A Randall Hero

by Judy Christenberry

  The nurses brought Lucy’s baby back into the room. Caroline took the baby in her arms and carried her to Lucy. “Here’s your little girl, Lucy.”

  Lucy held her baby in her arms, glowing at the tiny creature.

  “John, look!”

  “She’s a beauty, sweetheart.”

  As Lucy began to fade a little from the exhilaration, John reached out and took the baby from her. As he felt the warmth of the baby, the little life, he stared in amazement.

  Caroline took the baby from him. “I need to examine her now, John. I think Lucy is going to sleep. A well-deserved rest, I might add.”

  He nodded. “I’ll stay with her until she falls sleep.”

  “All right, but don’t forget your parents are waiting for an explanation.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  Once Lucy was back in a room, John waited until the nurse had left before he broached the subject of her identity. “Lucy, I need to explain to my parents about you being Harry’s sister. You understand that, don’t you?”

  She nodded, as if resigned. Then reality struck and Lucy’s features crumpled. John knew she’d come face-to-face with the reality of not having a home for her baby.

  “Lucy, Mom will take you in, you and the baby. I live with my parents, so I’ll be there, too.”

  “I can’t stay there, John. I’m afraid he’ll come find me. He—he’s threatened me before about leaving him. He told me he’d come after me if I left him.”

  “Honey, we won’t let him hurt you or the baby. I promise.”

  “But I don’t want to bring trouble to either you or Harry. It doesn’t seem fair.”

  “We won’t worry about that, Lucy. Your husband is a coward. Only a coward would attack a pregnant woman, any woman, much less his own.”

  “I want to file for divorce as soon as I can. But I don’t feel I can bring trouble down on you. Please don’t ask me to—”

  “Honey, I’m telling you, you can’t deny your baby a home. That’s what I’m telling you.”

  Caroline came into Lucy’s room, a little bundle in her arms. “Lucy, your baby is as healthy as can be. And she weighs six pounds, one ounce. She’ll be able to go home with you.”

  John took Lucy’s hand and held it in his own. “Lucy, you need to tell Caro who you are,” he said, hoping to force Lucy to reveal her identity.

  “No, John!” Lucy protested.

  “You know you need to. I’m going to have to tell my parents, too.”

  Ignoring him, Lucy held out her arms for her baby. “Can I hold her?”

  Caroline handed the tiny infant to her mother. “I need to know her name, Lucy.”

  “Oh, I want to name her after my grandmother. Emma.”

  “That’s a lovely name. Now, what’s her last name?”

  Keeping her head down, Lucy said, “Horton.”

  “All right. Do you have a middle name?”

  “I think Lynn. Emma Lynn Horton.”

  “That’s lovely.”

  John wasn’t satisfied. “Tell her, Lucy!

  “No!”

  “You must. For Emma’s sake.”

  Caroline remained silent, but he could feel her eyes on him.

  “You must,” John prompted Lucy again. “Tell her why I said you were family.”

  Finally, Lucy raised her head and looked at Caroline. “I’m Harry Gowan’s sister.”

  Chapter Three

  “You’re Harry’s sister?” Caro seemed pleasantly surprised. “How did you come to know John?”

  “I didn’t know him till yesterday. But he’s been so very kind to me. I’ll never be able to thank him adequately.” She looked at John, gratitude in her eyes. “I was alone and scared and he made me feel safe. He even convinced me he could deliver my baby.”

  Caroline stared at John. “Oh, really?”

  “I was just trying to reassure her. I’m not challenging your skills, Caroline. You know that. But we were both stranded on the road last night, and all we could hope for was a car to stop by so we could get a ride into town.”

  “But I don’t understand how you got together. Did you—”

  “I’ll tell you later. I think Lucy should get some sleep.”

  “All right,” Caroline agreed. She knew Lucy was exhausted. “Let me take the baby. I’ll put her in a bassinet.”

  “Thank you,” Lucy said.

  As Caro exited with Emma, John told her, “I’ll stay with Lucy until she falls asleep. Then I’ll go talk to my parents.”

  “Are you going to leave then, John?” Lucy asked.

  He heard the fear in her voice, and he said, “No, I won’t leave you, Lucy. My parents are waiting here. I’ll just visit them for a little bit while you sleep.”

  “I know I’m being a baby about you staying. I promise I’ll get stronger, but right now I can’t quite be brave.”

  “You don’t have to. I’m here.” He took her hand in his and insisted she go to sleep. After several minutes, he slipped his hand away and waited to see if she would wake up. When she didn’t, he left the room. In the hallway, he found a nurse. “I’m going to the waiting room to talk to my parents. Let me know if she wakes up.”

  “Okay. Do you want to take the baby to show them?”

  “Can I do that?”

  “Caro said you could.”

  “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  John figured his parents would like to see the baby. His mother would be excited about the tiny infant, and his father’s protective urge would be aroused.

  Besides, he liked holding Emma.

  When he reached the waiting room, he saw his parents sitting quietly. He stepped into the room, holding Emma, and his parents jumped to their feet. He couldn’t help the proud smile he wore. “I want to introduce you to Emma,” he said, pulling the blanket back a little.

  “Oh! Let me hold her,” Camille Randall said.

  He immediately handed the baby to her. He and his father crowded around. It was amazing to him that his parents didn’t demand an explanation. But he would give them one anyway. “I’m not the father.”

  Griff Randall looked at him sharply. “Then who is?”

  “A man named Cecil. The important person of the two who created this baby is the mother.”

  “Who is she?”

  “She’s Harry’s sister.”

  “What?” Camille said. She appeared stunned.

  “I said she’s Harry’s sister.”

  “But how did you know her?” his father asked.

  John replayed the past twelve hours for his parents. “She’s scared and doesn’t know what to do. Her husband beat her, hoping to provoke a miscarriage.”

  Horrified, his parents stared at the infant in Camille’s arms.

  “Oh, no!” Camille said, holding the baby closer.

  “We’ll protect her and her child, of course,” Griff said.

  John realized how wonderful his parents were. He felt sure they would’ve said the same thing if Lucy wasn’t Harry’s sister, but he was glad there was a family connection.

  “I know I’m supposed to be running the ranch, Dad, but could you fill in for a day or two? Lucy feels alone right now. I can give her some assurance that she and her baby are safe.”

  “I’m sure Harry would appreciate that, John,” Griff said. “I can take care of the ranch for a few days.”

  “Thanks, Dad. And, Mom, I told Lucy she and the baby could come to the ranch at least until Harry got back.”

  “Well, of course they can. She can take your sister’s old room and the baby can go in the one next door. It’ll be perfect. I’ll get started fixing it up this afternoon.”

  “Don’t go to extremes, Mom. I don’t think Emma will know the difference and Lucy will just be grateful to be safe.”

  “No, I won’t. I bet she hasn’t gotten any baby things for Emma. She likely wouldn’t since she was on the run. I can make those arrangements, too.”

  “All right, but don’t overwhelm her. She’s no
t used to a family like ours.”

  “Oh, no, just the necessities for this little darling.” Camille looked down at the baby sleeping in her arms. “She’s almost like my own grandbaby. What about Lucy’s parents?”

  “Harry told me they got divorced a long time ago. Lucy didn’t mention either of them.”

  “Then we’ll be this little girl’s grandparents, at least for a little while.”

  “Let me hold her a minute,” Griff said, reaching for the pink bundle. He peeled back the blanket to get a good look at her. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

  “Yeah,” John agreed. “Caro says if she holds her own, she can go home with Lucy.”

  “How much did she weigh?” Camille asked.

  “Six pounds one ounce.”

  “Oh, yes, she’ll need to grow a little.” She cooed at the baby, “Listen, little Emma, you drink all your milk so you’ll weigh a little more. Then you can come home with your mommy.”

  “You think she heard you, Mom?”

  “You never know, John. Babies understand a lot more than we might think.”

  “Okay, I’d better take her back to her mother, in case Lucy wakes up and thinks her baby is missing. I’m not sure when I’ll be home, Dad. Thanks for taking over for me.”

  “No problem. We’ll call it family leave.”

  John was smiling as he carried Emma back to her bassinet. She stretched in his arms, as if she was trying to grow. “Not too fast, Emma. You need to be a baby for a little longer. That way you can have lots of cuddling.”

  When he reached the room, Lucy was asleep and he settled Emma in her own small bed to sleep alongside her mother.

  When he came out of Lucy’s room, Caroline caught him. “Mike wants to talk to you. He said he could come here if that would help.”

  “Yeah, it would. Shall I call him?”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  “Okay, I’ll be in the waiting room.”

  After letting Lucy’s nurse know where he’d be, he settled on one of the sofas in the waiting room, glad his parents had gone home. At least now they knew he hadn’t brought a woman pregnant with his child to the hospital as a surprise. But he almost wished Lucy was his woman. She seemed so gentle and caring and…lost. He felt a need to be responsible for her.

  Mike walked into the waiting room. He must’ve driven down to get there this fast.

  “Did that old man talk to you?”

  Mike came to an abrupt halt. “Did you have something to do with that?”

  “He’s the one who brought us to town.”

  “I didn’t know that. But I wanted to talk to you about the woman you brought in.”

  “Didn’t Caro tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Who she is. She’s Harry’s sister.”

  Mike stared at him blankly. “You’re kidding.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Did you ask her for proof?”

  “No, I didn’t. I’m not a lawman.”

  “Damn it, John, you can’t just take her word for it.”

  “Do you know her married name? I don’t. Well, I do now, but I didn’t then.”

  “Maybe her driver’s license has her maiden name on it. A lot of women do that, for some reason.”

  “Do you want me to go get her purse? I know where it is. I’ll be back in a minute.” John felt kind of bad about getting Lucy’s wallet while she was sleeping, but Mike had to see the proof.

  When he came out, Caroline was talking with her husband.

  “Why didn’t you tell me she’d been beaten, John?”

  “Hell, you wouldn’t even believe who she is without proof. I figured we should prove her identity to you before we discussed what she’d been through.”

  “Caro just told me about her bruises.”

  “Yeah, and I took her by the shoulders and she winced. She said she was bruised there, too. When I told her to take off her coat so I could see, she said he didn’t hit her where other people could see.”

  “Sounds like a pro.”

  “She said he only hit her one other time, and he apologized and told her it wouldn’t happen again.”

  “Did she say why he beat her this time?”

  “She said he didn’t want the baby…and then she broke down in sobs.”

  “Poor thing,” Caroline said. “Being pregnant is hard enough when both of you want the baby. When one of you doesn’t, it’s nearly unbearable. To have him try to destroy her baby is inhuman.”

  Mike Davis put his arm around his wife. They’d been thrilled with both their children, but Mike knew she felt a lot of sympathy toward women who suffered at the hands of their husbands.

  “What’s she going to do?” Caroline asked.

  “I talked to Mom and Dad and they’re willing to welcome her to our house. Mom was planning what she would do to make them happy.”

  “And she agreed to do that?”

  “I haven’t actually talked to her about it. She thinks she should go away where her husband won’t find her. But she doesn’t know where to go. That’s why she was calling Harry. But he didn’t answer.”

  “No, he’s on vacation, but I think he’d want us to help her. We could take her if you can’t,” Mike said.

  John grinned. “Mom would never forgive me if she got away.”

  “You do realize her husband might come after her.”

  “Yeah. If he does, we’ll call you, Mike, but Dad and I will be ready.”

  “Good. The MO of these kind of men is to keep hitting their wives. They don’t stop at two beatings. I’m glad she got out.”

  “Me, too.”

  “When you talk to Harry, tell him we’ve got the situation covered.”

  “I will, Mike. He’ll know he can rely on both of us. And Mom is so excited. She’s looking forward to having a baby in the house again.”

  “Are you going to stay available until she settles down? She seems to need reassurance for a while,” Caroline said.

  “Yeah, I’m going to stay here until she’s okay with everything. I may stay until she can leave. Dad has offered to handle any problems with the ranch until I bring her and the baby home.”

  “I just want to warn you, John, that her emotions will be all over the place. It happens after childbirth.” Caroline studied him and John dropped his gaze.

  “I’m just offering protection, like Harry would want me to do.”

  Mike clapped him on his back. “All right, we’ve got everything squared away for now. When she’s doing better, we’ll ask her if she’ll file charges.”

  When he left, John went back to Lucy’s room, wondering if either of the ladies he was in charge of would be awake. A nurse was changing Emma’s diaper and he asked if the baby had woken up.

  “Yes, we had the intercom on so she wouldn’t wake up her mother. She’s going to take a bottle.”

  “Can I feed it to her?”

  “Sure. You’ll have to coax her to eat but usually babies catch on pretty quickly. I’ll wait and see if she does.”

  “Great.” He slid his hand beneath the baby and lifted her against his chest. “Hey, little girl, you get a bottle so you can grow. Will you be a good girl and eat it all?”

  With blue eyes like her mother the baby stared at him as if he were saying something important.

  The nurse handed John the bottle and he tried to insert the nipple in Emma’s mouth. After a moment, he succeeded. When she chewed down on the nipple, she realized she would get a reward.

  Suddenly, John didn’t have any more trouble. Little Emma greedily sucked the bottle dry.

  The nurse, who had waited to see how John would do, told him to burp Emma on his shoulder. He put the baby on his shoulder and patted her back as the nurse instructed.

  When he did, Emma let out a most unladylike burp. He stared down at her. “Was that you, Emma? My, you did that well.”

  The nurse laughed. “That happens with some babies. She did just fine. Now put her back in her bassi
net and she’ll go to sleep.”

  “She will?”

  The nurse nodded.

  He gently laid the baby back in her bed. She squirmed and wiggled several times and then went to sleep.

  “You did a good job,” the nurse said.

  “Thanks.”

  After she left, he eased down in the soft chair beside the bed and leaned his head back, suddenly tired. It was more comfortable than the truck last night. But now he didn’t get to hold Lucy.

  LUCY STRUGGLED TO WAKE UP. It seemed there was something she should do, but she couldn’t remember what. She put her hand on her stomach to make sure the baby was okay.

  Her eyes popped open. Her womb didn’t feel as though her baby was there. She sat up, breathing hard. What had happened?

  Then she remembered she’d had the baby, her little girl, and everything was all right.

  She saw the baby sleeping in a little bassinet. She leaned back in her bed. Then she looked to the right and saw John asleep in the chair beside her bed.

  He’d stayed.

  He’d promised he would. But she didn’t know if he’d keep his word. Now she knew he had. She rested against her pillow, studying him. He was a handsome man. But more important than that, he’d taken care of her, protected her and given her hope that she might be safe. She knew that that wasn’t true, but for a short time he’d given her something she desperately needed.

  What should she do now? She knew she shouldn’t stay in one place for long. Cecil could find her. And he knew where Harry lived.

  John had said Harry wouldn’t return for six weeks, which meant she was on her own. As much as she had relied on John, she couldn’t any longer.

  She decided her first chore was to get up and go to the bathroom. Sitting on the side of her bed, she gathered her courage and put her feet to the floor. When she stood, she almost fell, grabbing the side of the bed.

  “This is harder than it looked,” she muttered to herself. It wasn’t that far to her initial goal. Forcing herself to move, she tottered to the bathroom, grabbing anything to give herself balance. The return trip wasn’t much better. She collapsed on the bed, relieved as she settled back on the pillows. Recovery was important, she knew, but she wanted to rest a bit before she tried to get up again.