Wild Montana Nights (28 page)

remembering things? She didn’t think she could live like that.

Someone would always have to be close by to help her if she forgot

how to do something. Tears built up in the back of her eyes. She

blinked to keep them at bay.

“I think I’m going to take a little nap now,” she told them. If she

pretended to sleep, or if by some miracle she fell asleep, they couldn’t see how confused she was right then.

“You go right ahead. We’ll be quiet,” Randall assured her. He

took a seat in the straight back chair while Marcus stretched out in the lounge chair next to the bed.

She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. She was tired and

knew there was something she was missing that was important. If

they didn’t tell her what was going on soon, she would start asking

questions. Right now, she wanted to sleep and hide from whatever

had made her run because deep down, that was what she knew she

had done. Run from them.

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* * * *

Marcus worked on his accounts, all the time keeping an ear open

for Darla should she wake up and need anything. Randall was asleep

in the chair opposite them. He usually snored, but this time, it wasn’t him he could hear sawing logs. It was Darla. He loved her quiet, little snores. They were delicate, just like she was.

He and Randall were of the same mind. She had to know the

details and fast. He could tell she was already beginning to remember enough to ask questions. In his mind, they weren’t going to ask the

doctors if they could tell her. They were going to tell them what they were going to do. He wasn’t risking her thinking they were holding

something back again. The only question now was if they told her

before or after their parents came to see her. His vote was for

afterwards. He hoped Randall would feel that way, too.

A knock at the door startled him. The door opened and two of

Darla’s doctor’s walked in. The shorter of the two was the trauma

doctor who took care of her when she first came in. The man next to

him with the thinning brown hair was the neonatologist. So far, Darla hadn’t read his name tag to know what he did. Would this be the time

she did? He hoped not. They needed to make her comfortable before

they told her she was pregnant with their child. And that they had

deceived her.

Randall woke up when they knocked and ran a hand over his face

before standing up and holding out his hand.

“Nice to see you again,” he said.

“How is our patient doing today?”

“She’s doing fine, and she’s awake,” Darla answered him.

Marcus hid his smile behind a cough. She was feisty all right.

That hadn’t changed about her at all. He and Randall loved that she

was like that, but it might cause some problems down the road,

Marcus realized.

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“Well, let’s take a look at you. Gentlemen, would you step out?”

A nurse appeared and shooed them out while she remained to assist

the doctors.

“Don’t let them get away,” Marcus said. “We need to tell her

tonight.”

“I agree. She’s smart. I think she has some of it already figured

out,” Randall added.

They remained outside Darla’s room until the two men stepped

back outside. They motioned for them to follow them a little down the hall so that Darla wouldn’t be able to hear them talking.

“How is she doing?” Marcus asked right off the bat.

“Much, much improved. I dare say with outpatient rehab she

could go home in a few more days,” the trauma doctor said.

Marcus looked over at Randall and smiled. That was very good

news.

“What about the baby?” Randall asked the other doctor.

“Right now, I would say she is going to be able to carry the child.

All of the preliminary tests show the baby is viable and growing

appropriately. She needs to see her own OB doctor as soon as

possible. I’ll send all her files to whomever she chooses. They are

going to want to follow her very closely.”

Marcus smiled. So far there was nothing but good news. The two

doctors turned to leave, but Randall stopped them.

“We are going to tell her everything tonight,” he told them.

The two physicians looked at each other then nodded their heads.

“Since she is doing so well, it is as good a time as any. You do

realize that she could ban you from her hospital room. The hospital

would have no choice but to honor her wishes,” the neonatologist

warned them.

“Damn, I didn’t think about that,” Randall said. “She doesn’t have

anyone else to see about her.”

“Randall, we don’t have a choice. She’s going to remember if we

don’t tell her. It’s just a matter of time now.”

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Marcus waited until Randall nodded his head in ascension. The

two doctors shrugged and after shaking hands all around, walked

further down the hall.

Marcus turned and headed back to Darla’s room. Randall caught

up with him and stopped him.

“We’re in agreement that we tell her as soon as our parents leave

this afternoon.”

Marcus nodded. “We’ll have to hope and pray she doesn’t throw

us out. I honestly don’t even want to contemplate our lives without

her in it.”

Randall knocked once on the door, then pushed it open. Darla was

sitting in the lounge chair by the window. There wasn’t much to look

at outside other than piles of snow and the back of another building.

She didn’t seem to mind. Marcus could tell she was excited by the

radiant smile on her face.

“Did they tell you? I can leave in a couple of days,” she

exclaimed. “I’m so excited. I’m tired of being cooped up in this

place.”

“That’s great, baby,” Randall said.

Marcus leaned down and gave her a warm kiss then watched and

Randall did the same thing. Would it be the last time they got to touch her? He felt sick at the idea. He swallowed and stepped behind her to give her good shoulder a squeeze.

“Our parents should be here directly after lunch,” Randall was

saying. “They won’t stay long. They don’t want to tire you out on

your first real day out of the unit.”

“I can’t wait to meet them. I’m still not sure how this works. I

mean, marrying two men? I mean, it’s not legal is it?” Her face

wrinkled in confusion.

“Legally, you marry Randall because he is the oldest, but in a

private ceremony we all exchange vows. It’s binding to us,” Marcus

assured her.

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“You can talk to Mom about it. She’ll tell you anything you want

to know,” Randall added.

“Lunch should be here soon. You’re going to eat every bite of it,

too.” Randall frowned at her when she pursed her lips and made a

face.

This was what he wanted for their family, teasing and smiles and

passion. He worried it was all about to come down around their ears.

Tonight would decide everything. If she could forgive them, they had

a lot of making up to do. If she didn’t forgive them… He couldn’t

even finish the thought.

* * * *

Their parents showed up at one p.m. on the dot. Randall

introduced them to Darla. His mom immediately took over and kept

everything from getting out of hand.

“There are four too many men in here if you ask me,” she said

with a wink at Darla.

Darla wasn’t sure what to make of all of them. They all truly

seemed to be happy. She liked both of the fathers. They each leaned

in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before hustling Randall and

Marcus out of the room.

“Give them some girl time, boys,” Jim said as he closed the door

behind them.

“How do you handle having two of them?” She burst out before

she thought about it. “Oh.” She covered her mouth with her hand

embarrassed that she’d asked the question.

“Call me Ann. Sometimes I could throw them off a cliff, but I

wouldn’t really. You learn to temper their testosterone with your

estrogen. Guilting them into things is one way, and treating them like the little boys they can be is another.”

She patted Darla’s hand and sat back in the chair. “I raised them

to be good men, and I think they turned out okay, but men make

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mistakes thinking they are doing what’s best for their women. I’ve

learned to forgive and overlook what I can and throw a hellacious fit when I can’t.”

“How did you know you loved them both? I mean, is it natural to

be able to love both men equally?” Darla asked.

“You don’t love them equally, Darla. You love them differently.

Jim is my anchor in a storm. He is dependable and will always catch

me if I fall. Sam is the storm.” She laughed. “He whirls through and

jumbles things up. There’s never a dull moment in our house.”

Darla drew in a deep breath and tried to relax. Something still

niggled at her though. For the life of her, she couldn’t grasp the thread to follow it. Everything was still too new to her. She was having to

get her bearings all over again.

“Darla, anytime you need to talk, I’m here. Just call me or come

over.” She laughed again. “Of course, one of the boys will insist on

driving you. Usually Jim drives me where I want to go.

“Don’t you find it stifling to have someone with you all the time?”

Darla asked.

“Oh, God, yes. I have my own little room where I do my quilting,

and they are not allowed in it for any reason. If I’m in there with the door closed, they are to stay away unless the house or the barn is on fire.” She patted Darla’s hand. “Give yourself time. You weren’t

raised in a ménage family. I was.”

Darla let it all sink in. She’d have to think about it all when she

was by herself…if she ever was again. That thought brought a smile

to her face.

They continued chatting until the men returned with offerings of

Diet Cokes, candy bars, and chips.

“Goodness, where did you get all of this?” Darla asked.

“We ran to the corner market. We figured you would want

something besides hospital food now that you are up and around.

Nothing like junk food to make you feel better,” Marcus said.

Randall opened the Diet Coke for her and handed it back.

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“We better get going,” Sam told them. “Darla needs her rest. We

can come back again.”

“I enjoyed your visit,” Darla told them with a smile.

She’d really enjoyed her chat with Ann. She knew they could

become good friends and maybe coconspirators. She smiled through

all the careful hugs and well wishes. Finally, the little group walked out the door with the promise to return. The silence in the room was

deafening. Randall and Marcus had gone to walk them out. They

would be back soon, and there would be that unease that had pestered

her ever since she’d awakened.

She would ask them point blank tonight why she had been alone

in her car driving in the snow. She was sure there would be a reason, and she wouldn’t like it. What would it mean to them as a possible

family? She heard a commotion outside the door then it opened and

Marcus and Randall walked in.

“What’s going on, you two?” she asked.

Both men looked guilty as hell of something. She wasn’t sure she

wanted to know after all. When Randall pulled up the straight chair

and took a seat. He looked over at Marcus who remained standing.

“Darla, we need to confess something that we are very sorry for,”

he began.

“Is this why I was running away? I was running away, wasn’t I?”

she said.

Both men looked at her and nodded their heads. She swallowed

around the lump that suddenly blocked her throat. This was it.

Randall took her hand in both of his. “We love you more than

anything, Darla. What we did was wrong, but we did it for the right

reasons. We wanted you to stay with us as our wife and were afraid

you would eventually leave.”

“What did you do?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“We had you investigated.” Randall hurried on. “I thought you

were running from something or someone, and we wanted to help

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you. We were afraid you would leave again if whatever it was

happened again.”

Darla gasped. They’d lied to her. No wonder she’d run away. She

could handle a lot of things, but after what her ex-fiancé had done, she couldn’t tolerate lies. Even by omission.

Then a thought hit her as her memory began to return. She

touched a hand to her belly and looked up.

“Yes, you’re pregnant.” Randall confirmed.

“Is the baby okay?” she asked, her voice cracking.

“They think so. It’s too small for them to tell much, but all the

tests have come back positive,” Marcus supplied.

Randall recaptured the hand she’d snatched away when she

realized they had lied to her. She didn’t fight him, but let him hold her hand.

“Please forgive us, baby. We screwed up big time. I know that,”

Randall begged.

Marcus swallowed hard enough that she heard it. He opened his

mouth to speak then closed it and turned around, jamming his hands

in his pockets. He spoke with his back to her.