by Jen Talty
He dropped his arms to his sides as he strolled toward the Jeep, replaying the words they’d both said to the media over and over again.
The more he did that, the less he liked the outcome. They should have stuck with the plan. Less was always more. Simple was best.
“You’re mad,” she said as she slipped into the passenger seat.
“I don’t know what I am.”
“If we had gone with exactly what Georgia Moon had written, it would have made you look like a deadbeat dad. I won’t have that. Besides. What we just told was the truth and that is easier to defend than a spin of a half truth.”
“I suppose.”
“Come on. I’m the sweetheart of the rodeo. That’s what they call me. Everyone loves me. I could pick my nose on national television and the world would forgive me. But you’re a bad boy who has a reputation for being a womanizer, though slightly unfounded.”
“My reputation isn’t that horrible. Most would say I’m a good man and any woman I’ve been with, for the most part, would say kind things. But what is done is done. Let’s just hope they leave us and the rest of my family alone for a while.” He hopped behind the steering wheel and shifted his gaze toward the entrance and let out a sigh of relief.
“See. It worked.” She sat up a little taller and smiled that beautiful bright grin that always lifted his soul.
But not this time. He wouldn’t allow her back in. He chuckled. “That is until one reporter decides to put a negative spin on it.”
“Why do you have to be like that? The man I used to know wasn’t this cynical.”
“That’s because you took his heart and crushed it. Twice.”
3
Cheyenne sipped her lemonade as she rocked back and forth in the rocking chair on JW’s porch. Kitty rubbed her round belly as she stretched out in a chaise lounge chair, and Annette sat on the steps. So much had changed at Whiskey Ranch, yet everything was the same.
Cheyenne had always loved the gentle calm that filled every corner of the land. It could be found in the rolling hills or the meadows and along the creek that snaked through the property. There was nothing on earth quite like Whiskey Ranch, and the people that lived and worked on there were unique. The Whiskey family created an atmosphere that made all their employees and visitors feel like family. “I still can’t believe JD is married and a father.” Cheyenne had seen firsthand the pain in JD’s eyes and how hard his heart had grown after he’d lost his child and Suzanne. He never talked about it with her, but JB had, and it brought her to her knees.
“Trust me, neither can we,” Kitty said with a slight laugh. “But he’s so good with that little boy. And he loves Annette like there’s no tomorrow.”
Cheyenne watched as JD and JB tossed a ball around with Tony and Jimmy. It was as if she’d been plucked from reality and dropped into the twilight zone or an alternate universe of some kind. The brothers had always been big kids at heart, but to see them with their own children brought tears to her eyes.
“JW is a little jealous that he’s not the first one to have a kid in this family,” Kitty said. “But he couldn’t be happier to have you and Jimmy with us on the ranch.”
“Do you know what you’re having?” Cheyenne asked, turning her attention to Kitty. She was different from anyone she would have expected JW to date. He always had a taste for flashy women. But Kitty was sweet and down-to-earth. She seemed to bring out the best in JW, not that he needed anyone to do that. As the patriarch of the family, JW had always been an excellent role model for his siblings. He was strong, but also had a gentle side. His family always came first, and he never made any apologies for that fact.
“It’s a little girl. JW is scared to death. He doesn’t think he’ll know what to do with a female.” Kitty grimaced. She looked as big as a house, and Cheyenne remembered how uncomfortable those last few weeks and days were. “I keep trying to tell him that girls and boys are really no different.”
“Problem is that once she’s here,” Annette interjected, “he’ll treat her like his little princess, spoiling the shit out of her.”
“Ain’t that the truth, sister.” Kitty rolled to her other side with a groan.
“Do you have names picked out? Are you going to continue with the Whiskey tradition?” Cheyenne didn’t have many girlfriends. She’d lost the few she had once she and Scott divorced, mostly because his friends became hers, especially after she’d left the rodeo circuit. When she’d gone back, she kept to herself. She wanted to protect Jimmy from the crazy-ass reporters. She couldn’t risk anyone making the connection. But she’d never been lonely. Not really. She had her Jimmy. What more could she need?
Her stomach twisted and turned. She missed this kind of human connection.
And she missed JB.
She’d never stopped loving him, but she’d never gotten the chance to tell him and what did it matter now?
“Hell to the no,” Kitty said. “That madness stops now, and JW is absolutely fine with that. All their cousins are stopping it too.”
Annette stood and made her way across the porch, pouring herself another glass of lemonade before sitting at the edge of Kitty’s chair. “So, have you decided on a name?”
“We’re down to Colleen Marie or Kayla Marie. I think we’re going to wait until she’s born and see what she looks like to us.” Kitty grabbed her stomach and moaned.
“Are you okay?” Annette asked. “Contraction?”
“I’ve had a few,” Kitty managed through a pant. “There is no pattern to them and they don’t last very long. I called the doctor this morning, and he said it’s any hour or any day. My guess was as good as his and to call him when they came ten minutes apart.”
Cheyenne jumped to her feet and put her hand on Kitty’s belly. “Your stomach is as hard as a rock. When was the last one you had and how long did it last?”
“A few hours ago and about the same as this one. Less than a minute.” Kitty scooted to a more upright position. “They are more annoying than anything else. I’m just uncomfortable as hell.”
Cheyenne kept her hand on Kitty’s stomach. The firmness had eased, but it lasted more like three to five minutes, though she couldn’t be sure since she started timing partway into the contraction. Hopefully without anyone noticing, she glanced at her watch. She’d had so many complications with Jimmy and his birth had been difficult, so she honestly figured she was overreacting.
Kitty’s stomach tightened.
Cheyenne waited to see how Kitty would respond.
Nothing.
She waited another few minutes.
Still nothing.
Cheyenne let this go on for a good fifteen minutes while they chatted about baby names and the Whiskey family, but it became quite clear that it was time to get JW.
“Not to be an alarmist, but I believe you’re having silent labor,” Cheyenne said. “I had it with Jimmy. Feels like that baby is just curling up in a little ball in the side of your belly, right?”
Kitty narrowed her eyes and nodded.
“I’ll have JD and JB go track down JW,” Annette said. “I think he’s with Georgia Moon and Luke in the bull pen with one very angry bull that has a toothache. And then I’ll take the children to go see the ponies.”
“Sounds like a solid plan.” Cheyenne sat on the side of the chair holding Kitty’s hand. “How far away is the hospital?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“And you have a bag packed?” Cheyenne asked.
“Have you met my husband?”
Cheyenne laughed.
Kitty grabbed her stomach and hunched over. “I feel that one.”
“Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, slowly.” Cheyenne held her hand and squeezed gently. “You got this.”
“Cheyenne?”
“Yes?”
“I think my water just broke.”
Cheyenne looked down, and sure enough, liquid pooled on the cushion. She glanced toward where the boys had been p
laying, grateful that JB was jogging in her direction. She waved him over. “Call JW. Now.”
“Already did. He’s not answering.” JB made his way up the steps.
“Call the barn office.”
Kitty grabbed Cheyenne’s forearm with a death grip. She turned her gaze to see Kitty’s face turn beet red. “Shit,” she mumbled. “This baby is coming now.”
“What?” JB asked with a high-pitched yelp. He sounded just like his son.
“Go inside and get some towels, a sheet, and warm water, not hot. Sterilized scissors and a clothes pin. And while you’re at it, call JD and tell him to hurry the fuck up with getting JW here. He’s not going to want to miss this.”
Kitty’s face had returned to its natural color instead of the shade that matched her hair. “I’ll just cross my legs until he gets here. Better yet, until we get to the hospital where they can give me drugs.”
Cheyenne pulled out her cell and hit 9-1-1. “I’m sorry to say none of that is an option.” She let the operator know the situation and then gave her full attention to Kitty.
“And here I just thought I was constipated,” Kitty said.
“I felt that way too.” Cheyenne did her best to shield her own fears from Kitty. While women had been giving birth since the beginning of time, there were always risks, and doing it at home, there were even more.
Especially when Cheyenne wasn’t a doctor and helping a horse deliver didn’t count.
JB returned with everything she asked for. He set it up on a table. “JW is on his way. What do you want me to do?”
Cheyenne didn’t even know how to answer that question. While she contemplated her response, she took a sheet and covered Kitty from the waist down. The sound of hooves hitting the hard ground in a full-on gallop gave her heart pause.
At least JW wouldn’t miss the birth of his child.
But that didn’t really let Cheyenne off the hook. JW couldn’t do this alone, and JB would be useless.
“Kitty,” JW raced to his wife’s side, shoving JB out of the way, knocking him on his butt.
“Oh, thank God.” Kitty took JW’s hand just as her face started to turn a pretty shade of red again.
“I can see the head,” Cheyenne said.
“You can see the what now?” JW asked with wide eyes. “Are you telling me my wife is giving birth right here on my front porch?”
Cheyenne nodded. “Take a look for yourself, Dad.”
JW peered over the sheet. “Holy shit, babe. Keep pushing. That’s it. You’re doing great.”
“Easy for you to say,” Kitty said behind a tight jaw. “You just got to this rodeo and you’re just a damn spectator.”
Cheyenne focused on the head, helping it ease through the birth canal. “Come on, Kitty, give me another big push.”
“Oh, my God,” JW whispered as the shoulders appeared. “She’s almost here.”
All of a sudden, JB was at Cheyenne’s side with a towel. They made brief eye contact before she took the baby into her hands and placed her on the towel, giving her belly a little massage.
Immediately, she wailed with strong lungs.
JB took her and placed her in Kitty’s arms.
“Look at her,” Kitty said with a sob. “She’s so beautiful.”
“Because she looks like her mommy.” JW swiped at his eyes. “And what a set of lungs, but is she going to be okay? I mean she came so fast.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Cheyenne rinsed her hands in the bucket of warm water.
Sirens rang out in the distance.
“The ambulance is almost here. They will check out both mom and baby and get you to the hospital where you can rest.” Cheyenne stood. Every muscle in her body shook. Her pulse raced out of control. She hadn’t been that scared since the day Jimmy had been born. She took a few steps backward.
“Cheyenne,” Kitty called. “If you hadn’t been here, I can’t imagine what might have happened.”
“Thank you,” JW said. “We’ll be forever grateful for what you did here today.”
“It was nothing. Either one of you could have handled it,” Cheyenne said.
“You wear humble well,” JW said as the ambulance rolled to a stop in front of the house.
That was Cheyenne’s cue to leave. Time to give the family some space.
“Wait up,” JB called.
But she didn’t stop. If anything, she picked up the pace as the tears burned a path down her cheeks.
“Cheyenne, would you please stop?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to be alone,” she admitted.
“Why?”
She dug her heel into the ground and squeezed her eyes tight. “Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
He took her by the forearm and spun her around. “Yes. You do.”
She blinked. Her vision blurred. The sun bore down on her like a meteor about to crash into the earth. She desperately tried not to look him in the eye, but he made that impossible.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.
“Do you have any idea what that was like for me?”
“Huh? You were amazing. You were so calm and knew exactly what to do. I think Kitty would have lost her shit if you weren’t there. I know JW would have.”
“You fucking moron. Not Kitty. Me. My pregnancy. The birth of our son. I was alone. I had no family to support me, and it was a horrible pregnancy riddled with complications, and our baby nearly died.” She jabbed him in the chest. “And before you go and remind me that I kept Jimmy from you and I have no one to blame but myself, let me remind you of the fact that you wouldn’t take my calls and you changed your number. You did everything you could to rid your life of me. You never cared about me. I was just a notch in your belt. Now. Please. I beg you to give me some space and leave me the fuck alone.” She shrugged free and took off running. Once she got to wherever her legs took her, she’d text Annette and let her know what was going on and to drop Jimmy off with JB. He wanted some time with his kid; well, he just got it.
JB did his best to act as if he wasn’t worried in front of Jimmy when inside he was utterly terrified. He glanced at his watch.
Eight in the evening.
“Daddy?” Jimmy asked as he rubbed his tired eyes.
JB looped his arm around the boy, snuggling him closer. They’d played hard most of the day while he let JD, Luke, and other ranch hands search for Cheyenne, but she was nowhere to be found. Whiskey Ranch stretched on for miles and miles, and no way could they cover all that ground in one afternoon. It was summertime, so the sun had yet to completely disappear behind the mountains, but soon, it would grow dark.
“What’s up, buddy?”
“When’s Mommy coming home?”
How the hell did he answer that question? He didn’t want to lie to the little fella, but he couldn’t tell him the truth.
A flash from the night his parents died filled his brain. Everyone on the ranch tried to soften the blow, especially for ten-year-old JB.
But nothing could ever make losing both your parents at that age any easier.
Fuck. Why did he have to let his mind go there? Cheyenne was fine. She just needed space. She’d experienced something that brought back painful memories.
He of all people should understand that.
“Why don’t we try to call her?” he said, pulling out his phone. “Would you like to leave the message?”
“Can I?”
“Of course you can.” JB tapped the number and waited, praying she answered, but it went to voicemail.
“Mommy. It’s bedtime. I want you to tuck me in. Are you going to be home soon? I love you,” Jimmy said with a sniffle.
That brought JB to his knees. He was a stranger to his own son. Didn’t matter that the boy had been dreaming about meeting his father, he still didn’t know him, and it would take time for them to feel completely comfortable and at ease with one another.
“Why don’t
you teach me how Mommy tucks you in. I know it won’t be the same, but I’d like to learn.”
“Okay.” He jumped from the sofa, carrying his blanket with him as he dragged up the stairs and into the bedroom. He climbed up onto the bed. “I’m a big boy, but can I stay in Mommy’s bed until she gets home? She might need a hug.”
“Of course you can. So, tell me, what does Mommy do when it’s time to tuck you in for the night?”
“We start with a story.” He pulled a big book off the nightstand and flipped it open. “This one is my favorite.”
He laughed when he saw it was Green Eggs and Ham. “When I was a little boy, my mommy used to read me this story all the time. And sometimes, my older sister would sneak in my room after my parents left and read it to me again.”
“I’d love to meet my grandma someday.”
JB’s heart squeezed. “I wish you could, but she and my dad are in heaven.”
Jimmy reached up and palmed JB’s cheek. “Maybe they are with my other grandparents. My mommy says they watch over me.”
“I’m sure they do.”
Jimmy slipped under the covers and snuggled up against JB’s chest. He pulled his blankie up under his cheek and sighed. “I’m ready. You can start reading.”
In all of JB’s wildest dreams, and he’d had a few, he never thought he’d ever be doing this with anyone except his nephews and nieces. He loved children. Always had. They were full of innocence, and he remembered the day it had been stripped from his world. Tragedy had forced him to grow up too quickly.
Something he didn’t want for his son.
Three pages into the story, Jimmy was sound asleep, but JB couldn’t bring himself to leave the room. He did, however, want to check his phone.
