Chapter Eighteen
A
ll Grace wanted to do was wrap her arms around Cole and lean against his solid chest. To feel the steady beat of his heart against hers and know he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.
The last hour had become a blur. When she’d discovered Stephanie, the eighteen-year-old had been writhing on the cot and hugging a tattered sleeping bag against her swollen abdomen, crying out for someone named Bryce.
Grace had almost turned the car around when she’d seen the tree down in the road, but something had prompted her to go into the woods on foot and check the cabin. She’d found Stephanie alone and in labor and was thankful she’d listened to what she now realized had been a divine nudge.
The terrified girl had begged her not to leave, so Grace had held her hand through the next contraction and silently asked God to send someone to help them.
She just hadn’t expected it to be Cole.
“How far apart are the contractions?” He knelt down beside the cot and pressed his fingers against Stephanie’s wrist.
“Seven minutes.”
“Okay.” Cole’s jaw tightened, the only outward sign that he’d been hoping for another response.
“Who are you?” Stephanie’s wild-eyed gaze bounced back and forth between them. “Did Bryce send you? Is he all right?”
“Bryce is Stephanie’s boyfriend,” Grace explained.
The guy who had left her alone after they’d argued the day before. If it hadn’t been for the hiker who’d mentioned he had heard voices inside the cabin the day before, Grace doubted anyone would have known the couple was staying there.
“I haven’t met Bryce, but I’m sure he’s fine.” Cole’s voice was soothing, his movements gentle and unhurried as he lifted Stephanie into a sitting position. “My name is Cole and I’m trained as an EMT.”
“It...hurts.” Tears filled Stephanie’s eyes. “I’m not due for three weeks.”
Cole smiled. “Babies sometimes have their own agenda, but I promise we’ll get you to the hospital as soon as we can.”
Stephanie doubled over with a harsh gasp, and Grace reached for her hand, murmuring words of encouragement.
“Cell phone?” Cole murmured.
Grace shook her head. “No reception.”
“I guess that explains why you didn’t return my calls.” He shot her a teasing look and then sobered. “I’ll need you to round up a sheet or some clean towels.”
Grace didn’t need to ask why. Cole wanted to be prepared if he had to deliver the baby.
“All right.” She tried to match her tone to his, calm and steady.
She could hear Cole talking to Stephanie as she searched for the items he’d requested. The rustic, one-room cabin didn’t offer much in the way of amenities, but Grace found a terrycloth beach towel among Stephanie’s things.
“This is all I could find.” She held it up for Cole’s inspection.
“Perfect.” Cole smiled, but the shadow of concern in his eyes warned Grace that something else was wrong. “I offered to get in touch with Stephanie’s doctor and have him meet us at the hospital, but she hasn’t been to see one yet.”
Grace expelled a silent breath, heartbroken but not surprised. She’d counseled several teenaged girls over the years who’d been too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for help and tried to keep their pregnancy a secret.
But no doctor meant no prenatal care. No ultrasounds. If the baby did arrive before they reached the hospital, there’d be no way of knowing if there was a condition that might put the mother and baby at risk.
“Hey.” Cole squeezed her hand. “Two are better than one, remember? We’ll get Stephanie back to the campground and call for an ambulance.”
“I like that plan,” the girl croaked.
“Then let’s go.” Cole drew Stephanie to her feet. As they slowly made their way outside, he became the anchor holding the girl in place as another contraction left her weak and trembling.
He glanced at Grace, and she held up five fingers.
Cole tipped his head toward the sky, a silent reminder to pray. Something she hadn’t stopped doing since the storm had rolled through.
“Ready?” he murmured to Stephanie.
She nodded, her face bleached of color.
“You’re doing great.” Cole draped his jacket over her thin shoulders.
The tremulous smile that broke through Stephanie’s panic brought tears to Grace’s eyes.
The girl had been wrapped so tightly in her cocoon of fear and pain that she’d been almost incoherent. But somehow, Cole had accomplished in five minutes what Grace had been trying to do since she’d found Stephanie in the cabin. He’d gotten her to smile.
“Have you ever...delivered a baby?” Stephanie asked they took another shuffling step forward.
“Yup.”
She stared at Cole, her pain momentarily forgotten.
“Seriously?”
A smile hooked the corner of his lips. “I wouldn’t joke about something like that.”
“Let me guess.” Grace joined the conversation. “The back of a taxi?”
* * *
Cole sent up a silent prayer of thanks that Grace hadn’t lost her sense of humor. As Stephanie’s labor continued to progress, they were going to have to do everything they could to keep the girl’s mind focused on something other than the pain.
“Actually, it was in the parking lot of a McDonald’s,” he told them.
“I thought that only happened in the...movies,” Stephanie said with a rusty chuckle.
“That’s what I thought, too.” Cole slowed down, matching his stride to Stephanie’s as they limped down the path.
“What happened?” Grace positioned herself in front of them, holding up the lantern so they could see where they were going.
“The mom, Vickie, had been feeling tired all day, but didn’t know she was in labor because her symptoms didn’t sound like the ones she’d read about in her baby book.” Cole shook his head.
“By the time she called her husband, her contractions were two minutes apart. He tried to get her to the hospital, but there was an accident during rush hour and the traffic was backed up for two miles. He drove across the median into the parking lot of a McDonald’s and called 9-1-1. Guess who got the call? His very first day working as a volunteer for the rescue squad?”
“You,” Stephanie guessed.
“That’s right. My partner and I were at the gas station a block away when the call came in. Ten minutes later, Vickie gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Eight pounds, six ounces.” Cole had been the first person to hold her.
“What did they...name her?”
“Hannah.”
“That’s pretty.” Stephanie’s smile faded, and she pressed a hand against her stomach. “Here comes another one.”
“Okay.” Cole stopped. “Lean on me and breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Like this.”
The panic in Stephanie’s eyes began to subside as she followed his lead. Cole was never so glad he’d paid attention to those deep-breathing exercises.
“We’re almost there.” Grace pointed to the cars parked behind the red pine that barricaded the road.
“Do you mind if we take my vehicle?” Cole opened the door of the backseat. “Better gas mileage,” he whispered to Stephanie.
He slid a sideways glance at Grace and saw a look of understanding dawn in her eyes. The backseat of his SUV had more room than her pickup. Just in case.
Grace slid behind the wheel and waited for him to get Callie settled.
So far, so good, Lord. Now, how about an ambulance. Or maybe a helicopter.
The trip to the campground seemed to take twice as long. Grace had a viselike grip on the steering wheel as the car bounced down the road.
“Are you sure you don’t want to turn around?” Cole called out. “I think you missed a bump back there.”
He saw Grace’s astonished expression in the rearview mirror and winked at her.
“It’s a corduroy road,” she said. “The early lumberjacks used to lay down logs so it would be easier to get a team of horses into the woods. If you’d paid attention in history, you would have known that.”
“English Lit was my favorite subject,” Cole said.
Grace made a sound that could have been a laugh. Or a snort.
“I was always good at math,” Stephanie murmured. “I took a few classes at a tech school, and that’s when I met Bryce.”
The missing boyfriend.
Cole couldn’t believe the guy had driven off and left her stranded in a campground. If someone had pulled a stunt like that with Bettina, he’d have more to worry about than a tornado.
“I’m going to see if we have service now and try to call Jake Sutton.” Cole fished in his pocket for his cell phone. “He’s probably wondering if he should send out a search party to find the search party.”
“I think he already did,” Grace said.
A squad car, its red-and-blue lights flashing, was coming toward them. The ambulance was right behind it.
Grace pulled over to the side of the road and the squad car stopped a few yards away.
Cole quickly briefed the police chief about the situation. To Sutton’s credit, he didn’t so much as blink an eye when Cole said they had an eighteen-year-old female in labor.
All he said was, “Of course we do.”
The paramedic and EMT from the ambulance were helping Stephanie onto a stretcher when Cole jogged back over to the ambulance.
“They’ll take good care of you.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Would you like me to call someone to meet you at the hospital? A friend or family member?”
“No.” Pain flashed across Stephanie’s face, and Cole had a feeling this one wasn’t related to labor.
“Ready?” The ambulance driver poked his head out the window and the paramedic gave him a thumbs-up.
Stephanie grabbed his hand before they could shut the doors. “Thank you, Cole. For everything.”
“Take care.” He tweaked her nose, a gesture of affection that had always made Bettina smile.
It worked on Stephanie, too.
“Will you tell Grace that I’m glad she was there, too? I don’t know what I would have done...without her.”
“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me a little longer.” Grace ducked her head and climbed into the back of the ambulance. “Because I’m coming to the hospital with you.”
The smile on Stephanie’s face was the last thing Cole saw before the doors closed.
The ambulance pulled away, leaving him standing in the road.
“Grace is pretty amazing.”
With a start, Cole realized Jake Sutton was standing beside him.
Grace was more than amazing, Cole thought. She was strong and kind...and he was falling in love with her all over again.
* * *
“You look like you could use this.”
In the middle of stifling a yawn, Grace could only blink as Kate set a fresh carafe of coffee on the table.
“How is Stephanie doing?” Her friend slid into the chair directly across from her. “Alex and some of the guys stopped in for breakfast about 4:00 a.m. and told me what happened.”
Grace didn’t have to ask why Kate had been at the café that early in the morning. She doubted anyone in Mirror Lake had gotten more than a few hours of sleep. Some people in the area had been without electricity for hours as the road crews worked to fix the power lines that had come down. Others chipped in to help neighbors remove trees that had fallen during the storm.
“She had a baby girl less than an hour after she was admitted.” Grace smiled. “Stephanie must have miscalculated her due date because the doctor said the baby was full term.”
“And you were there for the birth?”
“I couldn’t leave her alone,” Grace said simply. “We still haven’t been able to track down her boyfriend, but Stephanie finally agreed to let me call her parents before I left. Her mom said they were worried sick when Bryce talked Stephanie into going away with him for the weekend. Apparently they’d broken up a few weeks ago and Bryce wanted to convince Stephanie that he’d changed.”
Kate topped off their coffee cups. “Cole told Alex he wasn’t sure she would make it to the hospital before the baby arrived.”
“Neither was I.” Grace couldn’t prevent a shudder when she remembered how quickly the nurses had moved Stephanie into the delivery room. “But Cole was great. I don’t know what we would have done without him.”
“That’s funny. He said the same thing about you.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Grace protested. “He was the one who kept Stephanie calm.”
He’d kept
her
calm, too.
“According to Alex, Cole stayed up all night and pitched in to help. The volunteer rescue squad was maxed out with calls.” Kate tipped her head. “Mirror Lake could definitely use a guy with his training.”
Grace could see where this was going.
“Cole is probably already on his way back to Madison. His business is there.”
Kate was silent for a moment. “I hate to state the obvious, but Alex successfully divides his time between Chicago and Mirror Lake. He still manages Porter Lakeside and drives Abby crazy at the inn.”
“That’s different. Alex
wants
to be here.”
“Maybe Cole does, too.”
I want to see you again.
Grace might have believed it if she hadn’t overheard that telephone conversation.
“Trust me, Kate. It won’t work.”
Kate planted her elbows on the table, chin propped in the cradle of her hands. “You and Cole knew each other the summer he lived in Mirror Lake, didn’t you?”
Grace couldn’t prevent the blush that bloomed in her cheeks.
“I don’t know why I didn’t see it right away.” Kate shook her head. “You two were in love, weren’t you?”
Grace couldn’t deny that, either.
“Things have changed,” she said slowly. “Cole and I are in a different place than we were twelve years ago.”
“Maybe it’s a
better
place,” Kate pointed out. “Both of you are older and wiser. You know what you want now.”
Kate might view that as the bridge that would bring her and Cole together, but Grace knew it was the obstacle that would ultimately keep them apart.
Because they wanted different things.
Chapter Nineteen
G
race picked up the stuffed bear that had been occupying the passenger seat of her truck on the drive to the hospital and straightened its plaid bow.
“Don’t worry. You’re going to like your new home,” she murmured.
And the fact that she was talking to a toy proved she could use twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Grace had stumbled into the house after work, changed clothes and got back into the car, anxious to see Stephanie and the baby again. The nurse Grace had talked to during her lunch break had said that both mother and baby were doing fine, but Grace needed to see that for herself.
Stephanie had broken down when her boyfriend hadn’t responded to the voice mail she’d left on his phone, letting him know they had a daughter.
It had taken all of Grace’s self-control not to leave Bryce a message of her own. Some men seemed to have a problem with responsibility.
An image of Cole teaching Stephanie how to breathe through a contraction flashed through her mind.
She shouldn’t have been surprised to discover he’d become a volunteer EMT. He was patient. Caring. The kind of man who would want to give back to the community to honor his father’s memory.
Grace blinked back the tears that stung her eyes. Another side effect of sleep deprivation.
The automatic doors swished open as she walked into the spacious front lobby of the hospital.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
A familiar figure blocked her path and Grace instinctively shifted the bear in her arms, holding it in front of her heart. A flimsy shield against Cole’s smile.
“What?” she blurted.
One dark eyebrow lifted. “Me?”
If only that were possible, Grace thought.
“I didn’t see your car in the parking lot,” she stammered.
Not that she’d looked. Grace had thought for sure Cole had left town after the meetings he’d scheduled with Sloan’s attorney and the Realtor.
His gaze dropped to the teddy bear cradled in her arms. “I wanted to buy something for Stephanie and the baby, too, but decided to wait and get your expert opinion.”
Grace balked when Cole tried to steer her toward the gift shop. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“Where else would you be?”
Grace wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It was a little disturbing that he knew her so well.
“Have you seen Stephanie yet?”
“I just got here a few minutes ago. Sissy had to reschedule our meeting for this afternoon because she wanted to see if the storm had damaged any of her properties.”
“Can I help you find something?” A woman wearing a bright pink apron stepped out from behind the counter.
Grace wanted to hug her. Call it denial, but she wasn’t ready to hear how Cole’s meeting with the Realtor had gone.
“We’ll need a dozen roses. Pink.” Cole stopped to examine the baby blankets stacked on a shelf. “And two or three of these. And that polka-dot anteater.”
“It’s an elephant,” the clerk said.
“Even better. We’ll take it.”
“Cole!”
“Every child needs a polka-dot elephant with a yellow bowtie, Grace.”
By the time they made their way to the elevator a few minutes later, weighed down with gifts, the clerk was frazzled but beaming.
A young woman wearing Winnie the Pooh scrubs looked up from her computer when they stopped to check in at the nurse’s station on the third-floor maternity wing.
“Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see Stephanie Swanson,” Grace said. “Room 314.”
“Just a moment, please.” The nurse ducked behind a Plexiglas divider and Grace could see her talking to a gray-haired doctor with a stethoscope looped around his neck.
“What’s going on?” Cole murmured.
“I’m not sure.”
The nurse returned a few seconds later. “I’m sorry, but Miss Swanson is no longer a patient here.”
“What do you mean?” Cole rocked forward and gripped the edge of the counter. “Was she transferred to another hospital?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to give out that information.”
“I was in the delivery room with Stephanie last night,” Grace said. “My name is Grace Eversea.”
“Are you a relative?”
“A...friend.”
“I’m sorry.” A polite smile. “If you’d like to see the baby, she’s in the nursery at the end of the hall.” The phone on the desk began to ring, and the nurse looked almost relieved by the interruption. “If you’ll excuse me...”
“I don’t understand.” Cole stepped away from the desk and raked a hand through his hair. “If Stephanie is gone, why is the baby still here?”
“Because she decided to put her up for adoption,” Grace whispered.
Cole turned to stare at her. “Did Stephanie tell you that?”
Grace’s throat closed as pieces of the last conversation she’d had with the teenager began to fall into place.
She’s so tiny, Grace.
She’s perfect.
Grace had cuddled the baby close to her heart, in awe of the tiny fingers and toes.
Do you want to hold her?
Stephanie
had nodded. One more time.
Grace had
assumed Stephanie had meant she would hold her daughter one more time before she fell asleep.
“Let’s find the nursery.” Cole dumped their purchases on the counter and reached for her hand. The warmth of his skin momentarily chased the chill away and Grace was tempted to lean into him. Rest her head against his broad chest and absorb some of his strength.
A girl Stephanie’s age shouldn’t have to make those kinds of decisions. She should be trying to figure out what college to attend. What to wear for a night out with friends.
The redheaded nurse behind the glass partition was leaning over a bassinet and Grace could see her lips moving as she talked to one of the babies.
“Which one?” Cole asked in a low voice.
The line of bassinet each held a tiny infant, some in pink knit caps, some in blue.
Grace stepped closer to the window and peered through the glass.
To her surprise, the nurse stepped out of the nursery and walked toward them, a baby cradled in her arms.
“I had a feeling you’d be back. I’m Kimberly.” The nurse smiled. “We met last night in the delivery room.”
“I remember.” Grace recognized the woman who’d stayed by Stephanie’s side through the entire birth.
“This a good time for a visit. She just woke up.”
The baby peered up at her, wide midnight-blue eyes more alert than Grace would have imagined given the fact she’d entered the world only a few hours ago.
“You must be Cole.”
“That’s right.” He looked confused that the nurse knew his name.
“Would you like to hold her?”
“Me?”
The word came out a little louder—okay, maybe a lot louder—than Cole had intended, but the nurse smiled.
“I understand you haven’t been formally introduced yet.”
Before he could say a word, the baby, as warm as a biscuit straight from the oven and dusted with powder, was deposited in the crook of his arm. He couldn’t believe anything could be so...small.
“Hey, munchkin,” he murmured.
“Stephanie named her Hannah Grace,” Kimberly said softly. “She said you would know why.”
Cole knew if he looked at Grace, the tight grip he had on his emotions would begin to unravel. He pressed a kiss against Hannah’s petal-soft cheek. “Your turn.”
Grace scooped Hannah from his arms with the ease of someone who’d done this before and laughed when the
baby’s rosebud lips pursed in a frown. “I think she was happy right where she was.”
She put her face close to Hannah’s, eyes closed, swaying to a melody no one else could hear. Finally, reluctantly, she gave her back to Kimberly.
“Thank you.”
“Thank
you
.” The nurse traced the curve of Hannah’s cheek. “Stephanie said she didn’t know what she would have done if you two hadn’t shown up when you did. She’s a very special young woman.”
All Cole could manage was a quick nod.
Kimberly returned to the nursery and tucked Hannah into the bassinet. Cole dared a look at the woman standing next to him and the tears in her eyes proved to be his undoing. In the middle of the corridor, he folded Grace against his chest and absorbed the tremor that ran through her.
“Sorry.” She eased out of his arms and worked up a watery smile. “My coworkers have been telling me for years that eventually I’ll develop a tough skin, but I’m still waiting for it to happen.”
“I hope you have to wait a long time.” Cole hooked a loose strand of silky hair behind her ear. “You
care,
Grace. I would never want you to lose that part of yourself.”
“It must have been so difficult for Stephanie to go home without Hannah.”
Cole guessed it was going to be difficult for Grace, too.
“Have dinner with me tonight,” he said. “I’m not leaving until tomorrow morning.”
“I can’t. The mayor organized a meeting for the planning committee. He wants to evaluate the celebration.”
“One hundred and twenty-five years from now, I vote you leave out the tornado. And the chickens.”
“I’ll be sure to mention that.” Grace smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Will you call me when you get home?”
“If it’s not too late.”
Why did Cole get the feeling it was going to be too late no matter what time the meeting ended?
The elevator door slid open and a silver-haired woman wearing a business suit exited. Her eyes lit up when she spotted Grace.
“I was hoping I hadn’t missed you!”
“Cole, this is Doreen Schultz, the hospital social worker,” Grace said. “Doreen, Cole Merrick. He’s the EMT who helped Stephanie last night.”
“The one who almost delivered her baby, if the rumors are correct.” Doreen smiled as she shook his hand and then turned back to Grace. “I have to talk to the head nurse, but can you come down to my office in five minutes?”
“Of course.”
“It was nice to meet you, Cole.” The social worker disappeared into the nursery.
“You don’t have to wait for me,” Grace said. “The meeting with Doreen could take a while.”
Cole knew it wasn’t any of his business, but his curiosity got the better of him.
“What does she want you to do?”
Grace’s gaze shifted to the window of the nursery and settled on Hannah, already asleep in the bassinet.
“My job.”
* * *
“Aren’t you going to answer that?”
“Not right now.” Grace slipped her cell phone back into her purse and hoped Jenna didn’t notice that her hand was trembling. “The meeting is about to start.”
“In forty-five minutes,” Jenna pointed out. “You were here early.”
Grace should have known it would raise suspicions. Usually people came up with creative excuses so they could be late for the mayor’s “evaluation” meetings. Jenna had spotted Grace hiding—
sitting
—in her truck and pulled into the parking lot to investigate.
It was one of those times when Grace wished her friend wasn’t a journalist.
“It was Cole, wasn’t it?” Jenna guessed.
“He wants me to stop over at his place after the meeting.” The words unfurled with a sigh. “To talk.”
“And you’re afraid of what he’s going to say.”
This time Jenna had it wrong. Grace was afraid of what he
was
going to say.
She could no longer deny the attraction between them was mutual. She’d seen it in Cole’s eyes. Felt it in his kiss.
I want to see you again.
But he wanted to see Grace, a single professional who would be free to spend time with him when their schedules allowed.
“What’s going on?” Jenna prompted. “Everyone could see the sparks flying between you and Cole. To tell you the truth, watching you was more entertaining than the fireworks on Saturday night.”
Grace let out a groan. “Don’t say that.”
“Seriously, is there something you need to talk about?” Jenna flashed a grin. “Off the record, of course.”
Grace opened her mouth to tell her that no, everything was fine, and ended up telling her...everything.
How she and Cole had met and fallen in love that summer. How he’d left without a word. Her desire to adopt. Meredith’s phone call.
Midway through the storm, Jenna pulled a tissue from her purse.
“I’m okay.”
“It’s for me.” Jenna blew her nose. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell any of us what you were planning.”
“The director at the agency said it could take months for the adoption to go through. If I’d said anything, Kate and Abby would have been planning a baby shower the next day.”
“You’re right about that.” Jenna chuckled and then her expression turned serious. “But you know we’ll be there for you, Grace. The same way all of you were there for me.”
No one knew better than Grace, Logan and Tori’s social worker, how difficult it had been for Jenna during those first weeks after she’d arrived in Mirror Lake. The children’s mother had checked into a drug rehabilitation center after she’d started a fire that damaged the cabin they’d been living in.
Grace had contacted Jenna, who’d agreed to act as temporary guardian to her niece and nephew even though she hadn’t seen them for seven years. Jenna, a self-described city girl, had eventually made Mirror Lake her permanent home.
“It could work, you know,” Jenna said softly. “A year ago, I thought I had everything I wanted. Now I can’t imagine life without Logan and Tori...and Dev. You know he loves those kids like they were his own.”
Grace couldn’t deny it. The reclusive wildlife photographer, who’d always maintained a careful distance from the rest of the community, was totally committed to his new family.
“It’s different.”
“How?”
“Cole is focused on his business right now. He lives four hours away from Mirror Lake.”
“And he owns a plane,” Jenna pointed out with a smile. “I’m not sure I see the problem.”
Grace did, but she couldn’t break a confidence and tell her friend that Cole had practically raised his siblings during the years their mother had battled depression. Selling his grandfather’s property was the only way he could get the funds he needed to expand Painted Skies.