The Waiting Game

J.F. GOLDBERG

I was just finishing a meeting when the notification came through on my phone, it was happening, Dolly was finally giving birth. I wouldn’t normally rush home for this, after all Jackson was there with her but Dolly was one of the exceptional cases.

It wasn’t just that we had formed a bond, it was that I was the only one that she would let near her in her vulnerable state. Certainly, none of the men could get close without risking her getting too stressed out.

I told Maria I was leaving for the day and rushed home. Dolly wasn’t the first horse who had taken issue with males being around her but with her being so heavily pregnant, we hadn’t been able to do the desensitisation training with her yet.

I always felt a deeper connection to these cases, there was something about the look in her eye when I was close that said that she found safety in my presence, and it made my heart bleed for her.

The white scars marking her flanks, underbelly and chest read like a road map to the story of her past. She would never need to know fear again, that much I could promise her. Her and her foal would be safe in our care.

It was impossible to explain to people who didn’t know horses how their soul spoke. Like with one touch they could know your heart and, if you opened it to them, the connection you could form was deeper than words could explain.

I tried to keep practical and pragmatic, the more horses we could re home, the more we could save but some souls walked straight through the walls I had built and into my heart anyway. Like Blue and Miss Holly and now, Dolly too.

I rushed into the house and threw on some joggers and a warm jumper, discarding the pencil skirt and blazer for more practical attire before rushing back to Dolly’s side. I wouldn’t let her be alone in this, especially not after all she had been through.

When I got there, Jackson was stood outside her stable speaking sweet words to her gently. She was pacing and uncomfortable and restless, but she looked to me the moment I walked in.

I walked straight into the stall and took her massive head in my arms, gently running my hands over her neck and reassuring her. She knew I was here now, she nudged and fidgeted as if to tell me she was in discomfort, but she didn’t have to say anything.

With me holding her head, Jackson was able to examine her properly. Everything seems to be as it should be, all we could do was stand by and wait, ready to help if she needed us.

And that was how he found me, several hours later, covered in after birth, sweating and stripped down to my tank top. D.I. Bjorn Ezekiel walked into the barn with his arms crossed and a notebook in his hand.

I saw Dolly, still exhausted from the birth, tense when she heard his deep voice. “Jennifer Goldberg, I have a few questions for you.” Fuck, I gently reassured Dolly then left her with her, happy and healthy, foal as it tried to find its feet on wabbly legs.

Everything was fine, Jackson gave me a knowing nod as I left the stable, he would watch them for me and make sure they were okay. I rushed D.I. Ezekiel out of the barn before he could say anything else, I didn’t want our new mother stressing out.

“Detective, how can I help you?” I asked, catching my breath and straightening up. The chilly night air was biting at my arms now, it must be late, I was still covered in after birth though, so I made my way over to the warmth of the house.

He didn’t speak, just watching me like he was trying to work me out. I didn’t pay much attention to that though as I suddenly remembered that Maya was in the house. I had been in such a rush when I came home, I hadn’t even greeted her.

It had been a while since she had had a bad reaction to strangers, but she could still be wary, especially when the stranger was built like some sort of Greek god. He must be at least 6ft 6” or so and his massive shoulders make him look more tank than man.

I was opening the front door, about to explain to him when the bounding puppy almost knocked me off my feet. I guess I didn’t put her back in her room in my rush earlier. As soon as she spotted the detective, she retreated. She warily watched him as he stood back.

Thankfully he had the sense to stop and after some reassurance, she backed into the house so I could invite the Detective in. “Please excuse Maya, she gets a bit funny around strangers. She has never lashed out in any way though.”

I tried to reassure him as I washed up at the sink while he watched Maya who had backed herself to her bed in the corner of the kitchen. This kitchen didn’t actually contain any food, well, not human food anyway.

The walls were lined with wooden cabinets, filled with ingredients to make homemade horse and dog treats, bags of food, bowls, bottles, milk formulas, feeding tubes.... Everything that didn’t qualify as medical, that was kept in another room in the barn.

There was a kettle with tea and coffee in one corner of the worktop, near a deep sink that had been used to wash as many animal bodies as it had human hands, and a table and chairs in the middle of the room.

I sat at the table, not wanting to trapse my hay and gunk covered clothed any further into the house and too eager to hear what had brought the detective out here to mess about with getting changed just yet.