Mommy's Coming, Sweetheart

On the day my daughter turned one month old, my husband's beloved first love barged in while clutching an unconscious baby. She slapped herself repeatedly while pleading frantically to me. "If it weren't for my lack of milk, I definitely wouldn't have dared to trouble you to feed my child. I deserve to die for this. Please, I beg you, spare my child's life! Don't poison her!"

In a fit of rage, my husband sent me to a cattle ranch to "learn what real motherly love is." A month later, he brought the whole family to pick me up. Seeing me gently coax a newborn calf to stroll, he nodded with satisfaction. "Looks like this month on the ranch has really helped you develop some deep motherly instincts."

I acted as if I hadn't heard him, lowering my head to kiss the big yellow cow's face. "What would you and our daughter like for dinner tonight?"

Grinding his teeth, my husband snapped, "I sent you to the ranch for a month to reflect and this is how you repay me? Acting crazy to disgust me?"

Just then, the little calf stumbled into a muddy pit and started crying. I rushed to scoop it into my arms and began nursing it with a bottle. "There, there, baby. Don't cry. Mommy's milk will make everything better."

***

When my husband, Jace Shepard, came to pick me up with the entire family in tow, I was out on the pasture, walking a wobbly-legged calf that had just been born not long ago. "Zara already forgave you for hurting the baby," he said. "She even told me to hurry and bring you home. Willow, tell me, did your time here at the ranch change you at all?"

Surrounded by relatives and friends, I looked at him with soft eyes, but my attention never left the calf stumbling beside me. "Slow down, little one, don't hurt yourself."

Zara smiled at me gently. "Willow, Jace has already put aside the past to come and get you. Don't hold a grudge against Jace anymore, or he'll say you're arrogant again."

Jace seemed to be in a good mood, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Although Willow's temper is still as stubborn as ever, this month at the cattle ranch has instilled a deep sense of motherhood in her. My efforts weren't in vain."

Ignoring their little performance, I walked straight to the cowshed's entrance and took off my shoes. "Baby, Mommy's home."

Jace's pupils constricted and he eagerly followed me in. "Why did you leave our daughter with those animals in the cowshed? My precious daughter, let Daddy see you!"

Everyone stared at me strangely as I cradled the calf in my arms and softly sang a lullaby: "Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, down to Grandma's bridge we go … "

Jace was both angry and anxious, his chest heaving. "Where's our daughter? Willow, what madness is this? You're holding a calf!"

The little calf startled and flinched. I immediately held it tighter, my eyes warily fixed on Jace. He looked disturbed by my gaze and turned to the owner of the cattle ranch, his face dark. "I sent my wife here for a nice break. How could she have become like this, completely out of her mind, in just one month?"

The cattle ranch owner looked at Jace with a distressed expression. "Mr. Shepard, I really don't know what happened to your wife. I clearly prepared the best room on the farm for her and your daughter, but she insisted on moving into this cowshed."

Jace frowned, deep in thought. Zara immediately clutched her chest, tears welling up in her eyes. "I understand now, Willow is still blaming me in her heart. It's my fault for being a husbandless widow, relying on Jace and causing him trouble. Jace, you've been so kind to me. No matter what Willow does to me, I won't complain. If it weren't for her hurting the child, I definitely wouldn't have revealed it, causing Willow to be sent to the cattle ranch for a month-long 'vacation.'"

Zara's few words easily ignited Jace's anger. "Willow, I originally thought that after a month of 'soul-cleansing' at the natural cattle ranch, you would show some remorse. I never expected your nature to be so unchangeable that you would resort to such despicable means to gain my sympathy and make things difficult for Zara."