Rough Creek

by Kaki Warner

“Dalton always behaves himself. He was an excellent—if unnecessary—protector, and put Grady through a full interrogation when he showed up at the house. Plus, he and Rosco have done so well in the local cutting shows, they’ve both gotten offers.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  Knowing from many previous experiences that her mother could read minds, Raney didn’t look at her or respond to that. Slowing down, she turned into the gate and drove toward the parking area behind the house.

  “Then tell me about the offers,” Mama said, trying a different tack.

  “They don’t matter. I’m not selling Rosco and Dalton’s not leaving Four Star.”

  “He told you that?”

  “Twice.”

  “That’s promising.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Instead of answering, Mama pointed at the crowded parking area. “Is that Grady’s car?”

  Raney recognized Joss’s and Len’s cars, but not the boxy BMW parked in the Expedition’s usual spot. “I don’t know. When he came before, he brought Joss’s car back from Houston.”

  “Park by the gate. It will be easier to unload and we can switch the cars around later. I’ll text Glenn to have one of the boys come take the luggage inside.” As she opened the car door, Dalton hurried out of the side door by the kitchen.

  “Hey,” he called, looking more relieved than happy to see them. “Glad you’re here. Things are popping. Good to see you, Mrs. Whitcomb.”

  “Popping? What do you mean?”

  Len rushed out behind him. “Thank God you’re here. Joss’s obstetrician wants us to take her to University Medical in Lubbock.” Seeing Mama’s look of alarm, she raised her hands in a calming gesture. “It’s okay, Mama. Nothing bad. She’s fine. The baby’s fine. But he thinks she’s breech and may be coming early, so he’s being cautious. They have a good neonatal center there and lots of doctors on staff. There’s no rush. We can take her tonight or in the morning.”

  As was her custom, Mama immediately took over. “We’ll go tonight. If we put the seats down in the Expedition, she’ll be able to stretch out. Dalton, please see to it. Len, bring your car, too, in case you have to get home. How long do you think we’ll need to be there?”

  “At least a week is my guess,” Len answered.

  “Don’t worry about things here, Mrs. Whitcomb,” Dalton said. “Hicks and I can run things while you’re gone.”

  “I may need for you to drive us.”

  “I can drive,” a new voice said.

  They all turned.

  Grady came from the direction of the veranda. While he introduced himself to Mama, Raney cornered her older sister.

  “The truth, Len.”

  Speaking in a voice that wouldn’t carry back to Mama, Len said, “The truth is Joss is a little hysterical. This isn’t an emergency, but the small clinic in Aspenmont isn’t that well equipped if there’s a problem. And if the baby is breech, there could be a problem.”

  Mama left Grady and Dalton to unload her luggage and came over to her daughters. “Len, tell me everything you just said to Raney. No secrets.”

  The woman had eyes in the back of her head.

  “I’m the one who pushed for Joss to go to Lubbock,” Len admitted. “The baby might be breech. This is only a precaution, Mama. The Aspenmont doctor has already set up an appointment with an obstetrician at University Medical. If Joss isn’t ready to be admitted, we’ll go to a hotel nearby until she is. It shouldn’t be for long. She’s already dilated six centimeters.”

  “Do we need to go tonight?”

  “That’s up to Joss. And you, Mama. You must be tired after your flight. Her appointment with the hospital obstetrician isn’t until one o’clock tomorrow and the hospital is less than two hours away. We can leave first thing in the morning, and you can get a good night’s rest. Like I told Raney, this isn’t an emergency. We have plenty of time.”

  “I’ll go talk to Joss,” Mama decided. She gave Len a flustered once-over. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You look . . . painful.”

  Len laughed. “You mean awful. But as long as I keep icing and stay upright for another day or so, I’ll be fine.”

  “I hope so. Lord knows, I can’t be worrying about two of you at the same time.”

  As Raney followed them into the house, she decided only her family could turn something as simple as an impending birth into such a clusterfuck. She just hoped her little sister’s antics didn’t send Grady shrieking into the night before Mama could convince Joss to accept his proposal and the new parents could go live happily ever after somewhere else. Far away.

  After much discussion it was decided that they would leave in the morning. Grady would drive Mama and Joss to Lubbock in the Expedition, since the three of them would be staying for the duration. Len and Raney would remain at the ranch until Joss met with the hospital obstetrician, Dr. Jamison, and they had a better idea of Joss’s condition and whether she would be admitted right away to University Medical. Len would continue to ice and sleep upright. Raney would continue to manage the ranch, and if she and Len had to leave, Hicks and Dalton would take charge. Meanwhile, Dalton would move back into the house to keep an eye on Mama’s precious girls.

  Raney didn’t dare look at Dalton when that last pronouncement was made. This morning, she’d decided that with Mama back in the house, and Dalton back in the dormitory, she would have a better chance of tamping down her rampaging libido. But now . . . just thinking about Dalton being in the room below hers sent all sorts of weird pulses running through her body.

  * * *

  * * *

  Dinner on the veranda was a festive occasion. Joss lay stretched out on a chaise like a Roman empress while Grady attended her every need and Mama entertained them in dramatic fashion with every detail of her various adventures. Who knew grizzles could eat so much salmon? Especially with a mob of people only yards away with cameras recording their every mouthful? And who cared, anyway?

  Neither Alejandro nor Hicks attended, no doubt terrified that Joss’s water would break in front of them. Raney was a bit concerned, herself. Luckily the veranda floor was tile, rather than carpet.

  She spent most of the meal trying not to look at Dalton, or think about running her hands over his amazing body, or having his hands running over hers, and wondering how soon she could show up at his door in the middle of the night, horny and half-dressed again. She hardly recognized herself. She had always thought she had total control of her emotions. But now . . .

  Was lust an emotion? Or a character flaw? Either way, she was shocked at how anxious she was for Mama and Joss to leave.

  She couldn’t tell if Dalton fought the same battle. Throughout dinner, he never once looked up from his plate and stayed only long enough to gobble two helpings of everything before making a hurried escape to the barn. The coward. Which left Raney fretting on her own about all the changes ahead with her all-seeing mama back, Len having needless surgery, a new baby on the way, and Joss and Grady struggling to come to terms with each other and the miracle they had wrought.

  That, and how soon could she get to Dalton’s room again?

  Fun times.

  CHAPTER 20

  The next morning, Dalton stood in the open doorway of the barn, his gaze fixed on the two figures waving after the Expedition as it left the parking area. When the car turned though the main gate, one figure went back inside. The other stayed.

  Raney.

  As soon as the door closed behind her sister, she turned and looked at the barn.

  At him. He felt it. Like an unseen hand brushing his cheek. A whisper in his ear. Even after she followed her sister inside, he stood staring at the closed door, his blood running hot and thick, his nerves pulsing. Wanting. Remembering.

  After a while, distant voices caught his attention. With a last glance at the hous
e, he went back into the barn and tried to remember what he’d been doing.

  He was an idiot to think compartmentalizing would work with Raney. As soon as he heard he’d be back in the house after Mama left, his mind had exploded with possibilities. He thought once he’d breached Raney’s armor the first time, he’d be able to get his mind—and his obsession with her—under control.

  But, hell no. It was even worse. Thoughts of his night with her chased him from dawn to dusk, then invaded his dreams. And he didn’t think it was only because he’d gone so long without sex.

  It was Raney.

  She might not want to hear him say it yet, but he was in love with her. Had been, ever since the evening on the porch when she’d told him about her father. He’d had to force himself to walk away from her that night, and he’d been fighting and losing that battle ever since. Now with Mrs. Whitcomb gone . . .

  God help him.

  * * *

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Raney and Len were putting finishing touches in the nursery when Mama called. Raney put her cell phone on speaker and asked how Joss was doing and what the Lubbock doctor said.

  “Joss is well. Tired and a bit of a backache, but that’s to be expected this late in the pregnancy. Dr. Jamison isn’t admitting her yet, but feels it won’t be long. I really like this doctor. She has a very calm way about her.”

  “She’ll need it with Joss as a patient,” Raney muttered to Len.

  Len waved her to silence. “Is the baby breech?” she asked. “The obstetrician in Aspenmont thought she might be.”

  “No, she’s head-down, although faced the wrong way, toward Joss’s spine. The doctor called it posterior, or back-to-back position. It’s not uncommon, and she assured us many babies move into the head-to-front anterior position during labor.”

  It all sounded ghastly to Raney, having something inside of you, rolling around and kicking organs. “If she doesn’t get turned around, will Joss have to have a c-section?”

  “Not necessarily. But labor might take longer and involve a bit of back pain.”

  Len made a face. “Poor Joss. She must be frantic.”

  “She was at first. But Dr. Jamison talked her down and gave her some exercises that might help shift the baby into the right position.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Raney asked.

  “Nothing for now. We’re to call Dr. Jamison if anything changes. If not, Joss is to go back to see her in two days. How are things there?”

  “Hot,” Len said.

  Mama asked if the smoked salmon she’d shipped from Alaska had arrived—which it had—and said she’d had other things shipped, but they were surprises and not to open them. She gave them the name and number of their hotel, adding they probably wouldn’t get much sleep since there was some sort of event at Texas Tech and the noise and traffic were already terrible.

  “Mrs. Ledbetter called,” Raney said. “She was worried since she hadn’t heard from you. How did she get my cell number? Did you block her on yours? She wanted to know if you were hiding out because you were pregnant now, too.”

  Mama laughed. “That old biddy has the raunchiest sense of humor, God bless her. I gave her your cell number since coverage on the cruise was so spotty. I’ll give her a call later before she spreads it around that I’m having twins. By the way, I really like Grady Douglas, even if he is in the music business. We have to convince your sister to marry him. She could do a lot worse. Room service is here, so I better go. Love to you both. I’ll check in again tomorrow.”

  “A reprieve,” Raney said, taking the phone off speaker.

  Len sighed. “I know. If Joss is this hysterical now, wait until she brings the precious bundle home.”

  Raney gave her a surprised look. “You didn’t like having your babies?”

  “Of course I did . . . once they slept more than four hours at a time. They’re the most wonderful things in my life. And also, the most exhausting. I don’t think I’ve slept through the night since I brought Jake home. But they’re worth it. Don’t let Joss’s freak-outs turn you off of having kids someday. You’d be a great mother.”

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Because you’ve been a great sister.”

  Raney wasn’t sure how one impacted the other, but didn’t argue about it. The dinner bell had just sounded, and she was more interested in seeing Dalton. Just to look at, of course. She had told him they should slow it down, and she would stick by that. As long as she could.

  The mutes showed up on time. Dalton didn’t. Glenn said he’d gone to visit his folks but would return either late tonight or early in the morning.

  “Is anything wrong?” she asked.

  “Didn’t say. Didn’t look worried, either. Suspect he’ll let us know if there’s a problem. You ladies be okay on your own tonight, or should I have one of the boys camp out on the veranda?”

  Len smiled. “We’ll be fine, Mr. Hicks. But thank you for your concern.”

  And that was about it for conversation.

  Which gave Raney plenty of uninterrupted time to wonder what Dalton was up to. She had asked him to slow it down a little—was this his way of giving her the space she’d asked for? Hell. Since when did a man ever do what you wanted him to do except when you didn’t want him to do it?

  The mutes left as soon as supper was over. Raney and Len were stretched on chaises on the veranda, enjoying fresh grapes washed down with fermented grapes, when Mama called. Wondering why she’d called again, Raney put her on speaker.

  “How’s it going, Mama?”

  No change, she told them, although Joss was having a bit more trouble with her back. “The exercises Dr. Jamison gave her aren’t helping at all. I doubt the woman ever carried a child, or she’d never suggest to a woman in late pregnancy that she spend ten minutes twice a day on her hands and knees. Joss’s back always hurts worse after that. And that birth ball! I never heard of such a thing! Just a fancy name for a kid’s beach ball, if you ask me. Although Joss did say that when she leans over it while sitting, it seems to help.” A long-suffering sigh. “Things were much easier in my day when they gave you drugs during labor, so you could sleep through the whole thing. How are things at home?”

  “Same as they were when you called earlier, although Len’s starting to look less like the loser of a bar fight and more like a pink-and-purple raccoon.”

  “Don’t listen to her, Mama. She’s just upset that Dalton preferred to go visit his folks rather than having her give him googly eyes all through supper.”

  Raney rolled her eyes. She couldn’t be that transparent.

  “I hope his parents and Timmy are well,” Mama said.

  “I’m sure they are.”

  “He’s staying in the house like I asked him to?”

  “Yes, and my Glock is loaded. Stop worrying.”

  They spoke awhile longer, then Mama finally gave the reason she’d called again. “We need clothes. With Joss dillydallying the way she is, we’ll be out of underwear in two days. Just throw some stuff into a bag and bring it when you come. Meanwhile, I’ll send our things to the hotel laundry, although Lord knows the condition they’ll be in when they come back.” A promise to call again tomorrow evening after Joss saw Dr. Jamison, then she ended the call.

  “She sounds tired,” Len said.

  “She sounds bored,” Raney countered. “Thank heavens we didn’t have to go.”

  “Hopefully, it’ll be over soon.”

  Raney studied her sister. She seemed bored, too. Or maybe depressed would better describe it. “You missing the kids?”

  Len nodded. “I haven’t heard from them yet, even though I gave them each several self-addressed, stamped envelopes and stationery. Probably should have written the letters, too. That way, all they’d have to do is sign them.”

  “What about
Ryan? Heard from him?”

  “No.” She gave a wan smile. “Probably doesn’t realize any of us are gone.”

  They hadn’t talked about Len’s cosmetic surgery. Hadn’t really had time. But Raney had thought about it a lot, especially after Mama’s five-point theory. “Did it hurt? The surgery?”

  Len shrugged. “Certainly not as much as what’s about to happen to Joss.”

  “Why’d you do it? You didn’t need to. You’re still beautiful.”

  She was a long time answering. “With my kids growing up and away, I feel like I’m losing my babies. I’ve already lost Ryan to his work. I didn’t want to lose my youth, too. Yet every time I look in the mirror, I seem a decade older.”

  “And you think surgery will help?”

  “It’s supposed to. I doubt it will. The kids will keep pulling away and Ryan will keep working until all hours, and I’ll continue to age. But, what the hell.” She raised her goblet high like she was offering a toast. “It was worth a try, right? Oh, damn. I’m empty again. Do we have another bottle?”

  Raney got up and opened another bottle, poured Len’s goblet full, and topped off her own. Then before she stretched out again, she turned off all the veranda lights to keep the moths from dive-bombing the screen.

  They sat in silence, except for the soft whir of the coolers, the drone of crickets on the other side of the screen, and the lowing of cattle as they watered at the creek. Faint strains of music drifting up from the workers’ quarters added to a sense of loneliness as Raney thought about what her sister had said.

  Theory number four. The slow slide into indifference, and maybe the saddest of them all. Raney hoped not. She didn’t know this Len, this discouraged, defeated shadow of her big sister. She didn’t like what was happening to her.

  “I’m thinking of going back to school,” Len said after a while.

  “You are?” Raney looked at her in surprise. “To study what?”

  “I don’t know yet. Southern Methodist has an excellent business college. Maybe I’ll pick up where I left off thirteen years ago.”