A Montana Christmas Reunion

by Roz Denny Fox

  The minute she heard Leland’s revelation, Jewell wanted to disappear. Sick dizziness coursed through her, but a vise held her tongue.

  “Everything I said, Saxon, is assuredly true.” Leland rolled his head on the pillow to stare at Jewell. “Am I wrong?” he probed. “Doreen brought food by my house after Lila’s wedding. She swore she overheard you telling Myra Maxwell that you were going to have Saxon’s baby. She said you asked Myra’s advice about a doctor.”

  The furrows lodged between Saxon’s brows deepened. He swung toward Jewell, his eyes bright with anger. “Before we go, Jewell, tell him that’s impossible,” he said as he brushed past the nurse. “We...ah... Well, suffice to say it’s total bull.”

  Cringing, Jewell was slow to lift her quivering chin. “That’s what I told myself for quite a while,” she said softly. “When my symptoms didn’t abate, I did a home pregnancy test. Don’t ask me how, Saxon, but it’s true.” She held up a hand. “You’ve no reason to be concerned or upset, though. I’ll handle it by myself. And, Leland,” she said, breaking eye contact with Saxon, “don’t fret. I have a nice home for me and the baby and I do well with my practice, too. I’ll be fine. Uh, we’ll be fine,” she murmured, curving a hand over her still-flat belly.

  Turning, Saxon’s voice rose. “Were you not going to tell me? Wait...what kind of a doctor were you asking about? I’ll fight you to hell and back if you plan to get rid of my baby.”

  Jewell flew around the bed. “That’s insulting. And lower your voice. For pity’s sake, we’re in ICU, and your uncle’s in ill health.” She shoved him out the door and addressed the nurse. “We’ve overstayed the time Dr. Hamlin authorized. Leland, relax. I’ll...uh, we’ll see you after surgery.” Squaring her shoulders, she stormed past Saxon.

  The nurse called to the retreating pair. “Dr. Hamlin has scheduled Mr. Conrad’s surgery for five o’clock. You’re welcome to wait in the family room on the fifth-floor surgery wing.”

  Saxon whirled and stuck his head back in the room. “I echo what Jewell said, except I’ll support any kid of mine. I’ll see you after you’re out of recovery,” he added, withdrawing again.

  “Don’t leave yet. I’m not finished. I, ah, have more to say.” Leland’s voice was a deep rumble. “It’s the real reason I wanted to talk to you. Saxon. Saxon!”

  His uncle’s words battered Saxon’s back, but he stepped up his pace and caught up to Jewell at the elevator.

  “Go away,” she hissed, stabbing the down button urgently.

  He cast a glance around. “I know you missed lunch. At least, I assume so since you took soup and bread to Uncle Leland’s house. I didn’t stop along the way from the airport, either. Let’s find the cafeteria and talk while we eat.”

  “Why would I want to talk to you?” She poked him in the chest. “Almost since I could walk and talk, I’ve gone above and beyond to save all injured or stray animals. How dare you suggest I’d callously abort a baby? My baby.”

  “And mine,” he added calmly as the elevator doors slid open. Taking hold of her elbow, he made room for the two of them in a fairly full car. “The way you ran out on me in Maryland, how can I be sure you haven’t changed from the girl...uh, woman I once knew and loved?” he admonished near her ear.

  She glared and tried to jerk away because his comment garnered interest from other people in the car. But when he deliberately kept her from exiting at the lobby, she sighed and stopped tugging to extract her arm from his hand. According to a sign in the elevator, the cafeteria was in the basement. As upset as her stomach was, she very likely needed something to settle the churning.

  When this time the doors opened to the clatter of dishes and the warm smell of food, Jewell did wrest out of Saxon’s loosened hold. “If you don’t mind,” she said wearily, “I’d rather eat alone. I have enough trouble these days keeping nausea at bay.”

  He nudged her close to the wall to let another group pass. “I’m sorry, Jewell. You’ve had time to absorb information that has blown up at me out of left field.”

  “But how dare you question my integrity in front of that nurse and Leland.”

  “I admit I jumped to the worst possible conclusion. Grab us a table. Tell me what you want to eat. I’ll get it. So much has hit me I need to sit awhile and unpack it all.”

  “I understand that. I really do. My nerves have been frayed since I blithely knocked on Leland’s door and he stepped out on his porch and fell to the ground unconscious. I only felt a flicker of pulse in Leland’s neck, Saxon. Even after I started CPR, I was scared to death he’d slipped away. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I doubt I would’ve saved him.” Her lips trembled and tears filled her eyes.

  Saxon hugged her awkwardly. “That’s why you need time to sit and unwind, too. Please.”

  She blotted her eyes with a sleeve but eventually nodded and didn’t object when he moved them along the hall. “I’ll take a glass of milk.” Stopping at the open double doors, she studied the busy room. “I see one table open in the corner. Is that okay?”

  “Fine. But you need more than milk. It says on the board they have chicken noodle soup. Would you try a little if I get you a bowl?”

  “Okay. And crackers. I remember Myra ate crackers the day we all met at the café. And she’s pregnant with twins.”

  “Twins?” Saxon blinked and looked a tad shell-shocked. “I only caught part of that. You aren’t saying you...uh... Are we having two...?”

  “No, it’s Myra who’s having twins. Since I haven’t seen a doctor, I’ve no way of knowing. And it’s probably too soon to know that anyway. But it’s not we anything, Saxon. Did you not hear me say you don’t have to worry? I’ll handle this alone.”

  A large man headed to the food line bumped them. Saxon pointed to the table. “Nab that quick. We will discuss this, Jewell,” he promised through tight lips. Removing his hand from her back, he got in line behind the man who’d disrupted them.

  Going to the empty table, Jewell set her elbows on the tabletop and buried her face in her hands. Dialing the hours back to the instant Leland fell over in front of her, she dredged up everything that had happened and attempted to calm nerves that left her a wreck. She could remind herself that everything had turned out okay—with the exception of Leland announcing her pregnancy to Saxon. There really wasn’t any reason to pin her irritation about that on him. The culprit was Doreen Mercer. Myra had suggested Lila’s mother might have overheard their private conversation. She should have heeded that and asked Doreen to keep silent until she had a chance to tell Saxon and the other Artsy Ladies.

  Releasing a big sigh, she scrubbed her face a few times.

  “Are you okay?” Saxon asked anxiously, setting a tray of food down in front of her. “I heard you sigh from two tables away. Do you need to find a place to lie down? You’re ghost white. Jewell, don’t fall apart now. We did everything humanly possible for Leland. He’s alert and under the doctor’s care.”

  Saxon set her soup, crackers and milk off the tray and did the same with his sandwich, his coffee and their utensils. “Try the soup while I stow this tray. You probably need a minute to destress and get something in your stomach.” Standing, he held the tray but continued to study her worriedly.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said, picking up the soupspoon. “There’s no need to hover.”

  Heeding her, Saxon left and set the tray on a stack of empties. Returning, he sat across from her.

  “I didn’t mean to scold,” she said. “This soup hits the spot. In looking back, I know it’s lucky for Leland that I arrived when I did. And luckier still that you came when you did. He’d have died if he’d had his attack in his home with no one around. Then he never would’ve been able to tell you the story about him and your parents. It’s obviously weighed heavy on his mind.” She circled her spoon in the air. “By the way, I heard him call out tha
t he had more to tell you. Why didn’t you stay to hear what else he had to say?”

  “The nurse said our time was up. Anyway, I wanted to catch you.” Saxon bit into his sandwich. After swallowing, he said, “Do you think he was telling the truth? I mean, the blood supply to his brain could have been restricted. Or maybe he had a dream he thought was real.”

  “Last summer he asked if I knew how he could get in touch with you. He said it was important. I can’t recall exactly when... Maybe around the time he listed his ranch to sell.” Jewell opened a packet of crackers and ate one. “That might even have been when he started seeing a doctor in the next town. Doreen said as much the other day.”

  A nurse they both recognized as the one at the computer in ICU entered the cafeteria and looked around.

  Jewell and Saxon both stiffened as she spotted them and sped toward their table. Trading a grim expression with Jewell, Saxon rose to meet her.

  “Dr. Hamlin asked me to see if I could find you two,” the woman said breathlessly. “Oh, wait...nothing’s happened to your uncle. Sorry if my showing up like this has worried you. But he is refusing to sign the release to have the surgery.”

  “If this has to do with his insurance,” Saxon said, “I only just got into town, and I really don’t know anything about his private affairs.”

  The nurse shook her head. “Mr. Conrad provided all of that. This is another issue. If you’d rather discuss this in private, we can go back up to ICU.”

  Saxon tugged at his lower lip. “Feel free to speak in front of Jewell. I’ve not seen my uncle for years. She’s his nearest neighbor and knows him as well as anyone.”

  “He’s pretty tight-lipped,” Jewell murmured. “What’s the nature of his concerns?”

  “Dr. Hamlin said Mr. Conrad is flatly refusing to consider going into a rehabilitation facility once he’s released from the hospital.”

  “Is that necessary? Can he not just go home?” Saxon asked.

  “He’ll need dressings changed and his medications monitored. Even assistance to and from the bathroom. And he won’t be cleared to drive for some time. For this type of surgery, unless there’s a caregiver in the home, patients are always sent to a rehab facility for a few weeks. He’s stubbornly refusing to consider it.”

  Studying Jewell, the nurse said, “Dr. Hamlin noticed the EMT who brought Mr. Conrad in listed you and Dr. Hyatt as contacts. He wondered if you might be in a position to handle meal preparation and the other services I mentioned.”

  Jewell shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I’m a veterinarian. I have a busy practice. I may know a ranch wife or two who could possibly stay with Leland during the day. Offhand, I can’t come up with anyone who’d be available for night duty.”

  “If he’ll let me,” Saxon said quietly, “I’ll watch out for him. Lest you wonder why I qualified that by saying ‘if he’ll let me,’ I’ll be honest. Our relationship for many years has been rocky, to put it mildly.”

  Jewell burst out, “Don’t you have stuff to do between now and Labor Day, when you’re performing for an entire evening? And aren’t you flying back to Nashville the following day?”

  “So you are the country-western singer?” The nurse seemed excited. “One of the other nurses thought so. But she said you look different without a guitar and sparkly shirt. Are you really giving a show around here?”

  Saxon dragged his glare back from Jewell. “I’m giving a benefit in Snowy Owl Crossing. I’m sure when we’re done here, Jewell can tell you how to get tickets. Going back to my uncle...if he doesn’t object to having me hanging around his ranch until he’s back on his feet, I’m willing to help out.”

  Jewell stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, while you and Saxon go upstairs to settle this with Leland, I’ll go out to my pickup and get tickets for the concert. Perhaps it’s crass to do this in the middle of Leland’s crisis, but the money goes for a good cause. To secure a refuge for snowy owls.”

  “That’d be fantastic. Oh, but don’t let me run you off from your meal. Mr. Conrad, if you’ll come with me. I know Dr. Hamlin needs this resolved or he’ll have to put off your uncle’s surgery.”

  “While I’m outside, shall I make a few calls to see if I can find a caregiver before you ask Leland about Saxon sticking around? Lucky as we are to have him give our benefit, none on our committee would dream of tying up such a superstar.”

  The nurse raised hesitant eyes to Saxon, who’d followed her a few steps away from the table.

  “Just get the tickets, Jewell,” he grated. “I’ll stay as long as it takes to get my uncle back on his feet.”

  Leaving Jewell openmouthed, Saxon hustled the nurse out of the cafeteria.

  Chapter Eight

  Jewell took her eyes off her phone as she reentered the hospital. Saxon stood by the elevator scanning the lobby. Her insides jolted every time he crossed her sight. She said goodbye to Sarah Watson and stuck her phone in her back pocket. It was her fourth call netting a no-dice answer on finding Leland a caregiver. Even though Saxon said he’d stay to help Leland, she didn’t believe it. Not the way he was tied to his label. If they booked him to appear in Timbuktu, she couldn’t imagine him telling them no.

  “From the look on your face,” Saxon said by way of greeting, “I’d say that phone call upset you.”

  “I struck out finding anyone to take care of Leland. I should’ve known. It’s harvest season. Men work long hours putting up hay for the winter. Their wives are canning, freezing food, making jam, and otherwise helping around the ranch. Bigger cities have what are called angel-service home health workers. We’d have to ask if Leland’s insurance would pay to bring someone in or if he could afford to pay privately.”

  “I wasn’t kidding about looking after him. Is it that you don’t feel I’ll do a good job, or what? Ever since you brought me his letter, I’ve battled my conscience over hanging on to a grudge. Now that I’m here and see how ill he is, if nothing else, he deserves credit for having provided me a bed, food and schooling. If not for him, I’d have gone into foster care.”

  She watched him turn and punch the elevator button. “Saxon, what will it do to your career to drop it for however many weeks the doctor thinks Leland needs a caregiver?”

  “My band’s on break. I’d arranged to take some time off to write new songs. I can do it here as easily as in Nashville.”

  Her heart soared momentarily at the notion of seeing him around town for several weeks. As quickly it sank again. How easy would it be to get used to running into him? To start dreaming about him staying longer? Longer, like forever?

  “You’re awfully quiet,” he said as they entered an empty elevator. “Are you worried I’m going to insist we talk about us and the baby? If so, good. Because when Leland’s out of the woods, that will top my agenda.”

  Jewell stepped to the rear of the car, putting space between them. “I don’t know what else there is to discuss,” she said, bracing against the wall when the car lurched and started its ascent.

  “Plenty,” he ground out. “I’m still trying to process how in hell something went wrong back in Maryland. I’m not so naive that I don’t know stuff can happen. That doesn’t make accepting that it happened to me any easier. It’s called protection for a reason. Is that home pregnancy test you said you took a hundred percent reliable?”

  “Supposed to be.” Her heart froze. He wasn’t in any way happy about her news. “Where are we going?” she asked abruptly when he punched floor four. “Didn’t the nurse say the surgical waiting room was on five?”

  “When I went back with Nurse Kenyon, they were drawing blood on Leland. She told the charge nurse I agreed to help out. She said she relayed that, but he’s insisting on seeing us again.”

  “Why would he need to see me? I could go on up to five.”

  “Maybe he feels bad about spilli
ng the beans about...our accident. Frankly, he should. It’s something that ought to be kept private between you and me.”

  Jewell wasn’t sure how to take his statement, especially since her nerves were raw. “Listen! You needn’t worry that news of our accident,” she said testily, “will spread far enough to hurt your career. Snowy Owl Crossing isn’t exactly a media metropolis. And you’ll be long gone before I show, so neighbors or clients won’t ask questions.”

  The door slid open and Saxon blocked Jewell’s exit. “Stop it, okay? I’m not asking to be let off the hook. I can’t fathom what kind of man you think I am. But I’m definitely not the ass you give every indication of believing now.”

  “Saxon,” she entreated, “People want to get on the elevator.”

  “Oh, sorry.” He stepped out and braced the door for her exit. He continued to hold it open until the family waiting to get on did so.

  “I’ll find Nurse Kenyon and see if she still wants tickets,” Jewell said. “You go on and see Leland. Also, I’m boarding animals at my clinic that need to be fed. I can go take care of them, then come back to wait for Leland to get out of recovery.”

  “Hang on until we know all is green-lighted for his surgery.”

  “I suppose. I have to say, Saxon, you’re being way more magnanimous toward him than I expected.”

  Saxon scratched at the top of one ear and offered a minor shrug. “It’s high time he and I moved on. I can’t imagine how different my life might be had my parents not been killed, had I not moved to Snowy Owl Crossing and met you. I wouldn’t have the career I have today.”

  Jewell exhaled fast. “Pardon me if I’m all mixed up when it comes to acknowledging any role I played in that, Saxon. I hate how our careers divided us.”

  “Like it or not, our pasts are pretty tied together.”

  She was tempted to say so were their present and their future, but they’d reached the ICU nursing station and Nurse Kenyon jumped up smiling, holding cash out for her five tickets. “A friend saw one of your flyers. She told me how much tickets are.”