Lone Star Baby Scandal(17)

“Okay. Thanks.” She replied and he disappeared inside of his office.



Clay returned to his office. He might not be able to corral a difficult filly named Sophie, but there was something else he might be able to do. At twelve years old and not a penny to his name, he hadn’t been able to save his own father, but maybe... He picked up the phone and contacted the aviation station at the ranch, asking them to ready one of the private plans for immediate departure. Destination: Cleveland, Ohio.



When Sophie arrived at the office the next day, she was surprised to find Clay was not there. A brief, scribbled note said he would be gone for a few days and for her to continue with the basic work. How long was a few days? And what was she going to tell the people who called, given the recent crisis with Everest? She wasted no time picking up the phone and ringing his cell. After several rings, she finally heard his voice on the other end.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yep. Doing fine. Had something I had to take care of. I should be back in Royal sometime tomorrow. If you want, go ahead and forward my calls to the service and take the day off.”

“Okay,” she said, then disconnected the call. Sophie was puzzled. Normally he told her of any meetings, especially the ones out of town. She shrugged, writing it off to his temperament of late. She straightened her desk and was on her way.

As soon as she walked through her front door, she called the hospital in Indiana only to find her father had been discharged. That should have made her happy but she sensed all was not right. She next called her parents’ home. Susan, her younger sister, answered on the fourth ring, her voice sleepy.

“Hey, Susan, it’s me. I called the hospital and they told me Dad had been released. Is he at home?”

“No. At least not yet.” She yawned. “He was transferred to another hospital. And before you start, I don’t know why. You’ll have to talk to Mom. She said if you called to tell you not to worry. He was doing better, it’s just that they wanted him to see a specialist.”

“Is Mom there?”

“No, she’s with Dad. She said she would call around noon. If you want, call back this afternoon and I’ll tell you what she said.”

“I’ll just call her myself.”

“She won’t answer. Something about the hospital rules prevent the use of cell phones in the area he’s in. Just call me back this afternoon and I’ll tell you what she says.”

“Okay. Susan...”

“That’s all I know to tell you, Sophie.” Another yawn. “Sorry, I was out late last night.”

“Well, okay. Sorry I woke you. I’ll call later.”

“Don’t worry about Dad, Soph. He’s in good hands.”

Susan ended the call.

She would call Susan this afternoon and maybe find out what was going on. Something else... Susan was a bookworm, rarely going out, and even then she was normally home by ten o’clock. Where had she been so late that it would cause her to still be asleep at eleven o’clock in the morning?

That afternoon, before Sophie had a chance to call Susan again, her mom called her.

“We are fine, Sophie,” her mom assured her. “Your father is in good hands. He’s in the Cleveland Clinic and is undergoing some specialized testing. I’ll know more in a week or so and I’ll be sure to call.”

“Mom? How did you get to Cleveland? Why is Dad there? What specialist is he seeing?”

Before her mother could answer, Sophie heard voices in the background.

“I have to go, sweetheart. Just don’t worry. I will call you immediately if anything bad should happen, but I think it’s going to be okay. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

And the call was disconnected, leaving Sophie wondering what was going on and what was it she was not being told?



Thursday morning as Sophie entered the office, she immediately saw Clay behind his desk, reading the morning paper, a cup of coffee in one hand. Approaching, she couldn’t help but notice the look of self-satisfaction on his face. Wherever he had been, whatever he’d been doing, he’d apparently been successful. She couldn’t help but speculate what it was. He’d probably been signing new accounts for Everest.

“Good morning,” she offered. “I’m glad to see you back. Did you have a good outcome to whatever it was you were doing?”

“Good morning,” he replied, “and yes, I did. Thank you for asking.” The newspaper still blocked his face but by the tone of his voice he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. Whatever that was.

She went about her business the rest of the day. Clay approached her as she was straightening her desk before going home.

“Can I delay you a few minutes?”

“Sure.”

“There is someone I want you to meet.”

“Who is it?”

“Come with me and find out.”

Together they made their way through the enormous house, out the kitchen door and down a walkway toward the main barn. Bypassing the lobby and the duplicate stalls of horses, Clay continued to the back of the barn, finally stopping in front of a large pen made of solid iron topped by wire panels held together by steel supports.

Sophie peeked through the panels and saw the creature inside. Startled, she jumped back. It was the largest Brahma bull she’d ever seen in her life. She’d guess the weight to be well over a ton.

“Sophie?”

“Not what I was expecting. It’s massive! What is a Brahma bull doing here on the ranch?” she asked, her voice quivering. “If that sucker ever got out, it could eat someone’s lunch.”

Clay smiled and stepped toward the fence. When he held his hand out to Sophie, she hesitantly put her smaller one in his and stepped forward.

“This is Iron Heart. He and I met in a rodeo arena five years ago. And he stomped more than my lunch.”

Sophie swallowed hard. “This is the bull that almost killed you?”

Clay silently nodded.

“Clay? What is it doing here?”

“It was scheduled to be euthanized. I found out and had them stop and arranged for him to come here.”

“But why?”

“Because that ogre’s the only SOB I’ve ever met who’s meaner than me and that deserves some recognition. Besides, he actually saved my life.”

“I don’t understand.”

“If it hadn’t been for Iron Heart, I would’ve entered into a marriage with a woman who I didn’t truly love and who certainly didn’t love me. It was the roughest damn thing I’ve ever been through, overcoming both downfalls. But it gave me the chance to build Everest from the ground up into the technology behemoth it is today.” He turned to face her. “Just so we’re straight, I suffer no regrets that Veronica walked out. None. Not with you beside me.”

Sophie was stunned. Not only was Clay showing her a softness he carried inside that hardly anyone ever saw, he was implying...what? That she was the one he really cared for? No. She couldn’t read more into his statement then he’d said. She’d simply helped him over the rough spots.

She swallowed hard and stepped back. He had been honest with her. She had so many secrets that she was keeping from him and she had no idea where to start. The full report on the employees at Everest possibly had not included her. But when he found out what she’d done to land her in Texas, it was possible she’d hurt him all over again. He couldn’t fall in love with her. He couldn’t love a woman who had taken someone’s life. She wouldn’t allow that to happen.

And then there was the biggest secret of all: she was carrying his baby. She hadn’t told him. And at this point she didn’t know when she could and delaying telling him was only making it worse.

Clay had opened the gate just a little bit and she stared at the giant in front of her who was contentedly munching on hay. Would Clay be as forgiving with her as he had been with the bull? She doubted it. There was good and there was bad and unlike the bull, she should know the difference.

Sophie didn’t know what to say. The bovine death trap standing five feet from her brought back memories. Memories of Clay gasping for another breath. Of his teeth-clenching moans, when he had been unable to keep the pain inside. Of the hours suspended by a breath held in the hope he would live another minute. Of all the tubes, the monitors, the people who’d passed by his bedside with a shake of their heads, silently indicating it was too bad a champion cowboy had almost been killed by the crazy life he’d chosen. Never mind the tickets sold to thousands who had come to watch the event unfold.

She had witnessed it all, never leaving his side. Clay had no one else and because of her own personal circumstances, neither did she. Day after day she wondered where his fiancée was and why she didn’t come in to check on him. Finally, during the physical therapy, when Clay needed her the most, the woman had stopped by. Just long enough to watch him struggle onto his feet and leave a message with Sophie along with the five-carat diamond engagement ring. Sophie had sat for days while Clay pushed himself to the limit, holding the ring so tight it cut her palm as she wondered how anyone could do such a thing. She’d prayed for the strength and the words to tell him, inwardly cursing the self-indulgent woman who clearly had no concerns for anyone but herself.