by Brenda Novak
His foreman quickly mounted his own horse and trotted off without a word.
“And hurry,” Conner called after him.
“I thought maybe you’d been hurt,” Delaney said when the beating of Roy’s horse’s hooves died out. “I couldn’t stand waiting—”
He pressed a quick kiss to her temple. “Shh, it’s okay. I was only saving a stranded calf. I’m fine, and you’re going to be fine real soon.”
Please make it true, he prayed, wishing Roy Godspeed. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing Delaney or their baby. He wanted to get her to a doctor as soon as possible.
“I didn’t mean for anything like this to happen,” she said, trying to get up.
Conner pressed her back down. “Just rest.”
She relaxed but clung to his arm. “I’m an excellent rider. The horse wasn’t the problem. It was just that the baby didn’t like the rough ride and I…I couldn’t turn back without you.”
“You should never have come,” he said. He knew his words sounded too gruff, but he couldn’t staunch the deep emotion that turned them so harsh.
She glanced away from him. “I’m sorry for all the trouble.”
She’d just risked the child she wanted more than anything in the world—for him—and she didn’t know he loved her. She didn’t know because he’d never told her. Maybe he hadn’t even realized how much a part of him she’d become until this moment. “Laney, it’s not the trouble you’ve caused that upsets me,” he said. “You could have destroyed my whole world tonight, you know that?”
Confusion flickered on her face. “But you’ve never been happy about the baby. You’ve never wanted it—or me. Not really. I hate that I trapped you into all of this. I was crazy to think you’d eventually love me—”
“Laney, don’t talk like that.”
“It’s true. You’ve never said anything more meaningful to me than, ‘You’re beautiful,’ or ‘I love to touch you,’ or ‘You make me crazy.’ You—”
“I’m saying it now,” he said, feeling more vulnerable than ever before in his life. He was frightened of his own revelation, frightened that he could love someone so much, frightened that she’d now realize how much power she held over him.
But somehow he didn’t matter as much to him as she did. “I love you, Laney. I was stupid not to tell you before.” He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, each eyelid. “Nothing means more to me than you do.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Does that mean you forgive me?”
“For what? For coming out here?”
“For Boise.”
“Are you kidding? There’s nothing to forgive. You’ve made me the happiest man on earth.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t deserve your love, Conner, not after what I did.”
“I don’t deserve you, either, Laney,” he said. “And that’s the truth. But we’re together, and we’re going to stay together, okay?” He smiled down at her. “I’m just glad,” he whispered, “that mercy is as much a part of the world as justice.”
“YOU’RE WHERE?” Rebecca asked.
Delaney propped up the phone and snuggled closer to Conner, even though it was nearly three o’clock in the afternoon.
“In bed,” she said.
“With your workaholic husband?”
“Last I checked, it wasn’t the telephone man.”
“How are you feeling? Has the cramping gone away?”
Conner had called Rebecca last night when they’d finally reached the ranch to tell her Dr. Hatcher was meeting them at his office, and she’d shown up there, too.
“Yeah, the muscle relaxants he gave me are doing the job. The baby and I are going to be fine.”
“You’re sure?”
Delaney had donned Conner’s T-shirt a few minutes earlier to go to the kitchen and bring them both some orange juice, but his hand had already found its way beneath the fabric to caress her belly. “Better than I’ve ever been.”
“You sound good. Now you know why I’m mad at Buddy for postponing our wedding.”
“Is it still going to happen in August?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, it’ll happen soon enough. Sure you don’t want to wait until after the baby’s born?”
“I’ll come back.”
“Okay.”
“Delaney?”
“Yeah?”
“You can tell Conner I’m not mad at him anymore.”
“I’ll pass on the good news,” Delaney said. Then Conner kissed her, and she couldn’t remember later if she’d even said goodbye before she hung up the phone.
CONNER HAD A DIFFICULT TIME keeping his attention on his dinner. “Say it now,” he said, nudging Isaiah under the table with his knee.
Isaiah looked up at Delaney, who was busy frosting the cake she’d made them for dessert. “Laney, did you remember to feed the bunny today?”
“The what?” she said, sounding preoccupied.
“The bunny.”
She stopped with the frosting. “What bunny?”
“Haven’t you seen it?”
Delaney frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s back here.” Isaiah jerked his head toward the door. “Come see.”
Delaney sent Conner a curious glance, but he shrugged as though he didn’t know what was going on, and Dottie and the others did the same.
“What’s this all about?” she asked. Her face showing a trace of suspicion, she followed Isaiah into the backyard, and Conner slipped out behind her so he wouldn’t miss her reaction.
“Oh, my gosh!” she said at her first sight of the fluffy white bunny nibbling a carrot inside the cage that now stood next to the chicken coop. “This is the cutest bunny I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s for you,” Isaiah said. “It’s a late wedding present.”
Roy, Grady, Ben and Dottie crowded behind Conner on the back stoop as they all watched Delaney unlatch the door, scoop the little bunny into her hands and rub its soft fur against her cheek. “Isaiah, it’s just what I wanted. How did you know?”
He grinned. “I didn’t. It’s from Conner. He wouldn’t even let me help him build the cage.”
Delaney turned and gave Conner a brilliant smile, and he felt his heart melt. She did that to him, unexpectedly. Sometimes he’d look at her, and his spirit would just soar. She was so beautiful, so pregnant, so…his.
“I love you, Conner Armstrong,” she said, loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Conner crossed the lawn, put an arm around her and, even with Grady, Ben, Isaiah, Dottie and Roy looking on, lifted her chin with one finger. “I love you, too,” he said, and gave her a kiss.
“Now beat it,” he growled to the others, who had started to clap.
EPILOGUE
CONNER SAT ON HIS HORSE, partway up the mountain, and watched the tractors in the valley below start to grade and level the dirt where the lodge would soon stand. He could hardly believe it was happening. The ground-breaking was a little later than he’d scheduled—he’d run into problems with the engineering of the golf course—but construction was now under way, and if everything went according to plan, they’d have their grand opening in May of the following year.
He thought about Stephen, Dwight and Jonathan, and grinned. They’d been so skeptical at first, so sure he’d never get this far. They pretended not to care that he was even trying, but he heard bits and pieces of what they said through his mother, and he knew it was driving them crazy that he’d figured out a way to save the ranch. Not only to save it but to make it pay off with such potentially high returns.
Or maybe it wasn’t the money that bothered them. They had plenty of money. Maybe it was the words of praise his grandfather lavished on his efforts. Either way, Conner didn’t really care. Somehow his uncles and even his past seemed like such a small part of his life now. He had other things to think about, bigger things, like his wife, his baby, his dreams.
He heard the QuadRunner he’d bought
for Delaney—to keep her off a horse until after she had the baby—and turned to see his wife slowly driving up the hill. She was coming to join him for the big moment. It was something they wanted to share.
“Don’t tell me they’ve already started,” she said, her voice tinged with disappointment as she cut the engine.
Conner got down from his horse and held out a hand to help her off the squat, four-wheeled motorcycle, admiring the healthy glow the dawn light lent her skin and the bright smile that never failed to reach inside him and tell him the world was good.
“They just started a few minutes ago,” he said.
“So I missed it?”
“You haven’t missed anything. Come see.”
He took her hand and led her to a better vantage point and together they watched the machinery and men below.
“It’s going to be great, isn’t it,” she said.
Conner shifted to stand behind her, slipped his arms around her and locked his hands beneath the bulge of her belly so she could lean against him. “It’s going to be better than great.”
“Your mother called. She caught me just as I was leaving the house. She wanted to congratulate us on the big day.”
His mother. She’d been so happy since he’d turned his life around. “Grandpa mentioned she was seeing someone, when I talked to him on the phone last night. Did she say anything about it?”
Delaney shook her head. “She told me about a trip she’s taking to the Coast, and I doubt she’s going alone, but she didn’t say anything about who might be going with her.”
“I guess she’ll tell us about him when she’s ready. Grandpa really likes him, so I’m sure he’s a good guy.”
“She deserves to find love.”
“Now that she feels I’m on the right course, maybe she will.”
They stood in silence for several minutes as Conner thought about his mother marrying and living a fuller life. Then he imagined the land before him in its finished state, the lodge filled with vacationers, the golf course buzzing with white golf carts. It was going to be so perfect—
“Conner?” Delaney said, breaking into his daydream.
“Hmm?”
“What if all this doesn’t work out? What if, in five years, we lose everything?”
“Then, we start over someplace else,” he said.
“You’re sure? You won’t take it too hard? It’s just land and buildings and money, you know. Those aren’t the things we need to be happy.”
He nuzzled her ear. “I know, babe. Don’t worry. I can never lose everything as long as I’ve got you.” He kissed her, only to be interrupted by Roy and Josh.
“We come all the way out here to enjoy the ground-breaking, and what do we find? The two of you necking like a couple of teenagers.” Roy clicked his tongue and shook his head, but even in the shadow of their hats, Delaney had no trouble making out their smiles.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3666-4
A BABY OF HER OWN
Copyright © 2002 by Brenda Novak.
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