Free Small-Town Brides by Janet Tronstad Page B

woman didn’t relax a muscle.
    â€œWe have policies,” she said. “We need to know the bills will be paid when we admit someone.”
    â€œI’ll pay,” Davy said fiercely. “I’ve got a job waiting for me.”
    The receptionist looked down at the form Davy had partially filled out. “I don’t see your name here. My understanding is that the young lady is not married.”
    â€œWe’re going to get married. We just haven’t had time.”
    Clay was dead tired and he figured there was no way for this conversation to end that was good for anyone. He didn’t blame the hospital for not trusting Davy to pay anything. The kid had holes in his blue jeans and didn’t look old enough to have a job unless it was in a fast-food place.
    â€œI don’t suppose you have a credit card?” The receptionist looked up at Davy. “Or the title to a car or something for a good-faith deposit.”
    Davy turned his eyes in Clay’s direction.
    Clay was silent for a moment.
    â€œYou can keep this as your deposit,” Clay finally said as he undid his belt and pulled it out of the loops on his jeans. “The buckle is solid silver and those stones in the eyes of the bull are real diamonds. It’d sell for a few thousand to someone who collects rodeo buckles. I don’t know what it’d bring if you melted it down.”
    Clay laid the belt out on the counter.
    â€œThis is a bit unusual,” the receptionist said as she frowned up at Clay. “And you are? Someone’s father?”
    Clay almost laughed until he realized he was old enough to be the father of either of those kids. “If you have to put something on that form, put that I’m a friend of the family.”
    Davy reached over and wrapped his arms around Clay. “I’ll pay you back.”
    â€œEvery penny,” Clay agreed as he gritted his teeth. Why did everyone want to hug him these days?
    His eyes just naturally went over to where Rene was sitting. It wouldn’t hurt her to come over and thank him. Maybe give him a little hug herself. She just sat there watching him, though. He was getting that bug-pinned-to-the-wall feeling again, too. He wondered how he had disappointed her this time.

Chapter Seven
    â€œW hat?” Clay asked as he walked over to where Rene was sitting. He could tell by the slight frown on her face that something didn’t please her.
    â€œIt’s just too bad, that’s all,” she said, looking tired.
    Clay sat down on the hard plastic bench next to her in the waiting room. Squares of linoleum covered the floor beneath their feet and shiny posters on the walls urged everyone to eat more fruits and vegetables.
    â€œWhat’s too bad?” Clay asked gently when Rene didn’t go any further. He noticed that the sun was shining in the big windows on the side of the room facing the parking lot. The snow would be melting before long.
    â€œIt’s just too bad Davy couldn’t have come to Mandy’s rescue,” Rene said finally. Then she turned to him. “She needs to believe that he loves her. But I wonder—do you think he does?”
    Clay put his arm along the plastic ridge at the back of the bench. He wasn’t the one to ask about these things. “I think he plans to marry her. Whether that makes any sense for either one of them, I don’t know.”
    â€œBut just getting married isn’t enough,” Rene protested. She moved so she could sit sideways and look at him directly. “Shouldn’t he—”
    â€œMake her eyes sparkle and her head spin?” Clay finished for her, so caught up in watching her blue eyes flash and her cheeks grow pink that he forgot he should be careful with his words.
    When he remembered how unpopular his opinions on love were with Rene, he swallowed. He was feeling a little warm. He wondered if the temperature was set right in this room.
    â€œWell,