The Outsider Series: The Complete Omnibus Collection

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Are you sure you’re supposed to be out of the hospital so soon?”

Andy couldn’t sit in Jed’s cramped living room, with the bassinet in the corner, a baby swing, and piles of baby gifts that had been sent by most of the townsfolk. Jed was on the sofa, his right leg in a cast and resting on the scratched table that looked like something from his barn. He had three stitches on his forehead, and his ribs were wrapped, but he positively glowed as he held his newborn son.

“You think I’m letting Diana come home without me? I’m fine. I got that cane there to help get around, and Mom’s flying out to help until I’m back on my feet. Dad said they’re going to camp out in one of the cabins since this place isn’t big enough.”

“Jed, we’re going to need a bigger house for these gifts alone. Will you look at all these clothes? The only way Danny can wear all these is if I change him into a new outfit three times a day.” Diana positively glowed as she piled the gifts she had opened onto the loveseat, flush against the wall. “Andy, do you want some coffee?”

“No. Thank you, Diana. I need to be going. I just wanted to stop in and check on you two, try to talk you into coming to stay with me. Mother and Dad are away, so it’s just me rambling around that big old house. And it’s lonely. I could use the company.”

The fact was that Andy was worried about Jed and Diana out here all alone, so he’d sent one of his stable hands to handle all the chores and care for the horses. He’d not asked Jed, for one, because he was too proud to accept help. Diana glanced at her husband and smiled privately.

“Diana and I wanted to thank you for all you did, Andy. If wasn’t for you…” Jed glanced again at Diana, and she nodded, and something passed between them. “Well, Andy, we know what you did getting me down, and Diana, too, and looking after the ranch for me. We’re naming the baby after you.”

“But you called him Danny.” Andy was confused as he glanced at Diana and her husband.

“We named him Daniel Anderson Friessen. We figured it’d get too confusing calling him Andy, too, especially since we’d like you to be his godfather.” Jed and Diana watched him tensely for a moment. Maybe they thought his shock was a rejection.

But he covered his heart with his right palm and said, “I’d be honored.” And he was.

Andy didn’t leave until several hours later, after Rodney and Becky had arrived. Then the small house became too small for all of them. He’d relinquished his hold on Danny, reluctantly, to his Grandma Becky, who’d fallen instantly in love with the tiny baby. But then, so had Andy. The boy had Diana’s square jaw and tufts of deep red hair, and when he'd finally opened his eyes, they were the same brilliant blue as his mama’s.

He stood outside Jed’s house for just a moment, listening to the laughter inside and the horses in the barn. Red, the young stallion, was alone in the corral, and Andy watched him for a moment. As he observed the wildness and sleek power of the magnificent beast, he felt some kinship with it and remembered the night Danny had been born. Andy had followed the ambulance to the hospital. Jed was taken directly to the emergency room to have his leg set, and a CT scan had been ordered for his head. Diana had been whisked up to maternity and hooked up to a monitor for the baby’s heartbeat as she was examined by the OB on call. Jed had been beside himself with worry and was nearly strapped down by the on-call doctor when he tried to get up and go to his wife, so Andy had gone up to maternity to check on Diana for him. The OB on call was concerned that the baby’s heartbeat was slowing, so he’d ordered an emergency C-section—the cord had been wrapped around the baby’s neck.

Andy called in every favor and arranged for Diana and Jed to be in a room together. When she woke, there was Jed, holding their son, and a very tired Andy was watching them. Diana had softly smiled at him. In that moment, the hurt and shame they had carried between them for so long changed into respect and thanksgiving. Andy said nothing as he turned and left.

Driving back now to his big, empty house and all the problems his father had created, he realized that something had changed. Andy envied Jed for all he had, for the way he had walked away from his family’s wealth and lived on what he earned as a poor rancher. In a way, Jed was the wealthiest man he knew.

That was when he saw her in town, coming out of the grocery store, holding a plastic bag in one hand and the hand of a small little boy with the other. The blonde, scrawny maid who had broken that ugly vase—what was her name, Laura?—was walking to a beat-up old Volvo with a rusted fender. Andy stopped at the crosswalk and watched for a minute as she opened the back door and helped the little boy in. She glanced his way, watching him with wide eyes. She didn’t smile, and she didn’t wave. What she did was buckle the child in, and climb in the car, and drive away.

A car horn honked, rousing Andy, and he continued on home, certain of only one thing—for him, something had changed.

The Awakening

The Outsider Series (Andy & Laura)