Ryelee's Cowboy (13 page)

“I’ll stop by this afternoon and help
with the wedding plans,” Annie called over her shoulder, leading
Burke out of the bedroom. They smiled at each other as they
left.

Rheenie was full of question. Could
she call Ryelee Mama? Will the baby be her brother or sister? If
she didn't like the baby, could they give it back?

Clint and Ryelee shared a secret
smile. “Yes, yes, and no,” Clint answered.

Rheenie screwed up her little face.
“Which one yes, which one no?”

“Yes, you can call Ryelee Mama. Yes,
the baby will be your brother or sister, and no, we are not sending
it back.”

Rheenie tilted her head at him. “How
‘bout a compmiser?”

Ryelee laughed at Clint’s confusion.
“She wants a compromise.”

“Not gonna happen, young lady.” Clint
started to tickle her.

Her laughter rang throughout the house
leaving everyone in a cheerful mood.

“I’m hungry,” Ryelee said. “Let’s have
breakfast.”

“You are not to get out of that bed
until we see the doctor. I’ll fix breakfast.”

Ryelee glared at him with the threat
of mutiny, but in the end, she smiled and thanked him.

Chapter Seven

All the wedding plans overwhelmed
Ryelee. She had wanted a simple wedding with no guests besides
Annie and Burke, but Annie wouldn’t hear of it. Ryelee thought
Annie had invited about half the town. Annie insisted on having it
at her house, and she insisted on paying for it as her wedding
gift.

Rheenie was on cloud nine. She was
going to be the flower girl, and she had a brand new pink princess
dress to wear. Best of all, she was going to have a
mama.

Ryelee tried to mirror her excitement,
but she knew she was faking it. She never wanted anything as much
as she wanted to marry Clint, but she was so afraid that he would
find out about her part in the rustling. Her father tainted
everything good in her life, even when he wasn’t around. How she
hated him.

She had just come to think she
deserved some type of happiness. It would be dishonest to marry
Clint, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted any happiness she
could get even though she knew it would lead to heartbreak
later.

* * * *

Clint walked in from the barn and
immediately drew Ryelee into his arms and nibbled on her bottom lip
before kissing her deeply. There was nothing better than Ryelee’s
kisses. The doctor had told them that a wedding night wouldn’t be
wise at this point. Ryelee wanted to postpone the wedding, but
Clint wanted her as his wife. He wanted to make her his.

She made him as randy as a stallion.
Holding her in bed had been torture. He wanted to make love to her.
He wanted to see her naked. He just knew she would be
beautiful.

Ryelee pulled away from his mouth and
put her head on his shoulder. “A few more days,” she
murmured.

Clint loved her apple red cheeks. He
knew she was embarrassed, feeling his arousal straining against his
wranglers.

Clint hugged her and let her go. “A
Christmas Eve wedding is so fitting.”

“Think so?”

“You’ve never had Christmas, and
getting married is going to be the topper to your ultimate
happiness and joy and pleasure and bliss…”

Ryelee laughed, hitting him with the
kitchen towel. “I’m already happy being here with you and Rheenie,”
she said, her blue eyes glowing at him.

“It’s going to be almost seventy
degrees out today. Can you believe it? Texas weather is always so
unpredictable. Do you think you could hang the sheets out on the
line? You’re the only person I know that does, and the smell and
feel of the sheets are pure heaven.”

* * * *

Ryelee stiffened. She didn't want to
hang sheets, but she couldn’t deny his request. “I’d be happy to
make your bed heavenly,” she said, with promises in her
eyes.

“None of that woman,” he growled. “I
can only take so much.”

“All right, cowboy, I’ll
behave.”

“Glad to hear it.” He kissed Ryelee on
the cheek. “See you later.”

“Bye.” She watched him walk toward the
barn. He was so sexy. He really rocked those jeans. Her worries
were getting the best of her as she thought about the possibility
of seeing her father. It put a fog around her happiness. He
couldn’t watch the house all the time, she reasoned, and went
upstairs to get the sheets.

Naptime provided the perfect
opportunity to hang up the washed sheets. Ryelee wasn’t taking any
chances with Rheenie’s safety. Her stomach tied in knots as she
wondered about her father. It felt nice and warm out, and Ryelee
could feel a Texas breeze kick up.

She began to hum as she hung the
sheets and thought about how much fun she planned to have in the
spring planting flowers. She hoped to plant roses like those the
Dawsons had growing around their house.

She wanted to run when she saw her
father slip out of the woods and amble toward her. She couldn’t
take a chance. He might cause a scene, so she stood
strong..

“Looks like that brat you’re carrying
is gonna be a big-in.” He sneered at her. “You look no better than
you should—pregnant and unmarried.”

Ryelee tried to remain calm. “What do
you want?” She steeled her features, wanting to show as little
emotion as possible.

“I need money, girl. That’s why I’m
here. I happen to know that you make a good buck working as a
servant,” he said as he scratched his bulging belly.

“I don’t have any money. I spent
it.”

“Woo wee! Look at that rock! How many
times did you sleep with him to earn that?” He grabbed her hand and
started to wrestle the ring off her finger.

“Stop it,” Ryelee hissed, pushing him
away. His putrid breath made her want to heave.

Oscar studied her for a moment. “I
suppose that the fool who gave you this will miss it. I’ll save
that little gem for later. Right now, I need cattle info.” He
grinned.

“No more.”

“Oh yes, girly, much more. I could
just tell the great and mighty Dawsons how I got the info before,
you stupid cow.”

“What do you need?” She raised a
trembling hand to her forehead. She tried to stay calm, but her
body betrayed her.

“Another window of time.”

“What?”

“Damn it, girl, do I have to spell
everything out to you? I need you to find out the Christmas
schedule. I bet the Dawsons give them cowboys the day
off.”

Ryelee began to panic. She knew that
they’d moved cattle closer to the ranch house for the winter. Her
father was sure to be caught. She took a deep breath, hating
herself for what she was about to tell him. “They’ll all be at my
wedding on Christmas Eve.”

Oscar scoffed. “What time is the grand
event?”

Ryelee closed her eyes. “Four
o’clock.”

“That’s my, girl,” her father said
sarcastically.

“Just go. And don’t get caught. I
never want to see you again.”

“I wouldn’t count on that,” he said as
he turned away. “Happy Christmas.”

Ryelee watched him walk away. Her
stomach churned so much that she ran inside to the bathroom.
Ashamed, she couldn’t even look at herself as she rinsed her mouth
out at the sink. She had betrayed all she loved. She realized now
her father would be back again and again. How was she supposed to
live with the very people she had helped steal from?

She needed to check on Rheenie. A
shiver went through her body. What if he hurt Rheenie? Opening the
door, she saw Rheenie asleep..

“Ryelee, you up there?” Clint
called.

Ryelee went to the top of the stairs
and put her finger to her nose. “Rheenie is napping,” she
whispered.

Clint frowned. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, just a bit queasy.” She
walked down the stairs afraid to look at him, certain he would see
the evil in her eyes.

Clint took her into his arms and
kissed her cheek. “Anything I need to know about? Worry
about?”

“No, nothing. I’ll be fine.” She tried
to sound calm and cheerful. She thought she failed miserably, but
Clint didn't comment.

Clint studied her as she walked to the
stove and grabbed the teakettle. He was waiting. He watched as she
filled the chrome kettle with water and placed it on the stove. He
still waited. He continued to watch as she got the teapot and cups
ready.

“Did you want some tea?” she
asked.

Clint stared at her. “No, I have a lot
to do. I might be late.”

“I’ll keep your dinner
warm.”

“Fine,” he said, walking out of the
door.

Ryelee worried all day. Was Clint
acting strange, or was it just her imagination? It had to be her
imagination due to her immense guilt, she decided.

Rheenie had helped her make a stew for
dinner. Ryelee fed Rheenie early, she wanted to wait until Clint
came in so the two of them could eat together. After bathing
Rheenie and reading her a story, she finally got her to
sleep.

The downstairs was so silent. Ryelee
could hear the ticking of the second hand on the kitchen clock. It
made her feel jumpy. She felt the baby move and smiled. She
couldn’t wait for Clint to get home so she could tell him it wasn’t
just butterfly movement but real movement.

She got up, stirred the stew a few
times, and wondered what was taking him so long. The exhaustion
from her fretting and her nervousness was enough to make her want
to sleep for a week.

She started to pace, looking out the
windows as she passed. Finally, she sat down on the couch and put
the quilt over her.

* * * *

Clint watched the house from the barn.
He hoped that Ryelee would hurry up and go to bed. He didn't want
to talk to her. She had lied to him. He gave her a chance to tell
him about her father's visit. Why hadn't she told him? Didn't she
trust him?

Anger and hurt consumed him. Frankly,
he had nothing to say to her. He tried all afternoon to sort out
his feelings, but everything was just a jumbled mess. He still
loved her—that much he knew. As for the rest, he felt all turned
around.

He decided not to wait any more.
Ryelee needed her rest, and he didn't want her waiting up for him.
He made long purpose-driven strides across the yard and into the
house.

The quietness surprised him. He could
smell Ryelee’s heavenly stew. It was one of his favorite dishes. He
wondered where Ryelee was, and he soon found her curled up asleep
on the couch.

She looked so innocent lying there
with the colorful lights from the Christmas tree splashing onto her
face and hair. She was so heart-achingly beautiful. He loved her
more than he’d ever loved a woman. The rest could wait, he decided.
Everything would fall into place.

He gently gathered her into his arms
and carried her to bed. She never even woke as he put her into bed
and tucked her in. He was just overreacting, he thought as he
leaned over and kissed her cheek.

* * * *

It was finally Christmas Eve day.
Ryelee was a nervous wreck. Clint had been giving her long,
brooding looks the past two days, and she didn't know what to make
of it. He was still affectionate to her, holding and kissing her,
but something was off. Maybe he was getting cold feet.

Ryelee sat at Annie’s vanity watching
Mrs. Harvy put her hair up. She smiled at her reflection. Both
Annie and Rheenie were in the room jabbering away. Rheenie looked
like a princess in her frothy pink dress.

She stood next to Ryelee looking at
both of their reflections. “We don’t look alike.”

“You look just like your daddy,”
Ryelee replied with a smile. With her jet black hair and whiskey
colored eyes, she was all Clint.

“I want to look like you, my new
mama,” she demanded. Rheenie screwed up her face and put her little
hands on her hips.

Oh, boy. “We can both wear the same
flowers in our hair,” she suggested.

“I’m supposed to have something old,
blue, new, and something else.”

Annie gently put her hands on
Rheenie’s shoulder. “Come on, Princess, we can find all that in
this very room,” she said as she steered Rheenie away from
Ryelee.

Ryelee and Annie exchanged smiles in
the mirror. She was glad to have Annie for a friend. She had been
so nervous that Annie would invite people who didn't even like her,
so she was relieved that the guest list included all the ranch
hands, Mrs. Harvy, Noreen, Gus, Bo, Hank, and Mrs.
Steven.

Ryelee was especially excited to see
her mentor and lifesaver Mrs. Steven. She knew she wouldn’t have
made it without the librarian’s help. She couldn’t imagine what
would have happened to her if Mrs. Steven hadn’t helped with her
education.

The white wedding dress fit perfectly,
with its empire waist and long sleeves. It didn't have a train at
Ryelee’s request. She was concerned that she would trip on it. The
petticoat she wore underneath made her pregnancy almost
non-detectable. She couldn’t believe the beautiful woman standing
before the mirror was her.