A Little Ray of Sunshine_A Christian Romance

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  “Good to see you, man.”

  Ryan’s gaze snapped forward to see a familiar face. Relief rushed through him as he grinned back at Than Miller. “Back at you, bro. I have no words.”

  “I need to explain to you how things are going to go from this point on. We don’t have a lot of time,” Than said. “Even though you’re a dual citizen, we’re letting the Canadians take the lead on this because Miss Walsh is from Canada. We’ll be landing shortly to meet up with a contingent of Canadian officials who may or may not be from the embassy in Kabul, we’re not sure. We’re kind of operating under a need to know basis here, and apparently, we don’t need to know.

  “Anyway, because your family has some wealthy connections—dude, you’ve been holding out on us!—things will probably move more quickly than they would have otherwise. The people meeting us will take you to a secure location where you, Hannah and the baby will be offered medical attention. From what I’ve heard, they will waive passport requirements for the baby, but that will have to be dealt with once you’re back on Canadian soil.”

  “They know about the baby?” Ryan asked, glancing over to see Hannah watching him, her eyes wide.

  “Yes. There was a message tacked on to the end of the video stating that Hannah would be accompanied by a baby that was born while she was in captivity. Arrangements have been made because of that.” Than hesitated. “Don’t worry about anything, Ryan. You’ll be back with your family before you know it.”

  “Tell me what happened with the rest of you. Tell me everyone else made it out okay.” Ryan didn’t know if he was prepared to hear anything else.

  “We’re all accounted for now,” Than said.

  Ryan stared hard at Than’s profile. Accounted for? That was an ominous response. “Who didn’t survive?”

  At Than’s hesitation, moisture flooded Ryan’s mouth, and he swallowed hard to keep the contents of his stomach—little as it was—from emptying onto the floor of the chopper. “Tell me, Than.”

  “We lost one of Justin’s men, and a couple more were injured. Tyler was only released a little over a month ago, and he was badly hurt. His back. He’s had to learn to walk all over again.”

  Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking of all his friend had undergone when he’d lost a portion of his leg years ago, before Ryan had met him. The thought that he was having to deal with something like a back injury made Ryan hurt for his friend. And for Melanie, his wife. Tyler’s mom would most likely be at his side along with Melanie, but no doubt the emotional strain would be difficult to deal with. Especially since their baby was probably due any day, if Melanie hadn’t delivered already.

  Of course, if asked, he knew that Melanie would take her husband back no matter his condition—as long as he wasn’t dead. Ryan was sure that his family held a similar viewpoint.

  “Listen, Ryan, Tyler is strong. He’s going to be fine. Right now, focus on yourself and Hannah and the baby. Tyler said to tell you that he’s looking forward to going to a basketball game with you. Hang in there.”

  Ryan nodded even though he knew Than couldn’t see him. “Thanks for coming, Than. Tell Lindsay thank you for letting you come back over here again.”

  “She didn’t give me any argument when the news came of the video. She knew how important this was to me. To all of us. The family is complete again.”

  Ryan swallowed against the rise of emotion within him. He had to stay strong. Maybe once he was safely home, safely with people he trusted, he could allow himself to experience the emotions he’d struggled to hold at bay for so long.

  “We’re almost there, Ry. Once we’ve turned you over, we’re heading out. This was our part. I’ll see you once again on the other side.”

  The chopper descended through the night, and once it was on the ground, Ryan, Hannah and the baby were quickly offloaded and bundled into another waiting vehicle. Through it all, Ryan kept Hannah close. He understood all of what was going on, and he trusted the people helping them. Hannah most likely didn’t.

  He just hoped that she trusted him.

  Once they were secure in the back seat of the waiting SUV, the vehicle moved away as the chopper lifted back into the sky. A man seated in the front passenger seat turned around and stuck his hand out to Ryan.

  “I’m Everett Leonard, and this is Dave Simmons. We’re here representing Max Zavardi, and we’ll be helping you through everything over the next few hours before we accompany you back to Canada.”

  Ryan shook his hand. “Thank you for meeting us here.”

  “It was the best plan we could come up with that would hopefully make the re-entry process as painless as possible. We’re heading for a hotel in Kabul and have a medical team from Canada waiting for you.”

  “What time is it?” Ryan asked. “Actually, what date is it?”

  When the man gave him the date, Ryan’s eyes closed for a moment, blocking out the lights of the city in the distance. He’d been gone for nearly half a year. He’d thought that was possible, but having it confirmed was like a kick to the stomach.

  “Your family is aware of your release, but we decided that it would best for them to just wait in Canada to see you.”

  Though he would have loved to see his family sooner rather than later, Ryan understood the prudence in waiting. Plus, it would allow him to focus on Hannah and make sure that she and the baby were okay too.

  He looked over at Hannah and found she was staring out the window. Ryan shifted closer to her, sliding his arm along the back of her seat.

  “You doing okay?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

  She turned toward him. “I think so.”

  Ryan looked down at the baby in her arms. He reached out and cupped his hand around the baby’s head, feeling the downy softness of his hair beneath his fingers. “What’s his name?”

  Hannah didn’t answer right away as she looked down at her son. “They named him Shahmeer. I wasn’t in any shape to deal with a baby—wasn’t sure I…I wanted this baby—so I didn’t object. They said it meant one who is very handsome or something like that.”

  “Are you going to keep the name?” Ryan asked, not at all surprised to learn she had struggled with the boy’s birth. Given how he was likely conceived, it made a lot of sense.

  “No. In my mind, once I’d come around, he was always Jason. After my dad.”

  “That’s a good name.”

  She glanced over at him. “What does your J stand for?”

  “My J?”

  “You told me your name was RJ, and I’m assuming since people have been calling you Ryan, that’s what the R is for. Just wondering about the J.”

  Ryan had forgotten he’d told her his name was RJ. After that initial introduction, there hadn’t been any need for names, really. “James. My name is Ryan James. You can just call me Ryan now. I wasn’t sure who you were when we first met, so I didn’t feel comfortable giving you my full name. I’m sorry I didn’t correct that once we established who we each were.”

  “That’s okay. I understand.”

  Before they could talk any further, they pulled up in front of a large hotel. Ryan didn’t have any time to take in their surroundings before they were ushered out of the vehicle and into the elaborate lobby of the hotel. They bypassed the front desk and made their way right to the elevators. Within minutes, they were inside a lavishly decorated suite where several people waited for them.

  Ryan was instantly aware of how grimy he felt and how awful he probably looked. He kept his arm around Hannah as they moved into the suite, feeling a slight tremble shake her body. Glancing over at her, he got a look at a scar that ran from her right temple to her chin.

  “Ryan. It’s good to meet you,” a man dressed in a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt said as he approached them. He was tall with short graying hair and a friendly smile on his face. He held out his hand, which Ryan took in his own. “I’m Luke Graham. Max Zavardi is a patient of mine and asked if I’d be willing to come here to a
ddress any medical concerns you might have.”

  “I’m glad to meet you. This is Hannah Walsh and her son, Jason.”

  “A pleasure,” the man said before motioning toward two other people. “This is Emma and Davis Colson. They are both doctors. Emma is a family doctor like myself and Davis is a pediatrician. I asked them to accompany me so that we would each be able to focus on one of you in the event there were significant issues.” The couple came to stand at Dr. Graham’s side. “Do you have any specific concerns before we check you over?”

  Ryan shook his head, but he noticed that Hannah didn’t say anything though she did look directly at Emma.

  “Okay. Well, we’ll have Emma and Davis go to the adjoining room with Hannah and the baby. I’ll stay here with you.”

  Though Ryan wasn’t keen to have Hannah out of his sight, it appeared that she had some things she wanted to discuss with the doctor on her own.

  Still, he turned to her and said, “Are you okay with that?”

  Given how much control she’d lost over the past year, Ryan wanted to make sure that through every step of the process now, she had as much say as she could.

  “Yes. That’s fine.”

  With a final look at him, she went with the two doctors into a connecting room. Before the remaining doctor could even start the exam, one of the men from the car approached him with a phone.

  “A few people want to say hello.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Seeing that it was a video connection, Ryan took the phone the man held out. He hated that his mom was going to see him so dirty and gaunt, but when her face filled the screen, he forgot all about that as emotions rushed to the surface.

  “Mama,” he managed to get out before his throat tightened, choking off any further words.

  “Ryan, my baby.” Tears slid down her cheeks, but the emotion didn’t keep her from speaking. “What an amazing answer to prayer. It is so good to see you. I can’t wait to hug you.”

  The phone turned a bit, and his dad’s face joined his mom’s. He could hear the buzz of conversation in the background, so he knew that more of the family was there.

  “Son,” his dad said, a broad smile on his face. “You are a sight for sore eyes. I wish we could have been there to greet you, but we’re getting everything ready for you here.”

  “I can’t wait to see you all. It won’t be too long now,” Ryan said. “I think we’re leaving as soon as we meet with some people here. And Mom, Hannah and her baby are coming with me. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

  “Of course she’ll come here too. We’ll have Sammi’s old room all ready for her and the little one. It’s a boy?”

  “Yes. His name is Jason. She’ll need…everything for him.”

  “And she’ll have it. You know your sisters and sisters-in-law will help me out.”

  “Thank you, Mom.”

  “Son, we know you have to get back to your medical exam, but we just couldn’t wait to talk to you. We’ll see you soon.”

  “I’ll try to get in touch with you again once we’ve taken care of things here.”

  “Max’s plane is waiting for you there in Kabul, ready to fly you all back home.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  The call ended as quickly as it had begun, but Ryan was grateful for the contact, however brief it might have been. Once he’d handed the phone back to the man, the doctor had him sit down in one of the chairs. For the next few minutes, Dr. Graham checked his heart and lungs, looked in his ears and throat, asking questions about any injuries he’d received.

  “She’s in good hands,” the doctor said. “They both are.”

  Ryan looked up at the man. “What?”

  “You keep glancing at the door, and you’ve been growing more tense with each passing minute.”

  Ryan blew out a breath and tried to relax his shoulders. His reaction to Hannah’s absence was obviously a carryover from their time in the cell. One he hadn’t even been aware of, since he knew that she was safe. He could walk over to the door, open it, and see for himself that she was okay, but somehow, the reaction he’d had before hadn’t been left behind when they were rescued.

  “Sorry. I struggled not to worry every time they took her from the cell we shared.”

  “It’s understandable, Ryan. I figured it was something like that.” The doctor gave him a gentle smile then got back to the work of asking questions.

  Hannah watched the doctor as he bent over Jason on the bed. She was happy that the baby wasn’t crying while Dr. Colson looked him over. She was honestly more concerned about the baby’s health than her own. Just like her and Ryan, Jason hadn’t had enough to eat. They hadn’t had enough formula, and she hadn’t been able to nurse him, so they’d had to supplement with goat’s milk. She had no idea what sort of long-term ramifications that might have on him.

  “How were the pregnancy and delivery?” the female doctor—Emma—asked. “Were there complications?”

  Hannah thought back over that time, though she usually tried not to. “I didn’t realize I was pregnant until I was about five months along. I just assumed that my periods were missing because of stress and my lack of nutrition.” She paused. “Also, I did suffer periodic physical attacks early on in the pregnancy.”

  “And the delivery?” The woman’s voice was gentle as she continued to check Hannah over, pressing a stethoscope to her chest.

  “It was a long labor, and it was basically unassisted since I was the only medical personnel around.”

  “No complications in spite of that?”

  Hannah shook her head. “After Jason was born, the placenta was delivered successfully, and the bleeding stopped shortly after. The only negative thing at the time was that my milk never came in sufficiently.”

  “Under those circumstances, that’s not too surprising,” the woman said as she rested a reassuring hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “No other concerns?”

  “I don’t know. It’s been a long year, you know.” Hannah rubbed a hand along her arm, feeling the bone beneath her dry skin. “Limited food. I’ve lost a lot of weight. I’ve got aches and pains too. Maybe from sleeping on a hard surface for so long.” She lifted her hand to her temple and pressed. “I’ve also been sleeping a lot in recent months.”

  “Okay. Once we get you back to Winnipeg, we’ll do a full workup of your blood, and check your liver and kidneys. We came to make sure that if there were any immediate issues, we could deal with those right away. From the look of things, you’re in good enough shape to travel.”

  “What about the baby? About Jason?” It felt weird to Hannah to call him that. It had taken almost a month after he’d been born before she’d felt able to hold him. Before she’d been able to separate the circumstances of his conception from the baby himself. Even then, she’d called him by the name Armeena had given him. It was only recently that she’d begun to think of him as Jason.

  “Let’s see how he’s doing,” Emma suggested.

  Jason was lying on his back on the bed. The doctor had pulled a chair up so that he could sit with him. At that moment, he had a stethoscope pressed to his tiny chest. Hannah watched as he moved it around, pausing to listen in places. She knew it didn’t mean anything was wrong, but still, she held her breath.

  The doctor removed the stethoscope and draped it around his neck. He glanced up at Hannah and smiled. “Your baby seems to be pretty healthy.”

  “I worried that he might have suffered because I didn’t have much in the way of nutrition while I was pregnant.”

  “Even though I don’t have a scale to tell for sure, he does appear to be a bit on the small size. But the thing about pregnancy is that the baby takes what it needs from your body first, so the lack of nutrition would probably affect you more than him. We brought along some high-calorie formula that we’ll begin to feed him.” The doctor picked Jason up and cradled him in his arms. “Has he been sick at all since his birth?”

  Hannah shook her head. It had ac
tually surprised her that when she visited him each day, he was still healthy.

  “That’s good to hear,” the doctor said as he got to his feet. He made a move to hand the baby to Hannah, but his wife laid a hand on his arm.

  “Why don’t you hold on to him for a few minutes so that Hannah can wash up.” Emma smiled at her. “I’m going to guess it’s been awhile since you’ve had a good hot shower.”

  “Yes, it has been,” Hannah agreed, suddenly anxious for one now that Emma had mentioned it.

  “While you’re doing that, we’ll order up some food. Is there anything, in particular, you’d like? We would, of course, recommend that you take it easy for the first little while since your stomach isn’t used to large amounts of food.”

  “We’ve mainly eaten, well, they called it stew, but it was more like soup since it was so watery. It was primarily veggies, but every few days it would have some meat in it. We also had a bit of naan bread once a day. Sometimes twice, if they came into some extra money or supplies.”

  “So is there anything you’d like for breakfast?” Emma asked.

  Hannah thought for a moment then said, “Maybe some oatmeal. If they don’t have that, scrambled eggs and toast.”

  “Okay. I’ll pass on your requests. Also, we have some clothes for you to change into. We didn’t know your size, so we just settled for some leggings and large sweatshirts in hopes that you’d at least be comfortable. We’ve also brought some jackets and boots since it’s cold. Of course, there are undergarments in the bag as well.” Emma picked up a duffle bag and handed it to her. “There’s also some toiletries. And don’t worry about the little guy. We’ll take care of him, so you don’t need to rush.”

  Hannah took the bag, trying not to show how heavy she found it even though Emma had handled it with apparent ease. She took it with her into the bathroom and set it on the marble countertop, somehow managing to not look at herself in the mirror. After unzipping the bag, she looked through it, relishing the softness of the clothing it held.