Raedene

A week later I sat in my own apartment back home in Lafayette, and every day there was a few more missed calls from Caleb, which I refused to answer. The fact that he even suggested a paternity test was enough for me to make up my mind. To find out that he had the slightest doubt about Braden hurt more than anything and I simply refused to stay under the same roof as him.

I paged aimlessly through a magazine trying to keep my mind off Caleb, but in all honestly reading a local sports magazine wasn’t the best therapy either. On every second page, there was mention of the famous Caleb Hayes, or the Denver Stampede and although I didn’t exactly read the articles his name jumped out at me like a bad memory.

“Mommy,” Braden called out as he came running into the room, “look what I made.”

My heart stopped and I dropped the magazine. Did he just call me mommy? I was beside myself, he has never referred to me as his mom, but I knew I couldn’t exactly make a fuss about it, so I forced my own excitement aside and looked at him, “Let’s see what you have there.”

It was a picture with a house and a family; this time instead of his other family, he had drawn three people and I knew exactly who the third person was. A lump formed in my throat and I fought back the tears. What on earth was I going to do?

“Wow, this is beautiful, is that Uncle Caleb?” I asked and cleared my throat.

“Yep, he’s my new daddy, I want to visit him.”

I let out a controlled breath and hugged my little boy. Decision made, I had to move to Denver so that Braden could see Caleb whenever he wanted, but that would mean I would have to agree to a paternity test. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea, but I don’t think I would be able to put my heart on the line again. I was sure that I could live in the same town as Caleb without melting into a puddle of goo every time he looked at me.

“I’m sure he would like that,” I said and then lifted him unto my lap, “Caleb is playing Rugby now, do you want to watch the game with me?”

“He’s on the TV?”

“Yes he is,” I said and flicked to the sports channel.

We sat and watched the game and at half time I made us a quick snack. Initially the sport did not interest me, but seeing the players on the field and how excited Braden got each time he saw Caleb had me hooked. Half time was over and the players all jogged back onto the field and the game got underway. The Denver Stampede was leading 18 – 6, but the players looked exhausted from their efforts. Each bone crunching tackle had me on edge; I’ve never been one for such barbaric sports, and watching players being carried off on stretchers or with cuts in their faces made me nervous.

Ten minutes into half time, Caleb was sprinting to the try line, one of the opposition players came storming him from the side and when he collided with Caleb, he was catapulted into the air and came down head first and that’s where he stayed. I looked at Braden and was grateful that he was busy playing with his Legos instead of watching the game. I glanced back at the screen; the referee had blown the whistle and raised his arms above his head with his wrists crossed. Within seconds, paramedics came rushing unto the field with a spine board and I held my breath for a second and when the live broadcast was interrupted, I knew something went horribly wrong.

* * *

Hours later I sat next to Caleb where he lay in traction. He had suffered a compression fracture on his C5-C6 vertebrae which caused pressure on his spinal cord, leaving him paralysed. And although the doctor reassured me that it was only temporary, I couldn’t help but worry.

In his sedated state, I took his hand in mine, “I know you can’t hear me, but I’m going to say this anyway. You have to get better, Braden needs you and-and I need you.”

Realisation swept over me as I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand. I still loved him after all these years and coming so close to losing him after just finding him scared me more than anything. Outside reporters gathered to get a scoop of the story but Samson was determined to not allow anyone in, which I was thankful for.

“Rae…”

Caleb was waking up and even though he couldn’t move, a smile tugged at his lips.

“Caleb, you stupid fool,” I said and shifted closer to him, “You scared the hell out of me. How are you feeling?”

“Right now I’m not feeling much at all,” he said and I could see the laughter in his eyes. Unbelievable! Even at this point he could make silly jokes.

“It’s not funny, you could have broken your neck,” I said and squeezed his hand.

“It will be convenient though, you would have to look after me for life then,” he said in his croaky voice.

His response caught me off guard and I could only smile, “I’m serious Caleb, what would I have told Braden?”

The door to the room opened unexpectedly and I turned to see who entered expecting Samson, but instead it was two men I haven’t seen before.

“Mr. Hayes, I’m from the Daily Tribune…” one of them started and I instantly got my back up and glared at them.

“Have you no consideration, you can see he’s not well, get out of here this instant!” I ground out and went to stand between Caleb and the parasites.

“Are you Miss Callaway, the mother of his child?”

God, he was relentless. I was about to attack him physically when Caleb spoke up.

“It’s okay Rae, I can handle this,” he said.

I hesitated and then stepped aside.

Caleb looked at me and then at the reporter, “For the record, Miss Rae Callaway is the mother of my child, and no, I’m not going to fight for custody. I plan on marrying her,” he said and then glanced my way.

I was too overwhelmed to say anything; my mouth fell open and closed a few times.

“That is if she will have me,” he continued while the reporter’s camera man clicked away taking photos.

I glanced at Caleb and caught him watching me. What just happened? He just stated to the reporter that he wanted to marry me. I was sure it was his concussion speaking, so I moved closer and leaned down to whisper, “You don’t have to pretend for the press, they can make their own conclusions, I don’t really care, I just want you to get better.”

“I’m not pretending, it’s the truth, I am in love with you.”

Shocked I sat down not trusting my own legs, even the reporter and camera man stood silently watching. I knew I had to say something but words failed me, so instead I leaned over and pressed my lips against his.

“Is that a yes or a maybe?” he asked against my lips.

“It’s a maybe, first get better so that you can get on your knees to propose,” I whispered and then kissed him, the other people in the room forgotten.

* * *