Ryelee's Cowboy (27 page)

“It’s okay, baby, I’m here,” he
whispered, kissing the top of her head.

“We need to get out of here. Far, far
away!” Ryelee told him, becoming hysterical.

Clint quickly scooped her up into his
arms, and she slump against him. “We’ll be home soon,” he promised,
carrying her to the car. He could feel the wetness of her
jeans.

“Ryelee, talk to me. Are you ok? Did
he…”

Ryelee hugged him tightly around the
neck. “No, Clint, he didn't, but I need to get to the hospital.”
She gasped, and her body stiffened as she whimpered.

“It’s the baby, isn’t it?”

He felt her nod against his shoulder
as he lifted her into the truck. He leaned over and put her
seatbelt on, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry,
honey. We’ll be at the hospital in no time.”

“How long have you been in labor?” he
asked, as he drove.

“Not...Not long. My water just broke,”
she gasped out as another contraction hit her.

Clint held her hand as he drove.
“Those contractions are getting closer together.”

“My back’s been killing me for hours
now.”

Clint nodded, realizing that the back
pain had been a warning to get to the hospital. “Are you sure
you’re okay?”

“Yes. Yes, it was Bubba. He kidnapped
me. He told me that I had to go to the station for more
questioning. I was stupid enough to go with him.” she managed to
say as another wave of pain washed over her. “He killed Cletus, and
I think he killed Lottie. Remember how we searched for Lottie? I
found her name carved in the wall of the cabin.

“It’s too soon for the baby, Clint.
I’m scared.” Her voice trembled as tears ran down her pale
face.

Clint looked at her, not liking the
distress evident on her face. “No, Ryelee, you’ll be fine. The baby
will be fine. You’re almost thirty-five weeks. Rheenie was born
early too, and just look at her.”

“How did you find me?”

“I’ll tell you later. We’re almost
there, and you need to save your strength for the fun pushing part.
Ryelee?”

“Yes?”

“Ryelee Maloney, I love you,” he
proclaimed as they pulled up to the emergency entrance.

Ryelee was promptly whisked away
before Clint heard her reply.

Chapter Fifteen

Clint gazed at his sleeping wife. She
looked sweeter than an angel, and his heart nearly burst with love.
Her hair arranged on her pillow made her golden-red locks look like
rays of sunshine. He had been concerned during the birth. She
nearly squeezed the life out of his hand, but they held on to each
other. There couldn’t be a prouder husband and father.

The hospital nursery was full of
newborns, but Clint easily picked out his new daughter. Her red
hair looked just like her mother’s. What little there was looked so
beautiful. Her dainty face was a joy to look at. Clint fell in love
with her the second he saw her. Although he promised to love the
child like his own, he’d had doubts about it a time or two.
Happily, that was behind him. This child was his. No more
doubts.

Blessings like this didn’t happen to
him often, and he felt so joyous inside. He moved closer to the
bed, a big bouquet of colorful, fragrant flowers in his hand. It
hadn’t been hard to pick out the flowers. He chose wild flowers for
his wild Ryelee.

His grin grew bigger as Ryelee awoke,
her cornflower blue eyes filled with love. She reached out her arms
and Clint readily went to her and hugged her back. Sitting on the
side of the bed, he kissed her cheek, trying to be careful not to
hurt her. To his surprise, her cheeks were wet with
tears.

* * * *

Ryelee smiled at him through her
tears. “Happy tears,” she whispered. Reaching up to caress his
unshaven face, she took inventory of him. He looked tired but
happy. “Have you seen her?”

“Just a few minutes ago. It was easy
to spot her. She’s a beauty, just like her mama,” he said, his eyes
never leaving her face.

Ryelee hesitated for a second
luxuriating in the glorious moment. “Did you mean what you
said?”

“What would that be?”

Suddenly shy, she didn’t know what to
say. She just had to know if he really loved her. “You said you
love me.” She held her breath for the answer.

Watching his smile grow bigger and his
eyes get misty greatly relieved her. She could tell that he meant
it. Her heart suddenly felt too full. It had been a struggle, but
she had made it out the other side. The happy side of
life.

“I love you with my whole being,
Ryelee. I love you and our new daughter. I’ve been such an ass at
times. I’m the luckiest cowboy alive.”

Ryelee smiled at him. She adored this
man. “I love you too. I have for a very long time. I think it
started on that day you rescued me from the tree,” she said
happily.

A nurse brought the baby in for her
feeding and started to hand her to Ryelee. “Wait, I want to hold
her,” Clint said.

Clint cradled his new daughter in his
arms, his large tanned hand supporting her tiny head. Ryelee’s
heart flipped over. If she didn’t already love Clint, she would
have fallen in love with him that very moment. The loving way he
looked at the baby made her eyes tear. She had never seen anything
more beautiful, and it touched her deeply. Beyond words, she simply
smiled at Clint, who grinned back.

Handing the baby to Ryelee, Clint
watched while Ryelee opened the top of her gown. She felt a bit
self-conscious as she bared one of her plump breasts. It was
amazing that a baby would instinctively know what to do, and Ryelee
felt relieved when the baby latched on to her nipple.

“We need to name her,” she said,
almost embarrassed by Clint’s rapt attention.

“If I hadn’t been such a jerk, we’d
have talked about this long before now. I am sorry, Ryelee. I
treated you…”

“Shush, it’s over now. Our love is
strong. I was thinking of the name Lily. What do you
think?”

Clint nodded. “It’s a lovely name,
Lily Maloney. I like it.” He bent down to kiss Lily’s head, and
then he turned his head and kissed Ryelee’s creamy breast. “Lovely,
just like her mother.”

“You are a rascal, Clint Maloney!
Lucky for you I like rascals.”

“Like?” Clint asked, his eyebrows
rising.

“Okay. Love. I love rascals.” Smiling,
Ryelee finished feeding Lily while Clint looked on. She had just
finished burping her when the nurse came back in. Ryelee handed
Lily to Clint so he could hold her for a moment before the nurse
took her away to the nursery.

“How did you know where to find
me?”

“Mrs. Harvy saw you leave with Bubba
and told Burke. He rode out to get me, and we both drove into town
to the police station. It was practically empty, with only Sheila
working the phones.” He paused and took Ryelee’s hand.

“Sheila didn’t know anything about it.
In fact, she distinctly remembered Chief Bodin warning Bubba to
avoid you. He was to have no contact with you at all. Fortunately
your father was there.”

Ryelee was shocked. “What did my
father have to do with it?” she asked with a sinking
feeling.

“Bubba was the mastermind behind
rustling the Dawson’s cattle. Your father owed Bubba a substantial
amount of money. That bastard sold you to Bubba, but in the end he
reneged.”

“I know. Bubba told me.” Her father’s
callousness shamed her.

“Apparently yesterday Bubba told your
father, in great detail, what he had planned for you. He also told
him that it was his last day on earth. It seems that Bubba planned
to come back and kill him. I guess he didn’t want any witnesses to
his crimes.”

“I can’t believe my father helped
you,” Ryelee said, shaking her head.

“He wanted revenge on Bubba. He knew
all about the cabin too. Bubba showed up, but Burke was ready for
him and held him at gunpoint until we got him into a cell. After
that, I raced to find you.”

“Thank God you got there in time.”
Ryelee opened her arms to him. She wanted to feel safe in his arms.
She needed to feel safe. She wanted to feel his heartbeat against
hers.

Ryelee felt so serene in the circle of
Clint’s arms. She wanted to stay in the center of them, but she had
more questions. Pulling back, she looked upon his face. Seeing his
love radiating from him astounded her.

“My father had something to do with
ending Sybil’s pregnancy,” she confessed timidly.

Clint nodded. “He told me about it and
the threats he made against me and Rheenie. You did what you had
to. I understand that now.”

“You’re in a forgiving
mood.”

“You don’t believe me?” He sounded
hurt.

“I feel so blessed that you know all
about me but you love me anyway. I’ve felt so guilt-ridden for so
long. I hated keeping things from you. I wanted to tell you the
whole of it ever since my father first threatened me, but I was so
afraid. I was afraid you’d make me leave, and by then I loved both
you and Rheenie and, of course, the baby and—”

“Whoa. Slow down. It’s all water under
the bridge. I’m just grateful that you and Lily are all right. That
is all that matters. I want it all, Ryelee. I want your love, a
happy marriage, passion, and our family. You, me, Rheenie, and
Lily—that’s all I need.”

“Oh, Clint, you take my breath away.
You are everything I have ever dreamt of, and I have a good feeling
that all our dreams are coming true. Thank you for this pretty pink
gown. I’ve never had a new nightgown before.”

“Rheenie helped to pick it
out.”

“I bet Rheenie is anxious to meet her
sister,” Ryelee said, happily.

Clint tried to hold back his laugh but
couldn’t. “She has everyone running circles around her. She insists
that Burke carry her everywhere. She’s been staying with the
Dawsons a lot lately. Of course she wants to be called Princess
Rheenie.”

Ryelee kissed Clint’s heavily
whiskered face. Tired, that’s how he looked. Very tired. There was
still one piece of the puzzle she needed to know, but she was
afraid. Where had he gone all those nights? She knew she probably
wouldn’t like the answer, and she wished she could forget about it,
just brush it away like it never happened.

Closing her eyes, she promised herself
to deal with it when she got home. Now wasn’t the time, even though
she had a gnawing need to know.

She said kissed his cheek again. “Tell
me more about Rheenie.”

Clint held her tight. “Rheenie thinks
that she’s supposed to name the baby.” He chuckled. “Let’s see.
First, she wanted the name to be Princess, but then she didn’t want
anyone else to be a princess. Sunshine two and Ryelee junior were
much talked about.”

Ryelee laughed against his throat.
“That sounds like my daughter.” Clint kissed the top of her head.
“This is nice, being together.”

“It sure is. I can’t wait to get you
home where you belong.”

Her love for Clint grew. Ryelee smiled
at him and snuggled against him, falling asleep.

* * * *

Once it was finally time for Clint to
bring both mother and baby home, an air of excitement surrounded
him. He couldn’t wait until Ryelee saw her surprise. He had worked
so hard and long. Rheenie wanted to come to the hospital, but Clint
persuaded her that she needed to stay behind, ready to yell
surprise to her mama.

Clint walked into Ryelee’s hospital
room carrying a baby seat. Watching her nurse Lily astounded him.
Ryelee glowed as she gazed at her baby. Looking up at him, she
smiled. Her happiness washed over him, and he could feel its power.
“It’s the big day.”

Ryelee nodded as she detached Lily
from her breast. Holding her against her shoulder, Ryelee burped
her. She looked at Clint and laughed. “She looks dainty, but she
burps like a cowboy.”

Clint folded his arms in mock outrage.
“I don’t think you should slander us cowboys like that. Her burps
are louder than the average cowboy.”

Obviously trying to suppress her
laughter, Ryelee said, “I apologize to all cowboys.”

“Here, let me take her while you get
dressed.” Clint reached out for Lily, his heart swelling as he
gazed at her. “She’s so beautiful, just like you.”

Ryelee groaned as she pulled on her
clothes.

“What’s wrong?”

“My maternity clothes still fit,” she
moaned.

“What did you expect? You just gave
birth. It takes a while to get your shape back.” He kissed Ryelee
on the cheek. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I love you any way I can
get you.”

“That’s reassuring. Did you hear that,
Lily? Your daddy loves me.” She secured the precious bundle into
the car seat.

“It’s time to go home.” Clint gently
picked up the baby seat.

“I’d like that. I want to go home.”
Ryelee sat in the wheelchair brought in by an orderly. “Clint, I
never got the chance to buy anything for the baby. The truth of the
matter is that I wasn’t sure if there would be a home for me to
bring her back to and I didn’t want to spend any money,” she
explained, looking embarrassed.