reach it and held his hand out to Cynda. "You must be special. She usually dislikes women. C'mon, day's not getting any younger."
She let him pull her to her feet, but still stared at the pup, which was pushing at the hay with splayed back feet, trying to get closer to Daisy. "How long till we can hold it?" she whispered. It was dim at the back of the shed, but her brown eyes were alight.
He felt like a damn fool but he leaned down to gently disconnect the nursing pup and handed it to her. She immediately flipped the pup onto its back and cuddled it to her breast in the crook of her arm. "A boy," she murmured, rubbing the pup's rounded tummy. "Daisy, what a beautiful boy."
Suddenly, Dan saw his mother, lying in the bed where he now slept. His father stood beside the bed, holding Dan's newborn brother Colton. "A boy," Rafe was saying. "Another beautiful boy, my love."
Daisy's anxious whine seemed to blend with the memory of his mother's face, wet with tears from the pain. There hadn't been time to get her to the hospital. He blinked and saw Cynda lift the pup, planting a kiss on the end of his pink nose. "Back to Momma, little man."
His father had said those same words. Then Georgia Mason, the neighbor who'd come to help, chased him out of the house. Dan had found his middle brother Eric standing in this same spot, crying.
"Say it ain't no dang girl," three-year-old Eric had howled.
It'd been no secret that Rafe wanted a daughter.
* * * *
The peach dropped from among the branches into her outstretched hands. Cynda heard Daniel curse. "Hang on," he warned. "Gonna take me a minute to find a few last week's hail didn't damage."
Placing the peach in the basket at her feet, Cynda looked around. She was beginning to understand why country singers wrote love songs about their tractors. He'd made her sit in front of him. The wide, perforated metal seat had a bump in the center, designed to fit between the operator's legs for comfort, she supposed. That bump had been pressed right against her pussy for almost an hour. He'd played with her nipples through the fine fabric of her dress and by the time he'd stopped, she was so aroused her body hummed.
Sighing, she turned, looking down