“Yes. That’s good news.” The doctor scanned a chart. “Your iron levels are low, so I’d like you to start taking a supplement.”
A supplement. Ruby let out a steady breath. That sounded easy enough. “Of course. I only found out about the pregnancy a few days ago, so I haven’t had time to pick up a vitamin.”
Meg nodded in that friendly, understanding way. But then her face tightened into a more serious expression.
Ruby felt Paige’s hand on her shoulder.
“You’re also measuring significantly small for how far along you are,” Meg said.
The tenor of concern in her voice kicked up Ruby’s pulse. “Small.”
“It could be the way you’re carrying, but I called your OB, and he definitely wants an ultrasound so we can check on the baby’s growth.”
Ruby met Meg’s eyes, searching for something to steady the rush of fear that swooped in and dropped her stomach. “Why wouldn’t the baby be growing?”
“Sometimes there’s an issue with the cord or the placenta,” Meg said carefully. “Or maybe the baby is really petite. We won’t know until—”
The door crashed open and Elsie rushed in, followed by Avery, Julia, and Thomas. “They found her! Oh, Ruby, they found Brookie!”
“What,” she gasped, clutching at the sheets to pull herself upright.
“She was at the waterfall,” Elsie sang. “Can you believe it?”
“Moose led Bryce and Sawyer there,” Thomas added. “She’d fallen asleep on Matthew’s bench.”
“Thank God.” Meg scooted her stool out of the way so everyone could crowd the bed.
They all closed in, cheering and hugging and sniffling. But Ruby felt frozen in place. The strength she’d amassed to carry her through started to crumble. And now she could let it go. She didn’t have to be strong anymore because Brookie was home. Emotion whirled—joy and fear and relief and anguish—churning her into a whirlpool that took over the last bits of strength until she was hunched over and weeping into her hands.
“Oh, honey.” Paige leaned down and held on to her.
“They’re on their way here right now,” Elsie soothed.
“I’ll give you all a minute,” Meg said, squeezing Ruby’s shoulder. “The ultrasound tech should be here soon.”
Ruby couldn’t even nod. The tears and heartbreak flowed out of her and she felt so weak. But it was okay. Because the people around her were strong. And they would hold her up.
They did, comforting her with hugs and murmurs of love.
“Ruby.” It was the only voice that could’ve lifted her head. She couldn’t see through the blur of tears, but she could feel Sawyer in the room. Her body responded with a good hard squeeze, and she swung her legs over the side of the bed. But before she could run to him, to Brookie, they were there. Brookie threw herself into Ruby’s arms, and it suddenly felt as though the world had miraculously been made right. That connection with her daughter surged, pumping joy into the limbs that had been lifeless and weary.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry,” Brookie whimpered against her shoulder.
The room quieted, everyone else filing out, leaving only her and Sawyer and Brookie, a huddled mass crying on the bed. Sawyer had managed to get those strong, powerful arms around them both, as though he were holding their little family together.
“Oh, Brookie.” She stroked the girl’s soft curls. Love doubled the size of her heart. “I’m not mad. Not at all. I just missed you.” Her voice had gone soggy, but it couldn’t be helped. “I can’t imagine my life without you, sweet girl. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.” Though she and Sawyer had said those words to Brookie many times, the girl had never said them back until right then.
“I won’t leave again. I promise. Not without asking,” Brookie cried, clinging to Ruby. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t mean to hurt the baby. Will it be okay?”
Ruby looked into Sawyer’s eyes. His were searching, almost pleading with her to say yes. She slipped her hand into his. “They’re doing tests to check on the baby. But I think he or she will be okay.” She leaned down to plant a kiss on the girl’s forehead. “And it wasn’t your fault. Not at all. The doctor said this kind of thing happens sometimes.”
“Okay.” Brookie sighed. “Okay.”
The door opened, popping that protective bubble that held them in. Elsie practically dragged in a poor scrub-clad woman. “This is Lisa. The ultrasound tech,” she announced, as though it were her place to introduce everyone and make sure they were doing their jobs. “I found her in the hallway.”
The woman greeted them with a warm smile, despite being ordered around by an elderly woman. “Nice to meet you all,” she said, pushing over her cart.
“Hi there.” Ruby wiped the tears from her face. But she didn’t let go of Brookie. God, she might never be able to let go.
“Are we ready to get started?” the tech asked.
She and Sawyer shared a look. On the off chance something was wrong, she didn’t want Brookie to be there to hear about it.
“Actually,” Elsie broke in. “Thomas and I were hoping to take Brookie upstairs to the cafeteria for a doughnut.”
The girl’s eyes sparked. “I am pretty hungry.”
Ruby pried her arm off the girl’s shoulders. “Okay.” She pulled her in for one more hug. “But hurry back.”
“We’ll have her back in no time,” Thomas assured her. Smooshing Brookie in between them as though promising they wouldn’t let her out of their sight, they left the room.
“So it sounds like we’re going to do some measurements,” the tech said, guiding Ruby to lie on her back.
“Yes. That’s what the doctor said.”
Sawyer eased onto the mattress and threaded his arm around her, stroking her hair in the most comforting way. “What are you looking for?” he asked. And Ruby felt the tremble in his forearm.
“Meg said my waist is measuring smaller than it should be for how far along I am,” Ruby answered. “She just wanted to make sure the baby is growing.”
Sawyer’s brows knit tightly together. “Why wouldn’t the baby be growing?”
While Ruby explained the possibilities Meg had gone over, the tech focused on pressing some buttons on the machine. Then she lifted Ruby’s hospital gown.
“This’ll be cold,” she warned before squirting goo on her belly.
It was. Slimy and cold.
She pressed the wand into Ruby’s skin. “This’ll help warm it up.”
A heartbeat pitter-pattered on the small speaker.
Sawyer’s breath caught. “That’s the baby?”
Ruby nodded, watching the screen where a small form was taking shape.
“Found the head,” the tech murmured, clicking the keyboard a couple of times. “See the eyes? The nose?”
“Yes,” she whispered. The power of it knocked out her breath. “Wow. I can’t believe there’s a tiny little person in there.”
Tears slipped down Sawyer’s cheeks. He held her hand tightly in both of his. “Does it look okay? Is the baby big enough?”
“I’ll let the doctor go over the results with you,” the tech said, gliding the wand lower on her belly. Then she winked. “But so far so good.”
Sawyer blew out a breath.
Ruby squeezed his hands.
The tech paused the wand right underneath Ruby’s belly button. “Do you want to know the gender?”
Sawyer leaned closer to study the monitor. “That’s a boy. Definitely a boy.”
“Good eye,” the tech confirmed.
“A boy,” Ruby repeated. “We’re having a baby boy.” God. She’d never thought she would say those words. Never thought she would feel the signs of life growing inside of her. They both watched, captivated as the tech moved the wand and clicked the keyboard, showing them the tiny hands, the sweet little feet.
“That’s about all,” she finally said, wiping the wand with a paper towel. “Like I said, the docto
r will go over the full report with you.” She glanced around as though wanting to make sure no one would hear. “But in my professional opinion, this is a very healthy baby.”
“I knew it,” Sawyer said with a wide grin.
The tech waved a quick good-bye and pushed the cart out of the room, leaving them alone for the first time in too long.
“Ruby.” She loved when he said her name like that, all low and tortured, like he needed her. He climbed onto the bed, stretching his beautiful body out next to her and gathering her into his arms.
His body never failed to wrap hers in a luxurious warmth. Even on a gurney. Even in the hospital…
“I screwed up.” His cheek rested against hers, the stubble sending a cascade of tingles down her right side. “I didn’t mean to shut you out. I just wanted to fix everything for you.”
She peered at him sideways. “You do have a quite the hero complex.”
He grinned, traced her cheek with his finger. “Can’t help it. I never want you to hurt again. I want to give you the perfect life.”
“Perfect doesn’t exist.” Life was joy but also pain. Fear and courage. Suffering and triumph. And love. Love is what made all of it—even the sadness and scary moments—worthwhile. She turned to him, so they were face-to-face, chest-to-his glorious chest. Then she wrapped a leg over him for good measure. “We’ll never have a perfect life or a perfect family, Sawyer.”
“I know.” The frost that had held his face so still and cold earlier that morning had melted away, revealing the friendly creases that lined his mouth, the crinkles that softened the corners of his eyes. “I’ll stop shooting for perfect and aim for happy instead,” he teased, placing his hands on her hips and hitching her closer to him.
“It’s not your job to make the rest of us happy,” she reminded him. “We work on it together. We choose it. All of us. Together.”
“Together,” he repeated; then pressed his lips against hers.
* * *
Most of the time Sawyer loved the loud chaos of family. Most of the time. But not when it interrupted him making out with his soon-to-be-wife. The two of them could’ve used a few more minutes alone, but the crowd paraded in anyway—all of the people who knew him and Ruby the best filling the room until it was stuffy and loud.
Brookie launched herself onto the bed between them, cuddling up against her mom, then closing her eyes and sighing as though she’d never been more at peace.
Tears brightened his fiancée’s eyes again as she wrapped the girl in her arms.
“Oh, just look at you.” Aunt Elsie sniffled. “Such a beautiful family.”
Sawyer peered at his daughter, grinning at the sight of chocolate smeared under her chin. She looked so whole and happy. So healthy. Their little girl. And now they’d have a boy, too.
Paige elbowed her way through the crowd until she stood at the edge of the gurney. “You guys are killing me! What’d the doctor say?”
Sawyer shared a look with Ruby. “We haven’t seen the doctor again yet, but the tech said the baby seems to be very healthy.”
“Oh, thank God,” Avery gasped, leaning her head on Bryce’s chest.
With a slight nod and a big smile, Ruby prodded Sawyer to continue.
Good thing, because he wouldn’t be able to keep this next bit of news a secret for long. “And it’s a boy. We’re having a boy.”
Brookie gasped. “A brother! I’m getting a brother!” She leaped to her knees and started to bounce on the bed, swinging her arms around Sawyer’s neck and hugging him tight. He caught her and stood, twirling her around while she giggled and squealed. Everyone else closed in, too.
“Congratulations.” Bryce whacked him on the back while Avery hugged Ruby.
“Such great news!” Julia wheeled herself over and squeezed his hand. Isaac scrubbed Brookie’s hair. “You’ll make a great big sister,” he said, earning another openmouthed grin.
Paige threw her arms around both him and Brookie, squeezing so tight he almost gagged. “You two can call me to babysit anytime,” she said with a wink at Brookie. “I’ll let you do whatever you want.”
The girl giggled.
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Sawyer said with a roll of his eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there to supervise. Make sure she doesn’t spoil them too much,” Ben added with a playful tug on his wife’s hair.
Sawyer laughed. Something told him Ben would spoil Brookie just as much as his wife did. And that was fine by him. The more people she had loving on her, the better off she’d be.
Aunt Elsie and Thomas pushed their way past Ben and Paige. The older man shook his hand. “You deserve this, Sawyer. You’ll make a great dad.”
“Thanks.” He would do his best. And when he didn’t know what to do or how to fix things, he’d hit up one of the other dads. He had a lot of good examples to choose from.
“Sawyer, dear,” Aunt Elsie murmured sweetly. “Why don’t you help me find Meg so we can break Ruby out of here?” She obviously had some hidden agenda, given the direct gaze that halted his argument. Even though he was pretty sure Meg didn’t need to be bossed around, he followed his aunt out into the quietness of the hallway.
Before he could ask her what was going on, she handed him an envelope. “This is the deed to the duplex,” she said. “I want you and Ruby to have it. For your family.”
“What?” He shook his head. He couldn’t accept this. He and Ruby had planned to rent the duplex until they’d saved enough to buy a home of their own. “We’re not taking your house. We can’t—”
“Of course you can,” she interrupted. “You’re going to need more space now with that baby coming. I’ll move out after the wedding so you can get started on renovations right away.”
He shook his head. Was she being serious? “But…where will you go?”
She shrugged. “I’ll stay at the ranch for a while. Until I find a new place. I want something smaller anyway. Less to take care of.”
Sawyer steadied a hand against the wall. “You have to let me buy it from you. It’s worth a lot of money. I won’t just take—”
“Yes, you will. Because it’s a gift,” she emphasized. “I don’t need the money. Don’t even want it, if you want to know the truth.” She said it like they were talking about twenty bucks instead of hundreds of thousands of dollars. “It will be the perfect family home for the four of you.”
Perfect. It was the perfect gift, exactly what he’d been looking for. A home of their own, where they could build happy memories. A refuge. A place for their family.
The stubborn ox in him wanted to argue, to wear her down until she agreed to accept something in return. But it would be useless. Aunt Elsie’s generous heart knew no limits. She’d never had any practical boundaries. When she wanted to give, she gave big, no matter what it cost her.
And now so would he. He would live as generously as possible to honor her sacrifice.
“Thank you,” he said, tucking the envelope into his pocket. “You’ll never know how much this means to us.”
But the happy twinkle in her eyes said she did.
Chapter Eleven
As a little girl, Ruby had dreamed about her wedding day.
In the midst of the ugliness and fear that had filled her world, she would imagine that someday everything would change. She’d pictured it happening the same way it had for Cinderella—the white horse and carriage, the prince, the castle so lovely and enchanted and the entire town celebrating.
What she saw in front of her was even more beautiful than a fairy tale like that. Because it was real. From her place on the top tier of the ranch’s back patio, she gazed out on the powdered mountain peaks glowing in the soft pink light of the setting sun. She saw the evergreens—their branches laden with last night’s snowfall—sheltering the perimeter of the beautiful stone patio below, where all of her favorite people in the world had gathered near the wooden arch Sawyer had built himself.
Tiki torches lined the e
dges, adding to the glow of warmth and happiness, despite forty-degree temperatures. They’d known it would be cold, so they’d decided to keep the ceremony short, but she could stand up here for hours, watching their few bundled guests mingle in hushed excitement—Sawyer’s parents; Elsie and Thomas, who had agreed to marry them; a couple of the ranch hands and guides; a whole crew of Sawyer’s colleagues, dressed in their starched uniforms.
The harpist they’d hired started to play, delicate notes floating on the calm mountain breeze. As if on cue, the door to the pool house north of the patio opened and Sawyer emerged, looking so tall and strong, so handsome in a crisp white shirt and pressed khakis. The groomsmen followed him—Bryce and Ben and Isaac—all of them tugging on their bow ties as though they were being strangled.
Ruby couldn’t help but laugh. At least she hadn’t made them wear tuxes. They probably would’ve staged a revolt.
“Ready?” Paige asked, bouncing up and down like she couldn’t wait anymore.
Ruby reached over and grabbed Brookie’s hand. They were going to walk down the aisle together, but they had to go last.
“After you.” Ruby stepped aside so Paige and Avery and Julia could start the parade. They moved down the center of the crowd in a slow processional, even Paige, which was a miracle given how fast that woman usually liked to go.
“Mom?” Brookie tugged on the skirt of her dress.
She leaned down. “What is it, sweet girl?”
“I’m so nervous,” her daughter whispered. “There’s a lot of people down there.”
She knelt. “Don’t focus on the people, honey.” She smoothed Brookie’s lovely hair. “This is about you and Dad and me. That’s all. Focus on the three of us. On our family.”
Biting her lip, Brookie nodded.
“And just think, as soon as we get this part over with, there’ll be cake,” she added, knowing that their shared love of baked confections would calm her.
Sure enough, Brookie grinned. “Triple chocolate cake!”
The music changed, and that was their cue. Taking her own advice, Ruby focused solely on Sawyer—on her husband—as she made her way to him, holding tightly to their daughter’s hand.
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