by Zoe Matthews
Bridger shook his head. “I wish I could, but the last shipment of supplies is supposed to arrive tomorrow. We won’t get another one till the roads clear in the spring.”
“Sheridan and I will see to the supplies. You go take care of your wife,” Logan assured him.
“I can’t ask you all to take on any more than you already have. There’s another storm coming in a few days, and…”
“And nothing. There are plenty of us to go around here. Go with Spencer to Denver, find out what’s going on with Steph, and then come home so we can all enjoy the holidays together.”
Sheridan’s tone didn’t leave room for anymore arguing and Bridger wondered what he’d done to deserve entrance to such a loving family. He knew they’d all had their struggles when they’d first come home to honor their father’s last wishes. Six months had seemed unending to some of them at that time. But now, they were as close of a family as he’d ever witnessed. And he was a part of it. For that, he truly was thankful.
He looked at Sheridan and Logan and then nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be happy to pick up some extra chores when I get back…”
“No, you won’t. We’re a family and we help each other out. If I’ve learned nothing else from this little experiment of my father’s, it’s that family needs to stick together, through the good times and the bad. We’re all each other has, and I don’t think any of us truly appreciated or acknowledged that fact six months ago.”
Spencer nodded his head in agreement to his oldest brother’s words. “I know I sure didn’t. But man, look at us getting all mushy and sentimental. If the girls walked in on us now, we’d never hear the end of it!” he joked.
All four men nodded their heads, smiled at each other, and stepped back a step. “You got that right. Okay, so Bridger will go with Spencer and Stephanie tomorrow morning. Logan, you and I will get Jed, Hunter, and Cade to pitch in when the trucks arrive. Bridger normally unloads the supplies with just the men on the trucks’ help. Surely five of us can do what he normally does by himself,” Sheridan said, quickly organizing the men like he did so well.
Bridger bit the inside of his cheek to keep from commenting on Sheridan’s statement. He sounded hopeful, and Bridger only prayed that the men driving the trucks would be of the younger variety, and not the old men who’d delivered the supplies earlier in the summer. If he hadn’t had his own employees around to help out, it would have taken a few weeks to unload everything by hand while the drivers sat around and watched. They’d been useless and lazy, something Bridger personally wouldn’t tolerate in his own men.
“If they give you any problems, just stand your ground. They’re paid to deliver the supplies and put them where you want them. That means you feel free to tell them where to put the back of the trucks to make things easy on everyone involved,” Bridger advised Sheridan.
Logan nodded his head. “We’ll be fine. Why don’t we all head up to the Ranch House and check on the women. Something tells me a few voices of reason might come in handy before we send Spencer off to Denver with their list. I just glanced at the list Sierra was making last night, and there is no way all of that is going to fit into his little plane.”
Sheridan smiled and then nudged Spencer as they exited they barn. “Are you taking Emma with you?”
“That’s the plan. Stella can’t go because she promised Misty she would participate in the cookie-a-thon Kathy has planned for the younger kids. Besides, she already gave me a grocery list that’s going to take up at least half of the cargo space.”
“If it’s too much weight, have it sent by delivery. They can fly it in for all I care; the ranch will cover the extra expense. Just don’t overload the plane and put yourselves in danger,” Sheridan ordered.
Spencer started to take issue with what Sheridan had said, but then he realized Sheridan wasn’t accusing him of taking risks with their lives, he was simply being his overly protective self, something Spencer could tolerate now that he knew where it came from. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
Sheridan smiled at everyone as they reached the front porch. “Get ready to be inundated with wedding and Christmas stuff, boys. Our girls are on a roll, and something tells me we haven’t even begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Chapter 4
Monday, December 7th…
The next day, Spencer flew Bridger, Stephanie, and Emma into Denver. Two cars were waiting for them, so while Bridger drove Stephanie to her doctor’s appointment, he drove Emma to the first of many stores to pick up decorations.
Their first stop was a craft and fabric store, and Spencer had never felt so out of place. The women had decided to make many of the larger decorations, and Spencer dutifully pushed a cart laden with netting, floral ribbon, pine cones, and a variety of other items he truly didn’t want to know how they were going to be used.
When the first store didn’t have the correct quantity, Emma got directions to the nearest sister location, and Spencer navigated his way across Denver until they reached the next store. Emma was pleased to find everything else she needed there, and two hours later, they were headed back to the other side of town.
Spencer called Bridger as previously arranged. “Hey, we’re done with the decorations. Only the groceries and such left. How are things going with you?”
Bridger sighed. “We actually haven’t seen the doctor yet. He had an emergency at the hospital and only got back to his office a few minutes ago.”
“Wow! Do we need to plan on sticking around for the night?” Spencer asked. It wasn’t his first choice, but he wanted Stephanie to have plenty of time to see her physician.
“No, I don’t think so. Why don’t you and Emma go ahead and do the grocery shopping and Steph and I will meet you back at the airport in a few hours?”
“That sounds good. If plans change, let me know and we’ll do whatever needs to be done,” Spencer replied.
“Thanks. I’ll make sure Stephanie knows how accommodating you’re being.”
Spencer laughed. “You do that. I can use all the brownie points I can get. We’ll see you in a few hours.”
He hung up the phone and then took the next freeway ramp, headed for the warehouse store. Looking at Emma, he told her, “It’s just you and me. The doctor just got back to his office and they haven’t even met with him yet.”
“Poor Stephanie. I hope everything’s okay,” Emma said with sympathy.
“Me too.” He reached over and clasped her hand. “We can handle the grocery shopping by ourselves, right?”
Emma chuckled at the trepidation she saw on his face. “Of course we can. Just forget we’re shopping for one hundred people. We’ll just assume we’re buying enough to feed everyone at the ranch five times.”
“Well, when you put it like that, it seems much more manageable,” Spencer told her with a roll of his eyes. In truth, he didn’t mind running the errand at all. He had his beautiful fiancé by his side, the sky was blue and clear, and in just a little under two weeks, Emma and he would be exchanging their vows in front of God, their family, and their friends. Life couldn’t get any better!
****
“Stephanie?” the nurse called from the open doorway that led back to the examination rooms.
The office was located in a high rise building in the medical district just a short distance from downtown Denver. The décor was very upscale, with large art prints on the walls, a water wall standing center stage, and multiple seating arrangements done in classic neutral tones with bright accents.
Stephanie took a breath and then allowed Bridger to help her to her feet. She’d woken up this morning feeling nauseous again and light-headed. There had been a distinct weakness in her limbs and she’d carefully concealed that fact from Bridger up till now.
She entered the exam room, thankful when Bridger and the nurse stayed outside and allowed her to change into the exam robe by herself. She tapped on the door a few minutes later and allowed Bridger and the nurse back inside.
>
“So, your husband was telling me you’ve been feeling sick with some nausea as well?” the nurse asked, making notations on the laptop she always kept with her.
“Just a bit. It seems to come and go throughout the day,” Stephanie told her quietly. A tap on the door came and Dr. Schwerzer entered with a broad smile.
“Sorry for the delay, but it couldn’t be helped,” the doctor said as he greeted them.
“No problem. We’re just thankful you were able to squeeze us in at all today,” Bridger told the man, shaking hands with him before moving back to his wife.
“Well, tell me what’s been going on?”
Stephanie spoke up. “Yesterday morning I woke up nauseous and barely made it to the toilet. I was able to go back to sleep for a few hours, but when I woke up again I still felt sick. I ate something and it just seemed to come and go the remainder of the day.”
“Did you get sick again?” he asked, making a few notes on the chart in front of him. Dr. Schwerzer was old-school and while he didn’t mind having his patient’s records available at his fingertips and the click of a mouse, he still preferred to take notes with a pen and paper, and then have one of his office staff enter all of the information into the computer system.
“I didn’t get sick again, but there were a few times I could have.”
“And today?” the doctor asked.
“Same thing, but…,” Stephanie paused as she felt tears springs to her eyes. She looked at Bridger and whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
Bridger wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Didn’t tell me what?”
“In addition to feeling sick this morning, I noticed a weakness in my arms and legs. I was light-headed as well.” The tears she’d been trying to hold back spilled over and the nurse quickly handed her several tissues. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Dr. Schwerzer nodded his head and then looked through his notes for a minute before saying, “I’d like to run a few tests here in the office. Is that okay?”
Stephanie nodded, turning her face into Bridger’s chest as he rubbed her back in a comforting gesture. She’d chosen to go off the more powerful drugs for the purpose of trying to get pregnant, and this morning, she’d been so disappointed. Not only had she not gotten pregnant, but her MS was now flaring, meaning she would have to abandon her pregnancy attempts and go back on the interferon and other drugs, or risk becoming wheelchair bound.
The doctor conferred with the nurse quietly and she left the room. “We’re going to draw some blood, and I’d also like to collect a urine sample.”
Stephanie nodded her head. “Whatever you think.”
“Good. Why don’t you go with Nancy? She’ll bring you back here in a few minutes.”
Stephanie nodded and accepted the robe the nurse held out for her. Once fully covered, she followed the nurse from the room to the nurse’s station in the middle of the examination rooms. Bridger remained behind with the doctor.
He waited until Stephanie was out of earshot and then looked at the doctor. “Level with me. Is her remission ending?”
Dr. Schwerzer shook his head. “I don’t think so. She’s only been on the new drugs for less than a month. Normally we don’t see a complete depletion of the other drugs for three, maybe four weeks.”
Bridger was relieved to hear that, but couldn’t help but ask, “So, what do you think is going on with her?”
“I’d rather wait for the test results before I say anything else. It shouldn’t be long now.”
Bridger nodded his head and took a seat. Five minutes later, the nurse came back in and whispered quietly to the doctor. The broad smile that appeared on his face gave Bridger a sense that whatever was wrong with Stephanie wasn’t serious.
Stephanie entered a few minutes later and took her place back on the edge of the examination table.
Dr. Schwerzer sat his chart down and looked at both his patient and her husband. “Remind me why we changed your meds?”
Stephanie and Bridger shared a look and then she told him, “Because I wanted to try and have a baby and you told us the other drugs were too dangerous to take during that time.”
“Ah! Yes, that’s what I thought. I wrote it down in my notes.”
“Doc, what’s wrong with her?” Bridger demanded.
“Why, nothing! Stephanie, your wish to have a baby has simply come true sooner than I could have expected,” the doctor said with a smile.
“What?!” Bridger and Stephanie both said at once.
“Congratulations! You’re going to be parents. In about nine months.” He wrote something on a piece of paper and then handed it to Stephanie. “That is the name of a very good obstetrician who happens to deal with MS patients and pregnancy all the time. She’ll be very good at helping you through this process.”
“I’m pregnant?” Stephanie asked, her eyes filling with tears once more.
“Yes. You are very pregnant. I’ll have Nancy get you a prescription for a prenatal vitamin and set up your next appointment. I’ll want to see you no longer than at four week intervals until after the delivery. Merry Christmas,” he told them, gesturing for the nurse to leave them alone for a few minutes.
Bridger heard the door close and looked at Stephanie with tears in his own eyes, “We’re going to have a baby.”
Stephanie nodded her head. “When I was first diagnosed with MS, I was so upset because I didn’t think I’d ever be able to have my own children. I admit there have been times I’ve been so jealous of Sadie and Sierra. I always dreamed of having kids…”
“And now we’re going to.” Bridger placed a hand reverently over the exam gown, “I can’t believe there’s a baby growing inside of you.” He kissed her tenderly and then smiled, “Get dressed and let’s go celebrate!”
“What about Spencer and Emma?” Stephanie asked, catching on to his enthusiasm.
“I’ll call and have them meet us at a restaurant out by the airport.”
Stephanie nodded and a few minutes later, she was dressed in her own clothing again and walking briskly from the doctor’s office with Bridger by her side. Christmas had come early for she and Bridger, and she couldn’t wait to share her news with everyone back at home.
Chapter 5
The sun had already set by the time Spencer landed the plane at the edge of the meadow. Hunter and Sheridan had driven the gators down to meet them. It had been a very long day, but with Stephanie’s good news, it had also been the most amazing day.
“So, everyone remembers the plan. Right?” Emma whispered as the men helped the girls down from the plane.
Spencer nodded and Bridger smiled. “We’ve got it. Why don’t you two take one of the gators up to the house and send Logan and Cade back down here to help unload the plane. That should make things go much faster.”
“We can do that,” Stephanie agreed, nodding her head when Bridger whispered in her ear to be very careful and not tip the gator over by going too fast. “I’ve got this!”
Bridger smiled at her, “I know you do. I’m just feeling a little overprotective tonight.” He kissed her and then turned to help Spencer start unloading their supplies.
Stephanie and Emma made their way up to the Ranch House, gave Logan and Cade the message from Spencer, and then joined the other women and children in the kitchen.
“Hey, welcome home. We were beginning to wonder if you all were going to spend the night in Denver,” Sierra commented when she saw them.
“No, we just decided to eat dinner there before flying back. What did you guys do today?” Emma asked, doing her best to keep the conversation off Stephanie and her doctor’s appointment. It was only right that Bridger be here when they shared their news with everyone.
“Oh, you have to come see!” Sadie told her, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her out of the kitchen and towards the great room at the back of the house. Stephanie and the other women followed along.
“Oh!” Emma exclaimed, stoppi
ng as she looked down the hallway, tears springing to her eyes. “It’s perfect!”
“Isn’t it?” Stella asked, wrapping an arm around her twin’s fiancé.
“Where did you get all of the snowflakes?” Emma asked, looking at the multitude of white snowflakes that hung from the ceiling on fishing string that was barely visible.
“We made them,” Mason offered.
“I helped!” Noah quickly interjected.
“You did? They’re absolutely perfect!” Emma hugged Mason since he was closest, chuckling when he squirmed away. When she went to give Noah a hug, she found him all the way at the other end of the hallway. She laughed and held out her arms. “Don’t you want a hug, too?”
“No,” Noah eyed her warily, making sure he had an escape route in case she decided to come after him.
Sierra chuckled. “Don’t take it personally. Last night I kissed them both goodnight, and as soon as I left the bedroom, they snuck into the bathroom and washed their faces.”
The women erupted in giggles as the boys scowled at them and took off into the other room. “Boys!”
“Yes, boys,” Sierra added. “Girls are so much easier.”
“Only you would think that, you’re not raising Brooklyn. I can’t imagine having two of her to contend with. This morning she wanted to wear her princess nightgown outside in the snow. When I explained why she couldn’t, she put the clothes I had laid out on, and then pulled her nightgown over the top. Coat and everything!”
The women were still laughing when they heard the men enter the house. “Guess we should go help them unload the supplies,” Stephanie suggested, growing antsy to reveal her secret. Emma gave her a secret smile and then took her arm and the two of them headed back down the hallway.
The men had separated the supplies into two piles: food for the wedding, and decorations for the house. Stella, Sadie, and Kathy began storing the food in the pantry and extra refrigerator and freezers.
