Black Hills Forever

by A. C. Wilson

  “Who was on the phone?” Rayne asked from the living room, her voice lacking its normally optimistic ring. Garrett felt it, wanted to mention it, but decided it wasn’t worth the reminder. He turned as he closed the kitchen door and returned to the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

  “I talked to Matt. He wants me to come over and look at the books at the ranch. Something about Mom wanting us to run things while Dad is in the hospital.”

  Garrett felt like fidgeting so he stuck his hands into his front pockets on his jacket. He hated lying even for a good cause. Rayne slid her fingers along her scalp to pull her long hair up into ponytail. She had been avoiding him and her face said so now. Those beautiful golden eyes wouldn’t even meet his.

  “Did he say if your dad is doing any better?”

  Garrett lifted his shoulders high and then shook his head sadly. He couldn’t bring himself to say more on that front. He hadn’t heard anything new about his dad since yesterday. If something had changed then someone would have notified him.

  “I should go see him. See if your mom wants a break.” Rayne pulled her sweatshirt over her head and then retrieved her down vest from the pegs on the wall by the fireplace. Garrett watched her move. He couldn’t forget his first introduction into the Randall’s living room and how they had first made love by the light of the fire. He watched how the worn denim of her jeans clung lovingly to her legs. He watched how they gently caressed her backside. Already he could feel his desire for her surge and he smiled slowly. Their problem had never been that they didn’t indulge the animalistic need to have sex anywhere and everywhere. Their problem had been making time for anything else required of a permanent relationship.

  “I bet she would like that.” Garrett couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  Lacey would love to see Rayne, especially if it meant talking about the wedding. A couple of months away and all they had discussed was marrying in December before Christmas. Everyone would be home by then, or so they thought. Blake was supposed to be home by Thanksgiving and now he was here weeks in advance to that date. Now their father was in the hospital literally fighting for his life and there was no guarantee that he would be out by then. It made his head spin and it started to count down the limited amount of time he had to show Rayne that there was more to life than the crisis they were currently facing. He had to show her that he wanted her no matter if they could have their own children or not. He hoped they weren’t together for that sole reason.

  “Good. I’ll go this morning.” Rayne adjusted her ponytail and zipped up her vest. She still hadn’t given him much of a look over. Garrett nodded his head as she passed him. He wanted to reach out and pull her back for a kiss. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. The chasm was growing between them and it was going to take a mad leap of faith to bring them back together.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Rayne Randall knew she was a messy, messed up stubborn woman, but in her own defense, she didn’t think she had a chance to be different. Losing her mother at such a young age had shattered the lovely fairy tales that a girl hopes for in her own life. Hating a father for just about as many years after caused a rift that hadn’t properly healed and men tended to care more for themselves than for their women. In her limited interaction, this was true of all save the Johnson men. Their small circle of Travis, Garrett, Matt, Randy, and now Blake made up the sole existence of loving, faithful men. In company they had also found fantastic, strong and proud women to attach themselves. This didn’t include herself obviously. She felt neither fantastic nor strong. Her pride was slipping in the worst way and the harder she tried to hold onto it, the quicker it vanished.

  Driving to the hospital this morning had been the easy task. It had been getting out of the house without Garrett prying behind her locked doors. Barricaded at the very least anyway. She had stayed upstairs listening to him talk on the phone. The kitchen muffled the conversation, but she could tell by Garrett’s tone that he was both angry and frustrated. Almost an exact mirror of her own emotions. Rayne wasn’t sure what she expected him to do. He had proposed to her in giddy delight she had answered him and now they were supposed to get married in December. Two months from now she was supposed to walk down the aisle, pledge her eternal love and fidelity, and become Mrs. Garrett Johnson.

  At least that was before they were told by numerous doctors that a baby of their own carried by her was not an option. They didn’t even want to revisit it. Silly, stupid woman that she is Rayne hoped every month that her monthly visitor would not come. Each month she was horribly disappointed. Just like this morning. This morning another piece of her heart broke even after seeing the negative pregnancy test yesterday.

  Technology could be wrong, couldn’t it?

  Rayne reached over to her stereo and clicked the compact disc button. Friends in Low Places poured through her speakers of her Ford F-150 truck. It was one of her favorite songs and the next three cds were by Garth Brooks. She needed the sweet guttural tones and lilting lyrics to sooth her soul. Rayne tightened her hands on the steering wheel and let the road take her. It might sound strange to have no particular destination in mind. She knew she should go to the hospital as she had told Garrett she would.

  In a little bit.

  Two hours later, Rayne arrived at the hospital wondering how so much time could escape her notice. The late morning was still cloudy with a haze developing into a freezing fog. She parked the Ford the closest that she could to the entrance doors and stepped down. Giving the door a shove, Rayne tugged her vest closer to her neck. It was definitely getting colder. Winter was nearly upon them and there was no doubt in her mind that it would be a bitterly harsh one.

  Travis was still in the intensive care unit and he was in a coma. It had been nearly a week since he had been struck by the bull. Rayne wanted to side with Garrett in putting the animal down. Bubba was a threat to anyone on foot now and even with his grand genetics, his attitude just might leak into his line of offspring. It was a risk to any small rancher.

  Locating his room, Rayne tentatively stuck her head around the door and saw Lacey sitting in the chair next to his bed. She had her e-reader on and she looked exhausted. The dark circles under her blue eyes were only more prominent against her fair skin. The few wrinkles the woman did have seemed to stand out making her look far older than she really was. Scares like this did tend to make one age more quickly. Stress and lack of sleep could do the same.

  Rayne rapped her knuckles lightly on the door. Lacey lifted her head, her eyes unfocused and then after a moment, she smiled.

  “Come in, Rayne.” She put the e-reader on her lap. “You don’t need to knock, dear.”

  “I didn’t want to intrude.” Rayne walked into the room and stood at the foot of the hospital bed not knowing what to do. Lacey arched her back and then stretched her arms. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. Most yawns trigger other yawns and this was no different. Rayne opened her mouth to yawn and when Lacey looked at her, they both laughed. Rayne yawned again for good measure.

  “I came to see if you’d like me to sit with Travis for a while. That way you can go home and get some rest.” Rayne paused to see indecision warring with exhaustion in her soon-to-be mother-in-law’s eyes. No doubt Rayne would sit beside Garrett without complaint if something were to happen to him.

  “I don’t know.” Lacey’s voice was thin and scratchy. The woman had been trying to be so strong through all of this and the uncertainty was the worst part. Rayne moved closer and set her hand on Lacey’s shoulder. Rayne wanted to alleviate the stress and warring emotions, but she couldn’t. Words didn’t seem to have any effect on her so she wasn’t about to try with Garrett’s mother. All she could do was to prove that she was standing here waiting to ease the burden.

  Rayne watched the digital graphs on the monitors and fell in sync with the relentless beeping. The IV bag was nearly empty and the room looked as if it could be brightened up. There was no color to the white
walls, white floor, and blue hospital blanket with matching pillow cover. No wonder Lacey was so tired and felt helpless. Already Rayne’s brain was hashing out a plan.

  Operation Cheer.

  “I would understand if you have other things to do, Rayne. I know the vet clinic can’t be closed all the time.” Lacey fidgeted in her seat as she twisted her fingers into a knot.

  “I didn’t have any patients scheduled today.” Rayne saw Lacey about to continue her objections. “IF there is an emergency, they know how to get ahold of me.” Rayne looked at Lacey straight on now and tried to wrap them peace. “Everything will be fine.”

  “Thank you.” Lacey drew in a deep breath and then walked into Rayne’s arms. It shocked her for a moment, but not knowing what else to do, Rayne hugged Lacey back. Stepping back from their embrace, Lacey picked up her e-reader and put it into a large canvas bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she moved toward the door and then turned to look at her husband one more time.

  “You’ll be the first phone call I make.” Rayne reassured her. With a slow nod, Lacey left the room and made her way down the hall. So now it was just the two of them and Rayne felt a bit awkward. The beeping was definitely annoying. Pulling up the chair that Lacey had been using, Rayne took out her mobile phone to text Nora and Andy. If they were going to make this room better for everyone, she would need their help.

  @Nora: Give me a couple of hours to get out of the bathroom.

  @Andy: Harper is a mess. Let me call the sitter. I’ll text when I get things figured out.

  So this was going to take all day. Rayne replied to each of their texts with ok. Then as she sat there thinking, she thumbed through her phonebook again.

  Aha! Flowers would be good.

  Finding just who she was looking for Rayne put in a call for a couple of fresh bouquets of flowers. The attendant asked if there was anything in particular that she wanted to be in the bouquets. Rayne only specified that they had to be cheerful and delivered today.

  Flowers. Done.

  She hesitated with balloons. Sometimes they could look tacky or resemble a little kid’s theme park. Neither of those ideas were what she was going for. Leaning back into the chair, Rayne stared at the ceiling. She tried not to think about her own problems. She needed to focus on something else or she was going to completely flip her lid. Wondering exactly what the hospital’s gift shop had on hand, Rayne got up from her seat. The heels of her boots thumped on the floor. She edged toward the hallway, looking out the door carefully and up one direction and down the other. No one was around. All the nurses were at the nurse’s station. It was now or never. Quickly Rayne went down the hall feeling something like a stowaway that couldn’t let the captain know she had boarded. Good thing it was a short ride in the elevator down to the gift shop.

  She walked into the small room with shelves lining each wall to showcase the myriad of things for sale. There were trinkets such as bracelets, tiny stuffed animals, playing cards, and crossword puzzles. On another wall there were cards of every sentiment and some she was surprised to see.

  Congratulations on your New Job!

  That made her chuckle as she stuck it back into its holder. There were even larger stuffed animals, a fridge with small bouquets of flowers and a whole half wall of angels. Angels of every size and color you could possibly imagine. Rayne took everything in as she moved around the shop. Then she saw what she was looking for. The pinnacle of color!

  It took Andy and Nora exactly two hours to get to the hospital. The identical looks of amazement and surprise was worth all the grumbling from the nurses when Rayne got in their way.

  “Oh my word! You weren’t kidding about color.” Nora walked into the room, twisting her neck around to catch it all. Her stomach was rounder and stuck out a bit. Almost halfway through her pregnancy, Nora looked even more radiant than before. Rayne tried to ignore the knife that twisted in her heart as she smiled.

  “I thought you had gone overboard with the flowers you ordered, but I am willing to admit when I’m wrong.” Andy chuckled, wrinkling her nose as she teased Rayne. Andy was like the little sister Rayne had never had. It was nice to have family, even if there were no blood ties between them.

  “Oh it’s not that bad is it? The white walls would have made anyone go crazy!” Rayne gestured to the new ambiance around her. Later she might be able to admit she had taken the idea a bit further than she had intended, but not now.

  “It’s cheerful to be sure.” Nora smiled as she sat down in a vacant chair in the corner. Her blue eyes watched the hospital bed and her father sleeping there. Her smile faded as she sat there watching the monitors.

  “We can’t have him waking up to what looks like a mental hospital equipped with padded walls.” Andy grinned, gesturing to the brightly colored throw blankets tossed over the chairs and one at the foot of Travis’s bed.

  “Do they allow flowers in a mental hospital?” Rayne wondered aloud, looking at the three big bouquets of flowers delivered by the local florist. One vase was green with big yellow sunflowers. Another was in a clear glass vase with red and white roses. The third was a mixture of large chrysanthemums and lilies. They were each very beautiful and their fragrance touched every corner. Rayne had arranged them to sit on the window sill. She had also pulled the vertical blinds to the sides so that the natural light would come in. The sun hadn’t shown its face yet today.

  “I love the throws and they are so soft.” Andy said as she ran her fingers over the wool fibers. The softness of those blankets were another selling point for Rayne. She loved anything that felt like holding a bunny.

  “I might have to take one home.” Nora pulls the one off her chair and into her lap. “After my dad wakes up of course.” She blinks rapidly as sadness washes over her. Pregnancy hormones or not, the fear was very real. It was hard to even tender the idea of Travis Johnson not waking up. Rayne offers her hand to Nora and the women stand together.

  Safety in numbers, right?

  “Oh! I almost forgot!” Andy jumps into action and reaches for the bag she had brought with her.

  “You found them?” Rayne asks, excitement coloring her doom and gloom attitude. Nora shakes her head, but a smile spreads slowly to her lips.

  “I did.” Andy digs into the bag and pulls out a couple of candles. “Do you think that we can have these in here? Should we ask one of the nurses?

  “I already did and she said it was fine.” Rayne reaches for one of the boxes and begins to open it. Just what she was hoping for. Candle warmers are here!

  “Now the trick might be finding plug-ins close enough.”

  So that is what they scoured the room looking for and with a couple of tugs and some rearranging of non-essential furniture, the girls found spots for the candle warmers. Nora had come through with the music. Setting up the docking station, Nora put her iTunes onto soft classical music. They looked at their handiwork and all started giggling.

  “Wow! All we are lacking is the blinking twinkle lights.” Nora covered her mouth as she laughed harder.

  “And those rain forest misters hanging from the ceiling.” Andy shook her head with the biggest grin Rayne could remember.

  “Too bad they don’t have those scenic, time elapse channels where you could see the ocean move in and out.” Rayne couldn’t resist adding as she smiled at the room’s glow. No more plain, bleach-white walls!

  “Well isn’t that something!” The male voice behind her made Rayne slowly turn around even though she already knew who it was. Andy and Nora squealed and took turns hugging Blake. Rayne leaned in when he stepped beside her and Blake kissed her cheek. She was afraid to meet those blue eyes. He knew more than most of Garrett’s family at this point.

  “Matt didn’t say you were back!” Andy hugged Blake again. “When did you come in?”

  “Early yesterday morning and Matt didn’t tell you because he didn’t know.” Blake chuckled and acknowledged Andy’s pout.

  “So you’ve been here a full day w
ithout anyone knowing? You can’t be that sneaky.” Nora’s awe was written all over her face. It was true though. In a small town like Hot Springs, no one kept secrets well and especially one of a heroic soldier coming home. It only added to the urgency that his newly found father is also in the ICU.

  “You forget that I am pretty good at sneaky. Besides I wasn’t the only one who knew I was home.” Blake paused and Rayne thought she would quit breathing. If Andy and Nora knew that she had seen Blake yesterday, they would ask why and it was harder than hell to lie to them.

  “Who else knew?” Andy asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs. Her green eyes lifted expectantly to Blake’s face.

  “Bailey knew.” Blake’s response was classic and his humor glittered in his eyes before he started laughing. Nora fake punched him on the shoulder.

  “Smarty.” Nora pouted, moving to the other chair.

  “And before you ask me why I didn’t come to visit Travis, it is because I was exhausted. I hadn’t slept in twenty four hours by the time I got off the flight.” Blake eased his way to Travis’s side and stood there taking it all in. Rayne watched him as did Andy and Nora. It was a great deal to take into yourself when a loved one is damaged. Insecurity and uncertainty made horrible companions.

  “Do they know anything?” Blake asked, reaching to take his father’s hand. It was touching—so much so that Rayne got choked up.

  “Nothing new. They are waiting to give him some time to heal before trying to wake him up. There was some severe bleeding internally and after surgery, they thought there was some swelling in his brain.”

  “I’ve got all the time in the world, Dad. I’m home for good.” Blake squeezed his father’s hand and all eyes were watching them. Rayne swallowed hard, struggling with her own emotions.