Randall Wedding (3 page)

“Okay, we’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Jon.”

Could he put off calling his mother? The four sets of parents all lived together in the main ranch house. They shared their problems and their joys with one another. The kids all grew up together. He was as close to his cousins as he was to Casey. He’d admit he was a little closer to Rich, since they were identical twins, but not much.

They were all one big happy family.

Until Abby died.

Then he’d bowed out. Oh, he’d still been a member of the family, but he’d avoided all their big get-togethers. He’d avoided every rodeo they had at the
ranch. He’d withdrawn into a colorless world where he didn’t have to risk dealing with his emotions.

He’d known it was cowardly of him. But he couldn’t bear the pain of the memories. The sight of the joy his brother or cousins felt with their new babies. The soft touches, the exchanged looks with their wives. He’d shared all that with Abby. But no more.

He’d fallen into a rut of nothingness.

Okay, so now it was time to reenter life. His fingers actually shook as he picked up the phone. He could start slowly. After Isabella and Angel went on their way, he could attend a few family functions. That would do for a while.

He dialed the number, and Red, the man who’d taken care of the house for the past forty years, answered.

“Hey, boy, you making it all right?”

“Sure, Red. But I can’t quite make biscuits as light as yours,” Russ teased.

“It’s in the wrist, boy. You know that.”

Russ chuckled and asked for his mother.

“She’s been waitin’ for your call.”

“Russ?” his mother asked when she got on the line. “Did she wake up?”

“Yeah, she did, but not for long. And she was pretty weak. I fixed her some food, but she didn’t eat much.”

“What did you fix her? An omelette?”

He should’ve known his mother would guess that. “Yeah.”

“Oh, good. That would be good for her.”

“I hope so. Her name is Isabella, but that’s all I learned. She fell asleep too quickly.”

“Oh, my. She must be really weak.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how long she was sick before I found them.”

“How’s Angel?”

“As beautiful as ever. She recognizes my voice now.” He regretted adding that information.

“Uh, yes, babies do that quickly. So her mother’s name is Isabella? That sounds Italian.”

“That’s what Jon said.”

“I wonder if she was coming here to visit someone? We have a few Italian families around here.”

“Probably not, Mom. I think she would’ve told me at once. But I’ll admit she’s not thinking too clearly. She fell asleep while I was explaining our family to her.”

Janie laughed. “No wonder. There’s so many of us.”

“I know. But she’d heard our name before.”

“Well, that happens with Pete and Toby and even Rich.”

It bothered Russ how much he was pleased to be able to tell his mother that she’d never heard of anyone connected with the rodeo. “No, she hadn’t heard of them. She’s from New York, you know. At least, her license plates say New York.”

“Oh. Then I wonder how—”

“I don’t know, Mom. I’ll try to ask her the next time she wakes up. But I’ve got to go get the kitchen cleaned up right now. Before Angel’s next meal.”

“Of course, son. Oh, the snow is supposed to end tomorrow. We’ll get in to see how you’re doing as soon as we can.”

“Thanks, Mom, but there’s no hurry.”

When he hung up the phone, he stood there, his hand on the receiver, wishing everyone would quit telling him about the end of the blizzard. As if that was a good thing.

When he moved to the kitchen to clean it up, he first took two steaks out of the freezer. A little steak and some vegetables would be good for Isabella. He’d cook them after Angel’s six-o’clock feeding.

He checked on Isabella several times before Angel finally sounded the alarm. He listened for Isabella to ask to feed her baby again, but he heard nothing. He gathered the baby against his chest and put the bottle in her mouth and all noise ceased. He cooed to her, entertaining her while she ate. Entertaining himself. He warned himself not to depend on Angel’s being around. After all, the snowstorm was supposed to end tomorrow.

But he doubted Isabella would have the strength by then to move on. After all, four bites of an omelette had knocked her out. It was strange that she hadn’t even stirred when Angel woke up. Suddenly he panicked. Still holding Angel, he jumped up from the couch and hurried to the bedroom door.

But Isabella was fine. She was curled under the
covers, sound asleep and seemingly at peace. He backed away before Angel’s greedy guzzling of her bottle could bother her mother. Was Isabella going to sleep through dinner, too?

He’d looked forward to eating with Isabella. How pathetic. He was looking forward to dinner with a woman just this side of a coma. Yeah, he was going to have to change his lifestyle. Get out more. He didn’t need to consider dating or anything like that. He had no intention of dating. But he could hang out with his family.

It was just that he was curious about Isabella and Angel. He wanted to know they would be all right. That they had someone to turn to.

She probably had a truckload of relatives anxious to know what had happened to her. Especially if her car and her coat indicated her level of income. A runaway wouldn’t leave in her full-length mink coat and the Cadillac. That was a silly idea.

He had Angel changed and back down asleep before he heard anything from the bedroom. A thump. He hurried to the door and saw nothing. Including no one in the bed. He turned to the bathroom, but the door was open and the room was empty. He turned back to the bed and saw Isabella sprawled out on the floor beside it.

“Isabella! What happened?”

“I need to go to the bathroom,” she whispered.

He lifted her from the floor and helped her to the bathroom. Once he got her inside, he stood her against the sink.

“Can you manage on your own?”

“Yes.”

He wasn’t sure it was wise to leave her there alone, but he didn’t want to embarrass her. He’d already seen more of her than he wanted her to know.

He hovered outside the door, waiting for her to call him.

“Russ?”

He barely heard her. Had the omelet made her worse?

He opened the door and found her where he’d left her. “Did you take care of business?”

She nodded. He scooped her up into his arms and maneuvered her through the door. When he got her back to the bed, he followed her down to the side of the bed. “Are you hurting anywhere?”

She shook her head.

“But you seem more out of it than before,” he said, really worried.

“Sleepy,” she muttered.

He pulled the cover over her shoulders. “But I was going to cook you dinner. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Sleepy,” she repeated.

He left the room and grabbed the phone to call Jon again. Tori answered this time.

“Hi, Russ. Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know, Tori. She never really got awake. I found her on the floor because she fell trying to get to the bathroom. I got her in there and left her alone for a few minutes. Then she called me and
wanted to go back to bed. All she’d say was she was sleepy. I was going to cook her supper, but she’s gone back to sleep. Does that sound normal?”

His cousin repeated the facts to Jon, her husband. He took the phone. “Does she seem to be sleeping okay?”

“Yeah, her breathing is even. Actually, she seems to be sleeping more deeply.”

“Probably she didn’t get any good sleep until you got more food down her. I bet the next time she wakes up, she’ll be hungry. Don’t worry, Russ.”

“Whatever you say, Jon.” He knew he didn’t sound satisfied with Jon’s words, but he couldn’t help worrying.

“If you get worried later, give us a call. No matter what the time.”

“Okay, thanks. Hopefully I won’t have to bother you.”

Russ went back into the bedroom. He stared down at Isabella, watching her breathe. Then he walked out to the living room and looked at Angel. They were both sleeping fine. Maybe if he watched
Monday Night Football
he could forget the warmth and beauty of the two females. But he knew Angel had already claimed his heart. What worried him even more was that Isabella had that effect on him, too. He couldn’t feel anything for her! Could he?

W
HEN SHE WOKE UP
Isabella had no idea where she was. She realized she must have been ill, because she was very shaky. What had woken her up?

It had to be Angel, of course. But had she stopped crying? That didn’t sound like Angel. She usually screamed continuously until she got her bottle. They’d been in a hotel. Was that where—? She heard a man’s voice.

She struggled from the big bed and managed to get as far as the door, leaning against the wall for support. She silently opened the door and stared into the next room.

There was her child, wrapped in a blanket and snuggled against a man’s bare chest, taking her bottle. Isabella watched as the man moved around the room, as if slowly waltzing with Angel. He was wearing loose sweatpants, hanging low on his hips—and nothing else.

“Who are you?” she demanded, but her voice came out faint and weak.

“Isabella! You’re up!”

“You know me?”

He gave her a strange look. “We introduced ourselves last night. Don’t you remember?”

“No. Where am I?”

He moved closer and she almost fell over. “I think you’d better get back in bed. Angel and I will come in there and we’ll talk while she finishes her bottle.” He bent over and got a clean nightgown and diaper before coming toward her.

She stumbled back to bed, already exhausted by the brief exchange. As she pulled the cover up, she
realized she had nothing on her legs. She was only wearing a pajama top and panties. Her panties, someone else’s top.

The man sat on the foot of the bed, still feeding the baby. “I picked the two of you up three days ago on the road south of Rawhide. A blizzard was starting and I was trying to make it back to Rawhide. Your car was off the road in the ditch.”

She didn’t remember any of this. Three days ago?

“You opened my passenger door before I could get out and shoved in Angel in her carrier. Then you started loading your suitcases and boxes. I climbed out and helped you. Then I got you in the truck and myself behind the wheel. When I looked at you, I realized you were running a high fever.

“We got back here and I brought you both up here and started taking care of you.” He stood and went over to the curtains. He pulled them open and showed her a white nothingness. He pulled the curtain closed again. “Helps keep the cold out.”

“You mean the snow is as high as the second story?”

“No. But with a storm, we get a lot of wind. Until it blows itself into North Dakota, there’s more snow in the air than there is on the ground. Travel is impossible.”

“Oh. So we’re in Rawhide?”

“Yeah. Where were you heading?”

“Rawhide.”

He stared at her as if she’d said something strange. “You were?”

“Yes. Is there something wrong with that? Don’t you get visitors in Rawhide?” She shifted under the covers, feeling uneasy suddenly.

“Yeah, sure. Were you visiting someone?”

“Yes, my aunt.”

“Oh, that explains it. But Angel is too young to be traveling. And you need to watch the weather closely in Wyoming.”

“Thanks for the warning!” she snapped angrily, but she was so weak her eyes filled with tears.

“Hey, no need to cry. I saved you.”

“I’m sure we would’ve been all right,” she said with a sniff.

He stared at her. “No. You would’ve frozen to death.”

His raw statement made everything worse. “Give me my baby!”

“Why? She needs to be changed so she can go back to sleep.”

“I know that! I can take care of her!”

“Can you? You can barely stand. You certainly can’t carry her around, and you’ve been very sick. I don’t think you should push it.”

She gave up, though she didn’t think it was her nature. But he was right. She didn’t have any strength. She turned over and buried her face in a soft pillow. “Go away!”

She heard him stand and walk away. When she looked up she was alone again, the door closed.
Wearily, she pushed her hair back from her face and tried to think about her next step. But it seemed too hard to make a decision. Gradually her lashes lowered over her eyes.

A
FTER A SLEEPY
Angel was settled back down in her carrier, Russ silently opened the door of his bedroom and discovered Isabella had gone back to sleep.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Last night she’d seemed sweet and cooperative. This morning she was difficult…except that she was too weak. He really needed to feed her again, but he was thinking they both might benefit from another couple of hours’ sleep. This was Angel’s six-o’clock feeding.

He returned to the air mattress he used when he went camping. It was better than the floor. He was too old to sleep on the floor. Okay, he wasn’t ancient, only in his early thirties, but he felt older.

He lay down, thinking of his king-size bed in the next room. He had a second bedroom, but he’d made it into an office. There was no bed there. One thing about taking care of Angel, though. He didn’t have to worry about falling to sleep.

That was true this morning, too.

A
ROUND EIGHT
, Russ pulled on jeans and a sweater, using the spare bathroom. Then he headed for the kitchen. He first put on a pot of coffee. Then he put oatmeal on to cook. He fried bacon and added but
tered toast. When it was all ready, he went to the bedroom door and opened it.

“Isabella, I’m serving breakfast in five minutes. Want to visit the bathroom beforehand?”

At least she’d opened her eyes. She stared at him, blinking several times.

Then she nodded and began shoving back the cover. Until she reached her bare legs. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“That top comes almost to your knees. Come on. If we don’t hurry, the bacon will burn.” He noticed interest in her eyes when he mentioned bacon. That was a good sign. He helped her to the bathroom.

When he had her back in bed, he went to the kitchen and loaded the tray with their breakfasts and came back. He walked around the bed and piled the pillows behind her so she was almost sitting up. Then he slid the tray closer.

“Help yourself,” he said, picking up the bowl with the most oatmeal. She picked up her own bowl, but she stared at him.

“I like my oatmeal with a little sugar,” he said, sprinkling it on his cereal, “and then I add raisins. Does that suit you?”

She nodded and he added sugar and raisins for her.

“Want some milk to cool it off?”

She nodded again. He poured some for her. “Can you stir it up yourself?”

She nodded. Good thing he didn’t expect a lot of conversation.

“Eat a piece of bacon and a bite of toast while it cools,” he ordered. He figured if he gave her a choice, she’d refuse everything. She followed his lead. In fact, she ate half a piece of toast. Then he started eating the oatmeal and she followed suit.

Fifteen minutes later, the tray was pretty much emptied. He’d eaten most of it, but she’d done a pretty good job. “Feel better?”

She nodded again.

“Are you ever going to speak again?”

“Thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome. Now, who were you coming to visit? They’ll be worried about you.”

“No. She didn’t know I was coming.”

“Then whoever you left will be worried. Tell me who to call and I’ll let them know you’re all right.”

She said nothing.

“What’s going on here? Why aren’t you talking?”

“Because there’s no one I want to tell.”

“You came from New York?”

“How did you know that?” she asked, stiffening.

He smiled as he shook his head. She was a suspicious woman. “I saw your license plate.”

“Oh.”

He’d told Jon he didn’t think she was a runaway, but now he wondered. “Are you hiding from someone?”

“What if I am? I’m an adult.”

“I don’t think that’s an adult way to handle things.”

“Well, I think it is. I’m too weak right now to fight. When I’m strong again, I’ll handle everything.”

She was already tiring, and he wanted more information before she went back to sleep. “Who is Angel’s father?”

“Timothy Walker, my…my husband.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s dead.”

Russ knew the elation that filled him was wrong. And it didn’t mean he could keep Angel, but at least for now, he was the only man in her short life. “When did he die?”

“Six months ago.”

“Angel looks about a month old. So you went through the pregnancy by yourself?”

She nodded, but she didn’t meet his gaze. Not quite the truth, he guessed, but she closed her eyes.

“I’m too tired to talk anymore.”

“Okay. We’ll try again at lunchtime.”

She didn’t answer. He picked up the tray, but he stared down at her for a moment. The food was helping her. She was going to regain her strength quickly.

But the mystery wasn’t solved. And he intended to solve it before he let Isabella and Angel go away.

H
E HANDLED
Angel’s ten-o’clock feeding as usual, except that he talked to her and played with her for about half an hour before he let her go back to sleep.

“Like mother, like daughter, little Angel. I can’t keep either one of you awake.” With a grin, he tucked the baby into her carrier. Then he took a quick look out the window. The wind seemed to be abating a little. He decided he’d better straighten up the living room before his mother arrived. And Tori and Jon. In fact, there might be a crowd before supper.