Above Rubies (Rockland Ranch) (5 page)

             
On Sunday, a week from the day they’d picked her up, they asked her if she wanted to go to church with them.  The bruising around her eyes was still slightly colorful and she still had the nose splint, so she self-consciously opted out, but she was grateful they asked.  She was surprised when every single person in the family piled in and left.  Even the farm hands could be seen leaving their homes in their Sunday best. She'd never been around church-going people.  It was striking that they were all so devout, but it was certainly a good thing.  She'd learned they were kind, clean living, hardworking and honest people and she definitely wanted to know more about their brand of belief.

             
On the eighth day, Rossen loaded her up and took her back to the doctor in Evanston.  Dr. Sundquist was pleased that her black eyes were so far healed and the whites were no longer bloodshot.  He took the stitches out of her head, and when he removed the splint from her nose, she felt human again. 

             
He was checking her chart and said, “You’ve gained nine pounds in seven days!  That’s excellent!”  He turned to her smiling and gave her a high five. 

             
Kit smiled back shyly.  “It’s because Rossen and Naomi feed me nonstop.  I’ll probably weigh two hundred pounds by next month.”

             
He looked at her over his glasses.  “A month might be pushing it, but for as tall as you are, and in your condition, 170 or 180 might be a realistic goal.  Just try to eat as nutritiously as you can and keep up some moderate exercise.  Swimming once the cast is off would be great.”  He scribbled on a prescription pad and ripped it off.  "These are vitamins.  If you can’t keep them down, take them before bed." 

After pausing for a moment, he glanced at Rossen and then looked back at Kit with a kindly face and gently asked, “How are you doing emotionally?  Are you able to really talk to Naomi, or should I refer you to a counselor?”

Kit hesitantly looked over at Rossen, but answered, “I think I’m doing okay.  Joey recommended I do some counseling research on-line and I think it’s helping.”

Dr. Sundquist met her eyes for a moment and
then nodded and said, “Some things take time.  Hang in there.  You’re in good hands now.  Try to put the past behind you.”

             
He started to wash his hands.  “All right, young lady, keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll see you in three weeks.  We’ll change that cast, and re-evaluate.  You can try squeezing a Nerf ball or playing with a set of magnets with that hand when you feel like it.”  He turned to Rossen.  “Tropical fruit will continue to help the last of that bruising.  Keep feeding her.  She needs it.” 

As he walked out the door,
he reached into a drawer and shuffled some papers.  He pulled out a business card and handed it to Kit.  “If you haven’t already got one, she’s very good.  Make an appointment like yesterday.”  He shook their hands and left the room.

             
Kit stared at the business card in her hand.  It was for an OB-GYN.  She wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but she assumed Dr. Sundquist wanted her to have prenatal care.  She didn’t have any way to pay for it and she didn’t know how to tell Rossen she was pregnant, but she knew she needed to.  She dreaded seeing the disappointment in his eyes and hated the fact that he would now think of her differently.

             
She couldn’t look at him at first. Hesitantly, she said, “Uhm, Rossen, remember that day in the hospital when you said you wanted me to be honest with you?”  She fidgeted with the edge of her cast with her good hand.  “There’s something you should know.”  She finally looked up into his eyes.  “I’m expecting a baby.”  She waited to see how disgusted he was.

             
His dark blue eyes calmly met her cobalt ones.  “I know.  I pretty much figured that out the night we picked you up.”  He held her coat to help her on with it. 

             
Turning to slip into the coat he held, she frowned, questioning, “You knew the whole time?  I’ve been worrying for a week about how to tell you, and you knew the whole time?”  She rolled her eyes, almost a little mad.  “Why didn’t you tell me you knew?”

             
He started to help her fasten the snaps and she pushed his hands away as he asked, “Does it matter?  What I know, or when, or how?”             

She struggled to fasten the snaps one handed.  “Of course it matters!  How could being pregnant not matter?”  He gently pushed her hand away and snapped her coat, then took her hand to pull her out the door.

              Leaning near, he asked softly, “Could we finish this conversation in the truck where there’s a bit more privacy?”  He indicated the office staff as they made her next appointment.

             
On the icy walk to the truck, he kept hold of her good arm until he opened the door to help her in.  With cast propped on a pillow, he shut her door and went around to the driver’s side and got in.  Starting the truck to get the heater going, he turned toward her and took up where they’d left off.  “Of course being pregnant matters, Kit.  It’s a huge deal.  My knowing is what doesn’t matter.  Does it?”

             
His comment felt like a slap and she looked up, wondering why he was being so harsh when he’d always been so gentle with her.  She searched his eyes and then looked down at her hands and mumbled, “I guess I just thought you would care, is all.”

             
He reached across the truck to turn her chin up so he could look at her.  His voice was infinitely gentle when he said, “I care more than you could ever imagine, Kit.  That’s not what I meant.  Even if I hadn’t gotten to know and care for you a great deal, I would still care.” 

             
He went on, “This is obviously not the ideal situation.  You’re too young.  You’re single.  You’re not really settled to have a child right now, and it apparently doesn’t have an involved father, but it is what it is.  We can’t change it.  It’s not like you can say never mind and put it back.  It’s unfortunate that you’re in this situation now, but the only thing to do is to handle it as well as possible.  It’s more than you now.  We have to take care of you and the baby, so that her life isn’t messed up because of something she had no say in.”  He was watching her eyes as he talked.

             
She looked down and was quiet for a moment and then asked, “Can I tell you something else?” 

             
“Absolutely.” 

             
She looked up and his kind face was comforting enough that it wasn’t as hard as she had thought it would be to say, “I had no say in this either.”  She took a deep breath.  “My foster father did this to me.  The reason I ran is because he was going to make me have an abortion.”  She put an arm protectively around herself.

             
The muscles in his jaw clenched, but his words were kind when he put his hand softly over hers on her belly and assured her, “You made the right decision.  You absolutely did.  In spite of the circumstances, this baby has the right to live and she’ll be a great blessing.”

             
She couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes.  “How did you find out?”

             
He took his hand off hers to gently wipe her tears.  “I held you on my lap for the seven hour drive from Vegas to here.  Between trying to stop the bleeding, cushion your arm, and keep it and your face iced, the fact that you were young and underfed and pregnant was pretty obvious.”  He reached into the glove box for a napkin.  “How old are you, Kit?”

             
“Seventeen.”  A sigh escaped as she leaned her head back against the headrest. 

             
“Kit?”  She looked at him.  “I’m sorry you’ve had to grow up so fast.  For what you’ve been through.  I can’t change the past.  But I can do a lot with the future.  Will you let me help you?”

             
She used the same word he did.  “Absolutely.”

             
He smiled down at her.  “Good, because the two of you need it.”  He ruffled her hair, and put the truck in reverse.  “Now, Christmas is day after tomorrow and I’ve been given strict instructions to take your pretty, straight, new nose to the beauty shop and buy you some clothes of your own.  And I want to help you get some things for my family because they’ll have some for you and I don’t want you to feel self-conscious about it. 

             
She started to protest.  “I’ve never been to the beauty shop in my life and I don’t think now is a good time to start.”

             
He wouldn’t take her no.  “Mom told me I had to.  She said if I didn’t, the past week of black eyes, nose splint, and sweats would scar you for life.”  She laughed.  “So while you have your hair done, I’m going to run errands and then we’ll shop.”  He looked at her closely.  “Actually, you look tired.  On second thought, you relax in the chair and I’ll shop, then we’ll go home and put you to bed.  Give me a ball park size and tell me what you like, and we’ll try again next week.”

             
                                          ****

             
Rossen left Kit at the salon, and although shopping was definitely not his thing, he did his best.  When he came back to pick her up, he had three pairs of long, but slender jeans that would adjust around her tummy, several bright sweatshirts, a couple of pretty stretch T-shirts and dresses she could get on easily over her cast that he'd purchased at a maternity shop, and a prescription for prenatal vitamins. 

             
As he walked back into the salon and caught sight of her, he could hardly comprehend what he was seeing.  The abused waif they had literally picked up off the pavement just over a week ago with black eyes and a broken nose had ceased to exist.  The beautiful woman who walked toward him rocked him to his toes. 

Gone were the choppy locks, replaced by shining, almost black hair cut into
a flowing mane around her face and down her back.  The stylist had applied light makeup to cover the bruises and to highlight her eyes and lips, and the cheeks that had been too thin had filled out just enough to look as sculpted as a fashion model.  Her nose, now free of the splint, was tiny and straight and dainty above a perfect mouth, just now smiling shyly.  Even in her borrowed sweats she was exquisite. 

             
Without realizing it, Rossen had stopped and was staring wordlessly as she approached him.  “What do you think?”  She turned in a circle to show him. 

When he didn’t answer right away
, she looked at him again.  “Rossen?  Is something wrong?”  He was still too surprised to speak, and at his silence, her face fell.  “Don’t you like it?”

             
He struggled to focus on what she was saying and finally said, “Like it?  I love it!  It’s beautiful.  You’re beautiful!”  He turned to her again.  “Wow. I think we’d better go back to Dr. Sundquist’s and have him put the nose thing back on.  My brothers are gonna come unglued when I bring you home looking like this. Cooper will be permanently impaired.”  His eyes twinkled as he pulled out his phone.  “I’ll call Dr. Sundquist’s office.”

             
She laughed and hugged him with her one good arm.  “Then it’s okay?”               

He snapped his phone closed
and put his hands on her shoulders.  “You look like a princess.  It’s exactly you!  Come on.  Put some of your new clothes on, too.  They won’t even recognize you when we get home!  I’ll pay.  Go dig through the bags in the truck for something you might like and you can change here.”

                                                        ****

             
Rossen had been accurate about his brothers.  She knew she looked good, when for once, the rowdy Rockland clan was speechless as she walked in.  She’d put on an indigo blue dress that brought out the color of her eyes and made her hair look darker than ever.  She walked past Treyne, Sean and Cooper without them saying a word.  They just stared, until almost in unison, Naomi and Rob exclaimed, and Naomi gave her a hug. 

             
“Look at you!”  Naomi laughed right out loud.  “We had no idea you were so pretty under that old splint.  And that dress exactly suits you.  Lovely and feminine, just like you.”

             
Rob pitched in with a wink.  “Absolutely bewitching.  I don’t believe I’ve ever seen these boys speechless, have you, Mother?”  Even with the ribbing, the three of them just smiled and continued to stare.

             
Kit loved the attention, but Rossen was right, it had been a long day and she was tired.  Her arm was throbbing, so after dinner, she took some Tylenol and excused herself to bed.  Turning out the light, she stood in her borrowed night gown and looked through the window into the enchanting dark snowscape outside, remembering the way Rossen had looked at her as she walked toward him in the salon that afternoon. 

He was always kind and respectful
toward her, and although he was physically affectionate, he never did or said anything that could be construed as inappropriate or even flirting.  That almost troubled her, because from the first time she'd awoken after her surgery to find him watching over her with those deep blue eyes, she had been drawn to him.