SECOND CHANCES AT MG RANCH

by Karen England

  Sam quickly carried her to a safe distance and sat her down on the side of the trail. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so,” she replied. She felt the threat of tears at the backs of her eyes at the thought of losing the baby.

  “I’ve got to see to the horses,” he said. Then he turned his attention back to the commotion still going on up ahead. The best that Loren could tell, the bear was still roaring and Dakota was dancing around acting like a crazed horse.

  She closed her eyes trying to block out the stabbing pain that continued to spread across her abdomen and then around to her back. The pain was getting so excruciating, that she felt like she was going to pass out. But just as she was about to give in to the black abyss that awaited her, a shot rang out bringing her attention back to the reality of this nightmare.

  Loren opened her eyes just in time to see the bear with its cub disappearing back into the woods. Sam had fired a round of shots into the air to scare them off. Now he was busy trying to calm the horses.

  The way that he handled the horses was amazing. Loren watched him in awe, wishing he was her Cowboy. But the ugly truth was that he belonged to someone else and the sooner she accepted that the better off she would be.

  Sam led the horses over to where she was sitting and held Dakota’s reins out to her. Doing her best to hide the stabs of pain that refused to go away, she stood and took the reins from his hands. But before she could mount up, a searing pain over took her and she doubled over.

  Her muffled cry alerted Sam that something else was wrong. He immediately went to her aide again. “What’s wrong?” he asked. She could see the worry in his eyes, in the moment right before she passed out. The blackness claimed her body and mind as if it owned her very soul.

  Sam was able to break her fall as she fell limp against him, causing them both to fall to the ground. “Loren, wake up,” he pleaded, as he shook her. She remained unconscious through his efforts to revive her. He breathing appeared to be normal and he didn’t find any broken bones.

  Once he was able to get to his feet, he put her on his horse and mounted up behind her. Sam placed one arm around her waist pinning her against his chest so that she wouldn’t fall off the horse. Then he gathered the reins in his other hand and kicked his horse into motion. Dakota followed along behind them.

  “Hold on Loren, it won’t be much longer now,” Sam said, as the barn came into view. Loren was still unconscious, but he was willing her to hear him.

  Stephanie came running out of the barn at the sound of the approaching horses. She instantly knew something was wrong when she saw Loren was on Sam’s horse with him and her horse was following along behind them. She ran back in and grabbed Sam’s keys off his night stand and then hurried to get the truck started.

  Sam quickly jumped off his horse, then lifted Loren off the horse and placed her in the cab of the truck. He was surprised to see that Stephanie was still at the ranch, then he remembered that she had left her car at the bar last night after picking him up.

  Well, he didn’t have time to drop her off now; she would just have to make the trip to the hospital with them or stay at the ranch until he got back. He didn’t care which; he just knew that he had to get Loren some emergency care as soon as possible.

  Chapter 26

  The drive to the hospital had been slow and treacherous with the fresh snow on the ground. A few roads in the city had been cleared, but the secondary roads remained covered in some areas.

  Sam parked the truck on the curb outside the Emergency Room Entrance and ran in to give the nurse a quick briefing on what had happened.

  The nurse on duty immediately jumped into action alerting the correct hospital personnel to aid in getting Loren moved from the truck to a stretcher.

  Just as Loren was wheeled through the double doors, Dr. Kim came running towards them. Luckily she had been at the hospital making some rounds with a few of her other patients when she heard the emergency call come over the intercom.

  “What happened?” she asked Sam.

  Sam gave Dr. Kim a short version of what had happened, leaving out the details of their argument. He really didn’t feel like that much information would be relevant to the situation anyway.

  While Loren was rushed into a room to be examined, Sam and Stephanie were directed a short distance down the hall, to a nearby waiting room to wait for news from Dr. Kim.

  Sam paced the floor, running his hands back and forth through his hair, while Stephanie remained seated in a chair over in a deserted corner.

  Time had seemed to tick by so slowly. Stephanie finally got to her feet to go in search of some coffee right about the same time that Dr. Kim entered the waiting area.

  “How is she?” Sam immediately asked, rushing up to meet her.

  “She is going to be fine, but we have some internal bleeding that we need to get stopped. Loren is being prepped for surgery as we speak,” Dr. Kim replied.

  “Are you sure she is going to be alright?”

  “Yes, Sam. I’m confident that she is going to be fine. The surgery shouldn’t take too long and then she will have about another hour in recovery after that,” Dr. Kim reassured him. “You should go home and get some rest, maybe clean up a bit, you smell like a brewery. By the time you get back she should be up to seeing visitors.”

  Sam watched Dr. Kim’s retreating back and she made her way back down the hall towards the operating room, and then disappear behind the double doors.

  “Do you want some coffee?” Stephanie’s voice was a reminder of why all this had happened in the first place. He was trying hard to control his temper and not be angry with her. After all, this whole ordeal was part his fault too.

  “No thank you, but we do need to figure out how to get you home.” Sam said.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” Sam could hear the pleading in her voice.

  “I am not sure it would be a good idea for you to be here when Loren wakes up,” he replied.

  Tears welled up in Stephanie’s eyes. She knew that Sam didn’t want her here, but it was just so hard to really let go. By the time that she had realized that she still loved him it was too late.

  Anger replaced her hurt and Stephanie decided to pull the last straw that she had left. If this didn’t work then Sam would be lost to her forever.

  Stephanie took a deep breath. “Fine, I will call a cab to take me home, but before I go, there is something that you should know.”

  “What is it?” he asked, sounding irritated.

  “I need to talk to you about Jordan,” she said.

  “Is he okay?”

  “Yes, he is fine. It’s just that what I need to tell you may come as a shock and I don’t want you to be mad.”

  Sam looked confused. What could she possibly tell him about Jordan that would make him mad or even shock him? He really was clueless this time. He stood there and waited for her to say what was on her mind.

  “Remember a few years ago when I came home for a visit and well, we spent some time together?”

  Sam had truly forgotten about that time. It just happened to be another one of those times when he had been too drunk to drive and Stephanie had come to his rescue. He wouldn’t necessarily call that spending time together.

  “I vaguely remember it,” he said. “What does that have to do with Jordan?”

  “Jordan is your son, Sam.” Stephanie watched for a reaction to her words, but he just stared at her with a blank expression.

  Sam felt like the life had been knocked out of him. He found that he didn’t even know what to say. Hell, he didn’t even know how to respond. So he just sat there and looked at her with disbelief.

  “Hey you guys!” Missy’s familiar voice rang into the room, announcing her presence. “How is Loren, is she going to be alright?” she asked.

  Sam struggled to find his voice as he stood up to receive the hug that she offered to him. “Dr. Kim says that she has some internal bleeding, but once they get that
stopped, she should be fine.”

  Hal and Jordan came into the room a few minutes later. Both full of questions about what had happened. Hal had heard about the accident as it blared across the police scanner, in which Missy always said was a nuisance and a waste of good hearing.

  Sam found it hard to not stare at Jordan, looking for some kind of resemblance. His eyes met Stephanie’s and instantly knew they were thinking about the same thing. How were they ever going to work this out? If what she said was true, then he had responsibilities to Jordan.

  But then he had to wonder what this meant for him and Loren. Would she be able to accept that he had a son with Stephanie? His worried thoughts quickly turned back to angry thoughts when he thought about the secret that Stephanie had kept from him all these years. Not only did she keep the secret from him, she had lied to Jordan and let him think someone else was his father. Then he had to ask himself how Jordan was going to take this news. Sure he seemed to like him enough right now, but what would he think when he learned the truth?

  “We are going to take Jordan down stairs to the snack bar for some hot chocolate,” Missy said, interrupting his thoughts. “Do you guys want to come along?”

  Sam declined the invitation, stating that he wanted to be close by should Dr. Kim come out with news about Loren. Hal remained behind with his friend.

  As soon as the women were out of ear shot, Hal turned to Sam. “So you and Loren are involved, aren’t you?”

  Sam thought about lying, but changed his mind. “Yes we are or at least we were before this happened,” Sam answered. “I am guessing that she will probably never speak to me again once she wakes up.”

  “What do you mean?” Hal asked.

  Sam tried to give Hal as brief of an explanation as he could about how he had become involved with Loren and then fell in love with her. Hal had been his friend for a long time and he knew that he could trust him with his life, so he went on to tell him about what Stephanie had just recently told him about Jordan being his son.

  “Are you sure you believe her?” Hal asked.

  “Why would I not believe her?” Sam was surprised that Hal would even question whether Stephanie had told the truth or not. He hadn’t even given it a second thought that she could be making it up.

  “Well, after all that you have just told me, I have to wonder if she is just pulling your strings trying to stall for more time. People will sometimes do crazy, out of character things when they are desperate.”

  “I will request a blood test and I know it sounds crazy Hal, but I do believe her. I have a hard time believing that even Stephanie would stoop that low.”

  “So do you remember anything from back around that time that would give her story any credibility?” Hal asked.

  “I remember her driving me home in a drunken state that night, and then she helped me into the house. When I woke up the next morning, I was alone. I could have sworn that we had made love, but when I called her and asked about it, she convinced me that nothing more than a little kissing had happened between us.”

  “So you believed it had all been a dream or maybe wishful thinking.” Hal stated.

  “Exactly!” Sam replied.

  “Well my friend, I don’t envy you one bit. You have some serious sorting out to do between yourself, these two women, and a son you didn’t even know you had,” Hal said.

  Chapter 27

  Loren woke up in the recovery room about an hour after her surgery. She blinked and let her eyes move around the room bringing her surroundings into focus.

  Sam sat in a chair closest to the bed, holding her hand. His head was tilted back on the chair. He must have dozed off because he appeared to be asleep. The room was empty other than the two of them. She remained quiet and still so she wouldn’t alert him that she was awake, she needed a moment to gather her thoughts before talking to anyone, most of all him.

  Although Sam looked tired with a worried crease in his brow, he was still the most handsome cowboy that Loren had ever laid eyes on. She wondered how long she had been at the hospital and if he had been by her side the whole time. The thought tugged at her heart strings.

  This morning’s events forced their way back into her mind, without warning. The image of Stephanie answering Sam’s door in nothing but his t-shirt, still made her stomach churn and her cheeks flame with anger. After all that had happened, she had to ask herself why he would be sitting here with her now. Surely he didn’t think she would forget the hurt that he had caused her and expect her to forgive him so quickly.

  The movement of Loren’s hand startled Sam and he opened his eyes. “Hey there,” was all he said. He did not let go of her hand, but straightened himself up in the chair and leaned in closer to her.

  “Hey,” she answered, and then looked away. It hurt too much to look at him.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I feel fine,” she lied. “How long have I been here?”

  “I brought you here shortly after the accident this morning and then you were in surgery for a couple of hours. You have been in recovery for about an hour.”

  “What kind of surgery?” Loren asked, trying to remain calm. Her other hand instantly moved to rest on her stomach.

  “All I know is that you had some internal bleeding and they had to get that stopped. Dr. Kim says that you are going to be just fine and that she would be in shortly to explain everything once they get you moved into a regular room,” Sam explained.

  Loren couldn’t help but wonder if she had lost the baby, but from what Sam had just told her she guessed that she probably had. The question was, did she blame Sam or did she blame herself?

  A nurse came into the room, interrupting her thoughts. “Miss Randolph, we are ready to move you into a more comfortable room now.”

  The move was quick and painless. Sam followed along behind as the nurse expertly wheeled her bed down the hall and into an elevator. Once they exited the elevator, they went down another short hall, made a turn to the left, and then she was wheeled into the third room on the right. Room 356.

  “When will Dr. Kim be by to see me?” Loren asked before the nurse could exit the room.

  “She should be by any time now. In the meantime, you have some new visitors that would like to see you, if you are feeling up to it,” the nurse replied.

  She wondered who her new visitors were. She turned to look at Sam questioning him with her eyes.

  “I called your parents, and Missy and Hal are here too,” he whispered.

  As the nurse went out, her parents came in. Her mother came straight to her and bent over to hug her. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” she asked.

  “Hi Mom, I’m feeling okay. Thank you for coming.”

  Her Dad walked over and took Sam’s place by the other side of the bed. Sam went out to update Missy and Hal on her condition.

  Josh took her hand and then leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Does my baby girl need anything?” he asked her.

  “No, I’m okay right now,” she said. Tears had started to well up in her eyes. She fought hard to hold them back. Her parents were so kind and loving. She hoped when they found out about everything that had happened that they wouldn’t be too disappointed in her. A small part of her just wanted to keep it all a secret and hope it went away, but in her heart she knew it was time to tell them and just get it all out in the open. The sooner they knew, the sooner this heavy burden that she was carrying around in her heart would be gone.

  She looked from one parent to the other and felt so much love for them. “I need to share something with you guys,” she said before she could change her mind.

  “We can talk later when you are feeling better,” Amy said.

  “No Mom, I really need you to listen to me. I won’t feel better until you and Dad know the truth about what happened today and why,” she pleaded.

  Both her parents looked at each other and then back at her. Loren continued with her story, starting with how her relationship with Sam h
ad come about. Then she told them about his past relationship with Stephanie and how she fit into the whole ordeal of today. And last but not least, she told them about the pregnancy and that she was pretty sure that she had lost the baby even though Dr. Kim had not been in to confirm it yet.

  Afterwards, she felt like the huge burden had been lifted and peace filled her heart. No matter how things went with Sam, she had her parents understanding, love, and support. That was enough to help her put this whole nightmare behind her.

  Dr. Kim poked her head in, peeking around the edge of the door. “Hi, hope I am not interrupting anything. I just wanted to stop by and check on you and go over a few things, if your parents don’t mind stepping out for a minute.”

  Amy and Josh stood up to leave the room. “We don’t mind at all,” Amy said. She patted Loren’s hand for reassurance that all was going to be okay.

  Once they were out of the room, Dr. Kim pushed the door closed so they could have some privacy. “How are you feeling, any pain?” she asked.

  “A little cramping in my lower stomach, but nothing unbearable at the moment,” she answered.

  “The cramping is expected with everything you have just been through. I will have the nurse give you a little something to ease the cramps.” Dr. Kim paused for a moment before continuing. “You took quiet a fall, which caused some hemorrhaging with the pregnancy. I am sorry Loren, but we couldn’t save the baby.”

  Loren fought hard to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill forth, nodding that she understood. The news of losing the baby hurt much more than she had expected and it left her feeling empty inside.

  “Don’t worry; you can still have other children. The best way to look at a situation like this is that God had other plans and He always knows best,” Dr. Kim said.

  “Thank you for everything,” she finally managed to say. “When can I go home?”