After surveying his eyes for what seemed forever, she whispered, “Yes.”
On the way inside, she took his hand—her way of saying she trusted him to handle this. Entwining their fingers gave him the calm he needed. A man out for vengeance had no limits on what he’d do. This concerned him greatly. “How about you don’t say anything to anyone about Carl because I still don’t know what this is about. The sheriff will have to talk to him.”
She hooked her arm around his. “All right. But, please, tell me what’s going on…when you know?”
Dane nodded. “I will,” he mumbled, but diverted his eyes.
***
Two days later and after breakfast, they went about packing for the trip to Ft. Benning. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, and her hands wrapped around her abdomen. Ou-uuch. “Doggone it.”
“What’s the matter?” He added a duty uniform to his carry-on, but gave her a sideways glance.
Gracelyn forced down a swallow, not sure what went on herself. She peered at him, shrugging. “I might have had a contraction.” My God, I’m not ready.
Dane dropped to his knees beside the bed. “What?” His gaze went from her feet to her eyes. “What’d it feel like? Should we do anything?”
“Heck if I know. But…whatever it was, I never felt it before.” She sat up straighter, her eyes wide as she focused on his face. The same feeling as the first time a minute ago happened again. “Ack…damn. Another one. Omigod.” She put her hands on his shoulders. This couldn’t be labor. They had another couple weeks to go.
“Well, well, w-what do we do?” His hands went into his back pockets when he stood. “Should we call the doctor? We can’t take a flight with you like this. I have to cancel our flight. My meetings at the base.”
“Yes, cancel the flight, or you go.” She raised her palm. “No, you can’t go. I don’t know what’s going on. Let’s wait a little while and see what happens.” The clock read 9:27. “Maybe I should call my doctor’s office. You go to Georgia without me.”
“I’m not going if you’re in labor, Gracelyn.” Dane sauntered to the door, but pivoted. “Uh…are you scared, honey? Everything’s going to be all right.”
“A little. That’s normal, though, I’m sure.” She nodded, rubbing her hand over her belly. “I think they stopped.”
“No matter. I’m cancelling the flight. I’ll mail the information to base. Let them take care of it that way. Still, the info will be in on time. They’ll have what they need to get you covered on my insurance…everything else, too.” His pacing began in a circle. “We don’t need to be there today. It was something I wanted to do, a chance to see the guys.”
“I understand that.” She stood and stared at the floor, waiting. Her throat went dry and she licked her lips on the way to the bathroom. “I need some water.”
“Should I get my mom? Do you want to talk to her about this?” He entered to stand behind her at the sink. His gaze rested on her face in the mirror.
“That might be a good idea, but I need to use the bathroom.” She waited until he moved then attempted to close the door.
He caught it. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, babe.” When he pulled the door closed, she did what she had to do then washed her hands and got a drink. Seeing blood didn’t help any but she did her best to stay calm. Her fingers trembled as she held the glass. I’m a little afraid, but excited at the same time. Knowing she could have the baby at any time didn’t mean she wanted to today. Fear began at her toes and worked its way up her body. This is how it happened. No warning, but all of a sudden contractions would begin. Thank God it was here and not the airport, or on the plane. Dane might’ve freaked.
“Grace, are you all right, dear?” Judy tapped. “Grace?”
She opened the bathroom door. “I’m okay. They must’ve stopped. We got a little overexcited.” Setting the glass on the vanity, she left the bathroom to stand at the window. “I’ll call my doctor? I should.”
“It wouldn’t hurt. He can check you to be sure. Your water hasn’t broken?” Judy asked, but shook her head as if she knew the answer. “You’re far enough along now that if you did have the baby, everything should be okay. Don’t worry. If they stopped, maybe the little guy is getting more into position.”
Gracelyn reached for her phone and sat on the bed. It was kind of embarrassing to talk to Judy about water breaking. “No, my water didn’t break.” I don’t think. “Where’s Dane?”
“On the phone when I came up. Cancelling your flight, calling his CO. I’m not sure. Maybe he needs a minute for this to sink in, too. Nothing to be afraid of, Grace. You have a good doctor.” Judy sat beside her on the bed. “It’s natural for you to be concerned…with what happened to your sister and it being your first baby.” She gave a supportive hug. “Your doctors will take good care of you. Dane had a little medical training—all the soldiers do now.”
“I’m a little concerned, but my doctor has reassured us. I’ll call the office to see if I can get in today.” She didn’t want to be afraid for fear of bringing on early labor due to nervousness, so she tried to calm down. Sarah had been terrified in labor. Being as young as she was didn’t help. I’ll be okay. Breathe. Gracelyn stood again unable to sit still.
“Well, I’ll leave you alone, dear, while you talk to your doctor’s office. Call if you need me.” Judy stopped at the door. “You’ll be okay.”
“Tell Dane I’ll be down soon.” Judy’s sweet smile before closing the door gave her confidence. Her experience in these matters helped calm her. Wind blew softly across the desert as she stared out toward the Superstition Mountains. Sometimes she was still surprised that she ended up in a little town called Canyon Junction—the friendly town where they’d raise their baby.
***
“I’ll call you back, Adam.” Dane met Judy at the bottom of the stairs and followed her into the kitchen. “What’s going on? Is she okay? Talk to me.”
“I don’t believe she’s in labor. You know…the baby’s changing position. The little guy’s getting ready to make his big entrance.”
“Are you sure?”
“Son, no one can ever be sure when it comes to this. When the child is ready to be born, there’ll be no stopping him. Grace is fine right now.”
Dane dropped into the chair at the table. “Scared the hell out of me. What the heck will it be like when it’s real labor? What if something happens to her?” He had better get his head together. She’d need him to be there for her. Shake it off. Soldier up. Enough of that shit, so he went to the sink for a drink of water.
“You’ll know what to do. Drive her to the hospital. First babies don’t come right away. You’ll have time to get to Mesa.”
He paced to the back door then to the stove, even peeked out the back window, all before sitting down again. Crimminy. Dane ran his hands over his hair, admitting he was scared—a different kind of fear than what he’d been used to in combat. “I’ll go see how she’s doing. In a few minutes I have to run into town to mail our marriage license, stuff like that.” While still speaking, he headed for the stairway. “She’ll be okay?”
“Settle down now yourself or your anxiety will pass onto her, and hers to the baby. I’m here if she needs anything. Go. Little Will and Grace will be fine.”
“Not little Will.” Without warning he had turned into a mess. “Sorry, I’m a little tense.” He ran up the stairs, entered their room, and pulled in the composure he had been known for in times of stress. She sat in the wooden rocker beside the bed, still on the phone—a smile on her face. I’m glad to see that.
When the call ended, she turned to him, “He wants me to come to the office to be sure everything is okay, and check my blood pressure. Do you want to go with me?”
“Of course, I do. I have to go to Canyon Junction anyway.” A quick pace to the window to get his breath helped, and he pulled himself back into rancher mode. Here, he prepared himself to go back to base in soldier mode, but now he
could relax. He’d see the guys another time. Later, he’d call Adam back, the friend he had planned on joining off base. It had sounded like he had information about Doug.
“I’ll get ready to see the doctor.” Gracelyn stood and walked over to Dane and draped her arms over his shoulders. “I didn’t mean to frighten you, but I was caught off guard. If that’s what labor feels like, I want a C-Section.” She shrugged. “Joking, honey, that was only a twinge of pain. I’m sure nothing compared to what is yet to come.”
Dane smoothed hair behind her ears and observed a bit of tension by her rigid posture. When needed, he’d remain calm. Earlier he hadn’t expected it. Now, he accepted the fact that they could have their child anytime. He leaned forward to give her a kiss. “We’ll be all right. I have it under control now.”
Chapter 19
Dane changed clothes upstairs after the doctor appointment and post office. At least all the tests proved to be all right, and they left with orders not to fly until after the baby was born. When he came downstairs in camo, Gracelyn asked with a tease, “Do you need camo to shoot? Maybe I need some.”
“The only way you’re having camo on your body is if it’s on me.” Dane attached a belt around his waist then stuffed it with ammunition and extra magazines. “You’d be beautiful in camouflage if it makes you feel any better,” he replied, and winked. Patting his thigh, he called the dog, “Come on, Boston.” Gracelyn went out ahead when he held the door. Outside, he lowered the tailgate and the dog jumped in the back of his truck.
“I hope Boston will be okay. What if he runs off at the first shot?”
“I’ll keep a long line on him.” Now that they had him, Dane hated the idea of handing Boston over either to Hanson or the Army. It wasn’t his choice. What else is new?
She sat straighter as she smoothed her fingers over her abdomen.
“What’s wrong?” he asked when he observed her body language. “Are you all right?”
Gracelyn twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Nothing is wrong other than this little one needing more room. Your son feels big kicking and squirming around as he does.”
“Don’t scare me like this.”
“Only if you aren’t scared when I have a gun in my hand. I’m kind of excited to see why it makes your adrenalin pump.”
His gaze flicked forward. “Girl, adrenalin is something a body grows used to in combat. Not having it surge through my veins is the abnormal part. It isn’t the 9mil that charges my blood. It’s the part that goes along with the reason for the weapon—staying alive.”
“Gotcha.” They’d go out a couple miles where it was safe to shoot up against the hillside. A place where they used to come with his dad. He slowed when it got bouncy.
Boston stuck his head inside through the sliding rear window, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. “Man that’s some tongue. Wish I had one that big sometimes.”
“Dane…” She smacked his arm. “That was not funny.” Really, it was funny, but she wasn’t about to let him know with this topic.
“Why do you people think it’s okay to smack my arm? All I tried to do was be funny because the dog has a long tongue.” Dane ran his tongue over his upper lip a few times when he peered at her. “You shouldn’t hit me in front of the dog—he might take your arm off.”
“Don’t try to play innocent with me. I know how you feel about…tongues.” She peered back at Boston. “He loves me, so I know he wouldn’t hurt me—he’s gentle. Such a big baby. Isn’t that right, boy?”
“He’s a war dog. Don’t ever forget it. He doesn’t act like a baby. Keep in mind, once he gets back to normal, we don’t know what he’ll do. Be careful.” Dane slowed to drive over a big rock. “He’s trained to kill. So am I, and because we’re gentle now, that doesn’t mean it can’t change.”
“Why don’t you chill a little?” Watching him take his time, she realized why he had to get his truck lifted. One day, she’d take this thing out to play in the desert. Wouldn’t his eyes roll? “I can’t wait to drive out here.”
Dane lifted his sunglasses and narrowed his eyes at her. “The only thing you’ll drive, is me to drink.” With a wink and a little smile, he said, “I’m playing with you again, darlin’. I’ll let you spin some tires out here, but I’d rather see you on a horse.”
“Me too!” Gracelyn knew how to handle him even if he tried to sound intimidating. Now she turned her nose up at him. “You’ll let me, huh? No comment, except...why do you have to be so damn alpha?”
“That’s what you fell in love with.” Dane stopped the truck, hopped out, and rushed around to open her door. He lifted his foot to the step bar and leaned forward. “What do you want me to be?”
“Now, again, no comment,” she said with a huff. “What do you think Boston is thinking about? Your guns, camo—he must know.”
“He knows. Every time we got ready for a mission, he knew, and was raring to get on the job, sniff out some IEDs—whatever it took. He’s great at multi-tasking. Corporal Hanson had noticed it the minute he picked up his rifle when he was given the go to return to work. Coop had grabbed his gear, but that dog wouldn’t budge.”
With the door left open, he headed toward the back of his truck as he talked. “At least that’s what he told me in an email. Well, I read between the lines.” Dane grabbed his rifle from the back seat, then took it to the front of the truck to set on the hood.
Observing his motions caused her to be concerned. Dane’s blood charged through his veins. The pulse in his neck throbbed. Sweat broke out on his face, his arms. He slammed the magazine into his 9mm as if he was mad at the world, and he probably was.
She leaned against the truck to watch him. His mind was somewhere else. In war mode? Is this when the gentle might change? “Dane?” She paused. “What will I shoot?”
He picked up his biggest rifle and loaded it without having any problems with his hand. His eyes scanned the area as he went about his task. Wherever he was, it wasn’t here. For an instant, it startled her. “Dane?” His chest rose and fell when he lifted his gaze to her, and he had a despondent look in his eyes she’d never seen before.
“Huh?” He blinked as he slung the rifle strap over his shoulder. “Something happen? You all right?” As if realizing what he had done, he put the rifle back on the hood. “Need anything?” His gaze ran up her body, and he literally shook his head with a steadfast look on his face. “Everything okay?”
Gracelyn brushed back windblown hair from her face and took a step back. “I don’t know. Is it? You kind of zoned out there. Are you okay? I’m sorry, honey, but you turned into someone I didn’t recognize.” He’d be pissed she said that but maybe he needed to know.
“What’d I do? Load my rifle, my 9mil? What the hell’s wrong with that?” He kicked at brittlebush around him, then he took the rifle to the bed of his truck to unload it. He hooked the leash onto Boston’s harness. “Come on, boy.” The dog jumped down yet stayed at Dane’s side. “Gracelyn, you’ve been raised with military, Army—weaponry. What are you afraid of?” His face wore a grimace. “Me with weapons?”
“No, just that you, you seemed focused on something else—like you were preparing for combat not pleasure shooting in the Sonoran Desert.”
“This is who I am. You can’t change me. I know where the hell I am and who I’m with, what I’m doing. I’m pleasure shooting with my wife.” He walked toward her but stopped after a couple steps. “I’m not a freaking nut case—”
“You mean like you warned me about?” She moved away from the truck, her hands going to her hips. “Because if I have to send you home for being a freaking nut case, it’s also my home now.” She blinked rapidly and took a step forward. “I love you for who you are, but I haven’t seen you like this. Trying to change you is something I’d never do.” She reached out. “Let me hold him while you shoot.”
Dane came to the front of the truck. “I’ll tie him to this winch. He’ll be too strong for you if he tries to get away.”
“Well, then why even shoot?” Her lips curved downward. “I’m sad for Boston.” Gracelyn followed him to the front, Boston already whimpering, pacing, and his tail was between his legs. “What’s wrong with him, Dane?”
“He wants to go but he’s nervous.” He nodded toward her feet. “Don’t stand there or he might wrap the line around your legs. It’ll take you down.” He came over and took her arm to move her back to the side of the truck. “Wait here, okay. I’ll fire off a few rounds to see what he does.” He pivoted to leave but turned back. “I’m all right. Nothing to worry about here.”
Hiking back to the bed of his truck, he picked up his Smith & Wesson semi-automatic then slammed the tailgate closed. Back at her side, he called Boston out from under the truck. “I’ve been practicing without it being loaded to see if I can hold it steady, while pulling the trigger with my middle finger. I have to steady it with two hands, but that interferes with the sights. Not doing too badly with my left hand now though.” He nodded as if he agreed with himself. “No doubt it’ll be easier with the prosthesis. The new ambidextrous is okay but I need more practice.”
“Good luck.”
Dane chuckled. “Thanks.” Moving to the front of the truck he observed Boston lying on the ground, panting profusely. “Did you notice how Boston reacted when I closed the tailgate? He’s upset.”
“Nervous. He crawled under the truck.”
“Come on, boy.” Dane patted his thigh and walked out a ways, told the dog to stay at a certain point, and continued out farther than the leash would go. “Go slam the truck door closed, please.”
She did. Boston yelped and whined. He pulled the line out as far as it’d go, his front paws up as if he were standing. The long line jerked as he fought to get free. Gracelyn almost cried to see him react that way. He was petrified. “Come on, boy.”
Of The Cowboy's Own Accord (Double Dutch Ranch; Love At First Sight #3) Page 25