Cowboy Kind of Love

Aftershock

I turned seeing Lloyd and some of the boys but fell to a knee.

"Rip." Lloyd said coming up to me. I looked up at him.

"I gotta get to Alexis." I got up running as fast as I could to the truck and flooring it. Getting in the hospital I ran to the desk. "Alexis Dutton."

"She's in ICU." I got to where she was and saw Beth crying.

"Rip." I walked up to her looking at her, she was covered in gauze a hospital gown on her.

"What happned?"

"There was a bomb." I looked at the door in front of me.

"Lexi?"

"She's unconscious. Banged up pretty good, has a concussion. She'll have some scars Rip, we both got burned. Rip." I looked up at her as tears welled in my eyes. "She was pregnant." I let tears fall wiping my face looking up at Beth. "I, I'm sorry Rip, the baby didn't make it, the trauma she had a miscarriage. She was 10 weeks. Did you know?"

"No." I sad looking in on Lex, I walked up holding her hand pressing a kiss to her head. I knew she didn't know, Lexi would have said something and now knowing I would have to break that to her was going to kill her. "Beth it happened everywhere, your dad is here to."

"I know. How's the ranch?"

"It'll survive, um our house, it's gone. They burned it."

"I'm sorry Rip." The ring in my pocket felt like a brick right now. "We were just talking about you ya know." She said softly touching her sister's face. "Said you guys were living together and I told her that was pretty serious asked her what she would say if you asked her to marry you, she said she'd say yes." I smiled. "When she wakes up ask her, daddy won't care."

"Beth." She looked at me as "I already know she'd say yes because she pulled a you and asked me." I held up my hand showing her the ring Alexis gave me and holding my mom's in my hand. "I left today to go and get this, I could go buy her a ring but what's it good for don't mean anything, I went to get my mom's ring for her."

"Rip, it's really pretty. She'll say yes and I think it's sweet you getting your moms ring to give her, it has value, and simple is her."

"I know, I had a plan I was gonna take her out riding and I was gonna get on my knee and ask her to marry me."

"When she wakes up you do it."

ALEXIS POV

I groaned rolling over and opening my eyes. I felt a hand and looked seeing Rip, I was in a hospital.

"Rip." He looked up breathing a sigh of relief.

"Alexis." He bent hugging me placing a kiss on my lips. The last I remembered was Beth's assistant opening a box.

"Where is Beth?"

"She's fine, went to check on your dad."

"How's daddy, has he been by." Rip sighed looking at me.

"Alexis."

"What baby, what's wrong?"

"Your dad is here honey, a few rooms down the hall, I found him on the side of the road bleeding out from a hell of a lot of gunshot wounds."

"Oh my god!" I started crying as he hugged me. "How's everyone, Rip what happened?"

"Someone attacked everyone. I couldn't get ahold of anyone and come across John on the side of the road. Called Kayce and he got hit too, the group stormed his office shot it up, he got the guys and then the ranch, they attacked it."

"Rip."

"It's ok honey, don't work yourself up. Monica and Tate are ok, Tate killed a man trying to kill Monica. Um, the house, our house it's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone?"

"It's gone baby, they burned it to the ground." I sobbed as he held me gently rubbing my back.

"Anything else?" I asked as Rip sighed. "What is it baby?"

"Lexi, there's no easy way for me to say this honey."

"Just tell me." I saw the broken look in his eyes and it scared me. I have never seen that look on his face and as he told me what all had happened it only made me feel worse.

"You, you were pregnant. The um the bombing caused a lot of trauma and you had a miscarriage." I laid there crying as he held my hand a hand gently placed on my shoulder rubbing it.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Rip." I cried gently.

"Alexis, I told you a long time ago I'm sorry are two words you never have to say to me and meant it."

"But, I, I lost our baby and never knew it."

"You didn't lose it, it was taken honey."

"You're not mad at me?" I asked gently.

"No, never have been."

A few days later I was released. Given some pain medicine, stuff for some burns I had in a few places, Beth was burned a bit more than I was but I had more physical injuries.