Love Means No Shame - Andrew Grey

called the vet, but she’s on another call. Her office said she’d be here as soon as she can.”
    “Fuck and damn.” Len leapt from his chair, grabbed his coat, and was out the door with Fred right behind him.
    Geoff gulped the last of his coffee like he was downing a shot of whiskey and grabbed his coat as well. He wasn’t sure what he could do, but he was sure as hell not going to sit here while one of his horses was in trouble. “Come on!” He handed Elijah his coat and rushed out the door, Elijah following on his heels.
    “Do you know about birthing horses?” Elijah called from behind him.
    He’d seen it plenty of times, and he knew what was supposed to happen, but Geoff had never helped with a birth, and he’d never seen a troubled one. He called over his shoulder, “Not really.” They arrived in the barn to some very agitated horses. Geoff turned to the men standing around Princess’s stall. “Get the rest of these horses turned out.”
    The men snapped to and started opening stalls, getting halters on horses and leading them out of the barn. Slowly, the barn started to quiet, and Geoff looked into Princess’s stall. His heart nearly broke. She was lying on her side, covered in sweat, breathing like 39 Andrew Grey

    she’d just won a race, head thrashing, and her eyes… begging for help. Geoff stepped back and bumped into Elijah. “Sorry.” He hoped to hell the vet got here soon.
    Elijah looked into the stall, and Geoff stood aside. Elijah watched for a moment before turning back to Geoff, handing him his coat and hat, and rolling up his sleeves. Saying nothing more, he stepped into the stall, speaking soft and low to the agitated horse while he felt her belly. “The foal’s in the wrong position. It’s not too bad, but it needs to be turned.” He stood back up. “Where can I wash?”
    Geoff indicated the bathroom near the tack room and watched as Elijah walked inside. Water ran, and then Elijah emerged wearing his undershirt, walking straight into Princess’s stall.

    Geoff was amazed at the transformation. Gone was the tentative boy who’d bolted that morning as soon as he’d seen them, and in his place was a tall, confident young man who seemed to know what to do and had the confidence to do it.
    Elijah began speaking softly, his voice soothing as he felt the mare’s stomach again. “I’ll need some help.” Geoff and Len joined him in the stall, waiting for instructions. “I’m going to try to turn the foal. I need you to keep her as calm as you can.” Geoff sat near Princess’s head, stroking her neck and soothing her with his voice as he watched what Elijah was doing. Len knelt near her back, stroking her and likewise doing his best to keep her calm.
    Elijah positioned himself behind Princess and slowly inserted first one hand and then the other. The horse started to move, but Geoff was able to soothe her back down. “I almost have it; just keep her still.” Princess twitched like she was trying to get up, and Geoff and Len did their best to calm her, trying to keep her still. Then he saw Elijah slide his hands free and step back.
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    Love Means … NO SHAME
    A minute later, a small hoof appeared and then another, followed by a head, shoulders, and then—whoosh—the rest of the foal followed. Elijah stood back as Len took over, making sure everything was okay and getting the foal away so Princess could stand, which she did right away. Then Len, too, vacated the stall, and everyone watched as the little colt rested on the straw. In a few minutes, he extended his legs and tried to stand. After a few tries, he was up on wobbly legs; then he was down and up again. This time, he managed a few tentative steps toward his mother and started to suckle.
    Everyone in the barn breathed a collective sigh of relief, with the men smiling and patting Elijah on the back. Elijah just grinned and went into the bathroom to clean up.
    The barn door opened and closed, and Geoff saw Jane Grove, the vet, hurrying in his direction.
“Where’s Princess?” she asked.
    Geoff pointed to the stall and watched as the doctor opened the door and stopped cold. The last thing she could have expected to see was a suckling colt standing in the stall. “I thought there was a problem.”

    “There was. The colt was in the wrong position and needed to be turned.”

    “Who did it?” She looked at each of the men. The bathroom door opened, and Elijah stepped out, walking to Geoff, who handed him his