by Mindy Neff
“Good for Colby. You can remove the splint to shower and bathe if you want. I’m going to put on a smaller, cuter model. Those emergency docs seem to think one size fits all and tend to go hog-wild with the wrapping.” She rolled her eyes at the hard fiberglass contraption that went clear up to Becca’s elbow.
“I’ll also send you home with some fresh bandages to rewrap the splint. You can probably manage it yourself. And, if you can’t get it comfortable or tight enough,” Lily added, giving Becca’s arm a soft pat, “you can come back in and my nurse will wrap it for you.”
“I imagine I can handle it,” Colby said.
Lily nodded but didn’t comment. Becca wondered if the doctor was thinking the same thing she was—how long would Colby be around to handle it?
“Is my hand supposed to still hurt when I bend my fingers?”
“That’s normal. It’s only been five days, Becca. Don’t rush the healing. Now, let’s have a look at these stitches.” She gently removed the gauze and tape from Becca’s head.
Colby stepped up right next to the examining table, having a look himself.
“Nothing like being on display,” Becca muttered. “I feel like a lab specimen.”
“Hush,” Colby said, wincing when the gauze stuck to the stitches.
Becca couldn’t stop her laugh. “Why are you wincing? It’s my forehead.”
“Reflex reaction.”
Like men having labor pains along with their wives? Becca wondered. Criminy. She wasn’t Colby’s wife, and a few stitches weren’t childbirth.
Lily used a cotton ball soaked in something wet to loosen the gauze and pulled it off without another hitch.
“Looks good,” the doctor said. “Nice even stitches. A couple have already started to dissolve. You’ll have a small scar, but your bangs will cover it.” She cleaned the wound. “I’m going to leave the bandage off. Don’t rub or pull at these stitches. Let them dissolve at their own pace. I might need to snip the knot, but we can do that next time you come in.”
“Can I wash my face, or get the area wet?”
“Gently. Pat dry.”
Becca felt silly asking so many questions, but she’d never in her life had stitches or a broken bone or a bruise the size of a skein of yarn across her side.
“I’d like to check your ribs, too.” Lily glanced at Colby, then at Becca, her gesture a silent question.
“It’s okay. He’s seen it.” That very morning, in fact.
Lily nodded, then pulled up Becca’s top and the tank top she wore beneath it, being careful to preserve her modesty.
“Swelling’s gone down. Bruise is looking normally nasty.” She probed the side and Becca winced. “Sorry. I know it’s still tender. You’re very lucky you weren’t injured more badly. I’m still stunned that someone broke in and did this to you. Did they steal much?”
“Nothing, actually.”
“Then what in the world...?”
Becca shrugged.
“We think we might have interrupted him before he had a chance to bag anything,” Colby said. “I’m hoping he wasn’t looking for something specific Becca Sue might have picked up at an estate sale.”
Becca was momentarily startled by this line of reasoning. Colby had been asking her about recent estate sale purchases, but she hadn’t put two and two together. Why would she? It had never been a problem in the past.
No wonder he thought the intruder might come back. She’d almost convinced herself that he was being overcautious because he saw so much crime in his daily work as an attorney. But those had all been cases outside of Hope Valley.
She shivered slightly. She didn’t want to be afraid in her own home, in her own business.
Lily lowered Becca’s top. “Well, in either case, it’s good that you’re not staying alone for a while. Keep taking the pain meds as needed and finish up the antibiotics that were prescribed.”
“What about the sling? Can I leave it off?”
“I suppose. Try to wear it as much as possible this next week, though. You’ll probably find that you’ll ache more if you don’t wear it. Just use your good judgment. The sling also helps to keep you from bumping the bone, so if you’re walking around without it, be very careful. Come see me in two weeks—sooner if you have any questions or need help wrapping the splint.”
Lily left the room, and Colby helped Becca scoot off the examining table.
In another two weeks—when she had her next appointment—Colby would probably be gone. He’d already told her he was only in town for three weeks—and the first week was almost over.
Becca put the sling back on just to make Colby happy, and they left the doctor’s office.
By the time they got back to her shop, Trouble was nowhere in sight, and neither was the dog. Evidently the guard teddy bear was doing its job where Tink was concerned.
“I think we better check the animals before we open for business,” Colby said.
In the apartment, they found Tinky-Winky sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, the contents of the trash can shredded next to him. He was doing his best to ignore the mess beside him, as though he hadn’t had a single thing to do with it. Probably wanted to blame the cat—who was perched in the window by the fire escape, staring at the humans and looking bored.
“I thought Sunny said he was a ‘good little dog,”’ Colby complained, glaring at the pooch. Tink shivered as if on cue.
Colby cleaned up the mess, noting that the pint-size animal followed him around like an adoring teenager. It had even snuggled with him on the couch last night when he’d been sure it would have wanted to sleep with Becca. After chasing the cat and being scared silly by the teddy bear, Tink had reversed his thinking, and now ran from the cat, jumping into Colby’s arms for protection.
“Have you found a place to live in Dallas?” Becca asked.
“Not yet.” He was surprised by the change of subject.
“Aren’t you cutting things a bit close?”
“I imagine I’ll be pretty busy getting settled at the office. I can stay in a hotel or rent a furnished condo until things ease up.”
“What about Tinky-Winky?”
He frowned, nearly stepping on the tiny animal as it danced around his feet. “What about him?”
“You’ll need to make sure the place you rent accepts animals.”
“Who said I’m taking him?”
“Sunny gave him to you!”
“I didn’t ask her to.” He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table and sat. Tinky hopped into his lap.
Although he tried to act uninterested, his hand automatically went to steady the tiny animal, lingered at its thigh, his thumb stroking.
Damn it. He had a sneaking suspicion that Tink already had his heart wrapped up and tied with a bow.
Just like the woman sitting across from him.
The phone rang at 3:00 a.m. Colby shot up off the couch, dumping the dog in the process. Tink barked once, then jumped back up on the blankets and curled in a ball. Colby was astonished to see that the cat was draped on the arm of the sofa within inches of the dog. Since when had the animals called a truce?
He snatched up his jeans and stepped into them, heading toward Becca’s room as the phone stopped ringing. She was standing next to the bed.
“Okay. We’ll be right there,” she said.
“What?” he asked when she disconnected.
“Sunny’s in labor.”
“In labor or had the baby?”
“In labor. But it’s close.”
“Who called?”
“Tracy Lynn.”
“Why didn’t she wait until the baby was born? It’s 3:00 a.m., for crying out loud.”
Becca gave him a look that suggested he had the IQ of a gnat.
“Would you want to go through labor without your friends?” She went to the closet and snatched out a pair of yoga pants, a tank top and a hooded, lightweight jacket that went with the set.
“Thankfully, I’m not a woman and I’ll never
have to make that decision.” Automatically, he helped her get her pants pulled up—they had an elastic waist, so it was an easy task. She didn’t even balk when he held the tank top for her, helping her slip her head and arms through. She wore a sports bra under her pajama top—no hooks to deal with—which was fairly modest.
“Darn it, I’ll never get this splint through the sleeve of this jacket. Maybe I should just take it off.”
“Slow down there, sugar pie.” He tested the stretchiness of the sleeve, then bunched up the material and pulled the opening wide. “I think the smaller splint might make it. Give it a shot.”
She threaded her arm through, and he pulled the cuff all the way to her elbow so that it completely cleared the splint.
“Ye of little faith,” he murmured and picked up the blue sling. When she opened her mouth to argue, he cut her off. “You’re going out in public and you don’t want to bump into anything.”
“Fine.” She ducked her head through the opening, and slid her arm into the fabric cradle. “If you’re going with me, you better hurry up and get dressed.”
“I can only handle one of us at a time. Sure you don’t want to wait until morning and visit at a reasonable hour?”
“You’re welcome to go back to bed. I’m going to the hospital to help coach my friend through labor. I’ve done it with Donetta and Tracy Lynn, and I’m not missing out with Sunny.”
“Okay, okay. Give me two minutes to grab a shirt and shoes.”
It took a bit longer than two minutes to dress and brush his teeth. Tink had his head poked out of the blankets, watching Colby’s every move.
“We’ll be back,” he promised the little dog. “Keep my spot warm. I have a feeling we’re all going to need a nap.”
He swiped a loaf of banana bread out of Becca’s well-stocked freezer and zapped it in the microwave for a few seconds. He figured it would be thawed by the time they got to the hospital. No sense in starving to death while waiting for a kid to be born. He plunked a plastic knife in his T-shirt pocket and met Becca at the door to the top of the stairwell.
It took only half an hour to get to the hospital just outside Austin. Since the hospital doors didn’t officially open for several more hours, they entered through the emergency entrance and Becca led the way to the elevators, pushing the third-floor button once they stepped inside.
“Guess you’ve done this a time or two.”
“Us Texas Sweethearts stick together.”
Hmm, he thought. Three of the Sweethearts having babies. No wonder Becca had kids on her mind.
The atmosphere in the waiting room felt like a hometown reunion. Storm and Donetta were there, their baby asleep in her car seat. Tori, Sunny and Jack’s seven-year-old daughter, sat next to the baby, watching it sleep. Tracy Lynn had her arm linked through Donetta’s, and Linc—who was holding his and Tracy’s sleeping child—stood next to Storm. Suddenly Anna rushed into the waiting room from another entrance and began excitedly telling the others what was going on in the labor room, and that Jack was as pale as a ghost.
Becca left Colby’s side the moment they crossed the threshold and went to her girlfriends. Colby shrugged, sat down on one of the couches and set the banana bread on the table in front of them, noting that someone had brought a deck of cards.
“I brought food,” he said.
Storm and Linc immediately joined him. Jack came into the room, and he did look as bad as Anna had said.
“What are you doing in here?” Becca said to Jack, her voice filled with censure. “Who’s with Sunny?”
Jackson Slade stared at her for a moment, clearly in a daze, then turned on his heel and headed back the way he’d come.
Colby chuckled. “He’s a ball of nerves.”
“Poor guy,” Linc said. “It’s hell watching your wife go through that kind of pain and not being able to do anything for her.” Linc looked up at Tracy Lynn, then down at his sleeping daughter. “Tracy Lynn didn’t want any drugs, wanted to do everything natural. About brought me to my knees.”
Donetta laughed. “I, on the other hand, was begging for drugs the minute they got me in a gown.”
“Hollering, was more like it,” Storm interjected with amused indulgence.
“And Sunny?” Colby asked.
“Oh, she’s being a martyr,” Donetta said. “Thinks she can drop this kid like her cattle patients drop their calves. You just wait. She’ll be chasing that epidural guy down the hall before long.”
“She might choose to have her child as nature intended,” Tracy Lynn said, a hint of her high-society primness bleeding through her Southern drawl.
Becca laughed. “Let’s go find out firsthand.” She hooked her good arm through Tracy’s and together the three women headed toward the labor room. Anna stayed behind since she’d been in with Sunny already.
The time seemed to drag by, but Colby understood why Becca had been so adamant about being here. The bond of friendship between these women was something else. He envied it, even. He didn’t have close friendships like this. Oh, sure, he was friends with Linc and Jack and Storm and a bunch of other guys in town, but not best pals like Becca, Donetta, Sunny and Tracy. What they had was special.
The three women were in and out of the waiting room for the next six hours, laughing over who’d had the best advice for Sunny and who’d made her the maddest. Sunny had given in and taken the drugs, and was able to sleep some, allowing Jack to relax and get some color back in his face.
They played several hands of poker, and when Becca anted in to a game, Colby had to hold her cards for her.
He felt an odd twinge at his wrist, wondered if he was having sympathy pains. All these husbands talking about feeling their wives’ pain must be getting to him.
He pulled at the stretch band of his great-grandfather’s watch, rubbed the skin beneath it. He couldn’t tell if the skin itched or hurt.
The thought that he could somehow telepathically share the pain of Becca Sue’s injury was ludicrous. He could just see himself using that argument in a court of law. The judge would likely fine him for contempt and lock him up for his own safety.
At ten o’clock the next morning, Storm, Linc, Colby and little Tori were left alone in the waiting room with the two babies. Becca, Donetta, Tracy and Anna were in the delivery room with Sunny and Jack. Colby had never realized hospitals let so many people in to witness a childbirth.
A few minutes after ten, Becca Sue came rushing through the door, tears on her cheeks. “It’s a boy! Jackson Dwight Slade Jr. has entered the world, weighing in at nine pounds, four ounces.”
Storm whistled. “That’s a big boy. How’s my sister doing?”
“Happy as a cow in clover,” Becca reported.
“I wouldn’t be making any cow analogies if I were you,” Storm commented with a grin.
“I can make them,” Becca said with a laugh. “Just you guys can’t.” She moved over to Colby and sat down, snatching up the last crumbs of banana bread.
Donetta and Tracy Lynn came back in, fairly dancing with excitement. “Oh, he’s so cute,” Donetta said. “Good thing he didn’t stay in there to cook any longer. Can you believe? Nine pounds, four ounces!”
“Bigger than a bowling ball,” Tracy added.
Colby winced. God almighty, he didn’t even want to think about the image that conjured. Ouch.
They all sat down, and Colby started to wonder what the plan was. The baby was here, so shouldn’t they be headed home?
No one seemed interested in leaving, and he was just about to ask, when Jack came into the waiting room, grinning like a small dog with a big bone. He hugged Tori, then hugged everyone else in the room, including Colby.
“Y’all want to come see my new son? They let me watch while they gave him a bath and did all sorts of unkind things to him, but he’s all warm and wrapped up and in the nursery now.”
Becca jumped up and pulled Colby with her. She fairly floated down the hall. He could almost feel her excitement.
Once they got in front of the glass partition, though, standing apart from the other couples, she seemed to go all sad on him. She touched the glass with her fingertips, the yearning in her eyes almost too intense to watch.
Again he thought of her tears and the plea in her voice seven years ago when he’d told her he wasn’t the man to give her what she wanted and promised her she would someday find that right man and have the family she deserved.
But what if it doesn’t happen? The words echoed in his mind.
Damn it. Why did he keep feeling pangs of guilt? As if it were his fault she hadn’t found her dream.
He lightly touched the wispy bangs at her temple, and felt his gut sting when she turned her lovely green eyes to his.
Oh, man.
“You really want this badly, don’t you?” he asked softly. “Babies and family.”
“I don’t know why that should surprise you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted—and the reason you broke up with me.”
He looked away, because she was right. That had been a big part of their split.
What she had wanted—marriage, babies, commitment, promises of forever—had scared him spitless.
It still did.
Because failure wasn’t an option he allowed in his life. At least not when it came to relationships and commitment.
And he simply couldn’t guarantee that any committed vow of forever he made would stick. That something wouldn’t go wrong in the day in, day out nature of a marriage that might turn love into hate.
10
As they stood there outside the hospital nursery, Becca grappled with her emotions.
During the years she’d been building her business, she’d been able to put her dreams of family on the back burner. The desire for children hadn’t been such a big deal until her friends had begun to marry and experience the joys of coupledom, pregnancies and motherhood.
Of the four Texas Sweethearts, Becca had been the one who’d wanted family the most—or at least for the longest time. She’d come from a relatively big family, two happily married parents and four kids—her three older brothers and herself.
Then an accident on the highway had taken the lives of her parents and brothers. Becca had stayed home that weekend while the rest of her family had taken their motor home on a trip to Las Vegas in celebration of her brother Ben’s twenty-first birthday.
