A Randall Hero

When he left, John went back to Lucy’s room, wondering if either of the ladies he was in charge of would be awake. A nurse was changing Emma’s diaper and he asked if the baby had woken up.

“Yes, we had the intercom on so she wouldn’t wake up her mother. She’s going to take a bottle.”

“Can I feed it to her?”

“Sure. You’ll have to coax her to eat but usually babies catch on pretty quickly. I’ll wait and see if she does.”

“Great.” He slid his hand beneath the baby and lifted her against his chest. “Hey, little girl, you get a bottle so you can grow. Will you be a good girl and eat it all?”

With blue eyes like her mother the baby stared at him as if he were saying something important.

The nurse handed John the bottle and he tried to insert the nipple in Emma’s mouth. After a moment, he succeeded. When she chewed down on the nipple, she realized she would get a reward.

Suddenly, John didn’t have any more trouble. Little Emma greedily sucked the bottle dry.

The nurse, who had waited to see how John would do, told him to burp Emma on his shoulder. He put the baby on his shoulder and patted her back as the nurse instructed.

When he did, Emma let out a most unladylike burp. He stared down at her. “Was that you, Emma? My, you did that well.”

The nurse laughed. “That happens with some babies. She did just fine. Now put her back in her bassinet and she’ll go to sleep.”

“She will?”

The nurse nodded.

He gently laid the baby back in her bed. She squirmed and wiggled several times and then went to sleep.

“You did a good job,” the nurse said.

“Thanks.”

After she left, he eased down in the soft chair beside the bed and leaned his head back, suddenly tired. It was more comfortable than the truck last night. But now he didn’t get to hold Lucy.

LUCY STRUGGLED TO WAKE UP. It seemed there was something she should do, but she couldn’t remember what. She put her hand on her stomach to make sure the baby was okay.

Her eyes popped open. Her womb didn’t feel as though her baby was there. She sat up, breathing hard. What had happened?

Then she remembered she’d had the baby, her little girl, and everything was all right.

She saw the baby sleeping in a little bassinet. She leaned back in her bed. Then she looked to the right and saw John asleep in the chair beside her bed.

He’d stayed.

He’d promised he would. But she didn’t know if he’d keep his word. Now she knew he had. She rested against her pillow, studying him. He was a handsome man. But more important than that, he’d taken care of her, protected her and given her hope that she might be safe. She knew that that wasn’t true, but for a short time he’d given her something she desperately needed.

What should she do now? She knew she shouldn’t stay in one place for long. Cecil could find her. And he knew where Harry lived.

John had said Harry wouldn’t return for six weeks, which meant she was on her own. As much as she had relied on John, she couldn’t any longer.

She decided her first chore was to get up and go to the bathroom. Sitting on the side of her bed, she gathered her courage and put her feet to the floor. When she stood, she almost fell, grabbing the side of the bed.

“This is harder than it looked,” she muttered to herself. It wasn’t that far to her initial goal. Forcing herself to move, she tottered to the bathroom, grabbing anything to give herself balance. The return trip wasn’t much better. She collapsed on the bed, relieved as she settled back on the pillows. Recovery was important, she knew, but she wanted to rest a bit before she tried to get up again.

“Lucy? Are you all right?” John asked, surprising her.

“Yes, I just made the trip to the bathroom. But I didn’t intend to wake you up.”

“I was just napping, waiting for you to wake up. I fed Emma a bottle earlier. She did a good job.”

“I hope I get to feed her the next one. I haven’t done that yet.”

“You will, Lucy. I took her to show to my parents, also. They fell in love with little Emma.”

“That’s very nice of them.”

“Mom has it all arranged. She’s giving you my sister’s old room and there’s a little room next door for Emma.”

“No! No, John, I can’t move in with your family. It would be too dangerous. M-My husband may come after me.”

“I know that, Lucy. My dad and I will protect you, and Mike—the sheriff—came down to the hospital to assure you of his protection, too. You’ll be safe with us.”

“I can’t do that, John. You’ve given me so much support when I needed it, but I can’t continue to rely on you.”

“What do you think you’re going to do? Go back on the road? Your car won’t work without a new radiator, and Emma is too little to be out on the road. You can’t recover that quickly, either.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do, but…I couldn’t live with myself if I brought trouble on your head.”

“You don’t know the trouble you’ll cause if you take Emma away from my mother.” John grinned at her. “She’s been wanting a grandbaby so badly. They thought I’d hidden my girlfriend’s pregnancy until today.”

“Oh, no! John, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to cause you so much trouble.”

“Lucy,” he said, standing and moving to the bed so he could touch her. “Calm down. Mom and Dad weren’t upset. Well, they might have been upset for keeping such a thing secret, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t welcome my baby or her mother, if that were true.”

“But surely they were disappointed in you.”

“No, they’re not that way. And they’re happy to welcome you and Emma into the family. Like I said, Mom’s rearranging so you’ll be welcome.”

“John, I can’t stay here. I think my husband will come after me. I don’t want you to suffer because you took pity on me.”

“You’re not thinking clearly. You can’t run all your life. That would be terrible for Emma. Stand and fight now, where you’ve got support. It’s the only way.”

“I’m not sure.”

“It’s what Harry would tell you. He’ll be back in six weeks. Don’t run away before he returns, Lucy. Surely you can stay that long.”

The nurse walked in then with two lunch trays and put them on Lucy’s table. “Here’s your tray, too, John.”

“Thanks, Heidi,” John said.

Lucy looked at him after the nurse went back out. “Why do you get a tray? I mean, I think it’s great but I’ve never been in a hospital like this one.”

“Yeah, I told you everyone’s great in Rawhide.” He lifted the cover and took a sniff. “Mmm, we’re eating well today. Fried chicken from the café.”

“You mean a café provides the meals?”

“That’s right. Eat all your food so you can gain some weight. You need to get stronger.”

“I will. It’s so nice to have someone make my meals. If I were home, I wouldn’t get any food unless I prepared it.”

“Don’t worry. Mom will take good care of you.”

“No! I’ll cook and clean for her. If I go there, I can do things to make life easier for her.”

John smiled at Lucy. “Whatever you can get her to let you do is fine, Lucy, but your first job is to take care of Emma. And share her a little with my mom and dad.”

“Of course, if they want to see her,” Lucy said, sounding unsure of that.

John sighed. “Weren’t you listening to me, Lucy? They’re so excited to have a baby in the house. It’s going to be just fine.”

Lucy still worried.

“Eat your dinner before it gets cold,” John said, handing her a chicken leg.

She took his advice, knowing she needed to get her strength back. But, she wondered, when the time came, could she stay and fight?

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