SECOND CHANCES AT MG RANCH (17 page)

C
hapter 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 had 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 patt
ed 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 we
re 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 t
his 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?”

“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 g
rowing 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.