Riley's Retribution

by Rebecca York

  “It’s that bad outside?” she murmured. She hadn’t thought of the snow for hours.

  “Your hands will get back here as soon as they can. Meanwhile, I’ll take care of the ranch.”

  “Yes. Thanks,” she answered, wondering what was going to happen after that.

  “You try to get some rest,” he said, then went back outside.

  RILEY STOPPED in the ranch yard with the colonel.

  “I’d offer to deliver your car out here in the morning,” Murphy said. “But I’m not sure the roads will be passable.”

  Riley nodded. “We’ll play it by ear.”

  He watched his friends leave, thinking he didn’t know what the future held. But he knew there was farm work to do. The horses needed to be fed. And the stalls mucked out.

  Mechanically, he took care of the chores, knowing that he had to talk to Courtney, and wondering what she was going to say to him, because until he settled things with her, he had no idea what to tell the colonel.

  By the time he came back to the house, he was struggling through eighteen inches of snow. And the damn storm showed no signs of abating.

  He should shovel a path to the barn. But after the gun battle and the aftermath, he was bone tired. And anything he cleared away out here would just get buried again. So he might as well wait until the morning.

  With that rationalization in place, he staggered into the house. It was almost a relief to find that Courtney had gone to bed.

  In the spare bedroom, he grabbed clean clothes and took a shower, standing under the hot water for a long time, letting the warmth sink into his bones.

  Then he pulled on a long-sleeved shirt and sweat-pants and fell into bed, thinking how crazy he’d been to entertain any fantasies about Courtney Rogers. What did he think—that she was going to invite him to share an expensive piece of property like the Golden Saddle Ranch?

  He lay awake chewing on that for a long time. But finally he slept.

  His eyes blinked open when he heard Courtney calling to him. She was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, dressed in a long flannel gown, the light from the hallway streaming in behind her.

  “Riley, I’m sorry to wake you up.”

  He heard fear in her voice. Sitting up, he grabbed the gun he’d left on the bedside table and hurried toward her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Riley asked.

  “You can put the gun down. There’s nobody here besides us.”

  Confused, he tried to bring the situation into focus. “What do you need?” he asked.

  “I know it’s a month early. But…but…I woke up, and I’m having contractions. I…I need to get to the hospital. I guess the excitement of the gun battle…” Her voice trailed off on a gasp of pain.

  “Oh, Lord.” He slung his arm around her, pulling her against his side and helped her to the bed. “You’d better sit down.”

  She closed her fingers around his arm. “You don’t understand,” she said, making every word distinct and clear. “I have to get to the hospital.”

  He felt like the bottom had just dropped out of his stomach. But he struggled to keep the sudden panic from showing on his face. In a voice that felt detached from his vocal cords, he said, “Courtney, we’re not going anywhere. I mean, leaving the house would be dangerous—for you and the baby. There’s two feet of snow out there. If we tried to drive, we could get stuck.”

  “No,” she said, then clutched his arm and gasped.

  It took several moments before she dragged in a breath and said, “They’re getting worse. When I first woke up, I thought…I was hoping that they were…you know, Braxton Hicks.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Just false contractions. I mean, they don’t mean you’re going into labor. But these haven’t stopped. They’re getting closer together…and harder.”

  “Okay. I’ll take care of you…”

  “Riley…you’re not a doctor.”

  “I’m not a vet, either. But I knew what to do for Buttercup.” He hoped that was reassuring to her. At least the recent memory helped him.

  Mentally, he was trying to summon up everything he’d ever learned about childbirth. Long ago, when he’d been a kid on the ranch, a couple of women had given birth at home. He’d been fascinated, and he’d listened wide-eyed to the women talking about what they needed to do.

  “You lie down,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?” she asked, her voice edged with alarm.

  “To boil water. They always boil water, right?” he asked, wondering if he sounded like he was babbling. “And…to get some extra bedding. Do you have a plastic sheet?”

  “No. But I’ve got plastic tablecloths. In the buffet in the dining room. And…and I was always afraid I might be stuck in a snowstorm. So I packed a kit of stuff I might need. It’s in the front hall closet.”

  “Good. I’ll be right back. You hold tight.”

  She lay back on the bed and closed her eyes while he hurried down the hall and snatched up the phone in the kitchen, then cursed when he remembered that bastard Jake had cut the damn lines. When he opened the front door and looked out to assess the weather conditions, a blast of cold air and snow hit him in the face.

  In the hall, he reached for his coat and fumbled in the pockets—praying that the mobile phone would work.

  Swiftly he punched in the number for Big Sky. It took several rings before the colonel answered. “It’s two in the morning,” he growled. “This better be good.”

  “I need help.”

  The terror in his voice must have gotten Murphy’s attention. “Are you under attack again? What?”

  “Courtney’s in labor. The baby is a month early. And I suspect the roads are impassable. Is there any chance of getting help? The baby may need medical attention.”

  “Just a minute.”

  He heard fumbling sounds and low voices on the other end of the line. Then the colonel came back on. “I’d send a chopper. But they can’t take off and land. The wind is too high.”

  Riley cursed.

  “We may be able to reach you in a snowcat.”

  “Yeah, and maybe you can pick up a doctor on the way.”

  “Riley!” Courtney’s voice, high and sharp, reached him from the bedroom.

  “She’s calling me. I gotta go. If you can get here, I’d be grateful.”

  He hung up, found the tablecloth and ran back down the hall to the spare bedroom.

  Courtney was leaning back against the pillow, obviously in pain.

  “Oh, sugar,” she gasped.

  When the contraction eased, he said, “A bad one?”

  “Yes,” she gulped. “And only two minutes from the last one. I think it’s going to be soon.”

  “Okay. Let’s get ready.”

  He turned to the closet and pulled out a man’s flannel shirt. “I think you’ll be more comfortable in this than that long gown.”

  “Yes. And…and I want to go to the bathroom.”

  While she was gone, he got the kit she’d prepared and checked the contents, then looked up as she came back, wearing the shirt and a look of terror.

  He’d gotten the bed ready and set out supplies. The water on the stove would be boiling soon. He could use it to sterilize the scissors to cut the baby’s cord.

  “My water broke.”

  “Good. That’s good,” he said, wondering if it should have happened now. Or later.

  After helping her onto the bed, he reached for her hand. When she clamped his fingers in a death grip, he knew another contraction had grabbed her.

  As it eased, she whispered, “I’m scared.”

  He wanted to say the same thing. He was scared spitless. But he had to project every ounce of strength he could muster. So he simply said, “We’ll get through this—together.”

  “Okay.”

  She lay with her eyes closed for several moments, holding on to him, then turned her face toward h
im and opened her eyes. “Riley, after the attack—why didn’t you come back to bed with me?”

  That was the last thing he’d expected her to say. And his answer came out in a shallow breath. “You told me to put my things in the guest bedroom. I wasn’t sure you wanted me in bed with you.”

  “I did. That was just—you know—for appearances’ sake.” She heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry you’re stuck in this situation.”

  “I’m not stuck. I’m glad I’m here to help you.”

  He saw her take her bottom lip between her teeth.

  “I told you not to do that. You’ll hurt your lip.”

  She nodded, then asked in a barely audible whisper, “In the morning, were you going to tell me you were leaving?”

  He swallowed. He’d vowed to speak only the truth. But it was hard to say. “No. I was wondering if you…if you could love a guy like me.”

  Her grip tightened on his hand. “Yes. Yes I could. But I wouldn’t try to hold you here. Not if you wanted to leave and go back to Big Sky.”

  “So each of us was thinking the other…might back away?” he managed.

  Her eyes were bright. “It looks like it.”

  “Courtney, you’ve made me want all the things I thought I’d never have. A wife. A home. A family.”

  She started to speak. Then her hand clamped on to his in a death grip, and he knew she was in pain.

  He ached to take the pain away, but all he could do was cling to her hand.

  When the contraction was over, she gasped, “I feel like I have to push.”

  It was all happening too fast. He wasn’t ready. But he wasn’t going to let her down.

  “Okay, I’ve got to wash my hands. I’ll be right back.” He dashed into the bathroom and washed.

  Her head was turned toward the door, watching for him as he strode back into the room.

  He helped her down to the end of the bed, then swept her shirt out of the way and leaned over, wishing there was more he could do as she pushed with another contraction.

  “I can see the baby’s head,” he breathed. “You’re doing fine. Perfect.”

  It was strange to hear his own voice sounding so calm and controlled when his insides were tied in knots. But she needed his strength, and he would give it to her.

  The next contraction grabbed her, and she moaned in pain as she pushed. “Sugar! Oh, sugar!”

  “Say something stronger if it helps!”

  The next contraction followed hard on the heels of the last.

  She was beyond answering, beyond anything but following the dictates of her body.

  “Good. Perfect,” he praised her. “It can’t be much longer now. Everything is fine.”

  She bore down again, groaning with the effort.

  “Her head is out,” Riley told her, then sucked in a sharp breath.

  “What? What’s wrong?” she gasped.

  “The cord is caught around her neck, but I’ll get it off.” He moved then, working quickly, smoothly, pulling the loop away from the baby’s neck

  “Riley? For Lord’s sake, Riley, tell me what’s happening.”

  “It’s okay. Everything is okay. I’ve got it off of her,” he answered, then helped deliver the baby’s shoulders.

  “Is she all right? Tell me she’s all right,” Courtney sobbed out.

  Riley worked over the infant, suctioning her mouth with a syringe from the kit Courtney had put together.

  When she started to cry, he felt like a lead weight had been lifted off his own chest. Laying the baby on Courtney’s abdomen, he went to get the scissors from the kitchen. He also turned up the heat in the house so mother and baby would be nice and warm.

  When he came back, Courtney was cuddling her child. He reached to cradle the baby’s head, and Courtney’s hand came up to cover his.

  The power of the moment seized him, and he blinked back tears, silently thanking God that he’d been here for her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I’m glad I was here.”

  “Yes.”

  There were still things to do. He helped her deliver the placenta, then cut and tied the cord. Next he washed the baby and wrapped her in one of the blankets Courtney had bought.

  The infant was small, but she looked healthy—at least as far as he could tell.

  “You should nurse her. That will help your uterus contract,” he murmured.

  “How do you know?”

  He flushed. “When I was a kid, sometimes I used to eavesdrop on the women at the ranch. I was fascinated by their talk about having babies.”

  “I’ll bet you were.” She unbuttoned her shirt and put the baby to her breast, and he watched in wonder as the little girl rooted around, then clamped on to a nipple.

  “Oh!” Courtney exclaimed.

  She relaxed back against the pillows, and he slipped onto the bed beside her.

  “You look worn-out.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “But beautiful.”

  She grinned, then snuggled against him, and he couldn’t believe he was in the middle of this sweet scene.

  “Did you pick a name for her?” he asked, as he watched the small mouth working.

  Courtney looked up at him, her eyes large and luminous. “I was thinking of Hannah. Or Emily. I couldn’t decide which. Which do you like?” she asked in a soft voice.

  “That’s your decision.”

  “You delivered her. I’d like it to be our decision,” she murmured.

  He was stunned, and honored by the responsibility she’d just given him. “Hannah. I like Hannah a lot.”

  “It’s a good name.” She stroked the baby’s cheek. “Hannah.”

  A noise outside intruded on the scene.

  Courtney went rigid. “What’s that?”

  “Big Sky. I called them on my cell phone.”

  He hurried down the hall to the front door. Clark and the colonel stepped inside. Another man was with him.

  “This is Dr. Rivers. He’s relocating to the area. He was staying at the same motel as we were, and he volunteered to come with me.”

  “Thank you,” Riley said simply.

  He waited while the doctor checked out the baby and Courtney.

  “I’ve got a bulletin on the prince,” Murphy said with a grin.

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “He was on his way out of the country. But the snowstorm kept his private plane from taking off. Even when he threatened to shoot the pilot if he didn’t get him out of Montana, the man wouldn’t take the plane up.”

  “I would have liked to see that scene.”

  “We’d transmitted the information about the codes in Nikolai’s speeches to the feds. Those bulletins were enough to get him detained for questioning.”

  “Good deal,” Riley crowed.

  In the next moment the doctor came out, and Riley went still. “How are Courtney and the baby?” he asked.

  “In excellent shape. Thanks to you. The baby’s heart rate and breathing are normal. Her muscle tone is good. We could transport them to the hospital, but I think they’ll be more comfortable here. The roads will be clear by the afternoon. I can send a nurse out to check on them. And your wife should see her own doctor in the next few days.”

  Riley and the colonel exchanged glances, but neither of them corrected the doctor about the wife part.

  “Appreciate it,” Riley answered.

  “We’ll bring your ranch hands out tomorrow, so you’ll have some help,” Murphy said.

  “Great!”

  “And one more thing. We’d like…your wife…to share in the bounty on the terrorists. She earned it.”

  “Thanks,” Riley answered, knowing that the money was going to come in handy.

  After the men had left, he went back to see Courtney. The baby was in the cradle that Riley had brought into the room. And Courtney was dozing, but her eyes fluttered open and focused on him.

  “The doctor says you’re doing fine,” he said.

&nb
sp; “Thanks to you.” She looked up at him, then stretched out her hand in invitation, and he eased down beside her.

  “We were in the middle of a conversation—before Hannah interrupted us,” she said.

  He blinked. “What conversation?”

  “The one where I was asking if you wanted to stay here at the ranch.”

  He felt his throat tighten. “Oh, yeah. That conversation.”

  “And?”

  Again, only the truth came tumbling from his lips. “I’d love that.”

  “Edward could never adjust to ranch life,” she said softly.

  “Well, the ranch is perfect for me.” He gathered her gently in his arms. “And so are you. I love you. And in case I haven’t told you, you were pretty damn impressive—holding off a slew of armed men.”

  “I didn’t do it alone.” She kept her gaze on him. “Usually, the ranch is a lot less exciting than being a bounty hunter.”

  Overwhelmed with emotion, he stroked his lips against her cheek. “When I got to know you, I realized living here was what I wanted. But I was afraid to hope for—” He stopped and closed his eyes for a moment. “Does ‘afraid to hope for my heart’s desire’ sound too…dumb?”

  “Dumb? No. It sounds wonderfully poetic. You don’t have to be afraid to show your poetic side with me.”

  “I didn’t know I had one. All I know is that it seems like a dream—a wife and a daughter.”

  “Well, it’s like that for me, too. I fell in love with you. But I fought it. I thought you’d never want to stay.”

  “Well, I do.”

  “So you’re asking me to marry you?” she asked softly.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “I thought I’d be raising Hannah alone. I never thought I’d find love again. And now I have you.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes, and he tenderly brushed them away. After cuddling her for long moments, he cleared his throat.

  “On a practical note, I’m due a lot of back pay. And the colonel wants you to share the bounty for Fowler and his men. That should help with the bottom line.”

  “I feel so blessed.”

  “As soon as you’re on your feet, we’ll get married,” he murmured. “And we’ll include Hannah in the wedding pictures.”

  She laughed. “That will be unusual.”

  “But a good way to start our marriage, don’t you think? With the two of us and our little girl.”