Читать книгу Newborn Daddy - Judy Christenberry, Judy Christenberry - Страница 11

Emma gathered her strength and shoved back the blanket and sheet covering her. If she kept putting it off, she would never get out of the hospital.

And she’d decided it would be better to leave before the doctor got there…if she could manage it.

The door opened and she snatched the cover back to her chin.

Dr. Lambert caught the movement. “You need some assistance to get to the facilities? I’ll call a nurse,” he said gently and picked up her call button.

“No, I—” she began, but she stopped as Ryan came into view.

“Yes, Doctor?” the nurse called from behind Ryan’s wide shoulders.

“I think Miss Davenport needs some assistance, nurse. We’ll wait outside the room until she’s ready.” The doctor turned and pushed Ryan ahead of him, closing the door.

“What is it, dear? Are you feeling sick?”

“No, I was getting up to dress and—”

“You were what? You’ll do no such thing. I told you you were to stay in bed. Well, I never!” She tucked the covers tightly around Emma, and before Emma could ask her not to mention her indiscretion, she opened the door and announced to the doctor that Miss Davenport was getting out of bed to dress. “I’ll willingly help her, sir, if that’s what you want, but the last instructions I received were for her to stay in bed.”

“Thank you, nurse,” he replied. “Let me visit with the patient, and then I’ll get back to you.”

“Yes, sir.”

Emma lay back against the pillow, figuring she’d blown it. She’d probably receive a lecture with Ryan watching. She closed her eyes and kept them closed, even when she heard the heavy footsteps.

“Miss Davenport?”

She opened her eyes, but she turned her head away, staring at that small window again. “Yes?”

“I gather you’re anxious to leave us.”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. Then she said, “I’m not complaining about the service, Doctor, but my baby and I are ready to go home.”

He moved to stand beside her, taking her hand in his. “I think you’d both be better off if you wait a couple of days.”

Emma took a quick glance at Ryan’s chiseled features and then looked at the doctor. “I—I really can’t afford that. I promise I’ll be careful. My baby will be—”

“You can’t go, Emma,” Ryan announced, as if it were his decision.

She refused to look at him.

“Doctor, I’ll follow your directions, I promise, but—”

“My directions are to stay in the hospital,” the man said gently, looking at her.

“I paid your bills, Emma,” Ryan announced.

She was glad she already knew he’d done so. “I’ll pay you back,” she said, still avoiding looking at him.

“Emma, you and your baby are my responsibility.”

“No!” she exclaimed, glaring at him. “I and my baby have nothing to do with you!”

“The hell you don’t! Why am I listed as the father if that’s true?”

“Ryan, wait outside.”

Emma stared at the doctor, grateful for his intervention.

“Steve, I need to—” Ryan protested.

“Ryan, wait outside.” His voice was a little more insistent, and he stared at Ryan.

Emma closed her eyes. She heard Ryan’s footsteps leaving the room.

“Tell him I’ll have his name removed. I didn’t mean—”

“Are you telling me he’s not the father of your baby?” the doctor asked calmly.

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at him. Then she closed them again.

“That’s right,” she whispered. “I lied.”

“You’re lying now, Emma, and we both know it.”

Emma opened her eyes again and stared at the doctor. “I didn’t want my baby to have to wonder who her parents were. I didn’t intend to make Ryan pay for what he didn’t want. That’s why I need to go home today.”

“How will going home today change anything?”

She tried to sit up and he raised the head of the bed for her. “I see you know him. I know him, too. He’s a good man, but he didn’t want—want me or the baby. I don’t want him paying out of guilt. I’ll manage. I promise I’ll hold to the payment plan. Please don’t let him pay you.”

“Too late, Emma. He’s already paid,” the doctor said with a grin. “Hey, it’s not a problem for him.”

With the tears she could no longer hold back, she muttered, “It’s a problem for me.”

He pulled up a chair and sat down, shaking his head. “We’ve got something more important to talk about.”

The seriousness of his tone immediately frightened her. “Is Andrea okay? The nurse said—they haven’t brought her in. No! No, she isn’t—No!”

The door swung open and Ryan rushed in. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

The doctor ignored him and stood again, putting his hands on Emma’s shoulders. “Emma, your baby is fine. That’s not what I meant. She’s fine. The nurse is going to bring her in in a few minutes to show you how to nurse her.”

“You told her something was wrong with the baby?” Ryan demanded, his voice rising in alarm. “But you said she was fine.”

“You people are crazy,” the doctor said with a smile. “Listen to me. The baby—what’s-her-name—is perfectly healthy.”

“Andrea Leigh,” Emma said, wiping her cheeks, subsiding since the doctor wasn’t alarmed. She felt ridiculous for making such a fuss.

“Leigh?” Ryan repeated, disbelief in his voice. “You named her after my mother?”

She heard the anger rising in his voice. She drew a deep breath. “Yes, Andrea Leigh.”

“Hoping to get my mother on your side?”

“Ryan…” the doctor said in warning.

Emma had regained control, however. She looked at Ryan, really looked at him for the first time, and said, “Yes, I named her after her grandmother. Because she’s the only grandmother Andy will ever have.”

Then she turned away from Ryan. “What did we need to discuss, Doctor?”

Ryan stared at Emma. Two minutes ago, she was almost hysterical. Then she’d stared him down when he asked about the baby’s name.

His mother was going to be upset enough about the situation without discovering the baby was her namesake.

One more problem to deal with.

“No!” Emma shouted, upset again.

Ryan came back to the present to stare at her. “What’s going on?”

Steve sighed. “I explained about your offer to take Emma and the baby home with you while she recovered.”

She turned a stubborn look toward him. “No, thank you.”

Politeness with an attitude.

“Steve said you can’t go home, Emma. You need someone to take care of you.” She’d be reasonable. After all, he was a responsible man.

“No.”

No attitude now. Just an emotionless firm answer.

“Emma,” the doctor said, intervening again, “If you want to leave the hospital, you have to have someone to help you with the baby, to clean and cook for you. Do you have anyone who can do that?”

Emma stared straight ahead, ignoring both men. “I’ll manage.”

“Emma, I don’t want to have to ask Social Services to step in.”

Emma gasped, her hand going to her throat.

“Steve,” Ryan protested, knowing how much that threat would hurt Emma.

Steve held up his hand. “I don’t want to, but I’m not going to let you risk your baby’s health, Emma. Or your own. I don’t want you to lift anything, even your baby, for at least a week.”

It upset Ryan when Emma’s cheeks whitened. “Emma, Billy’s planning on you coming. He’ll take care of everything, and I’ll hire one of the wives on the ranch to help you every day. You won’t have to worry about me bothering you.”

He’d thought his words would help, but she looked even more devastated. Frowning, he tried to think about what he’d said to upset her, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.

“It’s the only way, Emma, if I’m going to let you out of here before at least a week is up,” Steve added.

“Please, couldn’t I—”

“No.”

Ryan wanted to rail at her. She made his offer sound like torture. He was trying to help. What was wrong with her? But he didn’t need Steve’s glare to warn him to keep quiet. Every time he spoke it only made matters worse.

“If I agree to go to the ranch, can Andy and I go today?” Emma asked, her voice trembling.

Steve reached out and covered her hand resting on the blanket. “No, but you can go after I see you in the morning.”

Ryan held his breath, waiting for her answer. It was because it was the only safe thing to do, of course. His tension had nothing to do with Emma…or her baby.

With her lashes lowered, she said, slowly, “All right.”

“Good, I’m glad. Now I won’t have to worry about that beautiful little girl,” Steve said, patting her hand again.

Ryan watched that hand, fighting the urge to tell him to take his hands off Emma. Which was ridiculous. Steve wasn’t that kind of man. Emma was safe with him.

Then Emma turned her gaze on him. “Can Billy take me to the apartment first? I’ll need—”

“We have everything you need. He set up a nursery last night.” That wasn’t quite honest. Billy hadn’t done it by himself, but Emma didn’t seem to want Ryan involved in anything connected to her or her baby.

Not that he blamed her. Ever since he’d seen that tiny baby, with him named as the father, and realized Emma had already been pregnant when he’d shut her out of his life, guilt had filled him.

Damn it, he’d been right, believing he shouldn’t have anything to do with family. His mistake was not explaining that to Emma before he—

“Ryan?” Steve called, interrupting his self-castigation. “I think Emma will be able to leave about ten in the morning. Is that all right with you?”

“Yes, of course.”

Emma said nothing, staring out the small window. The door opened again behind Ryan and he automatically turned to see who had arrived.

The nurse had stepped into the room. But she wasn’t alone. That pink bundle was in her arms. He stepped closer, wanting a better view of the baby. But then he looked at Emma. The panic-stricken look on her face stopped him.

Did she think he would hurt the child? She considered him a monster? He might not have chosen to have another child, but he wouldn’t harm the baby.

His features stiff, he stepped away from the new arrivals and noted the relief on Emma’s face. The message was clear. She was coming to his ranch because she had no choice, but she wanted nothing to do with him. Nor did she want him to touch her child.

Steve was standing beside Emma and reached out to pat her shoulder. “The nurse is going to help you start nursing your little girl, but they’re not going to bring the baby to you tonight. The nurses will give her more sugar water. I want you to have one more night of sleep before you leave.”

“Oh, but I can—”

“Not tonight,” he said firmly but cheerfully. “We’ll leave you alone now for your lesson. Goodbye, Emma.”

Ryan didn’t know whether to add his goodbye or not. Maybe it would be best if he just faded from view.

When he and Steve reached the hallway, he walked beside his friend, saying nothing.

“You know,” Steve finally said, “I’m disappointed in you, Ryan.”

Ryan’s head snapped up and he stared at his friend. “What? Why?”

“I thought you’d make a little more effort to support Emma. I think the past few months have been difficult for her.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Ryan demanded, his voice hoarse. “Do you think I haven’t condemned myself over and over again for the way I treated her? But she doesn’t want anything from me. She hardly speaks to me, avoids looking at me. If she had anyone else to turn to, she wouldn’t be coming home with me. That much was clear.”

Steve shook his head. “I’m not so sure. She could be afraid to get close to you again.”

“Yeah, because she hates me.” He started walking again. “I’m doing what I can. She’ll be taken care of, and I’ll keep my distance. That’s the best I can do to help her out.”

This time, Steve didn’t argue with him.

After an almost sleepless night, Ryan arrived at the hospital a little early the next morning. He’d talked to Jack yesterday evening and knew Beth was going home today, too. Jack had arranged for a temporary housekeeper to help Beth during the day when he returned to work as the only local attorney.

Ryan knocked on Beth’s door.

“Come in,” Jack called.

“Everyone packed?” Ryan asked, trying to keep his voice cheerful.

“Come in, Ryan,” Beth called, smiling. “Yes, we’re packed. We’re just waiting for Steve to okay everything.”

“Good. So you and junior are doing okay?”

“Yes, fine. Better than you, I’d say.” Beth looked at her husband before shifting her gaze back to Ryan.

“Stayed up too late working,” Ryan muttered.

“I see. I thought maybe you were worrying about not telling me about Emma.”

Ryan glared at Jack, figuring he’d told his wife about Emma and the baby.

“I didn’t say a word,” Jack protested, rightly interpreting Ryan’s glare.

“For heaven’s sake, Ryan, the entire town is talking. I had to pretend I already knew when my visitors spilled the beans. Why didn’t you tell me? How long have you known?”

“Beth, I—I found out when I saw the baby in the nursery. It’s been a shock.” What an understatement, Ryan thought. He still didn’t know what he was going to do.

“Oh. Well, I want to go see her before I go home. She might not let me visit her if I don’t.”

“Don’t you need to wait for Steve?”

“I’ll tell them at the nurse’s desk where I am. Please?” Beth pleaded with her gaze as well as her words.

Ryan shrugged. “You’ll get a better reception if you go without me.”

“But—but I heard you’re taking her home to the ranch.”

Ryan stuck his hands in his jean pockets. “Yeah, but she hates my guts. She’s going because she can’t manage on her own. She didn’t handle everything as well as you did.”

Beth stared at him before turning to her husband. “Go get a wheelchair. I want to take Jackson to show her.”

“You can’t walk?” Ryan asked, worried.

“I can, but I worry about stumbling when I’m carrying the baby.”

Jack was quickly back with a wheelchair. While he was gone, Ryan had taken a closer look at his namesake. Ryan Jackson had weighed over eight pounds when he was born, and he hadn’t lost much weight.