A Dad for Her Twins

by Lois Richer

  “I am proud.” Abby nodded emphatically. “Erecting that fund-raising thermometer in the town square keeps people engaged in our project. That was your best idea yet and it’s reaping benefits for us.”

  “Your idea of holding that spring yard sale was fantastic, too. We had enough donations from that to fix up the kitchen.” He smiled at her, savoring this togetherness they’d found, discovering true joy in partnering with her in Marsha’s absence.

  Cade had run across the word helpmate in his Bible reading. In his mind, Abby personified that. The more involved they got, the more their time together seemed precious, which was why he savored these special moments alone with her.

  “Ed’s doing really well, too.” Abby chuckled. “I think he’ll be throwing away his writing pad soon. And you and Ivor seem to have finally connected.”

  Because of you, Cade wanted to say.

  “While we’ve got a moment alone, I wanted to say thank you to you, Cade, for being there for me, protecting me, caring for me. I don’t know what I’d have done if God hadn’t brought you into our lives.” She touched her stomach to include the twins. Her green eyes shone, warming him. “I think you’re beginning to realize God’s place in your life, too,” she added.

  “The Bible studies have helped clarify a lot of misconceptions I had,” Cade agreed.

  “You are a beloved son of God,” she said in quiet certainty. “Plus you’ve rebuilt some friendships. In fact the whole of Buffalo Gap sings your praises to me almost every time I’m in town. You’re the local hero,” Abby told him, a teasing grin lifting her lips.

  “Yeah, some hero,” he muttered, stifling the urge to lean forward and brush his mouth against hers. Would she push him away?

  “At least you’re not avoiding people anymore,” she teased. “They’re not as bad as you thought, are they?” She laughed out loud when he finally shook his head. Suddenly she sobered. “What about your dad, Cade? Any success there?”

  The dream of embracing her evaporated, thrusting Cade back to reality.

  “Not really. He’s still carrying a grudge that I sold Liberty, even though she was mine to sell. Dad thinks I should ask permission every time I do something around here, but when I do, he berates me for not taking control.”

  “Did you ever ask him about the fireplace in your cabin?” She pulled off her gloves and stuffed them into her pockets as the morning spring sun grew warmer.

  “He told me some story about having to camp there a couple of times and deciding that a fireplace would make it habitable in the event someone got caught in a blizzard. I don’t believe that for a moment,” he said.

  “Then why did he do it?”

  “Probably to make sure I didn’t think it was mine, to show his power.” He couldn’t hide his bitterness. “It’s always about control with Ed Lebret.”

  “He loves you, Cade,” Abby said in that gentle, comforting voice of hers. “I’m sure of it.”

  “Are you?” I wish I was. His cell phone rang. Cade answered it, hope springing inside his heart as he heard the words he’d longed to hear. “I’d be happy to hear your offer,” he said as he struggled to control his excitement. “Late this afternoon will be fine.” He hung up, then stored his phone thoughtfully. Maybe God was finally answering one of his prayers.

  “Offer?” Abby raised one arched eyebrow. “I couldn’t help hearing,” she apologized.

  “Doesn’t matter. I would have told you anyway. Someone is going to make an offer for the ranch.” Cade watched the joy leech out of her lovely face as her fingers clutched the iron arm of the bench.

  “You’re going to sell the ranch?” she whispered.

  “I have to. It’s the only way to get the money Dad needs to stay in the nursing home. The timing is perfect because two men Dad knows well have just moved in there. He’ll have someone to visit with.”

  “But Cade, he loves this place. So do you.” Abby rose, her green gaze searching his. “This land, the cattle and horses—they’re your heritage, your legacy. What will you do if you don’t ranch?” Her eyes widened as horror filled them. “Don’t tell me you plan to return to the military?”

  Cade couldn’t say anything. Abby had lost Max to the military and Cade hadn’t yet been able to get her financial affairs with them settled. Going back? Well, that was something he couldn’t countenance, not when his fear of dying in some far-off land was still so acute. And yet, his skill set didn’t leave a lot of options.

  “Selling is the only way I know to get Dad what he needs,” he said with an unspoken plea for understanding.

  “Or is it the simplest way to solve the differences between you?” she asked in a very quiet voice.

  “Why would you say that?” he demanded, hurt by the accusation.

  “I’m sorry, Cade, but I’ve spent a lot of time with your father and I know he has absolutely no desire to be in any kind of care facility.” Abby fixed him with her most severe look. “Ed loves this ranch. It’s where he’s spent his life. If you were honest with yourself, I think you’d admit that the Double L is your home. It’s where you belong, too.”

  “You’re right.” Frustration erupted into anger. “This place is in my blood. I never felt this was where I belonged as a kid, but now—” He couldn’t, wouldn’t continue.

  “It’s where you fit,” Abby said, her voice brimming with gentle compassion. “Because this is the work God gave you to do.”

  “Then why doesn’t He do something about Dad?”

  “Why do you think He isn’t?” Her green eyes darkened to emerald, blazing at him in the bright sun. “Your father is recovering, Cade. He is getting better.”

  “Slowly, maybe. But his recovery isn’t optimal. The doctor has repeatedly said he needs to receive better care so he’ll regain his health more quickly. Dad should have been walking by now.”

  “And you think if he can walk that it will make up for losing his home?” Abby asked. “Does that make it okay for you to give up your heritage, Cade?”

  She didn’t understand. How could she? He was doing this for his father, denying himself. It was the only way he knew to make all the things that were wrong between them okay.

  “Come on, let’s get back to the house,” he said dully. “I’ve got some fences to mend.”

  “Yes, you do,” Abby said in her sternest voice, her hint obvious. She wouldn’t take his arm and truthfully there wasn’t really any need. Patches of green grass and dry dirt made walking easy. She marched toward the house without looking back.

  Cade trailed into the kitchen behind Abby. She ignored him as she made herself a cup of tea, rubbing her midsection with one hand. He couldn’t leave, couldn’t let it go like this, with anger between them. He needed to make her understand. He needed her on his side, supporting him.

  “Abby, please understand,” Cade begged. “I’m doing what I think will be the best for my father. I know you’re probably worried that you won’t have a home but I’ll make sure you—”

  “I hope you’re not basing your decision to sell the ranch on me.” She glared at him. “This is about your unwillingness to trust God.” She stopped suddenly, frowned, then returned her hand to her stomach.

  “Sell?” Ivor stood in the doorway, his hands resting on Ed’s shoulders. He glanced from Abby to Cade. “You’re selling the ranch? But I thought it would be my home. I thought I’d be staying here forever.”

  “Ivor, I need to sell to get Dad into the nursing home so he’ll get the therapy he needs.” Cade watched anger and disappointment fill the boy’s face. He knew he’d lost all the gains he’d made with Ivor.

  “No!” Ed’s voice thundered across the room, matching the thud of his cane against the floor. “W-won’t g-go,” he said, obviously mustering his strength to force out the words.

  “But I’m doing this for you, Da
d,” Cade thundered. “Why do you always fight me on everything? You’d think—”

  “Cade!” Ivor suddenly yelled. “Something’s wrong with Abby.”

  Cade twisted, saw she was doubled over, her face closed up tight as she rhythmically hissed breath from between her lips.

  “Abby?” Cade knelt at her side, grasping her fingers in his. “How can I help?”

  She didn’t answer immediately. He waited until she at last drew a long, cleansing breath. Then she lifted her head and smiled the most beautiful smile.

  “The babies are coming,” she said in a calm tone. “Could you please take me to the hospital, Cade?”

  He stared at her, totally discombobulated. He had a plan. He’d made a list. He knew exactly how to proceed. But in that moment everything left his brain. All he felt was pure terror. He couldn’t mess this up.

  “Ivor, could you get my bag, please? It’s on the far side of my bed.” How could she be so calm? “Ed, you and I will have a good discussion about everything later, okay?” When he nodded and wheeled near to take her hand, Abby touched his cheek. “I’d sure appreciate it if you’d pray for the babies and me.”

  Cade blinked. His dad—praying? When had that happened?

  “Cade, could you bring the truck around. You’ll have to help me into it. Cade?” She grasped his arm, squeezed it to draw him out of his funk.

  “Truck. Right. Where’s Mrs. Swanson?” he asked, suddenly unsure about transporting Abby to the hospital by himself.

  “Gone for groceries,” Ivor huffed as he burst into the room with the suitcase.

  “We don’t need her. We’ll be fine,” Abby said calmly.

  Cade wasn’t so sure but he yanked on his jacket and brought the truck as close to the door as he dared. When he entered the kitchen Abby was once more doubled over, huffing breaths and counting.

  “Awfully close together, aren’t they?” he murmured as he slid her coat over her shoulders.

  “Maybe I’m not going to follow all those rules in your books,” she teased between grimaces of pain. She waited a few minutes till the contraction had subsided, then turned her focus on Ivor and Ed. “You two come and visit the babies as soon as they get here, okay?”

  They promised.

  “Call Doc Treple and the hospital and tell them we’re coming,” Cade ordered as he escorted Abby out the door.

  Before she could get inside she had another, stronger contraction. Cade didn’t wait. He lifted her and set her inside the truck. Seconds later he was driving down the road, moving as fast as he could, trying to avoid potholes that would jar her.

  “Don’t even think about telling me to put on my seat belt,” Abby told him, pushing her hair off her perspiring forehead.

  “The contractions are too close together.” He frowned, trying to recall what his library books had said. “Shouldn’t your water have broken by now?”

  “It did. This morning.” She shrugged at his wide-eyed look. “When nothing happened I decided to wait. I’d hoped to finish the red quilt today.”

  “Oh, Abby.” Cade struggled not to laugh, torn between hugging her and reprimanding her. He loved her.

  The truth hit him so hard he nearly drove past the hospital, and in the flurry of activity that followed when they reached it, he had little time to think about it. Not until he was sitting on a chair in the hallway, waiting to help her through labor.

  Loving Abby—what did that mean? Caring for her, protecting her, yes. He’d gladly do that. But what could he offer her? Not even a home if the sale went through. And yet, his every thought of Abby was inexplicably bound with the ranch.

  Abby throwing a snowball, filling the house with fabrics, encouraging his dad, laughing with Ivor, teasing Mrs. Swanson. Abby sharing the colt’s birth, taking his arm when the going was slippery, riding beside him late at night to his log sanctuary. Abby’s laughter echoing up to the rafters of his home. It would never be home without her.

  Was he wrong to sell it? To try to give his father a chance to be whole again?

  “She’s asking for you, Cade.” Doc Treple frowned. “She’s going to need you to help her through this. Can you handle that?”

  “Yes,” he said, rising. “With God’s help I can handle anything for Abby.”

  Let me be strong for her, Cade prayed soundlessly. Then he pushed open the door and went to support the woman who filled his world. At least he could be by her side, where he belonged, for now. He yearned to tell Abby what was in his heart but held back. He could give her his total support, but for now that was all Cade had to offer.

  * * *

  The contractions were so close together she could hardly catch her breath. With the increasing pain, Abby felt she was losing control. Yet, each time, Cade coaxed her to push through it, to ride it out and move on because the babies needed her. He talked about the twins and how they would want to learn to ride his horses. He talked of his log house where he’d take them to play. He reminded her that they weren’t yet finished the work they needed to do to get Family Ties operational.

  And he spoke of Max. How much he’d loved her, how proud he’d be of her. How much he would have adored his children. How he was watching over her, willing her to complete this most difficult of all tasks.

  Each time Cade’s wonderful voice urged Abby to shake off her tiredness and tell him the truth about Max and her, how she’d caused his death. But all she could manage was to focus on bringing her children into the world.

  In between contractions Cade would bathe her forehead and whisper encouragement. He’d tell her how much he admired her, how much he’d respected Max, what a great friend he’d been and how much he wanted to be there if Max’s children needed him.

  “Thank you,” she murmured when he swabbed her dry, cracked lips with a lemon-tipped swab. “Thank you so much for being here, Cade.”

  “Where else would I go?” he asked, staring into her eyes. His fingers meshed with hers and held. “We’re a team, remember? Besides, if I left, you’d probably have them move your quilting machine in here so you could stitch a few rows between contractions.”

  “Not likely,” she gasped, feeling another one build.

  “You’re doing so well, Abby,” Cade praised. He patted a cool, wet towel on her forehead. “Everything is fine.”

  Abby wanted to believe him. She wanted that desperately. Yet the longer labor went, the more she feared something wasn’t right. Her fears were confirmed when Doc Treple checked her for the third time.

  “What is it?” she whispered when he finished examining her.

  “You’re not progressing. We have to do surgery, Abby. We have to get the babies out before their heart rates are affected.” He smiled gravely. “This is as hard on them as it is on you.”

  “Do it,” she told him. “Do whatever you need to save them.” When Doc Treple left to prepare for her C-section, Abby turned to Cade for support. “I feel like I’ve failed.”

  “I know you didn’t want this,” he empathized.

  “I don’t care what they do to me. I just want my children to be safe.” She took his hand from her arm and wrapped her fingers around it. “I need to ask you something, Cade.”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t say that until you know what I want.” She held his gaze. “If something happens to me—no.” She put her fingers across his lips so he couldn’t speak. “We don’t have long. Please, just listen. If something happens to me, I want you to raise my children.”

  “Abby, I—”

  “I want you to be their father,” she interrupted. “You can do it,” she assured him. “You’re strong and dependable. Max trusted you and so do I. Promise me you’ll be their father if they need you. Please?” she added when he hesitated.

  Doc Treple pushed into the room just as another, stronger
contraction grabbed Abby. She pushed through it by gazing into Cade’s dear face, knowing there was no other person in the world she trusted as much as him.

  “Please, Cade?” she gasped as the pain mounted.

  “Of course. You don’t even have to ask,” he whispered in her ear. His lips brushed against her temple. “But I won’t need to keep that promise, Abby, because you’ll be there to love and guide them through their lives.”

  “Thank you.” She clenched her teeth as they moved her onto a gurney. Cade stayed by her side, walking down the hall with her, coaxing her through the next contraction.

  As they reached the doors to Surgery, the staff paused to give them a moment together.

  Abby looked at Cade, startled when he bent down, brushed his lips against her knuckles.

  “I’ll be praying,” he promised. He turned her palm and pressed a kiss inside it. “Don’t let go of that,” he said as he folded her fingers over the kiss. Then they pushed her gurney through the doors. Cade was Abby’s last thought until a sedative blanked out everything.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Cade sat outside the surgery room doors and prayed as hard as he could. But he feared his prayers alone weren’t enough. After all, why would God heed him? But Abby was God’s child. Surely God wouldn’t take her or her babies.

  The inner tug-of-war continued. Cade felt completely alone. Jake had warned him he’d experience doubts. Cade was new to this battle of doubt. He needed help. Jake knew about praying. He led their Bible study prayer group. So Cade placed a call to his friend and explained.

  “I’m in Calgary picking up feed,” Jake told him. “I can’t get to you right now. But you’ve memorized the verses about being a child of God, Cade. Nobody could care for you more. Repeat them over and over until they sink into your heart and your brain. I’ll be praying for you, pal,” he promised. “Call me when you know anything.”

  Cade agreed, then hung up. So he was alone again.

  No, not alone.

  In all things we have full victory through God who showed His love for us.