Hours later, long after the sun had gone down, James slipped from the bed, pulling on some pants and walking downstairs with Cappy following. The two wandered onto the porch, where James scooped him up and sat down with the puppy on his lap. He looked up at the bright stars twinkling down at him, and sighed.
"Think I'm ready to be a dad, short stuff?" He looked down at the tiny dog, who wagged his tail in response.
Upstairs, Isabella awoke to find an empty space in the bed next to her. She looked around, calling out, "Baby?" She climbed out of bed and padded down the stairs, hearing his voice on the porch. She stopped in the doorway and listened as he continued to talk to Cappy.
"I think I'm ready. But this is a big job, even bigger than being a husband I think. I mean yeah , I can raise a colt or a dog, but a kid....." His voice drifted off and he shook his head, unaware that he was being overheard. "I just want to be the best dad to the baby and the best husband to her I can be. You know, Cap? I just hope I can give them all they need. I mean, it's just been me for close on to 5 years now. Just me and Leo, and now suddenly I have everything I've ever wanted."
In the doorway, Isabella smiled softly to herself. She didn't want to interrupt the moment, but couldn't help thinking how very right he was. Just as she was about to back away from the door and head back upstairs, Cappy saw her and barked.
James patted his head, "shush, you'll wake her."
She smiled, opening the door and walking slowly out onto the porch. "Too late for that," she whispered.
"Sorry, baby." He watched her graceful movements as she crossed the porch to hm.
She shook her head, "it's ok." She picked Doc up off his lap and held him while she settled onto his knees. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She looked down into his eyes as she placed his hand on her stomach.
"You're going to be an amazing dad," she stated as he blushed, embarrassed that she had heard. "And an amazing husband."
"How do you know I'll do so great?" he asked.
"Because you've taken better care of me in the last week than anyone has in my whole life," she squeezed his hand. "You're a natural, baby."
He pulled her close to his chest. "You're very sweet," he smiled.
"No, I'm very honest," she shook her head. "After mama died, daddy was good at providing a home. But I took care of myself." She paused, then whispered, "and him, usually."
He leaned up and kissed her cheek gently. "Well, I'm here to take care of you now."
She laid her head on his shoulder. "I know. You're going to do a great job taking care of all of us. But you have to let me take care of you too." A large smile broke across her face as she held the puppy to his, where he began to eagerly squirm, trying to lick James' face. "Cappy, too. He's very concerned."
He kissed her forehead then, and picked her up gently. He stood with her cradled carefully in his arms and they headed up the stars to their room. He lay her and the puppy down in the bed and walked around to crawl in from the other side. She lay Cappy down on the bed where he curled up to sleep, and held out her arms to the man she loved.
He scooted over closer, until he saw that his spot was being taken by the small dog. He smiled, "alright little man, down to the foot of the bed with you." He pat the dog's bottom as he walked down and she laughed. He pulled her against him and whispered in her ear, "goodnight, love."
She yawned, "good night. Stay here this time, ok? I don't like waking up without you."
"Ok, baby. Sorry." He looked down at her to see that she was already fast asleep on his chest. He smiled, letting his own eyes close, soon falling asleep himself.
She awoke in the morning as the sun rose, sliding out of bed and heading into the bathroom. She was relieved to have finally awoken before him, and dressed to head outside. Since James's arrival she hardly felt as if she were pulling her weight on her own ranch. She slipped out of the room and headed out the door, just as James turned over to reach for her, and found Cappy instead. He looked confused for a moment, but then got up, hearing her move around.
"Where are you going?" he called out.
She stopped in the hallway, "um, outside?"
He jumped out of bed, "no you are not! Up here, NOW Isabella!" He walked into the hallway, but only saw her hair streaking out behind her as she ran down the stairs and out the door. He could hear her laughter as she made her way to the barn.
He hurried down the stairs after her, screaming her name. With his limp, it took a lot longer than it should have to catch her, and by the time he was close enough to reach her, they were almost at the barn. He grabbed her arm and spun her around quickly to face him.
She gasped, wincing in pain at his hand on her arm. "James!"
"What?" his eyes were darker than she had seen them, and she tried to pull away from him.
Her eyes widened as she looked back up at him. "You.... nothing, never mind." Her voice drifted off as she blushed. Her eyes drifted down towards the hand that still gripped her arm tightly.
He let go, and began to gently rub where his hand had been. "I what?"
She shook her head, "you just.... You didn't need to grab me, that's all."
"I'm sorry, honey." His eyes held hers until she nodded. "Listen, though. We're going to have a baby. You have to think about that and protect it, honey. If you get hit by something, or fall, or God forbid get kicked again, so does the baby.... So, please, let me take care of the chores?"
Her face turned a deep shade of red in shame and embarrassment. She looked down at her belly, and placed her hand on it. "I'm sorry."
"No, honey. Don't be sorry."
Her eyes were wide and tear-filled as she stared up at him. "I.... I wasn't trying to hurt him."
He gasped, gently grabbing her shoulders. "Honey!" He pulled her close to him and kissed her forehead. "I know you weren't, that never even crossed my mind! God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He sighed, leaning down and resting his forehead against hers. "I'm so sorry, I just worry about you – and now, the baby, too."
She shook her head, "Baby, stop it, it's fine."
"It would kill me if anything happened to either of you. Especially if it were something I could have prevented." His eyes grew slightly haunted.
"Hey, we're fine. We're right here, and I promise that I won't do anything stupid. But you also have to remember that I'm used to taking care of things around here. Sometimes you have to let me help, just a little." She rubbed her hand up and down his arm. He looked up at her and smiled.
"Ok baby, come on." He held out his hand and she took it. Together, they walked into the barn. He handed her the feed scoop, "one for each of the guys while I get the hay down."
She smiled and nodded, turning to walk to the stalls.
"Hey," he called, waiting until she was looking at him before continuing. "I love you."
"I love you, too." The softest smile crossed her lips, and she watched him climb the ladder into the loft. She stood there in the middle of the barn, glancing between the two horses. She glanced at the stall where her own big black stallion stood and bit her lip. She backed away from him slowly, and made her way to Leo's stall instead.
From above, he watched her and his heart ached as he saw her indecision. He finished tossing the hay down into the stalls and descended the ladder, coming up behind Isabella as she stroked Leo's nose and spoke to him softly. James took the scoop from her hand gently, filling it and walking to Beauty's stall.
"It's ok, Belle."
She glanced behind her as he made his way to Beauty, ashamed that she couldn't go and take care of her own horse. She was just still a little nervous around him, but she knew from experience that it would pass. The big black horse would win her over again in no time. She stepped into Leo's stall and began to brush him slowly, trying not to watch James with Beauty. She took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears from spilling over.
Stepping into Beauty's stall, James fed him and leaned in to his ear. In a voice he thought she would not hear as he stared the horse down, he whispered, "ever breath on her the wrong way again and I will kill you."
Across the way, her head snapped up. "You most certainly will not!"
