Divine Charity (24 page)

“Reschedule it. For once, I need you to come through for me. Deal with it.”

“Okay.”

In other circumstances, Presley Ann’s compliance would’ve surprised Leah, but at that moment it barely registered.

At the hospital, they led Leah to the intensive care unit and told the nurse on duty that she was family. Patterson lay on a hospital bed with IVs and wires connected to him. Machines whirred on either side of his bed, and she recognized the up-and-down motion of a ventilator.

“He’s not breathing on his own?” Her voice sounded hoarse.

Vincent shook his head and pulled a chair close to the bed for her. Neither man said anything else. “We’ll give you some time alone if you’d like,” Vincent whispered to her.

She nodded and they left the room. She looked around at all the intimidating equipment working to keep Patterson alive while they waited to see if the anti-inflammatory drugs would help him.

His head was wrapped in gauze and the ventilator tube kept his mouth propped open. His sexy full lips were slack and nothing at all like the teasing devilish grin she secretly loved. He’d taken her by surprise when he’d backed her into her door, invaded her space, and pressed those lips to hers. Minutes after he’d left, her lips had still tingled with his gentle touch and her resolve to hold him and his brothers at arms’ length had begun to seriously crumble. Now here he was, so seriously injured. There was a cut across the bridge of his nose which had been carefully taped shut and bruises darkened his cheeks and one side of his jaw.

When she laid her hand over his, she pulled back at first because it felt so hot. Then she realized her hands were cold as ice. He had no reaction as she reached out to him again and she wrapped both her hands around his, feeling warmed by it. She scooted closer to the bed and looked down at his blanket-covered body. His big feet stuck up at the very end of the bed. She reached out to touch his leg and wondered if he was warm enough.

She put her hands back in her lap when a nurse came in to hook a new bag to his IV pole and change out the empty one. She smiled at Leah, compassion in her eyes, and said, “Talk to him. He may be able to hear you.”

Leah nodded and sat immobile until the nurse finished and left the room. Leah heard the soft whoosh of the glass door sliding closed behind her.

Wrapping her hands around his again, she stroked the calluses on his palm and fingers, smiling as she really looked at his hand. She’d always admired his sexy, hardworking man hands. She stroked the rolling veins that crisscrossed the top as tears began to fall on it.

“Please come back to me, Patterson. I’ll swallow my fear and tell you what you want to hear. Please fight. I’m not nearly through sassing and exasperating you. Please come back.”

Jessica Bright smiled a greeting as she opened the screen door for Lydia and Emma as they came up the steps of the Carlisles’ remote cabin. Tank waved at her from the helicopter as the blades slowed. Her eyes lingered on them long enough to see Tank say something to Troy that made him look directly at her and smile. She’d hoped that perhaps Val and Ransome might visit but noticed no other men were with them.

Heat filled her cheeks and she felt more rotund and hippo-like by the second. It seemed like every guy she’d encountered lately was hunky, gorgeous, and available, and Tank and Troy weren’t even the ones uppermost in her mind lately.

It was the pregnancy hormones, she was sure. Her moods and her cravings and even her dreams seemed to belong to someone else. Not her. She’d never been the oversexed type. And given what she’d been through, she knew a normal reaction would’ve been to swear off men completely. But it was undeniable, she couldn’t think about Val and Ransome without feeling like she was in a heat wave. Lust in the late stages of pregnancy wasn’t uncommon and being unfulfilled probably made it worse.

“You okay?” Lydia asked as she and Emma came in the door.

Jessica still couldn’t believe how fortunate she’d been when she’d asked Val and his equally handsome cousin Ransome for help. That one call had led her to so many wonderful new acquaintances, like Justin and his wife Charity, Grace and her men, and Lydia and her men, and they’d welcomed her into their world with open arms. They’d been instrumental in helping her healing process, both by saving her in the first place but also by helping her find a safe place as she waited for the baby to arrive, and for Trevor Dornan to hopefully be recaptured. She knew she was experiencing a healthy dose of hero worship but just thinking about Val and Ransome made her heart do flips.

“Earth to Jessica?” Emma called softly with a giggle.

Jessica chuckled and put her hand over her bulging middle and shook her head. “Sorry, I’m blaming it on mommy-brain.”

Emma smiled as she put down her bag and said, “That’s understandable. You’ve got a lot on your plate right now. How have you been feeling?”

Jessica went to the divan Emma directed her to. “Fine. I’m staying busy.” That was true enough. She had some projects that had kept her hands busy and plenty of reading materials, as well as a journal she was keeping for her baby. At night the cabin was a little lonely and she’d wished that she was closer to wherever Val and Ransome were, but she understood the necessity of it.

Emma held the stethoscope to her heart and then checked the baby. “Busy worrying? Your heart rate is elevated.”

Jessica chuckled nervously and Lydia sat down beside her. “I’ll bet I know what got her heart going.”

“You do?” Jessica asked nervously.

“It’s those two redheaded hunks out there, isn’t it? I love Chance and Clayton with my whole heart and I’ve never been one to find gingers all that attractive, but those two?
Hot holy hell
. You should’ve seen how they jumped when I told them we needed to come out here. They dropped everything, both of them, to get the helicopter ready. You’d have thought it was an emergency. I think they like you.”

“Really?” she asked incredulously. “Me? With the swollen ankles and puffy face, and big ol’ pregnant tummy? Puh-lease.”

Emma and Lydia both laughed and Emma said, “I think they see past all that.”

Lydia nodded. “And I don’t think this situation puts them off much.”

Jessica shook her head. “I’m a recipe for disaster. And why would they want to have anything to do with me? I’m going to be a single mom. And the father isn’t an old boyfriend I broke up with. It’s a man who…forced himself on me.”
Who in their right mind would want someone with the astronomic amount of baggage I’m dragging around?

Lydia said, “They seemed hopeful, Jessica, when we mentioned the possibility of bringing you back up to the ranch.”

Jessica shook her head. “I need to get through bringing this baby into the world first.”
Then my baby needs to be my number-one concern. There won’t be room for much else in my life. Val and Ransome…and even Tank and Troy…they’re just fantasy material. Not for me. I need to accept that.

Lydia nodded, obviously not wanting to upset her and turned to Emma. “What now, doc?”

Emma pulled ten dollars from her bag and handed it to Lydia, who cackled with glee.

“What’s that all about?” Jessica asked.

Lydia’s eyes danced with merriment as she stuffed the bill in her bra.

“Lydia swore up and down when she saw you yesterday that you needed to come up to stay at the ranch, that it was time to have you closer to Divine in case we have to rush you to the hospital. I bet her that first babies always take their time and you’d be out here another couple of weeks but I can see she was right. I’d rather have you closer to town.” Then she turned her eyes on Lydia. “Besides, I still have a chance to win that ten back.”

“We bet on the baby’s gender, too,” Lydia said as she got up from the divan.

“What do you say I’m having, Lydia?” Jessica asked. She’d been content to be surprised when her doctor in Houston had offered to tell her. Her heart leapt a little at the prospect of finally being closer to Divine.

“Oh, it’s a girl for sure. I can tell by how you’re carrying and the way you walk. And you’re having lustful thoughts. That’s a sure sign too.”

“Lustful thoughts? I am not—”

Lydia giggled and said, “I think you’re in denial, but that’s okay. I still think it’s a girl.” Lydia was right about the lustful thoughts, not that Jessica would ever admit to it, but she was wrong about the men Jessica was fantasizing about lately.

“Nope, it’s a boy,” Emma said with a wink to Jessica. They laughed as they bantered back and forth until the baby gave her a good thump in the bladder.

Lydia opened the front door, put two fingers to her lips and gave a shrill whistle. “Hey, Tank and Troy! It’s moving day!” She giggled softly as she looked out toward where the helicopter was sitting. “Would you look at that? I’d say someone
else
was positively assumptive about you moving back to the ranch, or rather two someones.”

Emma chuckled as she looked out the door and quickly said, “Jessica, it looks like those two were anxious to have you up at the ranch full time, pregnant or not. Look.” She pointed out the door and Jessica saw them heading up the walkway, carrying empty cardboard boxes. “When I told them earlier that there was a chance we’d need to move you, I didn’t ask them to go searching for boxes. They did that on their own.”

“Wow,” she whispered as she heard their boots on the porch. Her heart tugged a little at the thoughtful gesture. Tank poked his head in the door and then got shoved in by Troy.

“Hey, Jessica,” Tank said as he grinned at her. She couldn’t help but smile at him as his cheeks went a little ruddy. “We figured it would be good to be prepared when Lydia told us there was a chance you’d be moving back to the ranch.”

They placed the stacked boxes on the floor, and Jessica said, “Thank you. I promise it won’t take but a few minutes to get ready to go. I don’t have that much out here. Just a few hobby projects and my clothing.” She couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
What is wrong with me?

“You changed your hair, didn’t you?” Troy asked, his eyes scanning her hair as she reached up to finger the shorter length. She’d always kept it long in the past and they’d decided to cut it to shoulder-length the week before, as well as give her quite a few brown lowlights to tone down the red. The natural wave to it when it was cut short also helped to camouflage her appearance. Add to that her pregnancy weight gain and she could easily pass for someone else.

“Yes, Lydia cut it and colored it for me. We thought it might be a good idea to change my appearance—umm, give me a new look, you know? New life, new look. Yeah, it was too long anyway…”
They don’t need details! Stop talking, will you. He’s being nice. He’s not that interested.

“Well I think it looks nice,” he said in reply.

“Yeah,” Tank said in agreement. “Now that it’s shorter it’s kinda curly, too.”

Emma’s phone rang and she stepped into the hallway that led to the bedrooms to take the call. Jessica stood there wondering what else to say, while Lydia looked amused.

“Well, I guess I’d better get packing,” Jessica finally said, backing toward her bedroom.

“Don’t lift anything, okay? That’s what you have us for,” Troy said with mischief in his emerald green eyes. She could’ve sworn he flexed his biceps just a little and barely kept from giggling when, standing behind them, Lydia put the back of her hand to her forehead and pretended to swoon. Dressed in their snug olive green T-shirts that showcased broad, muscular chests that tapered to trim hips encased in blue denim, they were certainly swoon-worthy. She blinked and the baby kicked her as if to get her attention. Tank winked at her when she looked up into his face, realizing he’d caught her taking inventory.

“Right. I’ll just get started packing,” she said as she turned to go to her bedroom.

“Remember, no lifting!” Tank called, laughter in his voice.

She made it as far as the hallway when Emma stopped her, worry etched on her face. “Doc, is something wrong?”

Emma nodded. “We need to hurry. Tank, Troy, we’ll need your help, too. We have to get back to Divine.”

“What happened,” Lydia asked, obviously picking up on Emma’s worried tone.

“There’s been an accident. It’s Grace, Charity, and Justine, and…several others.”

“
What
? Are they okay? Who else?” Lydia asked, her eyes growing bigger.

Emma turned to her and said, “Patterson Elder. He was on his bike and he wasn’t wearing a helmet.”

Lydia’s jaw dropped. “
Patterson
? Oh no. Oh God, did they say if he’ll be okay?”

Emma shook her head. “It’s in God’s hands, but it doesn’t look good. I can’t imagine how his brothers and father are taking the news. They just lost their mom a couple of years ago in an accident and now this? I wonder if Leah knows yet.”

“Leah?” Lydia asked softly and then her eyes got big. “Leah Woodworth?”

Emma nodded. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I think all three have been sweet on her for a while.”

Jessica did the only thing she could. She prayed for her friends and packed as quickly as possible.

Tank and Troy followed her directions and packed everything she pointed out into boxes. She could sort it all later.