Chapter Two, Untitled kid's book...

Joy clutched the wheel of the orange Ford truck, barely keeping the trailer on the road as she careened around the corner and through the gate to camp Ka-Nik-Ka-Nik. Her passenger, Seth, gripped his stomach with one hand and steadied himself on the dashboard with the other. He was beginning to regret that fifth pancake he'd had at breakfast that morning. The truck fishtailed as they blew by the guard shack, peppering it with gravel. 1

"Easy, Joy! You're gonna get John on our case again!" 2

John was the camp director. He already thought that the wranglers (the camp workers in charge of the horses) had too much freedom, and he'd often mentioned that they were too reckless with their driving on camp grounds. Joy figured she must be doing at least triple the camp speed limit of fifteen miles per hour, but she just responded by pushing harder on the accelerator. 3

When she and Seth had spotted that cow on the side of the road, Joy had known she was pregnant at a glance. It didn't look like there was much hope for the mother, but maybe if they worked fast, they'd be able to save the baby. Jodi would know what to do. Jodi was the head wrangler, in charge of the horse program at camp. She was also a certified veterinarian. 4

Joy finally slowed the truck as they wound through Mountain Village on the way to Jodi's house. As they slid to a stop in Jodi's driveway, Seth leaped out on the passenger side and rushed toward the house. Joy raced to the back of the truck, fumbled with the latch, and finally swung open the trailer doors. She climbed up next to Jasmine's mother and knelt beside her head. 5

The cow's eyes were open and glassy. She wasn't breathing. Joy heard footsteps crunching on the gravel behind her, and then Jodi's familiar drawl. 6

"Whadja bring me this tom Joy?" 7

Joy quickly explained as Jodi gently probed the cow's bulging stomach. She shined a light in each eye. After a few minutes, she sat back on her heels with a small sigh. 8

"Mom's dead. The calf's not movin." She didn't want to look Joy in the eye, knowing the pained look she would find. "I'm sorry, Joy, but I just don't think there's anything we can do for this 'un."9

Joy had known Jodi for over two years. Jodi wasn't the kind to give up if there was even the slightest glimmer of hope. Although she picked on Joy for her habit of taking home every stray animal that crossed her path, deep down, Jodi shared Joy's love and compassion for the sick and abandoned. 10

But Joy wasn't ready to give up hope. She looked at Jodi with pleading eyes. "Can't you just check to make sure? I--it would make me feel better."11

Jodi's shoulders relaxed. "Well, awright. Seth, get me a bucket of soapy water. Joy, fetch my gloves."12

Joy's face broke into a grateful smile as she and Seth scurried to get the supplies Jodi would need to deliver a calf. They had both seen Jodi deliver foals before, the tiny horses coming out all wet and frail, and then miraculously standing to their feet only minutes later. To Joy, the arrival of new life was an amazing thing, but she had also seen the dark side of the process. She knew what could happen when things went wrong. 13

As Jodi soaped up her arms and prepared to check on the calf, she already knew what she would find. A cold, dry nose that would never take in the mountain air, vacant eyes that would never see the sunset over Inspiration point, and tiny legs that would never run and jump through the meadow across from Aspen View. She dreaded the look on Joy's face when she would have to break the inevitable news. 14

Jodi thrust these dark thoughts aside as she reached carefully in to check on the calf. It was dry and cramped, as she knew it would be, but as she felt a little bit further, she came across something she hadn't expected. She pushed harder, and was surprised by a sudden rush of fluid. 15

Joy and Seth exchanged a glance. Normally, the mother would now take over, and push the baby out into the world. But Jodi knew she could expect no help from that source. 16

She got down on her stomach and felt a little further in, until she came across something hard. Her heart fell. It was a hoof. She felt further. Three hooves. She pulled out her arm. "Calf's in there backwards. Three legs jammed in the birth canal. The other one's bent around the body in the opposite direction. Can't be alive."17

Despite her proclamation, Jodi soaped up and reached in yet again, as far as her arm would go. Ah, there was the head. She ran her fingers down the nose, toward the mouth. The tiny nose was wet, but there was no movement. Jodi paused, her fingers resting on the moist muzzle, wondering how to tell Joy that it was over. 18

Then suddenly, Jodi's eyes widened. She pulled her arm out, staring wide-eyed at Joy. 19

"What?" Joy was holding her breath in anticipation. "What is it?"20

Jodi stood up, yanking off her gloves. "Call the boys. Tell them to bring the chain. I'm fixin' to deliver a baby."21

She shook her head with a crooked smile, as Joy and Seth hugged and started jumping up and down. "That dead calf just licked me!"