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I hugged my dad, feeling my tears spill over, and run down my cheeks. God this was all such a mess.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” I croaked out the apology, even though it felt feeble.
My dad squeezed me tighter. “Callie, baby, you were where you needed to be at the time. You’re here now, and that’s what counts.”
Hours seemed to come and go, as my family and I took turns coming and going from the hotel room to the hospital, barely taking time to shower and eat between our vigil. I told Mathis to go home, but like the rest of us, he refused. Cody told him this was a matter for family only, but Mathis just held his ground and told him that his place was beside me. This comment brought looks of surprise from my family, but on my mom and dad’s faces, I saw approval. So, I stopped arguing, and I let him be the shoulder I leaned on, again.
The hardest part was seeing poor little Kaylee and Caleb, terrified for their mama, not even knowing that their little brother or sister was in there too. Elaine had kept the pregnancy a secret as long as she could. I was a mess of emotions. My poor sister, having to live under the thumb of that cheating tyrant, and now this. God, I hoped he never saw the light of day again. Samantha had really started to show while I’d been away, and I realized it had been much longer than I had thought.
It was so easy to lose track of time up there at the cabin, just Mathis and I and the horses. Yet, it had felt so right, so perfect, and I realized that it wasn’t only the connection with Dark Temptation that had grown. The connection Mathis and I had felt the moment he had walked into that bookstore had surpassed anything I could have imagine, and now, I could admit that I was in love with him. In fact, it was hard to imagine a life without him in it. That thought terrified me. My walls threatened to rebuild themselves, because those kinds of thoughts could get my heart smashed to pieces. But, I knew, without a doubt that God had brought Mathis into my life. He had brought him into that bookstore, just like he had brought me home when I was needed.
26
Two weeks, we practically lived at the hospital. And then, finally, Elaine woke up, and the doctors said they expected both her and the baby to make it, which was a miracle in itself. Elaine would be on bed rest the rest of the pregnancy, which was about four months, and afterward, she would have a long slow recovery, but, most important, they expected her to make a full recovery. To say we were all grateful, was an understatement. There was crying, more crying, thanking God, and then more crying. We took turns visiting her in small increments as she was still very fragile and easily exhausted. The doctors wouldn’t let her go home yet, however. We decided that each of us would spend a few days here with her, one at a time, so the rest of us could go home and rest. We didn’t want Elaine being here all alone.
Mathis did finally leave me in the care of my parents, although it was obvious that neither of us wanted to say goodbye. I actually contemplated just going home with him, but then I looked over at my mother’s weary form, holding the hands of my little niece and nephew, and at Samantha’s pale color.
Looking into Mathis’s eyes, I sighed. “I think they need me more right now, I’m sorry. I need to go home and help.”
Mathis pulled me up to him, kissing me roughly despite my parents close proximity, and then nodded. “I know Callie. I’m just a phone call away, you know that, right?”
I grinned for the first time in weeks. “Yah, I know.”
My dad approached us with a stern look, but in his eyes, I could see he was not upset. “Now, son, if you kiss my daughter like that in front of me, you’d better have a damn good plan.”
To my chagrin, Mathis turned to my dad, held out his hand, and replied, “Oh I sure do, Sir, but I will have to speak with you about that in private, because your daughters about as stubborn as that black stallion of hers.”
I glared at him, but seeing the pride on my dad’s face, I couldn’t really stay mad. My dad glanced at me briefly before he replied. “So, she actually did it then? She gentled that godforsaken horse?”
Mathis grinned from ear to ear. “She sure did, Sir. In fact, I’ve got an idea about that stallion. I have a stallion at my place, and I wanted to offer a trade, you take mine this breeding season, and I’ll use yours, then we can trade back.”
My dad rubbed his chin. “Well, I know your uncle had a damn good eye for horseflesh, so I’m sure he’s top of the line. I am all for it, but,” my dad paused, turning to me. “You’ll have to ask my breeding manger here, besides, the stallion belongs to her.”
I felt tears sting my eyes and sinuses again and I cursed. Was I ever going to stop crying? My dad pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. “I never should have doubted you, little Calamity.”
It was my mom’s turn to go stay with Elaine, so I was in a rush to get things done before she returned. Gathering the grandchildren, Elaine’s two and Cody’s three kids, I led the way up the slight incline in the back yard.
“Auntie Callie, what are we doing, again?” Kaylee asked as she trudged behind me in her oversized rubber boots.
Smiling at her chubby cheeks, I said, “We are going to finish grandma’s rose garden. That way, when your mama gets to come home, she and grandma will have a whole array of roses to sit with.”
Kaylee frowned. Beside her, Caleb messed with his gloves, and Billy the Kid nipped at his jeans. “Mommy doesn’t like flowers.”
I frowned. “Oh, yes, she does, Kaylee. Your momma loves primroses. They are her favorite, so, we’re going to put in big rose bushes, and at the bottom, primroses for your ma.”
Kaylee blinked up at me. Her big blue eyes were wide with concern. “I didn’t know…we never had flowers at home, so I always thought she didn’t like them.”
Caleb, in a gesture I found utterly adorable, pulled his thumb out of his mouth, and took his sister’s hand. “Mama always liked to smell the flowers, at the gro-cer sto-wer.”
His mispronunciation, coupled with his obvious compassion for his sibling, was just too much. I pulled them both into a hug. “It’s okay that you didn’t know, Kaylee. Anything you want to know, you just ask me, okay.”
The remainder of the day was spent digging holes and placing the rose bushes and primroses into their designated spot. Of course, between the five children, we had about eight potty breaks, a lunch break and several intermissions for snack, but I didn’t mind. I knew I could have accomplished the task much faster without them, but that wasn’t the point. The purpose of including the kids was that when all was finished, they would feel pride and encouragement, having taken part in creating grandma’s garden.
Samantha had joined us around mid-afternoon as well, and I winked at her, saying, “Its good practice for ya, Sammy.”
Samantha rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter how much you practice, according to your ma, it will come to me naturally.”
I grinned. “It sure didn’t come natural to Elaine with Kaylee. She was so darn lost, mom always says she can’t imagine what that daughter of hers would have done if she weren’t living here at home, with her momma to help her.”
