“Lemon!”
I take the stairs two at a time and burst into her room. It’s empty, but the bright red stain in the middle of her sheets tells me everything I need to know. I holler and slam my fist into the door, leaving a hole in the solid oak wood. “Fuck!”
“Colton!” Mr. Winchester comes up the stairs, panting like he’s just covered 100,000 acres in a sprint and not his horse. “Where is she?”
“Hospital is my guess.”
“Come on, then. I’ll drive.”
“If it’s all the same, sir, I’d rather drive myself.”
“Why? So you can break the speed limit the whole way and end up dying before you get there?”
“I’m afraid, sir.”
“I know it, but you gotta pull yourself together and be strong for her. You understand me?”
I nod, though I don’t feel strong. I feel as if I’m falling apart. Please, God, let my woman and my baby be okay.
I follow Lemon’s daddy down the stairs, my nerves shot to hell. And I climb into his truck, though it takes everything in me not to just drive myself. But I can’t stand the thought of leaving Lemon to do this alone, and forcing my child to grow up without a father.
When we finally get to the hospital, I race inside while Lemon’s daddy finds a park. I’m led upstairs to the maternity ward, and through the viewing window inlaid into the door, I see the love of my life sitting on a bed in a white hospital gown, her normally tanned face almost as pale as the robe she’s wearing. Her mama is talking to a doctor, and I enter the room and rush to Lemon’s side.
“Colt,” she sobs.
“I’m here, darlin’. What happened?”
Mama Winchester excuses herself from her conversation and comes to stand on the opposite side of the bed from me. “Why don’t you come outside and I’ll fill you in.”
“No, don’t leave—” Lemon’s words are abruptly cut off by a sharp gasp, and she clutches her stomach.
“Lemon, what is it?”
“You’re okay, sweetheart,” Mama Winchester says as she rubs Lemon’s back. “Just breathe.”
“Do something!” I yell at the doctor, who looks a little taken aback.
“Sir, we’re doing everything we can. We’re waiting on the OB-GYN to assess Miss Winchester’s sonogram.”
“Lemon?” Mr. Winchester says from the doorway, no doubt feeling the same shock I did at seeing Lemon so defeated.
“Daddy,” she sobs. “It hurts. It hurts so much.”
Her father’s long legs swallow the distance between them, and I move out of the way so he can comfort his daughter. I rub my own arms to ward away the chill. The woman I love is in pain and there’s nothing I can do for her, and my baby’s life is at risk. I know that. I might be a kid preparing to be a dad, but I know bleeding and blinding pain like this ain’t a good thing. We’re losing our baby. I see that now. I just pray to God that I don’t lose them both because I can’t handle a world that doesn’t have Lemon Winchester in it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Lemon
After calling and checking in with Ambrose at the gallery, I spend the day manning the front desk at the B and B. It mostly just consists of playing solitaire on the outdated PC because it’s quiet at this time of year and I already helped Mama clean and restock the cabins yesterday. The door opens and Daisy-Mae Buchannan races in holding her hand over her pregnant belly. “Hi.”
“Well, hi there.”
She sets down her purse, puffs out her cheeks, and her blond bangs go flying. “I’m so sorry you had to fill in for me today.”
“It’s really not a problem. How’s the baby?”
“Just Braxton Hicks, I think. Though it’s still a little early, my doctor doesn’t think this little man is gonna wait for his due date.”
“Wow. That’s … great,” I mutter, and then force a smile I don’t feel. “About the Braxton Hicks, I mean … not the coming early.”
Daisy’s responding smile is tender, and she touches my arm in a compassionate gesture that forces my eyes to prick with tears. “Sorry. I know this must be weird for you, what with your … situation.”
I pull away and grab my phone from the counter, pretending to scroll it absentmindedly before tucking it in the back pocket of my jeans. “Not at all.”
“I never told you this—I guess I just didn’t know what to say—but I was real sorry about your little one.”
Daisy might’ve gone to school with Wade, but she was forever making eyes at my older brother West. Her and I have never been close, though she was sweet to me when a lot of people weren’t. She didn’t talk shit behind my back like some of the other girls from high school, and in Red River Canyon, you don’t forget that kind of loyalty.
“It was a long time ago,” I say quietly.
She gives me a tight smile. “So, are you planning on visiting with Colt? He’s the last cabin on the lot, but I suppose you already know that on account of you spending the night.”
I frown. Oh my God. Did Cash tell everyone about mine and Colt’s sleepover? Rodeo riding seems to have knocked the sense clean out of him, and I’m going to squeeze out any remaining brain cells by ringing his damn neck. News never travels quite as fast or as far as a scandal in a small country town, or even worse … on a ranch.
“No. We’re er …”
“Messy. Oh, I know. It can’t have been easy going through what y’all went through.” Her shoulders deflate. “Still, it’s just so sad that the two of you couldn’t make it work. We all thought you were a done deal—Colton and Lemon forever. You know?”
“Yeah, well. Life doesn’t always go to plan.”
“No, ma’am. It does not.” She smooths a hand over her belly and my eyes follow the movement. It can’t be easy being a single mom in a small town, but being a single mom with a husband who ran off and left you for his secretary? Well, that’s gotta be tough around here.
“I better get back to the house,” I say. “See if Mama needs help with dinner.”
“Of course. Thanks again for covering for me today.”
“No problem. I’ll see you later.” I smile and head for the door.
“Lemon?”
I turn and see Daisy chewing her bottom lip. “He never really dated anyone else. Colton, I mean.”
“Ooo-kay.” I draw out the first syllable for far too long.
“I just thought you should know. My friend Annie tried, but she said it was like he was just going through the motions.”
“I don’t know why you’re telling me this, Daisy-Mae.”
“Because I think some loves are forever, you know?” She glances at her wedding ring and tucks her hand away. “I mean, not all of them, obviously, but … I don’t think he ever fell out of love with you. Plus, he has that big old house that he’s never even spent the night in, and—”
“What big old house?”
“Oh. I … um … I thought you knew about it.” She grimaces and watches my face closely. “But I can see I’ve opened my big mouth when I shouldn’t have.”