SECOND CHANCES AT MG RANCH

by Karen England

  “I think you should stay overnight, and if you think you are feeling up to it you can go home tomorrow, provided that you promise to follow Doctors orders. No lifting or doing anything strenuous, no horseback riding, and no sex for at least four to six weeks. How does that sound?”

  “I can live with that,” Loren replied, her face flushing crimson red with the last comment about no sex.

  “Good, I will let the staff know. So I guess I will see you in the morning then.” Dr. Kim scribbled a few notes on Loren’s chart and let herself out the door.

  The room was instantly flooded with visitors again. This time Missy and Hal came in along with her parents and Sam. Missy was carrying a stuffed bear holding some chocolates and a few balloons that said “Get Well” on them.

  “I thought you might be able to use some chocolate and a little something to snuggle with while you are vacationing here at the Murray Medical Center.” Everyone laughed.

  “Why thank you Missy, that’s just what the Doctor ordered,” Loren said. She returned the hug that her new friend offered.

  Loren couldn’t help but notice the nice warm glow on Missy’s face and her growing belly. She felt a slight pang of jealousy, but it quickly passed. She wouldn’t allow herself to be jealous of Missy and Hal’s happiness. They were very blessed to be expecting their first child.

  “I brought you something too,” Sam said, breaking up her thoughts. He walked closer to the left side of the bed and handed her a small box wrapped in a blushing pink paper with a huge white bow sitting on top.

  Loren just stared at the small box for a moment as if she were afraid to open it. She felt her face turning red again when she realized all eyes were on her as they waited for her to open the package.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Sam asked. He was starting to look a little nervous.

  Loren pulled off the bow and tore open the paper. She took in a sharp breath when she realized it was a ring box. The black velvet box held a princess cut diamond engagement ring.

  Sam had proceeded to get down on one knee beside the bed. He took her hand in his and willed her to look at him. She was shaking so badly that she was afraid of dropping the ring.

  “Loren Randolph, will you marry me?” he asked.

  Tears formed a wet trail down her cheeks as she looked at him. How could she say yes when Sam had no idea what she had done? She had lost their baby and he would hate her for it when he learned the truth.

  Everyone was still looking at her waiting for an answer. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words were coming out.

  “You are supposed to say yes,” Sam whispered.

  “Yes, I will marry you,” Loren finally answered. Her voice was barely above a whisper. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she couldn’t accept in the presence of their family and friends. Then it occurred to her that she might as well enjoy the moment because once she told him about the baby, he would call off the engagement anyway.

  “Sam leaned forward and took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her left hand. Then he kissed her lightly on the mouth and turned around to face everyone.

  “Did everyone hear that? She said yes!” He was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Congratulations!” Hal said, clapping Sam on the back.

  Missy walked over and took Sam’s place by the bed. She leaned down and hugged her new friend. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” she said. “If I had known, I would never have been trying to hitch him back up with Stephanie. I feel like a terrible friend to both of you.”

  “I’m sorry. We hadn’t discussed making our relationship public so soon. And to be honest, I am just surprised about the proposal as you are,” Loren said.

  “Well, it doesn’t really matter as long as the two of you are happy, and it is obvious to me that you are. However, you do owe me some details when you are feeling better,” Missy said, giving her a wink.

  Everyone passed around their well wishes before leaving the hospital for the night. Missy and Hal went home, Amy and Josh were staying at MG Ranch, and Sam stayed with Loren.

  “Were you surprised?” he asked, once everyone had left the room.

  “Yes, I was,” she admitted.

  “Well, I actually had plans to ask you to marry me on Christmas morning but after all that had happened today, I didn’t want to waste any more time in letting you know how I really feel about you. I love you,” Sam said.

  “Sam, I… we need to talk.” Loren held up her hand to silence him when he opened his mouth to speak. “So much has happened and I really think we need to talk about it before we jump into an engagement or a marriage for that matter. It is very likely that you may not want to marry me after you hear what I have to say.”

  Not again, that is what Sam was thinking. First Stephanie and now Loren, what could she possibly have to say to him that would be worse than what he had to tell her? He knew that he should have told her about Jordan before popping the question, but it was the best way he could think of to convince her that he loved her before she found out.

  “We have lots to talk about, but why don’t we just enjoy this quite time together?” he suggested. “We can talk later when you are feeling better.”

  Loren could see she wasn’t going to win this battle, so she gave in. What would one more night hurt anyway? She would tell him everything tomorrow and hope that he could find it in his heart to forgive her and if he couldn’t then she would just have to find a way to accept it and move on.

  The night shift nurse bounced into the room unannounced, and introduced herself. “Hi Miss Randolph, my name is Candy and I will be your nurse tonight. Please just give me a buzz if you need anything, but I am guessing you probably won’t. Looks like you are in good hands for the night,” she said, giving Sam a wink.

  “Thank you,” Loren replied.

  Candy left the hospital room, just as quickly as she had come in, leaving her alone with Sam once again.

  Loren scooted over to make room for Sam on the bed. She patted the spot that she had just vacated. “Come lie down with me,” she said.

  Sam took the spot that she offered; moving around until they were both comfortable with Loren snuggled in his arms, which was exactly where she belonged he thought as he watched her drift off to sleep.

  Chapter 28

  Sunlight spilled in from the only window in Loren’s hospital room. She opened her eyes, blinking once or twice to bring herself awake.

  The spot next her on the bed where Sam had been sleeping was now empty. He must have gone to get coffee, she reasoned to explain his absence.

  She sat up and stretched, then swung her legs over the side of the bed. Loren could hear voices outside her room, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying from where she still sat perched on the bed.

  On her way to the bathroom, she stopped to see if she recognize who the voices belonged to. It was two separate voices, one female and one male. The conversation sounded more like a heated argument.

  “What are you saying?” There was no mistaking that voice, it belonged to Sam.

  “Are you going to just stand there and deny that she hasn’t told you?”

  “I am not denying anything. She hasn’t told me anything, but I’m sure there’s a good explanation for it,” Sam said.

  “Now that she has lost the baby, she probably won’t even mention it to you. How can you trust someone like that enough to want to marry them?”

  Loren ran to the bathroom with her hand held over her mouth. The sound of Stephanie’s voice brought the vile up from her stomach without warning.

  By the time she had finished her retching and gotten herself cleaned up, it was quite outside her door. She had missed the rest of the conversation between Sam and Stephanie.

  There was really nothing more to do but sit and wait for Sam to come back, if he even did. He would probably be very angry with her, but she had a mind to quickly remind him that if he hadn’t have spent the night with Stephanie then
he would have known about the baby.

  Furthermore, she would not have acted like a crazy woman and ran off to Winter Wonderland on her horse, which caused her to lose the baby. As far as she was concerned this whole mess was more his fault than hers anyway. So let him be angry with her if wanted to.

  The door creaked open. Loren turned to face the door to see who was coming in, half expecting it to be Sam. Good Lord, why did it have to be Stephanie? She had truly had enough of her and her conniving schemes. “What do you want?” she asked, rather bluntly.

  “You know what I want. I want Sam!” she exclaimed.

  “Why are you telling me that? It is Sam’s choice who he wants to be with, not mine.”

  “He knows your precious little secret and once he’s confirmed that I am telling him the truth about your deceiving lies, he is going to drop you like a hot potato!” Stephanie said, almost screaming the words at her.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Loren lied. She had no intention of discussing the baby or the loss of it with her most hated enemy.

  “You can act all sweet and innocent if you want to. Your little charade will be over in due time, just you wait and see.”

  “I have had enough of your tantrums to last me an eternity. Get out of my room now before I call security.” Loren screamed at her. She had tried to not let Stephanie rile her to the point of losing her temper, but it was too late. She was ready to pounce on her like a wild cat.

  Thank goodness that as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Dr. Kim walked in. She looked none too happy with Stephanie. “And what do we have going on in here?” she asked.

  “My unwanted guest was just leaving,” Loren replied.

  “As you wish, but this is not over,” Stephanie said. She turned on her heel and exited the room very abruptly.

  “Is everything okay?” Dr. Kim asked, once the room was clear of Stephanie’s company.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to tell Sam about the baby and I overheard a conversation between him and Stephanie outside my door this morning. I don’t know how Stephanie knew, but she did and she told him.” Loren wiped at the tears in her eyes and sniffed.

  Dr. Kim patted her hand, hoping to comfort the poor child. “I am sure Sam will understand once he hears the whole story.”

  “But what if he doesn’t?” Loren asked.

  “He will.” Dr. Kim scribbled a few words on her chart and changed the subject. “Do you think you are still feeling up to going home today?”

  “Oh yes! I don’t want to spend one more day here. I want to go home and get as far away from that woman as I can.” They both laughed, but Loren still had tears streaming down her face. She wiped at them and blew her nose on the tissue that Dr. Kim handed her.

  “Good, the nurse will call you in some pain medication, just in case you need it. You may still have a little bleeding for several days, but that is normal. Call me if you have any questions or concerns.” Dr. Kim handed her a small note paper with her cell number scribbled on it. “Call me any time, day or night if you need me.”

  Loren was still fighting to hold back more tears when Sam walked into the room.

  Dr. Kim instantly turned to look at Sam. “Are you going to be taking Loren home?” she asked.

  “I am,” he said to Dr. Kim. “Your parents are going to wait for us at MG. I told them I would have you home safe and sound, as soon as the doctor released you,” he directed at Loren.

  “Take good care of her Sam.” Dr. Kim patted him on the shoulder on the way out.

  “How about we get you dressed?” he said, being careful to not make eye contact with Loren. It broke her heart to know that he was upset with her, but maybe there was still hope since he was still willing to drive her home.

  “I think we should talk first,” she answered. She laid her hands in her lap and clasped them together to keep them from shaking so badly. Loren felt more nervous now than she had the first time that she had made love with Sam.

  “Can’t it wait?”

  She looked at him with tear filled eyes again. “Sam, I have to get this out now. The lies and secrets are eating me alive inside. Please….” Her voice trailed off.

  “I’m listening.” He waited for her to continue.

  Loren took a deep breath. “I was going to tell you about the baby yesterday, but when Stephanie answered your door that changed everything.” Sam started to speak, so she held up her hand to keep him silenced. “Just let me finish before you say anything. I know it was crazy for me to run off on the horse the way I did but surely you can understand that I was upset. I never meant to put the baby or myself in danger. I am sorry that I lost the baby and I am sorry that Stephanie had to be the one to tell you.” Loren hung her head in shame.

  Sam walked closer to the bed and lifted her chin, so that she was forced to look at him. “You overheard our conversation this morning, didn’t you?” he asked.

  “I only heard part of your conversation,” she corrected. “I got sick at the sound of her voice and had to make a run for the bathroom. By the time I was done puking my guts out, you were both gone.”

  A sly grin etched across Sam’s face. “I went to get the car ready. I have to admit, I thought Stephanie was lying about the baby and well if she wasn’t, then I knew you would have a good explanation for it and would tell me when the time was right.”

  “So you aren’t mad at me then? You didn’t go confirm her story with Dr. Kim?” Loren asked in disbelief.

  “No, I am not mad at you. I told you last night that I love you and I meant it. And as far as confirming her story; are you so wet behind the ears that you don’t know anything about patient-doctor confidentiality?”

  Loren blushed. She guessed that she had a lot of growing up to do. “Lucky for me, I have you to teach me all about being grown up.” She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him in close enough to plant a big wet kiss on his soft warm lips.

  “Now, I have some confessing of my own,” he stated. He held up his hand to give her the signal that it was her turn to sit and be patient. “I am not sure there is an easy way to say this, so I am just going to spit it out. Stephanie has recently told me that Jordan is my son. And when I say recently, I mean yesterday while you were in surgery.” He paused briefly to give her a minute to let his words sink in, before continuing. “Apparently we had a one night stand several years ago when she came home for a visit. She had picked me up at a bar in a drunken state. I could have sworn that we had made love, but she convinced me that nothing had happened between us. Since I had been too drunk to remember much of anything from that night, I believed her. She packed up and went back to Paris and I went back to taking care of MG Ranch. I didn’t see or hear anything else from her again, until now.”

  He watched Loren’s face closely trying to gage her reaction to all that he had just told her. “I want you to know that this does not change how I feel about you or that I still want to marry you, but I hope you can understand that I have to do what is right with Jordan if a blood test proves that he is my son.”

  It was Loren’s turn to accept the news that he offered and decide how it would affect their future together. It was true that she hated Stephanie with every fiber of her being, but she couldn’t hate Jordan if she wanted to. It wouldn’t be fair to blame him for the sins that had been committed by the adults in his life. “I wouldn’t expect it any other way Sam. I love you. Our future is together and if that means that Jordan will be a part of our family, then so be it. I am kind of fond of the little squirt anyway.”

  “That settles it then. Let’s get you out of this bed and dressed before something crazy happens,” he said. They both burst into laughter. It felt good to be happy again.

  “I would prefer for something crazy to happen, but since that would be going against doctor’s orders, I guess I better get dressed.” Loren accepted the kiss that Sam planted firmly on her lips.

  “It’s time to take you home where you belong,” Sam
said.

  “Where we both belong,” Loren corrected. “MG Ranch is our home.

  Sam felt more at peace than he had in his whole life. Not only had he found the woman who could mend his broken heart, but MG would now be his real home.

  The End