The Bull Rider's Christmas Baby

by Laura Marie Altom

  Wren crushed him in a hug. “I’ve been so afraid that since we’re married, you expect me to give up my career to raise Robin on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I love everything about being a mother, but…”

  “I get it,” he explained, raining kisses over her cheeks and brows and finally, deliciously, her lips. “I’m going ahead with my surgery. You’re going ahead with your residency. Together, we’ll be unstoppable.”

  She wanted to believe him. Oh, how she wanted to trust in Cash’s every word, but more than anyone, Wren knew dreams rarely—if ever—came true.

  “THANK YOU, UNCLE CASH and Aunt Wren!” Upon unwrapping their kid-sized, battery-powered Hummer, Dallas’s twins wriggled and screamed to such a degree Cash was afraid they’d wake Robin, who was finally asleep in the portable crib his mother had set up in a relatively quiet corner of the main house’s living room.

  Prissy wriggled along with them, but then found a candy cane and snuck off with it under the couch.

  “You’re welcome,” Cash said, hugging them both, “but please, keep the celebrating quiet.”

  “Okay!” The girls’ exaggerated whisper was hardly an improvement.

  “Can we drive it now?” Bonnie asked.

  “Let’s go to the mall,” Betsy said.

  “And get ice cream.” Bonnie ripped at the supersized box.

  “Slow down,” their father said. “The end of the driveway is as far as you two will be traveling.”

  With both girls pouting, Georgina said, “Wren, I wasn’t sure about your size, so if your blouse doesn’t fit, I have the receipt. It’s from the cutest Utica Square boutique. If you need to take it back, we’ll do lunch.”

  “Sounds fun,” Wren said, fingering the white silk blouse Cash’s mom had given her, “but it’s so beautiful, I’m hoping it looks great.”

  “Ladies never need an excuse to do lunch,” Georgina noted, gathering the crumpled wrapping at her feet.

  Wren laughed, helping with the cleanup. “Thank you, everyone, for such a fun morning. I’ve never had a family Christmas, and…” Seeing his wife choked up formed a knot in Cash’s throat. Waving her hands in front of her suddenly red face, she managed to say, “You all are amazing. I’m lucky to have found you.”

  “Feeling’s mutual,” Georgina said, practically pushing Cash to give his wife a hug. “I’m so glad you’ve decided to stay with us. I realize even with your residency in Tulsa you’ll still be busy, but at least we’ll see you every once in a while.”

  Cash witnessed Wren’s smile fade to a frown. What was she thinking? Was she sad about her change in plans? Would she grow to resent him for it? Or worse yet, did she already? On the surface, everything between them had never been better. They shared meals and jokes and he’d been doing more diaper changes on Robin. What more did Wren want from him?

  Dallas patted Cash’s shoulder. “Love the new fly-fishing gear.”

  “Good.” Cash wanted to say more, but at the moment didn’t have it in him.

  “Wanna give me a hand?” Wyatt nodded toward both of them to help get the Hummer from the box.

  With the twins dancing around their gift, his mother and Wren cleaning and Stella with her own family in Stillwater, the old place felt almost as it had back when his father had still been alive. What would Duke say about Cash’s predicament? Would he think his son was overreacting? Was now the time for Cash to man up and tell Wren how things between them were going to be? Her transferring her residency would be best for not only him, but Robin. Surely she knew that, so why was she apparently still riding the proverbial fence?

  “IT’S DONE.” HAVING set his knee surgery appointment for a few days after New Year’s, Cash hung up the phone.

  “How do you feel?” Wren asked from the living-room sofa, where she nursed Robin.

  Prissy protectively sat beside them.

  “With all this rain, my knee hurts like hell.”

  Making a face, she said, “That’s not what I meant. Are you satisfied you’ve made the right decision?”

  “What other decision is there? Either I have surgery or I’m off the tour.”

  She switched Robin to her other breast. “I’m hardly an orthopedic surgeon, but once you heal, you should be good as new.”

  Grunting, he stared out the window at the puddles forming on the drive. “Never thought I’d say this, but lately I’ve been wondering if that’s what I want. You know, to be good as new? Before I had a family of my own, I used to feel invincible. Now I worry if something happens to me, where does that leave you and our baby girl?”

  “Good question. Not gonna lie, but I worry about you getting hurt again—only next time, worse.” Robin had fallen asleep at her breast. Wren repositioned the baby, tugging up the flap of her nursing bra and pulling down her T-shirt. “I’m a big girl. I’d survive without you.”

  “Gee, thanks.” He looked away from her in disgust.

  Securing Robin on the sofa with a wall of pillows, Prissy on the opposite end lightly snoring, Wren slipped her arms around him, resting her cheek on his chest. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. What I was trying unsuccessfully to convey is that I know how much riding means to you. I would never ask you to give it up in order to give me a false sense of security. Let’s pretend you quit riding and worked the ranch full-time. Who’s to say you couldn’t be just as badly injured falling off a horse or being maimed in some—” she tossed up her hands “—I don’t know, some rattlesnake attack?”

  “Did I truly marry that much of a city girl?” He kissed the bridge of her nose.

  “It could happen. Snakes attack, don’t they?”

  “Sure, but typically not unprovoked. Certainly not en masse.”

  “Yet it could happen?” She played with the ribbing around the collar of his T-shirt, unwittingly turning him on with the soft backs of her nimble fingers. Cash could’ve strangled the physician who had invented the “no sex for at least six weeks after having babies” rule.

  “Honey,” he said with a low growl, “for you, I would do my damnedest to move the stars, but I would hope you wouldn’t want me to coordinate a snake attack for the sole reason of proving you right.”

  “No, thank you.” Smiling sweetly up at him, she said, “Although I suppose if you get tired of riding bulls, you could always try your hand at a carnival sideshow featuring various fanged creatures.”

  “The only freaky sideshow I want to star in,” he said along with his most charming grin, “would feature you and our bed—without your attached-at-the-hip dog.”

  “THREE, TWO, ONE…Happy New Year!”

  On her tiptoes, Wren kissed her husband, tuning out the crowd around them. Georgina loved a party, and in true Buckhorn style, half the town had shown up to ring in the New Year.

  Streamers and champagne flowed. Balloons and confetti and noisemakers accompanied the same country band that had played at Wren and Cash’s wedding. “Auld Lang Syne” performed with fiddles took on a slow, reminiscent quality that quieted the once-boisterous crowd.

  “A year ago,” Cash said, hands on her hips, swaying her in time to the music, “would you have ever believed we’d be married with a dog and a baby?”

  “Would’ve been tough, considering I didn’t even know you a year ago.”

  “So true.” He returned her kiss. “Guess that’s why you’re the brains of this organization.”

  “Don’t you forget it.” Standing in his arms, Wren would have been hard-pressed to remember her life before meeting him. He made her feel safe and adored. Yes, they’d had their issues, but lately, the more he helped with Robin and the more affectionate they’d be come, the more she found herself wanting to be with him night and day.

  “What’s your resolution?” he asked.

  Up until now she hadn’t given it much thought. “I suppose I should be more productive. Since moving in with you, I’ve turned into quite the slug.”

  “At least you’re an attractive one.” As Cash gripped her tighter,
Wren reveled in his all-male form against her. Unlike her, the man didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. His every inch had been honed to perfection, partially in his home gym, but mostly from plenty of hard outdoors work.

  “Mmm…” She snuggled closer. “Right back atcha.” After a few moments more dancing, she asked, “How about you? Any special goals for the coming year?”

  “I want to be a really great dad. My own father had some amazing qualities, but I always felt pretty far down on his to-do list. Robin needs to know that she and her mother come first.”

  Cash’s words warmed Wren through and through.

  They also worried her. Though she and the great Duke Buckhorn had never met, she suspected they shared the same level of determination. Now that she’d held Robin in her arms and assumed her daily care, Wren realized just how difficult raising her child and completing her residency would be. She knew quite a few guys in her program who had kids, but they also had wives to care for them. Come to think of it, she couldn’t name a single other woman in her particular residency program with kids. Not even Dr. Abigail West, the world-renowned heart surgeon. Her lack of family was the price she’d chosen to pay for success. But was Wren willing to go that far? She hadn’t even summoned the courage to complete her transfer forms.

  “Tired?” Cash asked when Wren turned quiet.

  She nodded.

  Robin had long ago conked out in the twins’ room in her portable crib.

  “It’s been a wonderful night,” Wren said. “Special in every way.” Aside from nagging worries about her residency that refused to release her. “Not every way,” he whispered in her ear, his warm voice making her shiver. The thought of being with him again brought on a hot and dizzy rush. His raw sex appeal had been what had landed her in this mess in the first place. But then, looking back at the past nine months, was Robin a mess? Of course not.

  And your marriage?

  Caressing the base of her throat, Cash kissed her deeply enough for Wren to feel it in her toes. Her whole body hummed with awareness. His merest touch made her feel electrified. As if every inch of her body had been massaged to a hypersensitive glow.

  Was this love? Having never before experienced it, how did she know?

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Sure you have enough food?” January 3 in the black before dawn, Georgina stood alongside Cash’s truck wringing her hands as if he were going off to war.

  “Mom,” he said, “I’m having a simple outpatient surgery done by one of the best knee guys in the whole damned country. Hell, if his work fails, I’ve got my own doc right here.” Reaching behind the already snoozing munchkin in her car seat, Cash gave Wren’s shoulder a squeeze.

  “I know,” his mother said, “but I still feel like I should be with you.”

  “You’re welcome to ride along, but with all of Robin’s gear, you’d have to sit in the back.” Grinning, he nodded toward the truck’s bed.

  Judging by her crossed arms and pressed lips, his mother didn’t find him amusing. “You know I’ve always hated your bull riding. Your cocky nothing-can-hurt-me attitude is just one more reason why.”

  “On that note…” Cash started the engine.

  “Wren,” his mother called past him, “you call with regular updates.”

  “I will,” his wife promised.

  Five hours later they’d reached the office of the orthopedic surgeon his team doctor had recommended.

  Next came an hour’s worth of paperwork and changing into a blue-striped dress that would show off his ass to any and all who cared to look.

  His surgeon stopped in for a visit, explaining in a little too much detail exactly what he planned to do. By this time, Cash wanted the damned thing over and done with. It was long since time to get back to work.

  Through all of this, Wren struck him as strangely silent. Not so much nervous, but melancholy. As if she’d lost her favorite pirate book. Was worry about him what had put the furrow between her eyebrows?

  “Baby, I’m going to be fine,” he assured her, taking her hand in his.

  “I know.” She jiggled Robin, who was wide-eyed and drooling at the bright lights of her new surroundings.

  “Then why can’t you smile for me?”

  She forced it, but even a dumbo bull rider like himself knew she was faking. “Sweetie, seriously, before you know it, I’ll be sprung from here, taking you out to a fancy early supper.”

  “Uh-huh.” Rising, she managed to hold Robin with one arm while still fussing with his blankets. “I appreciate the thought, but I’m taking you straight home. You’re going to hate me once we start your range-of-motion exercises.”

  “I could never hate you.” Gazing upon his wife and child did funny things to his chest. He felt a squeezing pressure, but not in a bad way. More as if he didn’t know where he left off and they began. As if without them, he might survive, but never again thrive. “Come here.”

  Wren perched on the edge of his gurney-style bed. “You should rest.”

  Slipping his hand beneath her hair, he pulled her in for a kiss. “You should stop being bossy long enough for me to tell you I love you.” It was the first time he’d told her since she’d been in labor. That time, she’d declared hatred for him, which, considering her pain, he hadn’t blamed her for, but this time he wanted more.

  “I—I think I love you, too.” Laughing, maybe even crying a little, she added, “Sorry, that came out wrong. Honestly, you’re the first man I’ve ever said those words to.”

  “Kiss me,” he demanded. Fortunately for him, she for once did as she was told and did a properly hot job of sending him off for medicinal torture.

  “Whoa…” Cash’s nurse bounded into his curtained cubicle, only to shield her eyes with his chart. “Should I come back later?”

  “We’re good,” he assured her, wishing he’d had a few more minutes alone with Wren, but eager to get on with the next phase of his life.

  “Great,” the tall blonde said with enough exuberance to make him wonder if she’d been a college cheerleader. “Let’s go fix your knee.”

  PACING WHILE ROBIN NAPPED in her carrier, Wren could scarcely contain her emotions. Back and forth she traveled across fawn-colored carpet so thick her footfalls made no sound. Upholstered red leather chairs held two other people. Calmly reading magazines, they didn’t look half as nervous as she felt.

  Before she’d seen Cash wheeled away, surgical procedures had seemed to her like high-tech video games. Patients hadn’t been real, but more like characters presenting problems for her to study.

  The practical side of her knew Cash would be in recovery in just over ninety minutes. She knew after that he’d face painful rehabilitation, but a probable full recovery. He’d return to his bull riding and she…

  What would she do?

  Did Tulsa hold the same opportunities as Baltimore? What about Weed Gulch? After all, staying with Cash meant living with him on the ranch. He’d never leave it, and she’d never have the gall to ask him.

  Warding off a sudden chill, Wren hugged herself. Cash’s unexpected declaration of love hadn’t lightened her heavy heart. Having had a family as well as countless lovers, Cash had the advantage of at least knowing the word’s definition.

  Despite that fact, it took only a glance at her sleeping child to remind Wren that she was on the fast track to achieving her every familial dream.

  Minutes ticked into an hour and then more. Finally Cash’s surgeon sauntered into the waiting area. When he smiled, relief shimmered through her.

  “Cowboy Cash did great. I want him in recovery at least a couple of hours, and then you can take him home.”

  “Thank you,” she said, almost afraid to stand for fear of her shaky knees giving out. “Any special aftercare?”

  “My nurse will give you an instruction packet. I want his brace on with an ice pack for the first five days. He’ll need to be up on crutches ASAP, contracting his thigh muscles, rotating his feet—it’s all in the packet.” The
surgeon held out his hand for her to shake. “Also, I’ll give you the number of my favorite physical therapist up in your neck of the woods.”

  Mouth dry, mind overwhelmed, Wren nodded.

  What was wrong with her?

  “Have a safe trip home.” Just as abruptly as he’d arrived, the man was gone. Wren had worked herself into such an emotional state, she couldn’t even remember the surgeon’s name.

  Before having Robin, before meeting Cash, orthopedics had been one of the residency rotations she’d most looked forward to. Now she just wanted to see her husband.

  The notion was all at once thrilling and terrifying.

  Her entire life she’d leaned on no one but herself, and had been successful. She’d lived by the principle that being on her own was streamlined efficiency at its best.

  Upon returning to her residency, she’d have neither time nor energy for Robin, let alone Cash. The presumption wasn’t some pie-in-the-sky ideal, but fact. How did she meld the two halves of her new life? Was it even possible?

  After she called Georgina and Mrs. Cahwood to share the news that Cash’s surgery had gone well, adrenaline turned to exhaustion, forcing Wren back into her chair. Movie magazine in hand, she thumbed through starlets’ dresses and managed to read a piece on the latest Hollywood scandal before her eyes drifted shut.

  “Mrs. Buckhorn?” Two hours later a nurse jolted Wren from a light sleep. “Your husband’s awake and asking for you.”

  It took Wren a minute to gather Robin’s things and her purse. After that, she followed the nurse down a short maze of brightly lit halls, finally entering the quiet area reserved for patients returning to consciousness from general anesthesia.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” Cash said with just enough potency behind his handsome grin to make her eyes sting with relief. “Hope you brought mashed potatoes.”

  “Sorry,” she said, holding Robin close while leaning over to kiss his forehead, “my purse happens to be fresh out, but I’ll call Mrs. Cahwood to put in your re quest.”