Autumn's Hope (Cowboy Seasons) (19 page)

“Yes,
thank you.”

“It
would be better with bacon, just
sayin
’.” The light
teasing in his voice lifted her even higher.

He
carried her breakfast to her, sat down next to her and watched her eat as he
sipped on coffee. “There are a few new horses for you to meet. Holden brought
some over yesterday. Maybe a visit from a beautiful woman will give them the
determination to pull through.”

She
threw her napkin at him. ”You are so full of it with your compliments. You
don’t have to call me beautiful. I know I’m run of the mill.”

“Ha!
Whoever told you that?”

“My
mother and the mirror.”

“Both
wrong, love. Eat up.”

It
was nice to hear that he thought her beautiful, but it was going to take a heck
of lot of convincing before she believed him. She ate her breakfast stealing
glances at Jonas, who kept smiling at her. “Okay, I’m ready.” She started to
stand up, and Jonas instantly scooped her up into his powerful arms. “I can
walk you know.”

“Maybe
I like carrying you. I enjoy having you close to me.” He held her tight and
carried her into the barn.

“Did
you know that you have the sexiest grin?” She stroked his
stubbled
jaw.

“Oh
yeah? Did you know you have the sexiest—?”

“Oh
God, it’s true.”

“Richard,
I didn’t hear you drive up.” Autumn held on to Jonas as he set her on her feet.
“What’s true?”

“You
two getting married?” The coldness in his eyes surprised her. His nostrils flared
and she knew he was pissed.

“Richard,
what’s wrong?” She took a step toward him.

“Do
you realize that if you marry him he owns more of the restaurant than I do? I
didn’t ask to be partners with him.” He clenched and unclenched his fists.

“Jonas
has nothing to do with the restaurant.”

Jonas
stepped toward Richard and she pulled him back by the arm. “Give us a minute
okay, Jonas?”

Jonas
studied her for a moment and nodded. “I’ll be right outside the door.” He
glared at Richard as he left.

“Richard,
I don’t understand where all this rage is coming from.”

“You
wouldn’t would you? I do all the work and you get all the money.”

“We
agreed that you’d get a salary until I made my investment back. I haven’t even
seen any money. I assumed you were using the money to buy food and supplies for
the restaurant. You’ve been paying yourself haven’t you? Are sales that bad? I
was just there why didn’t you say something then?”

“Sales
are fine and yes, I’ve been paying myself with an extra bonus for doing everything.”

“Then
what is the problem?”

“It’s
been one surprise after another. First you’re knocked up, and then bed rest,
now getting married?” His face grew red and his voice became louder.

“Just
how much extra are you paying yourself? I need to see the books. I should have
looked while I was there but you never once mentioned that you were having
problems.”

Richard
took a step forward and gripped her shoulders painfully. She would have cried
out but she didn’t want to worry Jonas.

“I’m
not the one with the problem, you are. You can’t be trusted to live up to your
word.”

Autumn
struggled to get out of his punishing grip and he let go. The weight of the
baby propelled her forward until she hit the hard floor. This time she cried
out in pain.

Richard
extended his hand toward her but Jonas stormed in, pushed him out of the way
and squatted down next to her. “Don’t move, love.”

Tears
poured down her face. “The baby, Jonas. Something’s wrong, I can feel it.”

“I’ll
call an ambulance,” Richard offered.

“You
do that and then get the hell off my property.”

“I
didn’t mean to hurt you, Autumn.” He gave her a long look, pulled his phone out
of his pocket and called for help. “I’m really sorry, Autumn.”

“Just
go, Richard.”

He
nodded and left.

“I
don’t think we should move you,” Jonas said as he brushed her hair back from
her face. “The ambulance should be here any minute.”

She
nodded. “Just stay with me. I need you.” She closed her eyes and prayed. Jonas’
hand holding hers was a comfort. “I can’t stop crying. What if…”

“Don’t
go there, love.” He had tears in his eyes and she loved him all the more for
them.

Time
slowly inched along as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. The two EMTs
hurried to her side, took her vital signs and put her on a gurney. Her pain
subsided but fear engulfed her and no amount of words brought her comfort. It
was as if she wasn’t in her own body, but a bystander instead, viewing her and
Jonas’ pain. No blood, that was a good thing. Why wasn’t Jonas holding her
hand? A seatbelt reined him in and she wanted to smile about the constraints.
He was a good man. Would he still want her if she lost the baby?

Her
heart constricted and she was very much in the present staring at the white
ceiling of the ambulance. The sirens wailed on and on then suddenly the ambulance
slowed and the sirens silenced. The doors opened and she felt the cool air as
they rushed her inside.

A
pretty nurse put a fetal heart monitor around her and the doctor ordered a
sonogram. In the midst of it all was Jonas and he gave her much needed
strength. She held on to it tight and prayed. Her heart raced and she braced
herself for bad news.

The
doctor raised the bedside rail and she knew that she’d be spending the night.
He smiled down at her. “You and the baby are both fine. I know it scared you
and your blood pressure is elevated. I want to keep an eye on you for a day or
two.”

“Oh,
thank God.” The tears she’d kept at bay began to trail down her face.

“You
need to stay as calm as possible.” The dark haired doctor turned toward Jonas.
“Long time no see. I take you’ve been well?”

Jonas
nodded. “Just fine, doc.”

“Are
you and Autumn together?”

A
big grin spread across Jonas’ face. “We’re engaged.”

Doc
Rogers shook Jonas’ hand. “Good luck to you both.” He nodded to Autumn and left
the room.

Jonas
immediately put the rail down and sat on the bed next to her. “Fine, did you
here that? He said you’d be fine.”

His
arms around her were so gentle that her heart nearly burst. “I heard him.” She took
a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Do
you want me to stay? I mean, I may make your blood pressure go up if I get any
closer to you.”

Finally,
she smiled. “You do have that effect on me, but not at the moment. I don’t
understand Richard’s outrage.”

“I
don’t know. Maybe, he loves you and you don’t know?”

“I
do need to get the financial records. Something isn’t right. First I’ll relax, and
then smack him upside the head.”

Jonas
laughed deeply. “I thought you were such a sweet little thing, Autumn.”

“I
guess that did sound a bit out of character, but I refuse to be played. Now,
rub my abdomen and tell me how pretty I am. I think that would really help in
keeping me calm.”

“Yes,
ma’am.”

* * * *

The
next morning, Autumn opened her eyes slowly and glared at the nurse. All night,
she’d been poked and prodded and her exhaustion left her cranky.

“The
doctor said you can go home today. In a few hours you’ll be able to call that
handsome cowboy of yours to pick you up.”

Autumn
gave her a small smile and her heart warmed. The nurse was right, Jonas was her
cowboy. She glanced at the clock and groaned. It was too early to be up, but she
wanted to call Jonas now and tell him the news. “Maybe I can get more sleep
when I’m home.”

The
nurse gave her a nod. “I’ll have the paperwork all ready to go in a few.”

“Thank
you.” Autumn watched her leave and closed her eyes. Right when she was about to
drift off another woman came in with her breakfast.

“Good
morning!” The slim, blonde woman rang out.

Autumn
cringed. Too much cheeriness this morning and she just wanted some rest. She
gave up the idea of sleep when the food was placed on the table in front of
her. It actually smelled good. The fresh fruit appealed to her so she pushed
the button, raised the bed and dug in. She’d rest when she got home.

Home
was now wherever Jonas was. Love had a way of changing everything. She placed
her hand on her belly and felt the baby kick. “You’re going to have a wonderful
daddy.”

“So
I heard.” Summer stepped into the room carrying a bouquet of flowers. She
leaned over and gave Autumn a kiss on the cheek. “Congrats. You two will be so
happy together.”

“Thanks,
Summer. It’s all so sudden but I’m excited.”

“These
flowers are from your future husband. We had some trouble at our ranch last
night and Holden needed Jonas to help him. I volunteered to visit.”

“What
type of trouble?”

“Some
of the horses got out. As soon as Jonas got there, he sent me here. He’s
worried about you, but didn’t want to call and wake you. I figured I could
watch you sleep for a while.”

“Ha!
There is no sleeping here. Are the horses all right?”

Summer
sat in the hard chair next to the bed and her shoulders slumped. “I don’t know.
Everything was in chaos when I left.”

“I’m
sorry Jonas sent you here. Go back home, they probably need you.”

“I’m
sure they’re fine. Dee Ann showed up and she’s a big help.”

“I’m
sure she is.”

Summer
cocked her head. “She mentioned that you’d had some kind of falling out. I find
it hard to believe, you’re both so nice.”

“I
don’t really know, she’s been different this visit. Did you know she plans to
stay? She even asked Jonas for a land donation for her horse sanctuary.”

“I
wonder why she hasn’t mentioned it to Holden? I know Holden does a lot of
rescues, more than he ever thought but another vet? We just built the most
amazing barn for the horses and Holden hired more men to help out. Maybe there
is a need. I don’t know.”

“The
flowers are beautiful. Thank you.”

“They
are from Jonas.”

“I
know but you picked them out didn’t you?”

Summer
blushed. “Yes, but he did say that he wanted wildflowers for you. Oh, and he mentioned
a wedding.”

Autumn
leaned forward and breathed in the floral scent of the flowers. “Yes, I’m not
sure how it all happened but we’re engaged and I’d like to get married before
the baby comes.”

“Well,
you are looking at the queen of last minute weddings. As soon as you get out of
here we’ll make plans.”

Autumn
smiled. “I’m getting out today.”

Summer’s
face lit up. “Great! We’ll go to my house and start making lists. I suppose a
caterer won’t be a problem?”

“I
don’t know. Richard and I had a fight and I was trying to get out of his grip
when I fell.”

Summer’s
jaw dropped. “He put his hands on you?”

“He
heard about the wedding and was incensed. He believes that Jonas will become an
owner of the restaurant and he said something about how he was doing all the
work and I was doing nothing. It’s a mess. I have to go over the books. He said
something about paying himself extra. I’ve known Richard for a few years now
and I’ve never seen his temper before.”

Summer
took her hand. “I’m sure everything is fine. Don’t get worked up about it or
they won’t let you out of here.”

“You’re
right. I need to be calm for the baby’s sake.”

* * * *

Jonas
glanced at his watch and frowned.

Holden
laughed and shook his head. “They’ll be here. Hell, the last time I was in the
hospital it took hours for them to get the papers together so I could leave.”

“I
know, just anxious I guess.”

“She’s
in good hands.”

“I
know that too.” He glanced around the new barn on Holden’s property. The back
half was scorched and it was going to have to be rebuilt. “I’m glad that none
of your horses turned up dead.”

“True,
but we need to get to the bottom of this and fast. I keep thinking they could
have set my house on fire just as easily.”

Jonas
heart beat faster. The possibility of a loved one being harmed hadn’t occurred
to him. “The whole thing is escalating. Did Sheriff Brown have anything useful
to say?”

Holden
clenched his jaw and shook his head. “That jerk wanted to know if my brothers
smoke drugs. The man is plain blind to what is going on around here. There is
someone running around harming the horses.”