“Where did you get that?” Connor asked, nodding at the baby as he took a seat next to his brother.
“Mrs. Abernathy was having a yard sale,” Cody cracked. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“I’ll let that go,” Connor told him. He studied his brother for a moment. “I hear that you’ve had a hard morning.”
“Exactly what did you hear?” Cody asked. Because the infant was reacting to the sound of Connor’s deep voice, Cody began to rock her gently.
The reaction did not do unnoticed by Connor, though he made no comment. “Well, your truck’s still where you parked it last night and your horse is missing, so I figured out that the damn thing wouldn’t start—the truck, not the horse. And then there’s your little midwife adventure.”
“Who told you?” Cody asked. Connor had been out mending fences early this morning. How had his brother heard about any of this? he wondered.
Connor grinned. “You know that Rusty Saunders never could keep anything to himself for more than five minutes. He rode out to the ranch to tell me. I gather the thought of you as a midwife tickled him pink.”
Cody blew out a breath as he shook his head. “Man always was easily entertained.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t take much for some,” Connor agreed. “I brought you a change of clothes,” he said to Cody. “I figured after the way he described you, you’d need it.” Giving his brother the once over—Cody was still wearing the bloodied shirt he’d had on when he carried Devon into the clinic—Connor nodded. “Looks like he wasn’t wrong.”
He put the brown paper sack containing a clean shirt and jeans down on the floor next to his brother’s feet. “So, that’s the little one, huh?” he asked, softening marginally as he gazed at the infant. The next moment, he looked up at his brother, the expression on his face that of a man who felt vindication. “See, I always said helping out during calving season would come in handy for you someday.”
Cody nodded. He knew better than to question his brother’s memory. Besides, Connor probably had said something like that at one time or another. “That’s what you told me.”
“How’s her mother?” Connor asked.
“I don’t know,” Cody told him honestly. “Nobody’s really told me anything since the two docs got to work on her.”
The words were simple, but Connor heard his brother’s concern. Not that he expected Cody to be aloof, but there was a tad more feeling in Cody’s tone than Connor was accustomed to hearing.
“They’re good people” was all Connor said of the doctors by way of encouragement. Still, the implied endorsement spoke volumes. “You need anything?” Connor asked, getting ready to leave.
“Not me. But she might do with a miracle,” he told Connor, nodding back toward the rear of the clinic, where the door to the fifth exam room was still closed.
“I figure that part was already covered when you showed up.” Connor started to rise, then abruptly stopped. “I can stick around if you want,” he offered.
Cody laughed. “You don’t do ‘sticking around’ well and you know it. Leave you in one place for too long and you’ll be climbing right out of your skin. Thanks for coming.”
Connor merely shrugged off his brother’s thanks. “Flint’s at the hitching post down the street a ways,” he told Cody.
“I know. He’s a good horse. He followed me to town behind the truck.” Proud of the animal, Cody felt he had to share that with Connor. “Red found him for me.”
“Good man, Red. Well, I’ll see you when I see you,” Connor said on his way to the door. One hand on the doorknob, he paused just before leaving. “Want Cassidy to come by?” he asked.
“And have my ear talked off?” Cody laughed. “No, I’ve got this covered.”
Connor nodded. “I figured you did.” And, with that, he walked out, closing the door behind him.
* * *
THE BABY HAD dozed off again and slept in his arms. For a while, there was nothing but the sound of her breathing to keep him company. Cody kept glancing toward the rear of the clinic, but the door didn’t open. It felt as if he was doomed to wait in vain forever.
And then, just as he had given up all hope, Cody heard the door finally open.
For a moment, he thought he’d imagined it. Even so, he anxiously rose to his feet. And then he heard voices. Happy voices, not agitated ones.
Within a minute, Dan walked out to the front of the clinic. He looked somewhat tired, but he definitely had the air of a man who had won the battle he’d fought.
“Is she all right?”
The words burst from Cody’s lips before he even realized he was asking the question out loud.
Rather than answer one way or the other, Dan asked, “Why don’t you go see for yourself?”
Cody didn’t remember crossing the waiting room, didn’t really remember Holly coming up to him to take the baby from his arms. And he was only marginally aware of the fact that his arms ached from having held the baby in that position for so long.
All he knew was that Dan was leading him into the room where a battle to save a woman’s life had been fought—and won.
When he walked in, Devon’s eyes were closed. No longer on the surgical gurney, she had been transferred onto the lone hospital bed the clinic had.
An uneasiness began to take hold of Cody as he drew closer to her.
She still looked so pale, he thought.
Apprehension came out of some dark, hidden place, drenching Cody as he asked Dan, “Is she—is she—she’s not—is she?”
He had lived through a lot in his time—the death of first one parent, then the other, the possibility of having the family split up and winding up in foster care. But even with all that, Cody couldn’t make himself say the words.
Dan, who had lost his only brother just before he came to Forever, empathized. He put a wide, comforting hand on the younger man’s shoulder as he told him, “She’s alive, Cody. She’s just sleeping.”
The wave of relief surprised Cody as it all but knocked him off his feet.
Chapter Five
Cody trusted the doctor and knew that Dr. Davenport wasn’t about to mislead him or sugarcoat the situation. He just wanted to hear the doctor assure him again.
“She’s just sleeping, Dr. Dan, right? You’re sure about that?” Cody questioned.
Because if she wasn’t, if she had somehow managed to slip away, no matter what anyone else said, Cody would feel that it was somehow his fault, that he had overlooked something and hadn’t kept the woman safe.
“You know she’s been through a lot,” Dan tactfully reminded him. “Her being asleep is a good thing. The body does its best recuperative work when it’s asleep. That way, it’s only focused on that one thing.”
Cody could buy that. But what if she remained that way? What if she never woke up? he worried. “How long do you think she’ll, you know, be asleep?”
“She’ll wake up when she’s ready. Meanwhile, I’m going to have her stay here.” Guessing Cody’s next question, Dan added, “Don’t worry. She won’t be alone. I’ll have someone stay with her.”
Which was his euphemistic way of saying that he would be that “someone.” He knew his wife, Tina, wouldn’t exactly be overjoyed about having him stay the night, but she had long ago made her peace with the fact that that sort of thing went with the territory and she was nothing if not supportive.
Cody never hesitated. He had made up his mind the moment the doctor said Devon was going to remain at the clinic overnight. “Can I be that someone?”
Dan looked at the deputy, surprised and a little skeptical. “You?”
Cody nodded. “I found her and I’d kind of like to see this through if you don’t mind. It’s something that Connor taught us was important—to finish something that you’ve st
arted.”
Dan nodded. “Well, I certainly can’t argue with that.” He made a quick assessment before giving Cody an answer. “Everything should be fine. But if she wakes up suddenly, or if you feel uneasy about how she’s doing for any reason at all, call me,” Dan ordered. “I’m only five minutes away.” That was the advantage of living in town instead of on one of the outlying ranches, as both of his nurses did.
Cody was already pulling up a chair, positioning it beside the bed. “Thanks.” And then he suddenly remembered—appalled that he could have forgotten, even for a moment. “The baby—” he began, looking around as if he expected the infant to be close by.
“—will be coming home with me,” Dan informed him. “Nothing Tina likes better than to have a baby to fuss over.” He could see that Cody was about to offer a protest. Like the rest of his family, the deputy obviously didn’t know when to stop shouldering responsibility. “You’ll have enough to do just watching over the baby’s mother. By the way, Holly’s going to need some information from you about the patient,” he told Cody, nodding at the woman in the hospital bed.
“Can’t help you there,” Cody confessed. “I don’t know much, just her first name. Devon.”
Dan nodded. “It’s a start. Listen, have you had anything to eat since this whole thing started?” he asked.
Cody shook his head. Food was the very last thing on his mind. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Devon since he’d walked in and he really wished that the woman didn’t look so pale.
“No.”
Dan’s eyes met the deputy’s. “I can stay here and wait until you swing by the diner and get something to go,” the doctor offered.
“That’s okay, Doc. I’m good” he said, turning the doctor’s offer down. “You’ve already done more than enough,” Cody added gratefully.
Dan smiled, brushing off the thanks. “It’s what I signed up for,” he reminded the younger man.
It wasn’t every doctor who felt morally bound to care this much. Despite the fact that they’d had to wait thirty years, everyone in town felt that they had really lucked out when Dr. Davenport reopened the clinic.
“Even so, she’d be dead by now if it weren’t for you and Dr. Alisha,” Cody said with all sincerity.
Dan smiled. Cody had forgotten one key point. It was so like the McCulloughs. “And don’t forget you. If you hadn’t found her and come to her aid, none of this would have been possible.”
Dan paused for a moment to study the younger man’s profile. Cody already appeared to have settled in for the night. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“Okay, then,” he said, resigned, “if you don’t have any more questions, then I’m off. Remember, just five minutes away.” He got a nod from Cody in response. The deputy’s eyes were once again trained on the sleeping patient.
Dan took his cue and quietly slipped out of the room, leaving the door open.
“Who are you?” Cody asked the unconscious woman after a few minutes had passed and the clinic had slipped into stony silence, letting him know that everyone was gone. “And what kind of a man would have let you go, especially in your condition, carrying his baby?
“Unless he had a damn good reason for it, he should be horse-whipped if he shows up here, looking for you.” Cody quickly amended, “Not that we whip our horses around here. But for someone like that guy, an exception could definitely be made.
“Come to think of it, I can’t come up with any kind of a reason for him to have let you go off like that by yourself. The guy has to be dumber than a box of rocks—” he concluded “—and I’m probably insulting the rocks. I can see why you wouldn’t want to be around him. More important—why you wouldn’t want your baby to be around him. Babies need someone to look up to, to stimulate them. That sure doesn’t sound like the man who let you go off by yourself.”
Cody sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. He was at a loose end, not to mention somewhat confused. He felt like a man who had been on a roller coaster for too long, having taken both the uphill climb and the harrowing, steep plunge once too often.
In short, he knew he wasn’t making any sense, but all these emotions were suddenly popping up, rising to the surface like bubbles in a shaken soda can—dangerously ready to explode.
Cody struggled to get his emotions back in line. “You just take your time waking up,” he told Devon. “Doc said you needed your rest and he should know. Until Doc Alisha came along, Dr. Dan had been taking care of the town on his own for a while now. Word has it that his brother was supposed to be the one coming to take care of us—first doctor in thirty years since the clinic closed—but the night before he was supposed to fly out, he was killed in a car accident, so Dr. Dan came in his place.
“I never knew the other Dr. Davenport, but speaking for the town, I’d say we got ourselves a really good deal, getting Dr. Dan.”
Cody made himself as comfortable as he could as he continued talking to the woman he’d saved.
“And speaking of the town, you’ll find that, if you decide to stay here a while, this is a really nice place, both for you and for your daughter. People here like to watch out for each other. It’s the kind of thing that makes you feel safe and protected without feeling like you’re confined or imprisoned. I should know. I’m a deputy sheriff—” he quickly clarified “—not that we imprison anyone.”
His words and Devon’s even breathing filled the silence. He went on talking, hoping that he could somehow comfort the woman. He’d read somewhere that people in comas responded to the sound of someone talking to them.
“Having a sheriff’s department is just putting window dressing on the notion of a town,” he said honestly. “Not that I don’t like being a deputy,” he went on, “but I would have done what I did this morning even if I was still just one of the ranchers around here.” He confided, “As a deputy, I’m supposed to keep the peace, but mostly the peace keeps itself.” Still, he liked the idea of being part of a law enforcement department in Forever.
“Did you get to the part about me yet?”
The raspy, honey-whiskey voice startled him. Cody twisted around in his seat to see Miss Joan standing behind him in the room. The thin redhead was holding a tray full of food.
“Miss Joan, I didn’t see you there,” Cody confessed, immediately jumping to his feet out of an ingrained sense of respect.
“Obviously. You probably also didn’t hear what I just said,” she assumed and then repeated it. “I asked if you’d gotten to me yet, seeing as how you’re giving this poor, unconscious girl a verbal tour of the good citizens of Forever. Not fair,” she judged, “since she can’t get away.”
“I just wanted her to know that she was safe,” Cody explained philosophically.
Miss Joan set down the tray on the counter beside the sink that the medical staff used for washing up before procedures.
“Nothing wrong with that,” she agreed. “I was going to have one of the girls bring this to you, but I decided to come myself.”
He assumed that someone from the clinic, possibly Mrs. Moretti, had stopped by the diner to share what was going on with Miss Joan. Everyone knew that nothing ever seemed to take place in Forever without Miss Joan somehow being aware of it. Aware and ultimately involved in her own way, she was thought by many to be the veritable heart of the town.
“You really didn’t have to go to the trouble,” Cody told her, even as the tempting aroma of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans with bread crumbs filled the room.
“I did if I didn’t want to have you on my conscience, sitting here, keeping vigil and slowly starving.” Besides, she added silently, she wanted to see the young woman for herself.
Coming around closer to the bed, Miss Joan took her first good look at the young woman at the center of the little drama that had everyone in Forever talking.
“Pretty little thing,” she pronounced. “Kind of young, too, to be out on her own this way.”
Long-ago memories whispered across the frontier of her mind before Miss Joan shut them away.
Turning away from the young woman, Miss Joan looked at Cody. “You need anything?” she asked him in her take-charge tone that everyone was familiar with.
Cody looked at the tray. Miss Joan had even brought dessert. His favorite. Boston cream pie. Even though he knew the meal had been prepared by Angel, another one of the people Miss Joan had taken under her wing, the woman herself never ceased to amaze him. She somehow always instinctively managed to be there, filling needs no one had voiced.
“No, ma’am, I think you’ve taken care of everything as usual. Thanks,” he told her. Sliding back on his chair so he could dig into the pocket of his jeans, he asked, “What do I owe you, Miss Joan?”
The withering glance the older woman gave him had Cody stop reaching for his money.
“We’ll come to terms” was all she said. Everyone knew that she believed favors were to be paid forward. It was a given. “You know where she was heading?” Miss Joan asked.
Cody shook his head. “Haven’t a clue, ma’am.”
“Well, if she decides that she doesn’t want to keep on going there for some reason, let her know that I could always use another girl at my place once she gets up on her feet,” Miss Joan told him. “And she’ll need somewhere to stay,” she added, stating the obvious.
The town had a new hotel—their only one—but hotels were expensive.
Cody suppressed a sigh as he turned back to look at the sleeping young woman. “First, she needs to wake up,” he said more to himself than to Miss Joan.
Miss Joan nodded. “First things first,” she agreed. It was time to leave. Miss Joan made a point of never staying longer than she felt necessary. “Don’t let that get cold,” she told him, nodding at the food on the tray she’d brought.
Cody was already drawing his chair over to the tray. When he glanced up to thank her again, he realized that Miss Joan had gone.
COWBOY AND THE BABY, THE Page 5