A Randall Hero. Judy Christenberry

it is. I’ll be back in a minute.” John felt kind of bad about getting Lucy’s wallet while she was sleeping, but Mike had to see the proof.

      When he came out, Caroline was talking with her husband.

      “Why didn’t you tell me she’d been beaten, John?”

      “Hell, you wouldn’t even believe who she is without proof. I figured we should prove her identity to you before we discussed what she’d been through.”

      “Caro just told me about her bruises.”

      “Yeah, and I took her by the shoulders and she winced. She said she was bruised there, too. When I told her to take off her coat so I could see, she said he didn’t hit her where other people could see.”

      “Sounds like a pro.”

      “She said he only hit her one other time, and he apologized and told her it wouldn’t happen again.”

      “Did she say why he beat her this time?”

      “She said he didn’t want the baby…and then she broke down in sobs.”

      “Poor thing,” Caroline said. “Being pregnant is hard enough when both of you want the baby. When one of you doesn’t, it’s nearly unbearable. To have him try to destroy her baby is inhuman.”

      Mike Davis put his arm around his wife. They’d been thrilled with both their children, but Mike knew she felt a lot of sympathy toward women who suffered at the hands of their husbands.

      “What’s she going to do?” Caroline asked.

      “I talked to Mom and Dad and they’re willing to welcome her to our house. Mom was planning what she would do to make them happy.”

      “And she agreed to do that?”

      “I haven’t actually talked to her about it. She thinks she should go away where her husband won’t find her. But she doesn’t know where to go. That’s why she was calling Harry. But he didn’t answer.”

      “No, he’s on vacation, but I think he’d want us to help her. We could take her if you can’t,” Mike said.

      John grinned. “Mom would never forgive me if she got away.”

      “You do realize her husband might come after her.”

      “Yeah. If he does, we’ll call you, Mike, but Dad and I will be ready.”

      “Good. The MO of these kind of men is to keep hitting their wives. They don’t stop at two beatings. I’m glad she got out.”

      “Me, too.”

      “When you talk to Harry, tell him we’ve got the situation covered.”

      “I will, Mike. He’ll know he can rely on both of us. And Mom is so excited. She’s looking forward to having a baby in the house again.”

      “Are you going to stay available until she settles down? She seems to need reassurance for a while,” Caroline said.

      “Yeah, I’m going to stay here until she’s okay with everything. I may stay until she can leave. Dad has offered to handle any problems with the ranch until I bring her and the baby home.”

      “I just want to warn you, John, that her emotions will be all over the place. It happens after childbirth.” Caroline studied him and John dropped his gaze.

      “I’m just offering protection, like Harry would want me to do.”

      Mike clapped him on his back. “All right, we’ve got everything squared away for now. When she’s doing better, we’ll ask her if she’ll file charges.”

      When he left, John went back to Lucy’s room, wondering if either of the ladies he was in charge of would be awake. A nurse was changing Emma’s diaper and he asked if the baby had woken up.

      “Yes, we had the intercom on so she wouldn’t wake up her mother. She’s going to take a bottle.”

      “Can I feed it to her?”

      “Sure. You’ll have to coax her to eat but usually babies catch on pretty quickly. I’ll wait and see if she does.”

      “Great.” He slid his hand beneath the baby and lifted her against his chest. “Hey, little girl, you get a bottle so you can grow. Will you be a good girl and eat it all?”

      With blue eyes like her mother the baby stared at him as if he were saying something important.

      The nurse handed John the bottle and he tried to insert the nipple in Emma’s mouth. After a moment, he succeeded. When she chewed down on the nipple, she realized she would get a reward.

      Suddenly, John didn’t have any more trouble. Little Emma greedily sucked the bottle dry.

      The nurse, who had waited to see how John would do, told him to burp Emma on his shoulder. He put the baby on his shoulder and patted her back as the nurse instructed.

      When he did, Emma let out a most unladylike burp. He stared down at her. “Was that you, Emma? My, you did that well.”

      The nurse laughed. “That happens with some babies. She did just fine. Now put her back in her bassinet and she’ll go to sleep.”

      “She will?”

      The nurse nodded.

      He gently laid the baby back in her bed. She squirmed and wiggled several times and then went to sleep.

      “You did a good job,” the nurse said.

      “Thanks.”

      After she left, he eased down in the soft chair beside the bed and leaned his head back, suddenly tired. It was more comfortable than the truck last night. But now he didn’t get to hold Lucy.

      LUCY STRUGGLED TO WAKE UP. It seemed there was something she should do, but she couldn’t remember what. She put her hand on her stomach to make sure the baby was okay.

      Her eyes popped open. Her womb didn’t feel as though her baby was there. She sat up, breathing hard. What had happened?

      Then she remembered she’d had the baby, her little girl, and everything was all right.

      She saw the baby sleeping in a little bassinet. She leaned back in her bed. Then she looked to the right and saw John asleep in the chair beside her bed.

      He’d stayed.

      He’d promised he would. But she didn’t know if he’d keep his word. Now she knew he had. She rested against her pillow, studying him. He was a handsome man. But more important than that, he’d taken care of her, protected her and given her hope that she might be safe. She knew that that wasn’t true, but for a short time he’d given her something she desperately needed.

      What should she do now? She knew she shouldn’t stay in one place for long. Cecil could find her. And he knew where Harry lived.

      John had said Harry wouldn’t return for six weeks, which meant she was on her own. As much as she had relied on John, she couldn’t any longer.

      She decided her first chore was to get up and go to the bathroom. Sitting on the side of her bed, she gathered her courage and put her feet to the floor. When she stood, she almost fell, grabbing the side of the bed.

      “This is harder than it looked,” she muttered to herself. It wasn’t that far to her initial goal. Forcing herself to move, she tottered to the bathroom, grabbing anything to give herself balance. The return trip wasn’t much better. She collapsed on the bed, relieved as she settled back on the pillows. Recovery was important, she knew, but she wanted to rest a bit before she tried to get up again.

      “Lucy? Are you all right?” John asked, surprising her.

      “Yes, I just made the trip to the bathroom. But I didn’t intend to wake you up.”

      “I was just napping, waiting for