A Randall Hero

by Judy Christenberry

  “Good to hear.”

  He put his phone away and went back to herding cows. But his mind was on Lucy and Emma. And he was wishing he was at home to wait for them.

  Hoping to get in earlier than he’d planned, John pushed the herd a little harder. He could help Lucy with Emma if she needed it. And she would if she didn’t get enough sleep.

  At best, she’d only get a couple of hours to nap before it was time to get up for supper. She’d have trouble getting up with Emma later in the night. Maybe he’d stay up a little later to feed Emma her first bottle around midnight.

  He could manage staying up that late. He could even set his alarm. Get a couple of hours of sleep and then get up with Emma.

  An unruly cow grabbed his attention and he decided he’d better concentrate on the job at hand. He wouldn’t be able to help anyone if he fell out of the saddle.

  “OH, THERE YOU ARE, JOHN,” Camille said as she heard her son come in. “We thought we’d have to eat dinner without you.”

  “Sorry.” So much for his plan to come in early. Now he was even later than usual. “One of the boys got thrown from his horse because of a snake,” he explained.

  “Was he hurt?” Griff asked. “And who was it?”

  “Jerry. He’s got a new girl and wasn’t concentrating on his job.” John hoped his cheeks weren’t as red as he feared they were. He knew exactly how Jerry felt. It could easily have been him thrown from his horse for all the focus he had today.

  “Was he hurt badly?” Camille asked.

  “No, he just sprained an ankle when he landed on it. He’ll stay in tomorrow and probably be all right after that.” He turned to see Lucy sitting at the table.

  “Hey, Lucy, how are you doing?”

  “Feeling lazy. Your mom insisted I take a nap and she didn’t wake me up until a few minutes ago. She even fed Emma her bottle and put her back to bed. I never heard her cry.”

  “Good for Mom. I was afraid you would be exhausted by your outing.”

  “No, Camille made sure I wasn’t. And we had such a good time. I got to know all of them, especially Patience. They were so nice to me.”

  “Good. They’re all great ladies.”

  Lucy nodded. “Patience told me how her husband, Jim, saved her from her son’s father. What a story!”

  “And you think your story is dull?” John asked.

  Lucy blushed. The color looked good on her, he thought. “Well, the man sounded crazy…and mean.”

  “He was both of those things,” Griff agreed. “And if the sheriff hadn’t shot him, he might’ve caused Jim and Patience a lot of trouble.”

  “Mike seems so nice, though,” Lucy said.

  “It wasn’t Mike. It was his uncle. He’s retired now. Mike became sheriff when his uncle retired the first time. Then he came back and Mike was going to go back to Chicago, and Caroline talked her father into finding a way for Mike to stay.” Camille smiled at Lucy. “She already knew she was in love with him.”

  “Jake also thought Mike was the better lawman,” Griff added. “It wasn’t just Caro’s feelings that had Jake looking for a way to keep Mike here.”

  “Of course, dear, you’re right,” Camille agreed. “But it worked out well for Caro, also.”

  “True,” Griff agreed.

  “All the stories they told at lunch were so wonderful!” Lucy exclaimed. “Even Jake and B.J.’s story was interesting.”

  “I don’t think I’ve heard that one,” John said. “As a matter of fact, I only know the stories of this generation.”

  “Oh, you should hear your parents’ story. It was very good, too. Especially when they included your grandfather.”

  John sat up straighter. “Granddad? What about him?”

  Griff and Camille suddenly seemed engrossed in their dinner. Looking at them, Lucy tried to cover. “I—I’m not sure. I may have the story wrong.”

  John stared at her for several seconds before he turned to his parents. “Why is she backing up? What’s going on here?”

  Griff looked at his wife. “Camille, I can’t believe you told Lucy that story.”

  “I didn’t! Some of the girls got carried away and told it before I could remember to stop them.”

  John glared at his parents. “I don’t think it’s fair for Lucy to know the story when I don’t.”

  “I think it’s time for dessert,” Camille announced.

  “I’ll help you clean up before you serve,” Lucy said, getting up, grateful for the interruption.

  “No, Lucy, you need to rest. I’ll help her serve.” Without pausing, John got up and began clearing the table.

  “Does that mean he’s forgotten?” Lucy whispered to Griff when the others had left the table.

  “I don’t think so,” Griff replied.

  “What can we do?”

  “You could stop whispering behind my back,” John pointed out from behind them.

  Lucy flushed bright red.

  “And, no, I haven’t forgotten. We’ll continue the discussion during dessert.” John cleared a platter, not saying anything else.

  Lucy stared at Griff. “What do I do?” she mouthed.

  “Nothing. It will be all right,” Griff mouthed back.

  Camille carried a chocolate cake to the table. “I made Red’s chocolate cake for dessert.”

  “Why is this Red’s chocolate cake?” Lucy asked.

  “Oh, it’s a special recipe that Red kept to himself for many years. He only decided to give it out last year.” Lucy had met Red earlier that day at the ranch. The older cowboy had made such an impression on her that she wasn’t surprised how much he meant to all the Randalls.

  “Nice try, girls,” John said as he sat down. “But I’m not distracted. Okay, Dad. Tell the story of how you and Mom met and what Granddad had to do with it.”

  Griff took a bite of chocolate cake and chewed it. Then he looked at John. “I thought we’d told you about me finding my family. Camille was staying with Megan for a few days and that’s how we met.”

  “Yeah, and what did Granddad have to do with it?”

  “Not much.”

  John looked at Lucy, who was keeping her gaze on her cake.

  “I don’t think that’s really fair, Griff,” Camille said. She looked at her son. “Your father didn’t know who his father was because his mother had never told him. She had lied to him about…things.”

  “What things? I don’t remember you mentioning my grandmother,” John said, turning to stare at his father.

  “My mother had an affair and ran away pregnant at seventeen,” Griff said. He squared his jaw. “She told me a lot of lies and taught me to hate the man who fathered me. I came here to bury her, as she requested. That’s how I found my family. And they wouldn’t let me go. You know how Jake is. Well, I look a lot like them. He kept insisting I stay. And then there was Camille.”

  “But how does Granddad figure in?”

  “He’d tried to get in touch with Griff’s mother, but she refused to let him see his son. When he heard that Griff was here, he came to Jake and asked him if he could tell Griff. Jake said he would when the time was right. But Granddad couldn’t wait. He showed up at an…inconvenient time and insisted on being introduced.”

  John turned to his father. “That must’ve been awkward.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s all you’ve got to say?” John asked.

  “We worked things out. By the time you came along, Granddad was part of the family.”

  “And he left you his ranch.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

  “I didn’t want to embarrass your grandfather. He was ashamed of having had an affair with a seventeen-year-old. Why should I make him feel ashamed all over again?”

  “I suppose you’re right,” John said, slowly eating his cake.

  Lucy sent a hesitant smile to him. “It’s a wonderful family, John.”

  “Yeah.”

&nbs
p; “You’re lucky to be a part of it.”

  “Now you’re part of it, too, Lucy.”

  “Not really. But thank you for the thought.”

  Chapter Six

  That night, Lucy heard her baby cry and she struggled out of bed. She couldn’t let Emma cry—and she might wake up the rest of the family.

  No! Lucy admonished herself. They weren’t part of the family. She and Emma were on their own. Or at least they would be on their own. She hurried on to get her child, even though she’d stopped her wailing. When she reached Emma’s little room, she came to an abrupt stop at the sight before her.

  There stood John with Emma in his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  “I’m going to get Emma’s bottle. Go back to bed.”

  “But, John, you have to get up early in the morning. Here, give me Emma. I’ll go fix her bottle.”

  “Nope. I’m feeding Emma right now. You can get up at four when she’ll be up again.”

  “No! I’m not supposed to make your life harder by coming here. I’ll take Emma and go away if it’s going to make things more difficult.”

  John bent down and kissed Lucy’s cheek. “Go to bed now, Lucy, or I’ll wake up Mom and she can tell you.”

  “No, you can’t do that!”

  “Then go to bed and get up at four. Emma will wake you up.”

  She stifled a yawn. “Okay, but just this once.”

  “Sure.”

  JOHN CUDDLED EMMA against his chest as he fixed her bottle. “You know, sweetheart, feeding you during the night isn’t so bad a job, even if I do miss some sleep.”

  He screwed the nipple on her bottle and moved into the den to settle in the rocking chair. “Okay, little girl, here you go.”

  He watched her suck down her milk as he slowly rocked back and forth. She was so little, though he thought she’d already grown since her birth. It didn’t take her long to finish. John eased her up on his shoulder and rubbed her back until she burped.

  Then he gently patted her back until he could hear her breathing deepening and he knew she was asleep. He got up from the rocker and carried her back to her crib, where he covered her with her blanket.

  As tired as he was, he stood there, smiling down at the baby, thinking how beautiful she was. A true miracle.

  He’d always thought he’d have kids of his own by now. He’d figured he’d have married young. Why not? He had a good job, he could take care of a wife and family, even build a new house for a future wife. He’d dated more than his share of local girls, even considered asking one of them to marry him. But in the end, he couldn’t quite bring himself to commit, not when he’d yet to find the kind of love his parents shared.

  Strange that he was struck by love on a dark night more than an hour out of town by a pregnant married woman.

  It wasn’t a good situation. But somehow it didn’t matter. Lucy had needed him then. He still remembered those hours in the truck holding her in his arms. Arms that ached to hold her again…and again.

  But he couldn’t. Not yet.

  Instead he held Emma, so her mommy could sleep. He hoped Lucy knew he did that for her, because as much as he loved Emma, he loved her mother more.

  THE NEXT MORNING, after Lucy had fed her baby and played with her, Lucy put her in her crib and went to the kitchen.

  “May I have a cup of coffee?” Lucy asked.

  “Of course, dear. The pot’s always on.”

  “I wanted to apologize for bringing up the story about how you and Griff met. I didn’t realize John wouldn’t know.”

  “I had forgotten he and Melissa didn’t know. We didn’t think we should tell them because of their grandfather. He was greatly embarrassed by his past.”

  “I can imagine. I’m glad John took it as well as he did.”

  “Yes. He’s a good boy. I shouldn’t say that. He’s a man now, not a boy.”

  “Yes, he is. He got up with Emma at midnight. I tried to get him to go back to bed, but he threatened to wake you up.”

  Camille laughed. “He’s a little hardheaded.”

  “I realized that. I finally went to sleep, but I felt badly, knowing he’d be up at six.”

  “He was worried about you getting too tired from our luncheon yesterday. He’s such a worrywart.”

  “That was thoughtful of him.” More than thoughtful. It was so caring of John. He was willing to suffer himself if it would help her.

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Well, I’d better go put some clothes into the wash. I’m afraid I’m going to wear out your washer and dryer with all the washing for Emma.”

  “Babies are like that. And it will be that way for at least two years.”

  “I’ll have to find a place to lease with a good washer and dryer.”

  Camille stared at Lucy. Then she picked up Lucy’s coffee cup and moved into the kitchen. “Yes, of course.”

  Camille warned herself she couldn’t hold Lucy against her will. She could leave if that was her choice. But Camille realized how much she wanted Lucy and Emma to stay. She’d just have to work on Harry and Melissa when they came back.

  WHEN JOHN CAME IN just before dark, Lucy was in the kitchen, helping his mother get dinner ready.

  “Did you take a nap today?” he asked without saying hello.

  Camille looked at her son. “Why no, dear, I didn’t. But then, I wasn’t tired.”

  “Mom, you know I’m talking to Lucy.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that. Did you, Lucy?”

  “No, I didn’t.” Lucy kept her head down, filling a bowl with black-eyed peas.

  “Excuse me. Lucy, did you take a nap today?”

  She set the pan in the sink and filled it with water before she looked at him. “No, I didn’t. I wasn’t tired.”

  “You can’t expect to get up all night with Emma if you don’t get enough sleep.”

  “I don’t think I did get up with Emma every time last night…did I?” Lucy arched an eyebrow.

  “What do you mean?” Griff eyed the two of them.

  John turned bright red and looked at his parents. “I—I got up with Emma at midnight.”

  “But, dear, if you’re getting up at six in the morning, how can you possibly get up at midnight with Emma?” Camille asked.

  “One time didn’t hurt, Mom. After you went to that luncheon, you knew Lucy would be tired. She needed more rest than she was going to get from a nap.”

  Griff put a hand on both Camille’s and John’s shoulders. “We can discuss this later. Right now I think dinner is ready.”

  “Oh, yes, of course,” Camille said.

  John turned to stare at his father. “I don’t think this is something we need to discuss. I was just trying to help Lucy.”

  “I know, son. But your mother has a point. You need sleep. Accidents have happened before, you know.”

  His father pulled him to his place. “Sit down, son. You don’t want to have this argument now.”

  “What argument? I’m just trying to—”

  “We’re ready to eat now.” Camille sat down at the table and looked at John and her husband. “Aren’t you going to join us, you two?”

  “Yeah,” John growled, shifting to dislodge his father’s hold.

  Lucy stared at first John and then Griff. Quietly, she said, “If I’m causing problems in your family, I can leave.”

  Griff grinned at her. “No, you’re not causing problems. Besides, we always have problems. You should’ve lived here with my daughter before she went to France.”

  Lucy looked at Griff, a question in her eyes. “She went to France? For a trip, you mean?”

  “Oh, no. Her mother insisted I let her go to France for a semester. And it took her six years to come home.”

  “My, that’s a long trip.”

  “Melissa designs jewelry and she started working for a well-known designer in France,” Camille explained. “She didn’t come back until I needed surgery.”
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  “And that’s when Harry met her?”

  “Yeah,” John said. “And he never had a chance. One look at her and it was all over.” Just as it was with him, he thought, after one look at Lucy. Strange that both he and Harry fell for the other’s sister.

  “She must be really beautiful.”

  “Yes, she is,” Camille said with a big smile. “She looks like her father.”

  “No, sweetheart, she takes after you,” Griff said with a smile. “The only difference is that her hair is dark, like mine.”

  “That’s nice, but can someone pass the meat, please,” John said, interrupting.

  Lucy picked up the platter of chicken-fried steak and passed it across the table to John. “Are you hungry, John?”

  “I’m starved.”

  “He’s always hungry when he gets in in the evening,” Camille told her.

  “Does he get grumpy if he doesn’t get food right away, like Emma?” Lucy asked with a smile.

  “Exactly,” Camille agreed.

  “So have some peas, John,” Lucy said, passing the bowl. “And mashed potatoes.”

  John filled his plate high, then grunted as he shoveled in food.

  Several minutes later, John realized Lucy was staring at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Where do you put all of that?”

  “All of what?”

  “The food.”

  John shrugged. “I get hungry when I ride all day. A cowboy has a voracious appetite.”

  He had a voracious appetite, all right. For her.

  Swallowing the thought, he averted his eyes from her beautiful face. Just before Lucy got up and ran from the room.

  LUCY BURIED HER FACE in her arms and let the tears escape.

  She knew she was hormonal after just having had her baby, but even she was surprised by how many tears she shed. And all because she was in lo—No, she refused to say the word. She tried again. All because she had feelings for John. Feelings she had no right to at this point in her life.

  “Lucy?”

  Hearing his voice at her closed door, she covered her head even more. “Go away!” she choked out.

  “I can’t do that. I want to know why you’re crying.”