Sam quickly ran into the small bunk house and retrieved a wet wash cloth. When he made it back outside the barn, he found Loren sitting on the ground with her head leaned back against the wood planks of the barn siding. Her eyes were closed, and she looked very pale.
“Loren honey, are you okay?” he said as he began to wipe her face with the cool cloth. She wanted to shout at him to get away from her, but at the moment, she didn’t have the extra energy. So she just kept her eyes closed and let him tend to her.
It was amazing how quickly the cool wet cloth had helped her to recover. At last the queasiness was gone. She mumbled for Sam to stop and pushed herself up on her feet. “Thank you, I’m fine now.”
“Are you sure you are okay?” Although she did appear to feel better, her skin tone was still very pale, and the darkness of the night surrounding them did nothing to hide it.
“Yes, I think I have just caught a stomach bug or something.” Loren looked into his eyes, and saw that he was genuinely concerned.
“Sam, you really shouldn’t worry so much, I will be good as new by tomorrow. Right now, I just need to get some rest,” she said, trying to offer him some reassurance, even though he didn’t deserve it.
After their argument last night, she was surprised that he even cared that she was sick. She had hoped that he had caught the stomach bug too, but he showed no signs of sickness. Lucky for him, she guessed.
“How long have you been sick like this?” he asked, a puzzled look masking his face. He grabbed her hand in a gesture to lead her back up to the house.
“Twice, once this morning before breakfast and just now,” she said, trying to pull her hand away from his grip. “Stop fussing over me, I can walk to the house by myself.”
“Fine, be stubborn if you want to! I will just go tend to the other horses then.” He let go of her hand abruptly and walked back into the barn, without a backward glance.
She could hear him mumbling under his breath as he stomped away from her, but she couldn’t understand one word of it. It was just as well, because she knew she wouldn’t agree with him anyway.
Just as she started back towards the cabin, the cold rain set it. The rain poured out of the black sky in what felt like buckets. Loren was soaked to the bone by the time she reached the back door. That’s all she needed, to catch cold on top of the stomach bug.
She began stripping down as soon as she got inside the door and was fully unclothed by the time she reached the upstairs bathroom. She adjusted the water in the shower to as hot as she could stand it and climbed in.
By the time that she stepped out of the shower, her skin was scalding red. The hotter the water was, the better Loren liked it. She grabbed the towel that lay on the seat of the toilet. As she dabbed at her face, she remembered that she had forgotten to lay out a fresh towel before getting in the shower. Sam must have been in the room.
She quickly wrapped the towel around her wet body and peered around the bathroom door, expecting to see Sam there. She was disappointed to find the room quiet and empty.
Loren took her time getting ready for bed. The whole while, she listened for sounds of Sam stirring below. Since she didn’t hear any sounds that would confirm that he was still in the house, she grabbed a blanket and pillow off the bed and started down the stairs. She guessed she would sleep on the couch again, since she had no desire to sleep in that big lonely bed without him.
It didn’t take long for her to drift off to sleep. But once again, her night was spent weaving dreams around Sam. This time when she would catch him and reach out to touch him, he would disappear. That felt just as frustrating as not being able to catch him.
Chapter 22
Sam hadn’t seen or heard a peep from Loren in about three days. He guessed it was about time he checked on her. Surely, she had done enough stewing over being mad at him by now. He had been careful to give her some space over the past couple of days.
He approached the back door and rapped his knuckles against the wood a few times. When she didn’t answer, he used his key to let himself in. The kitchen was kind of messy, which wasn’t like Loren. She always cleaned up after herself.
“Loren, you up?” he called out on his way into the living room. He stopped short when he saw her pale form lying on the couch. She was wrapped up in some blankets, still sleeping. He immediately chastised himself for not checking on her sooner.
Sam immediately went to her side and with a light touch he checked her pulse. Her pulse was good, but she still looked frail and her skin tone was the color of white ash. He decided to let her sleep, while he made her some breakfast.
In the kitchen, he scrambled some eggs, sizzled up some bacon, and made her some toast. It was a wonder that all the banging of pots and pans didn’t wake her. It sounded like Sam was tearing down the kitchen. Who would have ever thought that scrambling eggs, frying bacon, and making toast could be so noisy?
Sam filled a plate and placed it on a breakfast tray, along with a glass of milk and took it into the living room. He sat it down on the coffee table that was positioned in front of the couch. “Loren honey, wake up,” he said, gently shaking her.
Loren’s mind was foggy. Was she dreaming about Sam again? She rubbed her eyes and sat up facing the man standing before her. She wasn’t dreaming; he was really there, but why? “What are you doing here?” she managed to ask, her voice sounding a weak and raspy.
“You have been cooped up in this house for days, so I thought that maybe I should check on you. It’s not like you to not visit with your horse at least once a day,” he explained.
She tried to hide her disappointment. Loren had hoped that Sam had come to apologize. “Oh, I haven’t felt well the last couple of days, so I have just stayed in and tried to rest,” she said.
“Maybe you should go see the Doctor today. I can drive you if you need me to,” he offered.
“Thank you, but I think I can manage.” She was feeling much better today anyway. If Sam couldn’t bring himself to apologize, then she didn’t need him fussing over her or driving her to the doctor’s office.
“Okay, I will just leave you to your breakfast then. I will be in the workshop today if you need me for anything.” He retrieved his hat and coat off the coat rack and passed through the kitchen to the back door.
Just like that, he was gone again. Good riddance, she didn’t need him anyway. He only complicated her life and made her crazy. She had made her mind up days ago that she was through with him. She just had to find a way to tell him that he needed to just move on. There was no way that she could ever get over him if he continued to live on the ranch with her.
The real question was how did she tell him? Would he be mad, or would he be relieved to finally be rid of her? Would he have a place to go? Would she really be able to get over him? The questions never seemed to stop filtering through her mind.
Just looking at the breakfast that Sam had prepared for her made her feel sick to her stomach again. Loren guessed that it was time to go see Dr. Kim. The sooner she got over this stomach bug the better. She hadn’t eaten much in the past three days and she was tired of being cooped up in this house.
Loren arrived at Dr. Kim’s office a couple of hours later. She signed in and found an empty chair over by the kid’s corner. There was a little girl, whom she guessed was about three years old sitting at the small table looking at a picture book.
Sassy red curls covered her head and she had big blue eyes. Loren couldn’t help but look at her and wonder what it would have been like to have children with Sam. The little girl looked up at her and smiled.
A young woman, who looked to be a few years older than Loren sat to her right and looked as if she was ready to give birth at any moment. But instead of looking miserable, she had the most beautiful glow about her. Loren guessed that she was the little girl’s mother. They shared the same red, curly hair and blue eyes.
“Don’t worry, you will probably be over the sickness after the first trimester,” the woman said.
“Excuse me?” Loren replied, looking directly at the woman.
“Oh forgive me, I should have introduced myself. I am Sally Nelson and this is my daughter Maggie. I just noticed how pale you look, but don’t worry, the sickness usually only last for about the first trimester.”
Oh my goodness, this woman thought she was pregnant. Loren almost burst out laughing at the crazy idea of her expecting. “I’m not pregnant, I have just had a stomach bug for a few days,” Loren explained.
“Yeah, that is what we all think at first,” she said laughing.
“Sally Nelson,” the nurse called out, before Loren could respond to her statement.
“Come on honey,” she said, reaching for Maggie’s hand. Then as she walked by Loren, she patted her on the knee with her other hand and said, “Don’t worry, you will be just fine.”
Then she was gone, to leave Loren to wonder about what she had said. Surely the woman was crazy. There was no way that she could be pregnant. It was just a stomach virus, nothing more. But as she kept repeating those same words over and over in her head, she was starting to realize that it could be possible.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the medical assistant called her name. She followed her to exam room three. The more she thought about the possibility that she could be carrying Sam’s child the more nervous she felt. Lord, let it be a stomach virus, she silently prayed.
There was a light rap on the door, followed by Dr. Kim. “Hi there, how are we doing today?” The doctor looked over her chart before continuing. “My nurse tells me that you think you might have a stomach bug? Can you explain your symptoms to me?”
“Well, I have been throwing up off and on for about three days now. I have felt very restless and tired a lot. I guess that’s about it,” Loren told her.
“Okay, well I am going to have Marge draw a little blood to see what we have going on and you can pee in this cup for me. Bathroom is down the hall and to the right, just put it in the window with your name on it when you are through,” she said, handing the empty cup to Loren.
“Is all this really necessary?” Loren asked.
“We need to check all possibilities, before we treat you for a virus,” she replied, shooing Loren out the door.
After delivering her urine specimen, Loren went back to the exam room to wait for Dr. Kim and a diagnosis. It felt like the time was ticking by very slowly, as she waited. The longer she had to wait, the more nervous she became.
Another light rap on the door, and Dr. Kim reentered the room. “Well Loren, it does seem that you have a stomach bug of some kind, but I am afraid there isn’t much that I can give you for it,” she said.
“So what you are saying; is that it will have to run its course?” Loren asked.
“Yes, more or less. Have you considered the possibility of being pregnant?” Dr. Kim asked.
“Oh no, that is not possible,” Loren said, a little too quickly, shaking her head from side to side at the same time.
“I get the idea that you don’t want to hear this, but the test results say that you are in fact pregnant.”
“But that can’t be, I am not just sick in the mornings. It is pretty much off and on all day long.” Loren jumped at any excuse she could think of; knowing she was trying to convince herself that there was no way that this could be true.
Dr. Kim interrupted her excusable thoughts by patting her hand. “I am going to prescribe something to help with the sickness and some prenatal vitamins.” She paused as she looked at Loren’s troubled face. “Honey, you will be just fine. Don’t fret so much, babies are wonderful and I know that Sam will be thrilled.”
Loren felt like she had just been kicked in the stomach and was sick all over again. She hopped off the bed and barely made it to the trash can over by the door. This day was turning out to be one big scary nightmare.
She took the wet towel that Dr. Kim offered her and wiped her face. “Why would you think Sam would be the father?” she asked.
Dr. Kim smiled at her. “Sweetheart, I didn’t fall off the turnip wagon just yesterday. Let’s just say that I pay attention to things.”
Loren felt silly for trying to cover up her affair with Sam. “Please don’t tell him yet. I need time to sort this out in my own head before telling him,” Loren pleaded with the doctor.
“Your secret is safe with me, but you need to remember that things like this don’t stay a secret for very long. This is a nosey little town, so don’t let him find out from someone else.” Dr. Kim looked down at her chart and scribbled a few things. “I will see you this time next month,” she said, handing Loren her chart and walking out of the exam room.
At that moment, Loren just wanted to crawl under the bed and hide. This couldn’t be happening to her. She was too young and too inexperienced in the world to be a mother. What if Sam didn’t want to be a father? What would she do then? She couldn’t raise a baby by herself.
After a few quite moments had passed, she got dressed and made her way out to the check-out area. With the next appointment scheduled, and prescriptions in hand, she walked out the door of Dr. Kim’s office feeling much more under the weather than when she had first went in.
The drive to the Pharmacy seemed to take forever. Once Loren reached her destination, she just let her mind and body flow through the motions, in the hopes of waking up from this bad dream at any moment.
In an effort to pass the time while waiting on her prescriptions to be filled, she walked around in the store, not looking at anything in particular.
She stopped at the magazine rack and picked up a Parenting magazine, flipping through the pages. She even caught herself smiling at some of the baby photos. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as she had first feared. She was just scared that’s all.
“Can you believe that Sam and I finally have a date tonight?”
Loren would know that voice from anywhere. It was Stephanie, but who was she talking to? She stood there quietly, and listened as their conversation continued.
“This is good news. Where is he taking you?” Loren couldn’t make out the other female voice. “We are taking Jordan to the movies. He is crazy about Sam. I can’t wait until we are a real family. He is so good for Jordan and me,” Stephanie said.
“And you are both good for him,” came the other woman’s reply.
“From the way things have been going, I don’t think it is going to be much longer before Sam is ready to accept that he belongs with me instead of that Witch,” Stephanie said.
Loren almost choked on the gasp of air that she sucked in. Even though Stephanie didn’t give the witches name, she was pretty sure she was talking about her. She couldn’t wait to see her face when she found out that the “Witch” that she was referring to was having Sam’s baby.
With that thought in mind, Loren carefully slipped back to the Pharmacy counter and retrieved her order. She wanted to get out of there before she was noticed.
Chapter 23
Loren drove home trying to decide if she should tell Sam about the baby before his so called date or later after he got back home. In spite of her moral values, she would love to ruin Stephanie’s night. However, Jordan on the other hand, did not deserve such rude treatment, especially not from her.
That settled it; the baby news would just have to wait. Although she wasn’t crazy about Sam spending time with Stephanie, what could happen with Jordan chaperoning?
According to the weather report that had just blared across the radio, there was a slight chance of snow in the Northwest Georgia area. Loren parked the truck in her usual spot and climbed out. The temperature felt like it had already started dropping, getting colder.
Wrapping her arms around her middle in an effort to ward off the cold air w
hipping around her, she headed straight into the barn. She was hoping to run into Sam before he left. Even though she wasn’t going to tell him about the baby yet, she felt a strong need to just see him.
She found him haying and watering the horses, getting them ready for the cold night ahead. “Hey there, are you feeling better?” he called out to her, as she approached him. His tone was casual as if he were just talking to a friend.
“Yes, thank you. Dr. Kim is great, she knew exactly what I needed,” Loren said.
“So what did she say was wrong with you, anything catching?” he asked.
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not anything contagious,” she answered. “It’s just a small stomach bug, that’s all.”
Was that disappointment she saw? She could have sworn that the hint of a frown had crossed his handsome face.
“Here, let me help you with that,” she said, taking a couple of flakes of hay from the bale he had just cut the strings on.
He didn’t argue with her as she had expected him to do. He was really acting a little strange, like too upbeat or something. Then it occurred to her that he must be excited about his movie and dinner date. Now who was frowning?
Loren worked along beside Sam, trying to ignoring her nagging thoughts about his date. If she said anything, then he would wonder how she knew, which would only lead to more questions. It was bothering her, that he hadn’t at least mentioned his plans for the evening. He just kept making small talk, like nothing had ever occurred between the two of them.
Maybe she shouldn’t even tell him about the baby, her spiteful mind chimed in. But Dr. Kim was right. This was a very small town and if she continued to live at MG, there would be no way to keep him from finding out about the baby.
With the last water bucket filled, there was no reason for Loren to linger in the barn. The time was nearing five o’clock p.m. and Sam seemed a little anxious to get ready for his date.
“Well, I guess I will call it a night….unless of course you want to grab a bite to eat,” she said.
SECOND CHANCES AT MG RANCH Page 13