Expecting...in Texas (19 page)

She couldn’t lay here not knowing. She had no idea whether she was still pregnant or not. Gripping the side of the bed, she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She had to find someone to ask.

The room swayed as she tried to get out of bed. It whirled even faster when she closed her eyes. The headache pressed down on her, threatening to knock her out.

Savannah gripped the side railings tightly, trying to steel herself so she could swing her legs over the side of the bed.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Coming in response to the call, the redheaded nurse hurried into the hospital suite. She reached Savannah’s side in time to push her gently back into bed. It didn’t take much effort.

Savannah felt light-headed, breathless. She struggled to hold onto consciousness. “I wanted to find someone—my baby—is my baby…?”

Gentle, capable hands were tucking her into bed. “You’re baby’s fine. But you won’t be if you go waltzing around the hospital at this hour.”

“This hour?” Savannah repeated dumbly. The last she remembered, it was just before nine in the morning. “What time is it?”

The disembodied voice emerged from the haze. “It’s almost midnight.” Someone was smoothing the blanket around her. “Now try to get some rest. The doctor wants you to stay overnight to make sure that you’re all right. If you don’t behave, I’ll make him keep you here longer.”

Longer. No, she didn’t want to stay longer. She wanted to see Cruz. To explain.

Realizing her eyes were shut, she fought to open them again. A woman was leaning over her. Red hair. The nurse. Savannah tried to wet her lips.

“You’re…absolutely sure the baby’s…all right?”

“I’m absolutely sure. Want something to help you sleep?”

Savannah could feel herself sinking, shrinking away. “No,” she whispered.

She didn’t have enough strength to move her lips and ask the nurse about Cruz. But her last thought was of him….

Fourteen

“I
s she all right?”

Cruz pulled the towel he’d been using to dry his hair away from his face and rested it on his damp, bare shoulders. He’d returned home less than half an hour ago to grab a quick shower. His body ached. The past night had been spent sitting in a hospital chair designed for discomfort.

Dallas had finally gone home early in the afternoon, but Cruz had been afraid to leave—afraid that if he did, Savannah or the baby would take a turn for the worse. It didn’t matter that a doctor had assured him that both were unharmed and doing fine. He’d wanted to make sure himself. The only way he could do so was to keep vigil through the night.

Ruben’s expression was anxious as he looked at his son, waiting for an answer. Word had spread through the ranch about Savannah’s accident.

“She’s fine, Dad. The doctor said she could leave the hospital sometime this afternoon.” And he intended to be the one to take her home, no
matter how hard she might protest. He had a lot to make up for.

Ruben nodded. “And the baby?”

The grin flashed quickly. Savannah and the baby had been lucky. They’d all been lucky. Especially him. “Fine, too.”

Ruben made the sign of the cross. “How about you? How are you doing?”

“Me?”

It was on the tip of Cruz’s tongue to question why his father felt he had to ask how he was faring, but then he decided there was no point in continuing the charade. Ruben had seen through him from the first. He usually did. As he grew older, Cruz realized that his father was a great deal smarter than he had ever given the older man credit for.

Cruz rubbed the remaining moisture from his hair. “I’m doing okay.”

But Ruben had his own take on that as he studied his only son. “You’re doing nothing.”

Cruz had already begun walking back into the bedroom. He had to get dressed and going if he wanted to be sure that he was the one taking Savannah home. “What?”

Ruben followed his son into the bedroom. “You want to know what I think?”

Cruz opened a drawer and took out fresh
underwear, then found a new shirt in his closet. “I’m sure you’ll tell me whether I ask or not.”

Ruben’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t get smart. I think you’re afraid to love this girl.”

The truth hit closer than he was comfortable with. Dropping the towel, Cruz quickly got dressed. “Careful, Dad.”

Ruben’s frown deepened. “There’s such a thing as being too careful. You have all these ideas about women and love, but you are afraid to risk loving this particular woman. Afraid to give your heart because you think it might be rejected. And—”

Cruz interrupted him. “There is no ‘think’ about it, remember? She’s already said no to my marriage proposal.”

Ruben continued as if Cruz had said absolutely nothing. “That ranch you are so committed to having—it’s just an excuse, something to help protect you from making what you think is a big mistake. You know what’s the biggest mistake of all?” He handed his son his boots as Cruz pulled a pair of socks on. “Turning your back on love.
Not
risking your heart. If you don’t risk, you don’t win. Me, I have your mother, your sisters, you. I am the winner here. Would I be more of a winner if I had a big ranch and no one to share it with me? Don’t trouble your head— I can give you the answer to that. No.

“Now go back to her and tell her what is in your heart.” He tapped his son’s chest with his index finger. “She will listen.”

His father was preaching to the choir, but because the man had gotten up such a large head of steam, Cruz let him say his piece. Then he played devil’s advocate. “She didn’t listen before.”

Ruben shook his head. “That’s because you didn’t tell her before.” He looked pointedly at Cruz. “Tell her now. Open up your heart to her and let her see for herself.”

It was a scary proposition, but his father was right. If he didn’t risk, he wouldn’t win. And he wanted to win.

Cruz didn’t even bother holding back the smile. “Maybe I will.”

Peering into Savannah’s room, the young nurse looked around. Seeing only Savannah, she seemed a little disappointed. “Did he come in?”

Savannah looked at the nurse blankly. “Did who come in?”

There had been a procession of visitors to see her this morning. Dallas had stayed for a little while, as had Vanessa, Claudia and Matthew, and Ryan along with Lily. Vanessa had insisted on paying all the hospital bills, using the excuse that Savannah worked for the Double Crown Ranch.
Backed up by her father, Vanessa had refused to take no for an answer, so Savannah gave up trying, silently grateful and vowing to pay Vanessa back the first chance she had.

Savannah pushed aside the swivel table with her lunch tray. The doctor had told her early this morning that if everything continued as it had, he’d discharge her at three. Though she wasn’t really hungry, she knew she needed her strength. Besides, she had a feeling that the blustery physician was not above having her tray checked to see if she was eating. She was taking no chances; she wanted to get home. Get on with her life. She needed to put a few things in perspective.

The look on the young nurse’s face indicated that as far as she was concerned, there could be no mistaking who she was referring to.

“That good-looking cowboy.” A hint of a sigh escaped her lips as she adjusted the blood pressure cuff around Savannah’s arm and took a reading. “The other nurses told me he spent the night stretched out on a chair in the hallway.” Her eyes sparkled, and for a second she lost the thread of what she was doing. “Long, straight hair the color of midnight. Warm eyes like a puppy’s.” Aware that she’d drifted, she glanced at the numbers and noted them before deflating the cuff. “Someone tried to get him to go home and come back later,
but he said he wasn’t leaving until he was sure you were all right.”

Finished, she returned the gray cuff to its place and took Savannah’s pulse—which jumped just as she touched it. A knowing smile slipped over the nurse’s lips.

Cruz
. No one else fit that description, Savannah thought. So he
had
come to the hospital. But if he’d been here, why hadn’t he come into her room?

The nurse had to be mistaken. Cruz wouldn’t have spent the night in the hall. He didn’t care enough to put himself out like that.

Savannah shook her head. “No, he’s not in here. He hasn’t even been to see me.”

Incredulous, the nurse took out a thermometer attached to a gauge and slipped a plastic covering over it before inserting it under Savannah’s tongue. She kept her eyes on the gauge.

“Men, go figure ’em. I know I can’t.” She withdrew the thermometer and threw out the see-through covering before she wrote down the reading.

Savannah sighed, laying back against her pillows. “You’re not alone.”

The nurse was about to make another observation when the door behind her opened. She turned around in time to see Cruz walking in.

Her wide mouth split into an even wider grin of satisfaction. Her eyes darted toward Savannah. “Speak of the devil.” Cheerfully, she made a last notation, then closed the clipboard and picked up the tray from the table. “I’ll just leave the two of you alone.”

She winked at Savannah as she backed out the door.

Puzzled, Cruz shoved his hands into his pockets. He’d thought of bringing flowers, but knew that such an offering couldn’t begin to convey the things he wanted Savannah to know. He’d bide his time. The way he figured it, if he was lucky, he’d have the rest of their lives together to give her flowers. All kinds of flowers.

He nodded toward the closed door. “What was that all about?”

“She was just sharing a philosophy with me.” His face was drawn, she thought. The look in his eyes when he saw her yesterday outside Dallas’s room came back to her. Savannah took a deep breath. She had to get this misunderstanding cleared up. “Listen, Cruz, I have to explain.”

But he waved away her words. “You don’t have to explain anything.”

He was telling her that he didn’t care enough to waste time listening. Determination galvanized her. “But I want to.”

A fresh wave of guilt washed over him. He wasn’t accustomed to feeling guilty, and he hated it. “Dallas told me what you were doing in his room.”

Maybe she should just let it drop right here, but suddenly, she felt a sharp stab of pain that any of this had even been necessary. Savannah raised her chin. “He shouldn’t have to tell you anything. You should have known you could trust me.”

Cruz shrugged, feeling oddly helpless. Just as helpless as he had when he had gathered her, unconscious and bleeding, in his arms. He could only offer her the truth. “Trusting women isn’t something that comes easy to me.”

It was a blanket statement, and she didn’t like being herded in with other women who had meant nothing to him. After all she’d been through, she’d made up her mind to mean something to him.

“Sorry to hear that. Does that apply to your mother and sisters?”

The question irritated him. “You know that’s different.”

“No, apparently I don’t know anything.” Like what her place was with him. She didn’t want to be at arm’s length and if that was the way it was going to be, then maybe she had better rethink everything—and put some distance between them as soon as she was able.

Primly, she smoothed out the blanket that lay across her hips. “Well, if you talked to Dallas, then you know you can go ahead with those plans for your ranch now.” Dallas had promised her to have everything in place for the loan by Monday. “It’s what you need—”

Cruz laughed shortly at the choice of words, not knowing whether to be amused or annoyed. “You, too?”

She looked at him sharply. “Me, too, what?”

“Everyone keeps telling me what I need.” And he’d just about had his fill of all these well-meaning Samaritans. Cruz’s voice rose as he spoke. “My father tells me what I need. My mother tells me what I need.” He thought of Maggie’s talk with him over a month ago. No wonder it had taken him this long to pull his thoughts together. Who could think with everyone coming at him like B-52 bombers? “My sister tells me what I need.
You
tell me what I need.” He found himself standing right beside her. “What I need is for everyone to stop telling me what I need.”

Hurt, but determined not to show it, Savannah drew herself up. “Did you come here to yell at me?”

“No!” He was going about this all wrong. Cruz blew out a breath. Women rarely said yes when they were being shouted at. With effort, he lowered
his voice. “No, I came here to tell you what I
really
need.”

“Oh?” She couldn’t help being leery, even though part of her felt the prick of anticipation.

He took her hands in his, feeling unnaturally awkward. How the hell did someone propose? Maybe just this once, he should have asked his father for pointers. “I need you.”

Stunned, her lips formed a perfectly round circle. “Oh.”

A warmth spread inside him. Maybe he hadn’t made a complete mess of it, after all. “Yes, ‘oh.’ I want you to marry me.”

Because she wanted it so badly, she refused to believe that Cruz meant the proposal the way she wanted him to. That was hoping for too much. And any less was unacceptable.

She tried to draw her hands from his. “Look, if this is some kind of payback in gratitude for Dallas’s backing your ranch—”

His hands tightened around hers, refusing to release her. Damn it, when would she get it through her head that wanting her was not tied to his having a horse ranch?

“Dallas and I agreed to an interest rate. Nobody said anything about handouts.”

The comment would have made her laugh if her heart hadn’t been so sorely involved. “All right,
then if it’s because you feel responsible for the baby—”

“I
am
responsible for the baby,” Cruz pointed out. “At least in part. Half the genes in that baby are mine.”

Suddenly weary, she closed her eyes. “Fine, nobody’s disputing that. But you don’t have to marry me. I already told you that.”

How many times, she thought, did he want her to say no to something she desperately wanted to say yes to? But she wasn’t her mother. She couldn’t wield guilt like a scalpel, cutting into his sense of decency and leaving a wound that would never heal.