The Comeback Cowboy

by Cathy McDavid

  “Stick could go with him.”

  “But he can’t help Pop with all the paperwork. And believe me, between the doctor, hospital and insurance company, there’s a mountain of it. On top of that, I have to meet with the barn manager and the head wrangler. Make sure Pop’s work is covered while he recuperates.”

  Ty felt overwhelmed just listening to her, and wished there was more he could do for her.

  “I’m sorry.” He pulled her against him, not satisfied until those two inches separating them were reduced to a hair’s width. “I’m pressuring you, and that’s not my intention.”

  “I really wish I could come.”

  “Maybe I’ll skip Steamboat Springs. Spend a few extra days here.”

  She immediately sat up and said sternly, “You’ll do no such thing.”

  “I don’t have to compete in every rodeo between now and Nationals.”

  “Have you qualified yet?”

  “No, but—”

  “Paid back your parents?”

  “Not everything.”

  “Seriously, Ty.” She groaned with exasperation. “You know better than anyone that things happen. Unexpected things. You’ve come too far and worked too hard to risk not qualifying.”

  She was right, though a part of him wished she wasn’t.

  “I guess we’ll just have to make the most of this visit.” He reached under the sheet, seeking and finding the smooth curve of her hip.

  Her sigh of contentment turned into a moan of pleasure when he parted her legs.

  The ring of her cell phone couldn’t have come at a worse time.

  “Don’t answer it,” he murmured, lowering his mouth to her breast.

  “That’s Pop’s ring tone. If I don’t pick up, he’ll come looking for us.”

  Ty would have preferred weighing their options. Not Adele. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and rummaged around on the floor for her jeans.

  “Yeah, Pop.” She listened a moment, then held the phone away from her mouth. “Cook’s putting together a little celebration dinner for you.”

  “Sounds like I can’t say no.”

  “Wise man.”

  He lay in bed, both pillows stuffed under his head, watching her dress.

  “Come on,” she urged. “We’re going to be late.”

  “I’d rather stay here with you.”

  She tugged on his arm. “It’s only temporary.”

  Was it? He and Adele hadn’t spoken about the future, not specifically and not beyond Nationals this winter. He suspected that, like him, she was thinking long term. She’d better be thinking long term, Ty amended as he finally rolled out of bed and reached for his clothes. Because he had zero intentions of letting her go. Now or ever.

  “THIS WAY.” Adele took two steps. When she heard nothing, she stopped and glanced anxiously over her shoulder. “Easy now.”

  “I’m all right,” Pop snapped. He’d caught one front wheel of his walker on the threshold leading from the garage to the kitchen.

  She resisted hurrying to his aid. He was too stubborn to accept her help even if she did. Besides, Stick stood right behind him. The teenager might be skinny, but he was strong, and more than capable of catching her grandfather if he teetered.

  The wheel finally gave, hopping over the threshold, and he maneuvered the shiny red walker into the kitchen. His steps were hesitant, measured and stiff, burdened by the compression stockings he was required to wear.

  Adele hurt just looking at him.

  The doctor, nurses and physical therapist, however, had praised Pop’s progress, stating repeatedly that he was doing well for a man his age.

  A man his age!

  Adele had begun to view her grandfather through different eyes and didn’t like what she saw. Though in good health, he was getting older and slowing down. More of the responsibility of running the ranch and Cowboy College would fall to her, and not just during his recovery.

  She prayed the next few weeks would go easier than this last one had. Talks with Pop’s doctor prior to the surgery hadn’t prepared her for the sight of him lying in the hospital bed surrounded by tubes and monitors, a bulky dressing on his hip and his complexion the color of paste. Her emotions, riding so close to the surface of late, had overwhelmed her, causing tears to fall at the least little provocation.

  Oddly enough, it had been her mother who was there for Adele the day of the surgery, sitting with her in the family waiting area. Lani also found time to make the long drive and visit Pop twice during his hospital stay, though she remained only briefly because of her work schedule.

  It was Ty, however, who had provided the most support for Adele during and after Pop’s surgery. He volunteered to fly in for a day or two, but she’d have none of it, insisting he stay and continue to ride his winning streak. She’d have felt differently if Pop’s surgery had been life threatening. Ty’s phone calls, three a day at least, were enough for now. They gave her a break from the many nerve-racking demands placed on her, and reassured her that what they had together was special and important to him.

  That didn’t stop her from occasionally wondering if they’d be able to endure the continued long separations. When Ty mentioned her traveling with him on the circuit, or returning to Santa Fe to visit his parents, she allowed herself to get swept up in his excitement. Then she would look at her grandfather and accept the reality that she’d probably never travel any farther than the medical center in Cody. Not for a while, anyway.

  Would Ty wait for her?

  She hadn’t yet found the courage to ask him.

  All at once, a wave of nausea struck her. She sucked in a harsh breath and pressed a hand to her stomach. Just as quickly, the feeling subsided, and she exhaled with relief. The stress was getting to her. She’d been feeling mildly ill off and on since before Pop went in for his surgery. And tired. Some mornings, she barely had the energy to climb out of bed, requiring a second cup of coffee to get her day started. She’d be so glad when Pop got back on his feet.

  “Did you remember my prescriptions from the car?” Pop stood in the middle of the kitchen, his chest rising and falling from the exertion. And all he’d done was walk from the car.

  “Right here.” Adele held up a small white sack.

  “What about my overnight bag?”

  “I’ll get that later. Unless you need it this second.”

  “Guess not,” he grumbled.

  He wasn’t being intentionally difficult, she knew. His doctor had warned Adele to expect periodic mood swings. In addition to the surgery taking a toll on him, there was the daunting prospect of being mostly housebound for two to four weeks. Pop didn’t do modified bed rest and restricted activity well.

  “Come on, Pop,” Stick said good-naturedly. “I’ll help you to bed.”

  “All right, all right. Don’t rush me.”

  “You want some lunch?” Adele asked.

  “Not yet. Maybe later.”

  Her grandfather going willingly to bed and not hungry? Her worry instantly flared. He must really feel awful.

  “I’ll take something, if you’re offering.” Stick grinned sheepishly.

  “Coming right up.”

  While he settled her grandfather in bed, she threw a quick lunch together. The aroma of grilling cheese sandwiches started her stomach roiling again. Piling the one she’d fixed for herself on Stick’s plate, she heated up a bowl of canned chicken-noodle soup, hoping that would sit better.

  She was just putting the lunch on the table when Ty called her cell phone.

  “How’s Pop? You two get home okay?”

  “A little bit ago.” The sexy timbre of his voice warmed her from the inside out. No matter how often he called, she never grew tired of hearing it. Especially late at night.

  Stick came down the hall, spied the lunch on the table and fell on it like a typical ravenous teenager.

  “How’s Pop?” Adele mouthed.

  “Sleeping,” Stick managed to say between bites.
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  “Stick’s here, helping out,” she told Ty.

  “That’s good. Hey, I was thinking of coming out on Monday for a couple days.”

  “Aren’t you in Missoula?”

  “Just pulled into the fairgrounds.”

  Missoula was a long way from Markton. “When do you compete?”

  “I’ll be done Sunday afternoon by five. I checked with the airlines and can catch a late flight. A friend of mine’s agreed to take care of Hamm for me. Problem is, I wouldn’t land until about 10:00 p.m. your time. Is that too late?”

  Yellowstone Regional Airport was over a hundred miles away. Picking up Ty added yet another task to her already extensive list. Then driving him back two days later.

  But, oh, she wanted to be with him. Sleep for ten hours straight wrapped in his arms. Okay, she admitted it. Sleep wasn’t the only activity she had in mind. After showing him how happy she was to see him, they’d loll around in bed all morning, not rising until the sun was high in the sky.

  No, they wouldn’t. She’d have to come here and check on Pop. Make sure he was doing okay.

  “I—I don’t know,” she stammered.

  “I miss you.”

  His longing carried across the miles, and her heart melted. “I’ll be there at ten sharp waiting for you.”

  If necessary, she’d hire a nurse for two days. Or see if one of the wranglers’ wives was interested in earning a little extra money. Pop might be more receptive to that idea.

  “Wear your blue bra,” Ty said in a husky drawl.

  She laughed and stepped into the family room, away from Stick’s prying ears. He didn’t need to hear the more private details of her conversation with Ty. Some minutes later, when they disconnected, she rationalized her decision to let him come by telling herself a visit from him would boost Pop’s morale.

  But it was her own morale that was now soaring in anticipation. So much so that she wolfed down her reheated soup and went back for seconds.

  “Call if you need me,” Stick said later, on his way out the door.

  “I will.” Adele hoped she wouldn’t have to.

  While Pop continued to nap, she tidied the kitchen and emptied the car. The four-door sedan belonged to Garth’s parents. They’d been kind enough to lend it to Adele and Pop while he recovered, for which she was enormously grateful. She couldn’t imagine trying to wrestle her grandfather in and out of his tall truck.

  When she finished unloading, she went into the old master bedroom and unpacked her few belongings. They’d agreed she would reside with Pop until he could manage on his own. She hadn’t brought much with her, figuring on returning to her apartment every day for whatever she needed.

  Her grandparents’ bedroom had remained virtually untouched for eight years, and Adele found herself studying pictures on the wall and knickknacks on the dresser that were still where her grandmother had placed them.

  It would be strange spending the night here, sleeping among the memories.

  A knock on the kitchen door had her hurrying down the hall in her stocking feet.

  “Coming!” she called, then remembered her grandfather was sleeping.

  Whoever had shown up was comfortable enough that they’d used the back door. Probably one of the hands checking on Pop, or someone from the kitchen. Adele had arranged with Cook to have meals delivered during his convalescence.

  It was none of those people.

  “Hey, baby girl.”

  “Mom! What are you doing here? I thought you were at work.”

  ADELE STEPPED BACK so that her mother could come inside, silently chiding the part of her that wished Lani had called first and not just shown up.

  “Henry let me off early today.” Lani carried a plastic grocery sack bearing the name Bush’s General Store, Markton’s one and only market. It probably contained a get-well present for Pop. “How are you holding up?”

  “Better now that we’re home.”

  “You look tired.” Lani studied Adele with a critical and unusually maternal eye.

  “Actually, I’m feeling better than I did a while ago.”

  “Still getting queasy?”

  “Sometimes,” Adele answered reluctantly. This wasn’t the first time Lani had inquired about her health, and she’d begun to regret mentioning her intermittent bouts of nausea. “If you want to visit Pop, you’ll have to wait or come back. He’s napping.”

  “I really came to see you.” Lani set the sack on the table.

  “Something the matter?” Fresh worries immediately sprang to Adele’s mind. Was her mother’s job at the feed store not working out? Did she want to return to the ranch? And get her old one back?

  “No. Not with me, at least.” Lani’s expression was kind and filled with a concern Adele hadn’t seen in years. “You’ve not been yourself lately.”

  “I have a lot going on at the moment,” she said, a bit testily.

  “I know you do. You’re tired and irritable and—”

  “Stress does that to a person.”

  “So does pregnancy.”

  The comment came so far from left field, Adele couldn’t immediately absorb it. “I’m…not pregnant.”

  “Are you sure? You have the symptoms.”

  “Why would you… That’s ridiculous!” She wasn’t about to admit to her mother that she and Ty had been intimate, or discuss the type of protection they’d used.

  “If you’re not pregnant, then it could be something else. Better to know for sure.” Lani opened the grocery sack and withdrew a box. “I bought this for you. I figured you wouldn’t want to. Not in Markton. One thing I’ve learned since moving here is that folks love to gossip.”

  Adele stared at the home pregnancy test, not sure what shocked her the most—her mother having the gall to butt into her personal life, or the possibility that she really was pregnant.

  When was her last period?

  She’d been too busy with Pop and his surgery to think about it. Now that she did, she realized she was late. By several weeks.

  It couldn’t be! She and Ty were careful.

  But condoms weren’t foolproof. And he’d said he’d been carrying that one in his wallet a long time.

  Adele had to sit down before her knees buckled. With an unsteady hand, she pulled out a kitchen chair. Her mother was talking, but the words were only partially registering.

  “This is one of those twin-pack early pregnancy tests. I didn’t know if maybe you wanted to take one test this afternoon and then the second one tomorrow, just to be sure.”

  “Take the test now?”

  “It’s pretty simple.” Through a fog, Adele watched her mother remove the kit from the package and unfold the instructions. “It’s been a while since I’ve used one of these, but I doubt they’ve changed much in the last ten years.”

  Little by little, the enormity of the situation began to sink in. Adele could indeed be pregnant. Or not. Either way, she needed to find out.

  “How does it work?” she asked in a weak voice, taking the testing kit from Lani.

  While her mother read the instructions out loud, she rolled the wand between her fingers. Then she went to the hall bathroom and completed the test.

  She waited the required time, sitting on the closed toilet-seat lid, an undefined ache lodged beneath her breast. Under different circumstances—if she and Ty were married, for instance—this would be a joyous occasion. Except they weren’t married. They hadn’t even discussed anything beyond dating.

  Her mind swirled as question after question formed.

  What about Pop and work and the ranch? She was only just beginning to grapple with the likelihood of having to take on additional tasks in the coming months. A child would triple her responsibilities. How would she cope?

  Maybe she wouldn’t have to. The results might be negative.

  She gazed down at the testing wand in her hand, the plus sign clearly visible now. Even so, she squinted, doubting what her eyes saw.

  Then it hit he
r. An emotion that could only be described as elation. It crashed over her in waves, bringing a huge smile to her face.

  A baby! She was having a baby.

  Adele stepped from the bathroom and into the kitchen, the testing wand extended in front of her.

  Lani stood, her face expectant. An affection Adele hadn’t felt for her mother in years filled her, and she impulsively opened her arms. Lani rushed to her, returning the hug and the affection.

  “Well?” she asked when they separated.

  Adele showed her the wand, and Lani, too, broke into a radiant smile.

  “I’m going to be a grandmother.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Adele stood in the middle of Pop’s kitchen with her mother, dazed and a little in awe at the realization that she was pregnant.

  Possibly pregnant, she amended. As the package instructions recommended, she should take the test again tomorrow morning just to be sure. Except Adele was sure. The undefined ache she’d felt earlier had actually been her heart growing bigger with love for the tiny baby she carried. Soon her entire life would change, and in ways she could only imagine.

  What about Ty’s life? It would change, too. Adele had been so preoccupied with herself, she’d failed to consider him.

  How, she wondered, would he react? With happiness? Anger? They’d talked about their respective families many times, but not about starting one of their own. Certainly not this soon. Why would they? While their relationship had moved quickly, the fact was she and Ty had been dating only a couple of months, and half that time he’d been on the road. She’d have to consider him, however, and soon.

  But not yet. Not until she’d taken the second test and given herself a few days to reflect on her pregnancy and all the ramifications. There was also Pop and his recovery requiring her full and immediate attention.

  Suddenly overwhelmed by everything she was facing, she sat back down at the table. Lani, beaming like a million-dollar lottery winner, joined her.

  “How did you know?” Adele asked.

  Her mom laughed. “I’ve been pregnant before. I recognized the symptoms.”

  That was a long time ago, Adele thought. Had being a mother made such an impression that Lani remembered even the smallest details twenty-eight years later?