brides for brothers 15 - a randall hero (2 page)

“You’ve got to relax, Lucy,” he coaxed, feeling how rigid she was against him.

“I—I’m not sure I can.”

“Sure you can. I know, I’ll tell you stories about Harry. That should make you feel better.” He began telling her things Harry had done, particularly the humorous ones. Finally he felt her relax against his chest.

After a few minutes of her silence, he whispered her name.

All he heard in response was the deep, steady breathing of a woman who had fallen asleep. He breathed in her scent. It reminded him of a fragrant blue flower that grew on the mountainside in spring.

He eased her even closer to him and lay his head against the headrest. His last thought was how right she felt in his arms.

L
UCY CAME AWAKE SUDDENLY.
She was snugly warm in her sleeping rescuer’s arms, but, unfortunately, she needed to go to the bathroom. She tried to slide out from under the comforter, but he stirred.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered.

She was embarrassed to tell him, but she had no choice.

“Oh, okay, let’s put on our coats.”

“No! I mean, you don’t have to…I’ll be all right on my own.”

“Lucy, I’m not going to watch you. But you’ll need help getting down. I’ll help you and then I’ll walk around the truck so you’re out of sight.”

“All right.”

He put on his coat and handed her hers. Then he stepped over her and got out of the truck. She shivered as she followed him down.

“It’s really cold,” she said with chattering teeth.

“Yeah, so let’s hurry. You should be all right here. I’ll go around to the front of the truck.”

He stood there in the cold, staring out at the night, waiting for her to call him. When she finally did, he came around the truck and helped her back in. “Okay, let’s shed our coats and huddle up again.”

This time he didn’t have to urge her to get close or to relax. She went naturally back into his arms and he spread the comforter over both of them.

Gradually they both warmed up and she relaxed against his chest.

“John?”

“Yeah?” he asked, on the verge of falling asleep again.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For taking care of me.”

“No problem,” he told her. Together they’d managed very well, better than he would’ve done alone. He settled her more comfortably against his chest.

He checked his watch. It was almost two o’clock. They still had a good portion of the night to get through.

They both went back to sleep.

Just as dawn broke, they both awakened because of sudden moisture. John assumed Lucy had had an accident. Lucy, however, thought something else had happened.

“I think my water broke.”

“What?” he asked groggily.

“I think my water broke. That means I’ll be going into labor soon.”

His eyes flew open. “You’re what? But we can’t—I mean, how soon will you—How much time do we have?”

“I don’t know!” She sounded frightened.

He felt the same way, but he realized he had to be the calm one. “It’s all right. Daylight is breaking. Someone will come along soon enough.”

“Are—are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure, and if not, then we’ll manage.”

“Have you ever delivered a baby before?”

“Nope. But I’ve delivered calves and foals. It’s almost the same, I’m sure.”

“I’m sorry you—I mean, I’m sorry this is happening. I’m so embarrassed!”

“Don’t be, Lucy. Having a child is a natural thing.”

“You’re so comforting, John. I don’t think I would’ve made it if you hadn’t stopped.”

He considered how he’d stopped his truck and decided not to mention it again. Lucy couldn’t help what had happened and she’d had a pretty rough time of it.

Lucy grabbed his shirt and gasped.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I think I’m in labor now!”

“What did you feel?”

“A tightening along the bottom of my stomach.”

He cleared his throat. Calmly he said, “That sounds about right, but it will probably be a while before anything happens.”

He hoped to God he was right. He lifted his wrist so he could read his watch. It was ten until six.

When Lucy woke him again, he checked his watch. It was almost six-thirty. He felt sure that was good. A weak sun was providing a little more warmth, and he realized he’d need to get out of the truck to see if he could flag down a car so they could get help.

“Okay, Lucy, I’m going to get near the road so I can flag down a car. You’ll be all right here under the blanket. Okay?”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“How else will we get help?” He laughed slightly. “Believe me, I’d rather stay here with you.”

“Can’t you wait a little while?”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll wait until seven.”

“Thank you. I know I’m being too clingy, but—but you’re so comforting.”

“You’re not clingy. I just want to take care of you, Lucy. It’s important to get you to the hospital before anything happens.”

“First babies are supposed to take a long time.”

“Okay. We’ll just stay where we are for a little bit longer.”

To John’s surprise, he went to sleep again, as did Lucy. He awoke at eight o’clock, long after his normal time. Lucy was still sleeping against him. He smiled down at her. He guessed her labor wasn’t as imminent as it had sounded at six.

He tried to open the glove box without disturbing her, knowing he had several packets of peanut butter crackers in there. He was hungry. Of course he would save a packet for Lucy. Unfortunately, she woke up.

Her eyes flew open and she looked around frantically for a moment. Then she settled down as she realized where she was.

“Are you hungry?” he asked her. “I think I have a couple of packets of peanut butter crackers.”

“Where?”

“In the glove box. Can you reach them?”

“Yes.” She opened the glove box and found the packets. She handed them both to John.

“Don’t you want one?”

“I’ve heard that you shouldn’t eat if you’re in labor.”

“I don’t think that would hurt anything. Take a packet.”

“All right.”

They unwrapped the crackers and ate them slowly.

Lucy had only eaten one when she tensed again. “It’s another pain.”

“All right.” He checked his watch. It was eight-twenty.

“I’ll wait until you feel another one. Then I’ll go up on the road and try to flag someone down.”

“Okay.”

“Eat the rest of your crackers. You’ll need them.”

She ate slowly, trying to make them last.

John brought out the Gatorade again for them each to have a drink.

When the next pain came so soon, it surprised them both. John checked his watch again. It wasn’t eight-thirty yet. The pains were coming faster.

“Don’t go, John. Please.”

“I have to. We’ve got to get you to a hospital.”

“But you said we’d be all right.”

“We will be, if we have to deliver your baby here, but I’d prefer a hospital. Now, be strong. I’m going to cover you back up and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You aren’t going to leave, are you? I mean, walk somewhere?”

“No. That would take too long.”

“Okay.”

He tucked her in and got out of the truck. After climbing up to the road, he paced back and forth in front of her car, hoping someone would come by.

He almost gave up and decided to go back down to his truck to see how Lucy was doing, but at the last minute, he heard a vehicle approaching.

Stepping farther out into the road, he waved his arms as the pickup came into sight.

“You break down?” the man asked, after lowering his window.

“Yeah, and I’ve got a woman in labor down there.”

“All right. I’m going as far as Rawhide. Will that help?”

“That’s where we need to go. I’ll just go bring her up.”

“Need some help?”

“No, I’ve got her.”

John slid back down to the truck and opened the passenger door. “Lucy, we’ve got a ride.”

She looked up at him and he saw the pain on her face. “Thank God. This baby wants to be born.”

Chapter Two

John scooped Lucy up in his arms, comforter and all.

“My coat!”

He grabbed it and laid it across her so she could keep it from falling. “Do you have suitcases?”

“Yes, in my trunk.”

“Get out your keys. I’ll stop and put them in his truck before we get in.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for me to get in and then put the suitcases in? He might drive off with them.”

“I’d rather he drive off with your suitcases than with you.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

He brought her out of the truck and struggled up to the road. Then he set her down for a minute to deal with her luggage. Next, he scooped Lucy up again and set her on the car seat, pushing her over so he could get in, too.

Before he shut the door, the driver took off, as if he were trying to leave John behind. Lucy shrieked and John used the door handle to hang on until he could get his footing inside the truck.

Then he sent the man a sharp look.

“Figured you was in a hurry, what with the baby comin’ and all.”

“Yeah.” Under his breath he added, “But not in that big of a hurry.”

After several minutes of seeing how the man drove, John wasn’t sure he’d improved their status any. The man was driving eighty miles an hour and taking up most of the road.

John hated to ask the question, but for Lucy’s sake, he needed to. “Do you happen to have a cell phone?”

“Sure do. Want to borrow it?”

“Yeah. I’ll be glad to pay you for your minutes.”

“Okay.”

John dialed the number for the clinic. “May I speak to Caro, please?”

“Dr. Randall is in with a patient.”

“Is Jon?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Look, go tell Caro I have a pregnant woman who thinks she’s going into labor and I need to talk to her.”

He didn’t have to wait long for Caroline to come to the phone. “Who is this?”

“It’s John. Sorry I forgot to tell the nurse that.”

“That’s all right. Your message sounded urgent.”

“Yeah. Lucy’s water broke about six. Her pains have been coming about ten minutes apart and she thinks she’s eight months pregnant.”

“Where are you?”

“A kind gentleman is giving us a ride. We should be there in about forty minutes.”

“Okay, you should arrive before she delivers, but you don’t have much time to spare. With the baby coming early we’ll need to get it oxygen right away.”

“Yes.”

“She can hear you?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me how you came across this woman?”

“No.”

“Is she from around here?”

“No.”

“Well, John, you’ve got my curiosity up. We’ll be waiting for both of you, and we’ll have an incubator ready, too.”

“Thanks, Caro.”

“No problem. Do you want me to call your parents?”

“Yeah, just tell them I’m all right. I’ll talk to them later.”

“All right. I will.”

When John handed the phone back to the driver, he looked at John. “That’ll be twenty dollars.”

John didn’t question the amount. He dug in his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. He handed it over without argument.

“How are you doing?” he asked Lucy.

“I think my pains are coming faster.”

“Caro said we should have plenty of time to get you to the clinic. She’ll take care of everything.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s my cousin, one of the doctors in town.”

“Oh, so she knows about having babies.”

“Yep. She’s had a couple herself.”

“Who is her husband?”

“The sheriff.”

“You know the sheriff?” the old man asked, suddenly interested.

“Yes.”

“He’s the one I’m goin’ to see!”

“That’s good. I’ll show you where his office is.”

“Okay.”

Lucy gasped as another pain, more intense this time, seized her.

“Try to relax, Lucy. I know it’s hard, but we’ll be there soon.” He put his arm around her, still enveloped in the comforter. Her scent wafted to his nose and in his mind he was back in his truck spending the night with Lucy wrapped in his arms.

“You two live in Rawhide?”

John squeezed Lucy’s shoulder, forgetting about her pain until she grimaced again. “Yes, we do.”

“Nice place. I was gonna settle down there, but I didn’t. I heard about the sheriff, though. They say he does right by people.”

“Yes, he does.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna talk to him.”

“You got a problem with someone in Rawhide?” John asked.

“Yeah!”

“I know a lot of people in Rawhide. Maybe I know who you have a problem with.”

“I don’t think so.”

“I might.”

“Nope.”

John gave up the puzzle of the stranger. He didn’t really care about him as long as he got them to the hospital in time. And they didn’t have much time left. He felt Lucy trying to relax, but the pain came even harder than the last time. He checked his watch surreptitiously, noting the time was nine-twenty-nine. The last pain had been at nine-twenty-one. He didn’t say anything to Lucy. And he certainly didn’t want to urge the old man to drive faster.

But he hoped they got there soon.

When they passed the turn to his family ranch, he smiled. At this speed, they were five minutes away.

“Uh, you’d better slow down inside the city limits. You don’t want to meet the sheriff from the back of a squad car.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Can’t we just tell him we have an emergency?” Lucy asked.

“Good thinking, girl,” the driver said as he accelerated. “That’ll do it!”

They got pulled over two minutes later, just as they entered the town.

The deputy pulled behind them and approached the car. “Pardon me, sir, but did you know you were going eighty miles an—”

“Dave,” John interrupted him, leaning toward the driver’s window, “we’re trying to get to the hospital. She’s in labor.” He nodded toward Lucy.

The deputy sprang to action. “I’ll lead the way!”

John laughed under his breath. There was no traffic on Rawhide’s main road, but now the deputy was turning on his siren and motioning for them to follow him. It was a little ridiculous, but John didn’t suggest the driver slow down again.