The Comeback Cowboy

by Cathy McDavid

  “Did you have a lot of morning sickness?”

  “With you? Heavens, no. I never felt better. With the…” Lani paused, guilt reflected in her eyes. The moment didn’t last. Forcing a smile, she picked up right where she’d left off. “Some women are sick day and night.”

  The remark her mother had made earlier about home pregnancy tests not changing much in ten years came back to Adele.

  “Were you pregnant more than once?”

  Lani’s eyes closed and her posture sagged. “Me and my big mouth.”

  “Mom?”

  “I never wanted you to find out.”

  “What happened?”

  “After you were born, I got pregnant again. But I lost the baby. A little boy.”

  “I’m so sorry. How terrible for you.”

  “It was hard. On your dad, too. Neither of us talked much about it, but soon after that he started drinking heavily.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Lani patted Adele’s hand, the first spontaneously caring gesture she’d made in years. If any barriers had remained between them, they vanished in that moment.

  “It wasn’t a burden I wanted you to bear.”

  “What happened ten years ago?”

  Lani wiped her misty eyes and shook her head as if chiding herself for once again saying too much. “I got pregnant yet again, if you can believe it. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be, because before I could even tell the baby’s father, I miscarried.” She let out a wistful sigh. “I had nothing but trouble after that. Female trouble. I finally got a hysterectomy this past March.”

  A hysterectomy? Was that the reason her mother had looked so thin and frail when she’d first arrived at Seven Cedars?

  “But enough of that talk. You don’t need to be hearing any of it. Not now.” She patted Adele’s cheek. “You’re going to have a beautiful, healthy baby, and I’m going to be a grandmother. You should make an appointment with an obstetrician right away.”

  “I will.” Maybe she could arrange that for next week, when she drove Pop to the medical center for his checkup and physical therapy.

  “Not that it’s any of my business, but when are you going to tell Ty?”

  Adele didn’t know how to answer her mother.

  If she told him she was pregnant, he might quit rodeoing. No, he would quit. He’d probably propose, too, and move to Seven Cedars, believing marrying her to be the right and honorable thing to do.

  She couldn’t let him. Not that the idea of marrying Ty wasn’t appealing…and there was the baby to consider. But what about the championship? He’d lost once before, when it was just within his grasp. Then there were his parents. They could really use the money he owed them. If he won, he could repay them every dime. For a man with Ty’s pride, settling his debts was not just important, it was imperative.

  Mentally counting backward, Adele determined that she was around six weeks pregnant, give or take. Plenty of time before she had to decide what to do. Before she began showing.

  She suddenly remembered he was flying in Sunday evening. How could she see him, look at him, be with him, and not think of the baby? Maybe she should call him and postpone his trip, citing Pop as an excuse. Give herself a little more time to come to grips with…everything.

  “I don’t know when I’ll tell him,” Adele murmured contemplatively. “I want to see the doctor first. Make sure the baby’s okay.”

  “Oh, honey bun.” Lani’s features fell. “I’ve scared you with my stories, and I shouldn’t have. Shame on me.”

  “I’m glad you told me.” Adele welcomed the change in subject. “It explains a lot. I’ve been blaming you, and to a lesser degree, Dad, for things that weren’t your fault. I think I have a lot of making up to do with both of you.”

  “That’s sweet of you to say, but the truth is, I was a lousy mother. I hope you won’t hold that against me, because I intend to be the best grandmother in the world.”

  “Good.” Adele inhaled deeply. “I’m going to need a lot of help.”

  They reached across the table and shared another hug, only to be interrupted by a loud banging noise from down the hall.

  “Pop!” Adele sprang from her chair.

  Lani followed her to his bedroom. They were both aghast to find him sitting up in bed, his lap table on the floor and his walker leaning at a crooked angle.

  “What are you doing?” Adele cried.

  “Trying to get up. What the hell does it look like?” he barked, his face flushed a deep crimson.

  “Are you in pain?” She glanced at the nightstand, where she’d left his medications, then at the clock. His next dose wasn’t due for another two hours.

  “Hell, yes, I’m in pain. I just had my hip replaced with some damn metal contraption.”

  “Oh, Pop,” she soothed, wishing she could wave her hand and magically erase his suffering.

  To her surprise, he let out a choked sob. “Why didn’t you tell me you were having a baby?”

  He must have heard her and Lani talking in the kitchen!

  Before Adele could tell him she’d just found out herself, she was slammed with a wave of intense nausea, and barely reached the hall bathroom in time.

  “HEY, BOUDEAU.” A man Ty had handily beaten in steer wrestling that morning jogged toward him, tugging the brim of his ball cap down against the pouring rain. “What’s the rush?” he hollered.

  “Besides this weather?” Ty tossed his overnight bag into the backseat of Garth’s pickup truck. It landed atop a plastic crate, rain gear, a laptop case and a well-worn duffel bag.

  “A bunch of us are heading to the Chuck Box Bar and Grill,” the man said upon reaching Ty. “You and Maitland want to come along?”

  “Thanks, but we can’t.” He slammed the truck door shut, sidestepping a rapidly growing puddle. “I’ve got a plane to catch in two hours, and thirty miles to drive.”

  Garth had volunteered to drive him to the airport. Barring any traffic delays due to the rain, or longs lines at airport security, he had just enough time to make his flight.

  “Guess I’ll see you in Fort Benton.”

  “That you will.”

  Lifting the collar of his jacket, the man departed, his hunched form leaping over streams of running water.

  Luckily for the participants, the weather had held for most of the rodeo. Saddle bronc riding, the last event of the day, had turned into a mud-flying free-for-all, and the closing ceremony was canceled. Ty hadn’t minded. He’d grabbed his winnings and buckle—only one this weekend—and hightailed it to where he’d parked, meeting the friend who had agreed to drive his truck and trailer to her place in the next town over. Ty had known Nancy and her brother for years, and was confident Hamm couldn’t have a better caretaker. When Ty returned from seeing Adele, Nancy would meet him at the airport and give him a lift to her place. From there, he would continue on to Fort Benton.

  A lot of trouble and a lot of favors called in, but Ty felt it would be worth everything and more to see Adele.

  He’d originally arranged for Nancy to drive him to the airport, but when Garth got wind of Ty’s plans, he’d insisted on taking her place. A consolation prize, perhaps, for beating the pants off Ty earlier today.

  And speaking of Garth…

  Ty checked the time on his cell phone, cupping his hand to protect it from the rain. Where the heck was he? If they didn’t head out soon, Ty might miss his plane.

  He turned to see Garth running toward him, water exploding in great sheets from his boots as they hit the ground. Ty hated to think how soaked his friend’s feet must be getting. Hopefully, he had an extra pair of shoes buried in that pile of stuff in his backseat.

  “Sorry I’m late. I needed a pick-me-up for the road.” Garth lifted his rain poncho and removed two large travel cups of coffee he’d been carrying. By some miracle, they’d survived the journey intact.

  Ty took the one Garth held out to him. “Thanks.” He hoped the hot liquid would act like high-
octane fuel, combating the sluggishness brought on by two days of intense competition and not enough sleep.

  They climbed into the truck and began slowly traversing the muddy lake that had once been the parking area. Deep ruts hampered their progress. Ty had to force himself to keep from checking the time every few minutes. There was nothing he could do about the weather, so might as well relax.

  Yeah, right.

  He tried distracting himself by guzzling coffee and listening, at least a little, to Garth ramble on about Reese and their upcoming wedding.

  “We finally set a date. Valentine’s Day. Reese insisted we wait until after Nationals. You’re coming to the wedding, aren’t you?”

  “You still going to want me there when I take away your title?”

  “After this weekend, I wouldn’t bet on that.”

  Both men laughed. Ty wasn’t worried. He might not have won every event today, but his scores were good enough to put him one step closer to qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo.

  They were about a mile down the road when Ty’s cell phone rang. His pulse jumped at seeing Adele’s name flashing on the display. In a few hours, they’d be together. He dreaded thinking about the months stretching ahead of them until December. Instead of becoming easier, the separations were harder and harder. When he returned to Markton for Garth’s wedding—and he would, win or lose—he planned on staying a full month with Adele. Maybe by then he could convince her to go with him to visit his parents.

  “Hey, girl. How you doing?”

  “Hanging in there.”

  Slouching in the seat, he readied himself for a long talk. While he couldn’t pinpoint anything specific, she’d sounded odd the last few days. When he questioned her, she’d blamed her grandfather. Ty understood. Taking care of Pop couldn’t be easy, though Adele swore he was doing remarkably well.

  Ty promised himself she’d get as much rest as possible during his visit, even if it meant he had to play nursemaid to Pop. As long as he and Adele had their nights together…

  “You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice,” he said.

  Beside him, Garth made a sound of disgust, as if to imply Ty was nothing but a sucker for a pretty woman. The grin he wore, however, said Ty was in good company.

  The two them were a pair, and Ty had to chuckle. Like Garth, he’d found the woman of his dreams. Ty also thought he might have found the place where he wanted to settle down for the rest of his life. Much as he loved Santa Fe, Wyoming had a lot more to offer. When he wasn’t on the circuit, he could teach roping. Construct saddles in his spare time. Train with Garth. Woo Adele.

  Life couldn’t get any better. Except maybe with winning the title of World Champion.

  “How’d you do today?” Adele asked.

  “First in team roping. Second in steer wrestling.” He shot Garth a dirty look. “Fourth in tie-down roping.”

  “Not bad.”

  “Fort Benton’s going to be a whole ’nother story.”

  “You think,” Garth muttered.

  Ty ignored him, preferring to concentrate on Adele. “What’s the latest on Pop?”

  “Improving.”

  “Your mom?”

  “Fine.”

  Her monosyllabic answers bothered him. “Is everything okay?”

  “Great.”

  “What about Ritz?”

  “Getting big.”

  Just when he was beginning to really worry, she asked, “Have you left for the airport yet?”

  “On our way. Should be there in about forty-five minutes.” She didn’t immediately reply, and he thought they might have lost their connection. “You there?”

  “Yeah.” Another long pause followed. “Ty, I hate to ask this of you….”

  “What’s wrong?” Alerted by her tone, he sat bolt upright.

  “Is there any chance you can postpone your trip?”

  “Postpone? Why?”

  Garth glanced over at him questioningly. Ty shrugged, not sure yet what was happening.

  “I’m sorry.” Adele sounded as if she was on the verge of crying.

  “Sweetheart, what happened?”

  “Nothing. It’s just not a good time. Pop requires so much care—”

  “I thought you said he was improving.”

  “Did I? Well, he is. I mean, the surgery site’s healing. The, um, physical therapy isn’t progressing at the speed the doctor wants.”

  “You told me yesterday he was almost ready for a cane.”

  “He is. He will be. Eventually. The therapists want me take him in for an extra session this week.”

  “I’ll go with you. Heck, I’ll take him. You can stay home and nap. I know you’re working your tail off.” He wished she’d relinquish even a small amount of her grandfather’s care to someone else rather than doing it all herself.

  “It’s not only Pop. We have…we have new calves arriving tomorrow, which I need to oversee. And the grain shipment’s being delivered on Thursday.”

  “Can’t the barn manager handle that?”

  “He’s, um, sick. The flu.”

  With sudden certainty, Ty knew Adele was lying. The question was why?

  He immediately assumed the worst, and his stomach tightened into a knot. “You don’t want to see me?”

  “Of course I do!”

  Ty sensed Garth’s curious gaze on him, but he couldn’t be bothered with his friend right now.

  “I’m just so overwhelmed.” A tiny sob had crept into her voice. “I really do want to see you.”

  For the first time since she’d called, he felt she truly meant what she said. “I want that, too. Like crazy.”

  “Next week will be better,” she added, suddenly more composed. “Or the week after. By then Pop should be getting around better, and won’t be so demanding.”

  “Is he giving you that much of a hard time?”

  “More than you know,” she answered tiredly.

  Perhaps Ty was reading too much into her request. It could be exactly as she claimed, and she wanted him to come out when her grandfather was more self-sufficient and her own energy not so depleted.

  It occurred to him to fly out anyway, regardless of what she said. Every bone in his body longed to do just that.

  “Please, Ty,” she implored. “I need a little more time.”

  Desperate as he was to see her, he wouldn’t make her life more difficult. “I’ll reschedule my flight for next week.”

  “Or two weeks.”

  He’d be in Albuquerque then. And his family had talked about coming out to watch him compete. No problem. He’d find a way to make it work. “All right. Two weeks.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Hey, Stick called me the other day.”

  “He did?” She sounded alarmed.

  “Said he was trying to get you to hire his cousin.”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  “Asked me if I—”

  “Ty, I’ve got to go.”

  “Is it Pop?”

  “Y-yes. He’s calling me. Sorry. Bye.”

  Ty flipped his phone shut and stared out the window at the downpour.

  “Everything okay?” Garth asked, taking his eyes momentarily off the road.

  “I’m not sure.” Ty removed his cowboy hat and flung it on the truck floor with more force than necessary. “Any way you can turn this vehicle around? We need to head back.”

  “Forget something?”

  “Seems I’m not flying out today.”

  After a quick explanation, Ty called the airlines. Then he phoned Nancy. She expressed sympathy over his canceled trip, and readily agreed to meet him and Garth at the rodeo grounds.

  “I appreciate all your help,” he told Garth, then picked up his hat, brushed it off and returned it to his head.

  “No problem.”

  After another mile, he said, “You know Adele pretty well, right?”

  “Since we were kids.”

  “Tell me, how is she at handling stress?”<
br />
  “You kidding? She’s a rock. I remember when she and Pop started Cowboy College. Everything they had to go through to get it off the ground. And when her grandmother died, Adele was the one who held Pop together. He’d have drowned in his own grief without her.”

  Ty frowned.

  “Why?”

  “She’s having a difficult time coping with Pop’s hip-replacement surgery. I guess he’s being irritable and demanding.”

  “When isn’t he? She’s used to that.”

  Yeah, she was.

  “And she’s got all kinds of help there,” Garth continued. “Built-in food service, housekeeping and drivers if she needs them. There’s not an employee on the ranch who wouldn’t pitch in if she asked them.”

  That was what Ty thought, too. “So why is she acting the way she is?”

  Garth mulled the question over. “You really want my opinion?”

  “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”

  “There’s something else going on,” he said, confirming Ty’s suspicions. “Something she’s not telling you.”

  POP HOBBLED INTO Adele’s office without knocking, awkwardly closing the door behind him. During the three and a half weeks since his surgery, he’d graduated from the walker to a cane, and was getting around quite well.

  Enough that he’d decided two days ago he was ready to resume his previous responsibilities. Adele would have none of it, convinced he’d trip on something and injure his brand-new hip. Stick had been assigned to drive Pop wherever he wanted to go in the golf cart, and to keep an eye on him. Fortunately for Adele’s nerves, Pop tired easily and had yet to do more than chat with the barn manager, watch a few classes and check out the new grain shipment.

  He also made trips to her office to inquire about the running of the ranch.

  She bore those visits as patiently as possible.

  Except when he asked about the baby. Other than to respond that she was feeling well despite continued morning sickness, she clammed up. Pop gave new meaning to the word relentless and was constantly pushing her to do what he thought was right, namely tell Ty about the baby and, as Pop put it, make an honest woman out of her.

  She refused to argue, as determined as her grandfather to handle the situation her own way. Which, at the moment, was to do and say nothing.