by Heidi Hormel
“It’s okay, buddy,” he said, patting his son’s narrow back. “Rickie, she’s going to be fine.”
“Limpy and the baby—” Calvin started.
“They’re getting medicine right now. The doctors are going to make them better.” God, he hoped so.
“Are you sure, Daddy?”
“How the hell can you be sure?” Rickie barked.
“No swearing.” He steadied himself. “Olympia is napping right now. We’ll see her in just a little bit.” Calvin snuggled into Spence, grasping him tighter, but the sobs had stopped. Spence maneuvered them out of the room, and Rickie stepped away, wiping at her face. He crouched down and rocked Calvin as he’d done when he was a baby, when his breathing had sometimes gotten stuck because of his heart. When he heard the little boy squeak, Spence loosened his tight hold.
“Mr. MacCormack,” a female voice said from his right. “We need to get the insurance information now that your wife is settled.”
Spence stood slowly and picked Calvin up, the little boy’s legs and arms wrapping around him. Calvin hadn’t let him hold him like this since he’d had his surgery. Once again, they both needed that comfort. He wanted to do the same for Rickie, but she stood stiffly beside him. He’d get the paperwork done, then he’d call Lavonda to come get the kids. He’d beg Jessie’s sister to stay at the ranch to keep Rickie in line, look after Calvin and take care of the stock while he and Olympia were at the hospital.
* * *
AFTER GETTING ONLY snatches of sleep on the foldout torture chair beside Olympia’s bed, Spence’s eyelids rasped like sandpaper. His stand-up-to-anything cowgirl looked small in the bed, a doctor staring sternly down at her. Color had made its way back into her face, but she lay too quietly. Her meek compliance worried Spence. He didn’t totally believe she’d be fine.
“We’re out of the woods for right now. The baby is safe,” the doctor said.
Olympia clutched at Spence’s hand.
“But,” Dr. Neiman said, her small dark eyes narrowed, “you were lucky. I’m putting you on complete bed rest. We’ll keep you in the hospital another day to make sure the contractions have stopped and your cervix hasn’t opened, then you can go home.”
“Bed rest,” Olympia said.
“Yes. That means the only time your feet are on the floor is when you have to use the bathroom. Not to check on your horses, not to make a meal, nothing else. You need to keep the baby in there.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Spence said. Why was she arguing? “You’ll do what she says. I know that you didn’t want this baby—”
“I would never do anything to hurt the baby.” Her hand stroked her belly. “It’s just that I know I’m not mom material. Peanut would be better off without me.”
Dr. Neiman cut in. “No arguing. This is a very serious situation, Olympia. You,” the doctor said pointing at Spence, “need to get home and get some sleep. You’re exhausted. You need to see your son, calm down her sister, who’s called here no less than twenty times, and get the house ready for Olympia to come home. Can her sister help with your son and the horses?”
“A friend is coming in.” He closed his eyes for a moment and swayed, catching himself on the bed.
The doctor laid a long cool hand on his forearm and said softly, “She’s fine. The baby’s fine. Remember that when she goes a little crazy cooped up in the bed.”
“Okay.” He didn’t know what else to say and feared that if he said much more he’d start crying—not the best way to convince the doctor or Olympia that he was a competent male head of household.
“You can go. Rickie can come and get me. I know you can’t afford to miss any work,” Olympia said as soon as the doctor walked out.
“I’ve got time.” Bald-faced lie, but she didn’t need to know that. This was important. This was his baby...their baby. “I need to check on Calvin and Rickie and make sure that Lavonda is okay or if I need to call in reinforcements. It’s all temporary. I can’t expect Lavonda to watch Calvin and take care of the ranch. I know I wanted him full-time, but this isn’t exactly how I pictured it.”
“This is definitely not what I signed up for, either. I can’t look for a barrel racer and start training.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “And I’m going to look like the Pillsbury Doughboy if I’m stuck in bed.”
He stared at her, seeing the real distress on her face. How could she think of any of that when their child was at risk? “It’ll be worth it when we have the baby.”
“Hah.” She barked out a short laugh.
“You won’t be pregnant forever,” he tried.
“It feels that way.”
A laugh escaped him, because for a few seconds, she’d sounded just like Calvin when he was frustrated by a LEGO design that didn’t turn out the way he’d planned.
“Don’t laugh,” she snapped.
“I’m sorry, and I’m sorry you’ll be stuck in bed. It won’t be for that long.”
“Long enough.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Turn back the clock and find a condom that doesn’t break.”
“Can’t do that, because then I wouldn’t have my new son or daughter.”
“Daughter,” she said quietly.
“Excuse me?”
“They told me that the baby is a little girl.”
A girl. His chest tightened as he thought about a little girl with solemn dark eyes and her mother’s quick smile. A little girl fearlessly riding a pony and punching her brother in the arm. “I think Calvin would like a little sister.”
He sat down in the torture chair and took Olympia’s hand. “I know this isn’t how we mapped out our time together, but we’ll make it through. Both you and the baby are safe, and that’s all that matters to me.” He squeezed her hand to reassure himself as much as her.
“I know I sound selfish and mean and petty...but... I’ve waited years and years to do...well, to run away to the rodeo. Every time I had to pay for my sisters’ clothes or doctor visits, I’d remind myself that one day they’d be grown and then I could do what I wanted, and all I ever wanted was to go on the road as a barrel racer. I traded cleaning stables for riding lessons. I competed a little bit when my sisters didn’t need the money. I wouldn’t be so close now if I hadn’t gotten the money for Rickie from you. But the baby... A baby was never in my plans. After competing, winning a couple of championships, I was going to open my own riding and training school at the ranch, then ride the senior circuit. I had it all figured out.”
He heard the tears in her voice, the sadness and the desperation. “Once you have the baby and recover, you can do all that. I told you I’ll take care of our...daughter, and she won’t know who her mother is. Are you still sure about that?” His lawyer brain kicked his other brain because he had the paperwork that made the new baby his, no matter what. Why was he trying to change her mind?
She remained silent, shaking her head. “I can’t. It’s not that I hate either you or Cal. It’s just—”
“I know. The rodeo. Jessie was planning on doing rodeo and having kids.”
“Maybe. And I know there are other women who do it, but not when they were starting out.”
He stayed quiet, letting his mind settle as he tried to figure out what to say. “I know we have the contract, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be happy.”
“You think being a mom will make me happy?”
He shrugged. “I don’t want you to regret any of this down the road.”
“How could I regret it when it’s what I’ve always wanted?”
“I always wanted to be a district attorney, until we had Calvin. Then I realized how many hours out of the day I’d be away, and I changed my mind.” He stared at her face, taking in the paleness and tightness around her
beautiful tabby-cat eyes. “I’m still a lawyer, and I love what I do, and the hours are more reasonable.” She gave him a look. “Usually.”
“But if I’m not a barrel racer...a cowgirl...then what am I? Just some woman with kids, married to a successful lawyer.”
“You’re Olympia James MacCormack.”
“That’s just a name. Not who I am. What I am.” Tears shone in her eyes, then spilled down her cheeks. He sat on the bed and pulled her to him, ignoring the tubes and her little squeak of protest. He stroked her hair until he felt her relax against him. He didn’t know what to say. The silver-tongued lawyer had absolutely zero words. He patted her shoulder one last time and sat back enough to see that the tears had dried. “I’ll be back later, and we’ll talk more.”
Coward, his little voice mocked him. Heck, yes, he told that darned voice. He needed a nap, and more than that he had to hug Calvin to remind himself what he was fighting for. But was that all he was fighting for now?
Chapter Eleven
Olympia opened the cabinet looking for vanilla pudding to dip the spicy tortilla chips in. Yum. Since getting off bed rest and feeling better than she had in months, she’d not been able to stop eating this pregnancy-induced combo. That wouldn’t have been so bad, except Spence just had to point that the chips had three times the daily recommended amount of sodium whenever she complained that her shoes were tight. He just had to be right and couldn’t keep it to himself.
The slider squealed open. She started guiltily. Thank goodness it was Lavonda, who wouldn’t say a word or even give her the “look.” The other woman had become a good friend during Olympia’s bed rest. “I’m glad it’s you.”
“Why’s that? Besides the fact that you’re eating all Cal’s pudding.”
“I’m going stir crazy. I know Spence told you that I’m confined to quarters because I was a little dizzy last night. I did the weeks of bed rest like the doctor ordered. I’m fine. I don’t know why he gets so unreasonable.”
“Really, you’re complaining because someone is waiting on you hand and foot?” said the petite dark-haired woman, who looked like the corporate powerhouse she used to be, even in boots and jeans.
“Waiting on me hand and foot includes making me eat kale and sardines. Yuck.”
“Spence has been looking things up online again.”
“He says they’re good for the baby.” Olympia looked down. Six weeks after the scare, and her belly had gone from respectable bump to basketball status. Within forty-eight hours of getting home, Spence had gone out and bought her maternity clothing. Lucky for her he’d taken Rickie and Lavonda.
Her friend pulled the plastic cup from Olympia’s hand and pushed her toward the living room. “Go sit down. I’m getting myself a soda and you water. Rickie and Cal are pulling weeds and rearranging the tack room. I have my orders from the boss man, and it’s to make sure you sit around with your feet up—and they must be sore if you’re wearing Rickie’s awful almost Uggs.”
Olympia refused to look down.
“Jeez,” Lavonda said, “don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Olympia waved her hand. Today was a bad weepy day. She’d had to turn off the TV when the animal-rescue ads had come on. “Other than my sister and Cal, how is everything? Muffin sorted out? We need to get that horse adopted.”
“I don’t know,” Lavonda said. “He’s messed up. It’s not as if I’ve never been around a horse that bites first and asks questions later, but...”
“A little more time. He’s just so sure that we’re going to treat him badly.” Olympia landed on the couch and put her feet up on the ottoman. Lavonda handed her water and plopped down in the recliner with an iced tea.
“Jessie and I’ve been talking,” Lavonda continued. “We’ve decided that it’s time for an intervention.”
“Intervention? Is this about the pudding?”
“Not this time, but I think Cal will ask me to do that one before long. He’s tired of being out of pudding.” Lavonda took a long sip of tea. Olympia’s worry moved up two notches, and Peanut did a double roll and poke. “Why are you and Spence still pretending that this is a fake marriage?”
“Not fake. Elvis married us for real. It’s just that we have the prenup and addendum for getting out of the marriage gracefully.” She wanted to pat herself on the back for how steadily she’d said that. She’d nearly told Spence to tear up the darned agreement when she’d been in the hospital, which would have been stupid, stupid, stupid, especially since they’d never talked later as he’d promised they would.
Lavonda sat up straight and set down her glass. “You’re sharing a bedroom.”
“But not like that.” Not because she said no. He didn’t offer.
“You’ve obviously done that at some point.”
“Obviously, but that one night does not mean we’re a couple or anything.”
“Possibly. But you’re also raising two kids and have another on the way.”
“Rickie is my sister, and she’s leaving in a few weeks.” That choked Olympia up, and she almost didn’t hear what Lavonda said next.
“If you two don’t figure out your relationship soon, we’re going to lock you in a secluded cabin and not let you out until you go into labor.”
“Excuse me. Are you trying a Parent Trap?”
“We’re desperate.”
“Spence and I are okay with the way we’ve set things up. We’ll explain everything to Cal and Rickie. Soon.”
“I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. It was there before you ended up in the hospital, but after that, it’s gotten stronger. You two have changed.”
“By changed, you mean that Spence now feels he has the right to be a dictator?”
“We’re friends, so I’m just going to say this. Apparently, lack of sex makes you mean and nasty and a pudding-eating machine.” Olympia felt a flush of embarrassment race up her face. Her danged body had always acted out of her control around him. After breaking down in the hospital, she’d thought they would finally talk out whatever had been happening between them. Instead, Spence worked longer hours, made more rules about what she could do, slept on the floor and left the house most days before any of them were awake.
Lavonda stared hard at Olympia, her dark eyes intense. “I watched the same thing with Payson and Jessie. I know what lack of bedroom gymnastics does, what denying love—”
“Love?”
“Yes. My God, you two are so obvious. There’s a whole lot more between you than a baby, a little boy, a sister and a ranch.”
“Yeah. A hundred-page agreement.”
“That was then. This is now...and to be honest, you two would never have signed that if you hadn’t felt something for each other. Neither of you are the kind of people who do one-night stands.”
“Are you trying to make me feel worse?”
“I’m trying to help you see what all of us see, which has nothing to do with that agreement. What about Cal and your sister and especially the new baby?”
“Cal wasn’t supposed to be here, and neither was Rickie.”
“Life’s like that, isn’t it? It happens when you have other plans. Are those other plans really working for you now? I know you haven’t talked to that cowgirl up in Flagstaff who’s got a string of barrel racers she’s looking to unload. What have you got? A little more than three months until you have the baby?”
“A lot has been going on.”
Lavonda’s snort sounded a lot like Muffin’s. “I know that you’re not the kind of woman to say one thing and do another...generally. I’m just reminding you of that now. Maybe you and Spence need to throw away those hundred pages of nonsense.”
“That’s the only reason we’ve stayed together.”
“Really? Why do you think he married you?�
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“Because he knew me and I was single.”
“He knows a lot of women, including single ones.”
“He knew I was desperate for money. He—”
“The two of you had unfinished business and you know it. You still do. You’re both so worried about what you think you should do that you’re missing out on what you have to do to be happy. And not just you, everyone else’s happiness is tied up in this, too.”
“This is just what I was trying to avoid. I’ve put off everything that I’ve wanted to do for other people.”
“You’ve sacrificed for your sisters. No doubt about it. But why? You could have left. You could’ve moved on.”
“Who would have taken care of them?”
“Your mom, foster parents, one of your other sisters.” Lavonda stood and finished her iced tea. “You know all this. You’re a cowgirl who does the tough stuff, and none of this is tough stuff. This is what you want.”
“No. It’s not.”
“Really? You can look at Spence and not think about what you two did at the wedding? You can look at Cal and not think about being there when he gets his first girlfriend, starts to drive—”
“But I’ve waited... I’ve promised—”
“You were promising yourself to be happy and to have what you wanted. Now, what do you really want? To live on the road and race? I’ve done it. It’s not as glamorous as you’d think. Or do you want to sleep every night with Spence and work with him to raise your children on this ranch?”
Olympia hauled herself off the couch. While her discussion with Spence at the hospital had made her think about staying with him and the kids, she couldn’t give up on the dream that had gotten her through those cold dark nights in the trailer. Could she still rodeo with the kids? She wasn’t convinced.
“I’ve got to go. Big doings at Hope’s Ride that only a PR guru like myself can take care of.”
Olympia watched her friend leave. What did any of this mean? That Lavonda and Jessie were nosy. That the two of them thought they knew best but didn’t.