A Baby on the Ranch

“I don’t need a wheelchair,” she protested. “I can walk.”

“Make them happy, Kasey. Let them push the wheelchair to the front entrance,” he coaxed.

Giving in, she beckoned him over to her before he went off in search of the nurse. When he leaned in to her, she lightly caressed his cheek. “You’re a good man, Eli. What would I do without you?”

He, for one, was glad that she didn’t have to find out. And that he didn’t have to find out, either, for that matter.

“You’d manage, Kasey. You’d manage.” She was resilient and she’d find a way to forge on. He had no doubts about that.

He might not have any doubts, but she did.

“Not very well,” she said in a whisper meant more for her than for him. Eli had already gone out to notify a nurse that she was ready.

Even though she really wasn’t ready, Kasey thought, fighting a wave of panic. She did what she could to tamp it down. She wasn’t ready to face being a mother all by herself. This wasn’t how she’d pictured her life at this very crucial point.

A tear slid down her cheek.

Frustrated, Kasey brushed it aside. But another one only came to take its place, silently bearing testimony to the sadness within her.

The sadness that threatened to swallow her up whole, without leaving a trace.

Chapter Two

Kasey thought she was seeing things when Eli brought his vehicle to the front of the hospital and she caught a glimpse of what was in the backseat. She could feel the corners of her eyes stinging.

Leave it to Eli.

“You bought him an infant seat.” Her voice hitched and she pressed her lips together, afraid that a sob might suddenly break free and betray just how fragile her emotions were right now.

Eli nodded as he got out of the Jeep and hurried around the hood of his vehicle to her side. The nurse who had brought the wheelchair had pushed Kasey and the baby right up to the curb and stood behind them, waiting for Kasey and her son to get into the vehicle.

Was Kasey upset, or were those happy tears shimmering in her eyes? Eli couldn’t tell. Even though he’d grown up with Alma, he’d come to the conclusion that all women should come with some kind of a manual or at least a road map to give a guy a clue so he could properly navigate a course.

“I got the last one at the Emporium,” he told her. “I know that Rick would cut me some slack if I took the baby home without a car seat, given the circumstances,” he said, referring to the sheriff. “It’s not like there’s a whole lot of traffic around here. But I thought you’d feel safer if Wayne was strapped into his own infant seat when he’s traveling.”

“I do,” she said with feeling, her voice just barely above a whisper as she struggled to keep the tears back. What might have seemed like a small act of kindness to a casual observer threatened to completely undo her. “Thank you.”

Never comfortable with being on the receiving end of gratitude, Eli merely shrugged away her thanks.

He looked down at the sleeping infant in her arms. It almost seemed a shame to disturb him, he seemed so peaceful. But they did have to get going.

While he was fairly adept at holding an infant, strapping one into an infant seat was something else. Eli looked from Wayne to the infant seat in the rear of the Jeep and then slanted a glance toward the nurse. He didn’t like admitting to being helpless, but there was a time to put pride aside and own up to a situation.

“Um…” Eli dragged the single sound out, as if, if he continued debating long enough, a solution would occur to him.

The nurse, however, was in a hurry.

“If you open the door—” the young woman pointed to the side closest to the infant seat “—I’ll strap your little guy into his seat for you,” she offered.

Relieved, Eli immediately swung the rear door open for the nurse. “I’d really appreciate that. Thanks,” he told her heartily.

“Nothing to it.” With a nod in his direction, the nurse turned her attention to the baby in her patient’s arms. “If you’re lucky,” she said to Kasey as she eased the infant from her arms, “he’ll just sleep right through this.”

Cooing softly to the baby that Kasey had just released, the nurse leaned into the Jeep’s backseat and very deftly strapped Wayne Eli Stonestreet in for his very first car ride. Eli moved closer, watching her every move intently and memorizing them.

“You’re all set,” the young woman announced, stepping back onto the curb and behind the wheelchair. She took hold of the two handlebars in the back. “Time to get you into your seat, too,” she told Kasey.

Eli offered Kasey his hand as she began to stand. Feeling slightly wobbly on her feet, Kasey flushed. “I didn’t think I was going to feel this weak,” she protested, annoyed. “After all, it’s been three days. I should be stronger by now.”

“You will be,” Eli assured her. Getting her into the front passenger seat, he paused to thank the nurse again. The latter, holding on to the back of the wheelchair, was all set to leave. Eli flashed her a grateful smile. “Thanks for your help with the baby. I figure it’s going to take me a while before I get good at all this.”

The nurse released the brakes on either side of the wheelchair. “It won’t take as long as you might think,” she told him. “It’ll all become second nature to you in a blink of an eye. Before you know it, you’ll be doing all that and more in your sleep.” She smiled as she nodded toward the back of the Jeep. “These little guys have a habit of bringing out the very best in their parents.”

He was about to correct the woman, telling her that he wasn’t Wayne’s father, but the nurse had already turned on her heel and was quickly propelling the wheelchair in front of her, intent on going back and returning the wheelchair to its proper place. Calling after her wasn’t worth the effort.

And besides, he had to admit that, deep down, he really liked the idea of being mistaken for Wayne’s father, liked the way someone thinking that he and Kasey were actually a family made him feel.

You’re too old to be playing make-believe like this, he upbraided himself. Still, the thought of their being an actual family lingered a while longer.

As did his smile.

With his passengers both in the Jeep and safely secured, Eli hurried around the front of his vehicle and slid in behind the steering wheel. A minute later the engine revved and he was pulling away from the curb, beginning the fifty-mile trip to Forever. More specifically, to the small ranch that was just on the outskirts of that town.

His ranch, he thought, savoring the burst of pride he felt each time he thought of the place. He was full of all sorts of big plans for it. Plans that were within his control to implement.

Unlike other things.

Because he didn’t want to disturb the baby, Eli had left the radio off. Consequently, they drove in silence for a while. There was a time that Kasey had been exceedingly talkative and exuberant, but right now she was quiet. Almost eerily so. He wondered if it was best just to leave her to her thoughts, or should he get her talking, just in case the thoughts she was having centered around Hollis and her present chaotic state of affairs.

If it was the latter, he decided that he needed to raise up her spirits a little, although what method to use eluded him at the moment.

It hadn’t always been this way. There was a time when he’d known just what to do, what to say to make her laugh and forget about whatever it was that was bothering her. Back then, it usually had something to do with her verbally abusive father, who only grew more so when he drank.

Eli was about to say something about the baby—he figured that it was best to break the ice with a nice, safe topic—when Kasey suddenly spoke up.

It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear.

“I can’t let you do this,” she told him abruptly, feeling woven about each word.

“Do what?” he asked. The blanket statement was rather vague, although, in his gut, he had a feeling he knew what she was referring to. Still, he decided to play dumb as he stalled. “Drive you?” he guessed.

“No, have me stay at your ranch with the baby.” She turned in her seat to face him. “I can’t put you out like that.”

“Put me out?” he repeated with a dismissive laugh. “You’re not putting me out, Kasey, you’re doing me a favor.”

She looked at him, unconvinced and just a little confused. “How is my staying at your place with a crying newborn doing you a favor?”

“Well, you might remember that I grew up with four brothers and a sister,” he began, stating a fact tongue-in-cheek since he knew damn well that she knew. Growing up, she’d all but adopted his family, preferring them to her own. “That made for pretty much a full house, and there was always noise. An awful lot of noise,” he emphasized. “When I got a chance to get my own place, I figured that all that peace and quiet would be like finally reaching heaven.”