Special Delivery (Mountain Meadow Homecoming 1) (8 page)

“Yes.” She panted.

“Easy, honey. Big breaths. Just relax. We’ll get your baby here right and tight. Tyler, I’m sorry, buddy, but you’re going to have to be an active participant. I need you to hold the flashlight so I can see.”

“Okay.”

This had to be tough on Tyler and was no doubt more than he wanted to know about how his niece was getting into the world. “Ty, if you’re not okay with this, we’ll figure something out.”

He swallowed. “I’m okay. Really. I watched Jimmy Pruitt’s beagle have her puppies, so I have some idea.”

If Holly hadn’t been in so much pain, she would have laughed. In fact, she could have sworn she heard Jake do just that.

“I remember delivering a few puppies,” he said, “but I think we’ll bypass the part where you swing the little guys to get them breathing, and I don’t think Holly will need to bite through the umbilical cord.”

“Ooh.” Tyler made a face. “That’s just gross.”

Jake’s eyes twinkled. “What do you think?”

“I’m all for snipping,” Holly assured him.

Jake put a hand on her knee. “I’m just gonna take a look, okay?”

The heat of his palm offered some comfort, but everything took a backseat to the simple need to push the baby. “Hurry.”

“Oh, wow!” Tyler whispered at the same time Jake spoke.

“I see the top of her head, Holly.” A note of excitement crept into his deep voice. He glanced at her and grinned. Her contraction eased. When Holly half laughed and half sobbed, he patted her leg. The touch was enough to reassure her. “You’re doing fine. Doc says you should push with your contractions, but easy. As soon as the head’s out I’ll need to suction and check to make sure the cord’s good.”

She nodded, feeling a mixture of awe and fright. The life inside her had taken control, and she had no say at all in what was going on. As another contraction began, Holly sobbed and began to push. It hurt, more than anything she could have imagined, but even the pain paled next to the anticipation.

Jake told Tyler, “Prop that flashlight right there. Take the other one into the kitchen and bring me the bulb syringe I saw on the table. More towels, too.

“You mean the thing with the squishy rubber end on it?”

“Yeah. Then come sit next to your sister and tell her what a great job she’s doing.”

Jake’s gaze reassured her that everything was okay. Her nerves settled. When the next contraction came, she concentrated on bearing down, the effort almost enough to overcome the pain. She was nearly done. Just a little more and her daughter would be here.

Jake laughed. “That’s it. The head’s out, honey. Relax a minute.” He reached for the bulb syringe. She supposed he must be suctioning the baby’s nose and mouth, but she couldn’t see. Holly tried to catch her breath.

“Jake…” Her body took over and the next contraction sent the baby out into Jake’s waiting hands. He cradled the infant for just a moment, and even with her blurring vision, she saw his eyes well over as well. As if he realized, his expression went blank and he blinked several times before he laid the infant on her stomach and began drying the baby. There was just the faintest tremor in his big hands as he touched the newborn, but he made no attempt to hide it. Jake was as overwhelmed as she was. The baby cried, angry mewling sounds, and her tiny face screwed up as she voiced her displeasure at this unwelcome change in her surroundings. The warm weight of her daughter now rested on her instead of inside her. Her miracle.

Holly reached trembling fingers to stroke her child. Her baby. She swallowed against the thickness in her throat. “Is she okay? Is she perfect?”

“The most perfect baby I’ve ever seen.”

Holly smiled and let her head fall against the pillows. She was okay. “Thank you, Jake,” she managed to choke out.

Tyler’s eyes were huge.

“How you doing, Uncle Tyler?” Jake murmured.

“I’m good. Wow!”

* * * *

Jake stared at the umbilical cord. “We’re not done yet. Call Doc, Tyler. Just hit Redial while I wash.”

Tyler held the phone for him as he came out. Jenny ran down the directions to deal with the cord, then explained Holly should try to nurse the baby to help stimulate contractions to deliver the afterbirth. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing compared to the baby, just a little messy.”

The afterbirth was a snap compared to delivery, but fatigue had worn them down. By the time Jake settled Holly on clean sheets so she could nurse, cleaned everything, and put it away, he was exhausted. He returned to her bedroom to find Tyler curled on one side of the bed watching as the baby slept. Jake sat in the chair next to Holly’s bed. When she smiled, the wariness she’d treated him with had disappeared. For right now, trust had replaced it. The change floored and scared him. He swallowed past the thickness in his throat.

“You were amazing, Holly. I don’t know many women who would have been so calm in this situation.”

“I didn’t feel very calm. I don’t know what we would have done without you. I was so scared, and then you got here…thank you.” Tears welled again, spilling down her cheeks.

He touched the wetness, brushing it away. “I’m just glad I was here. I’ll bring you some Tylenol, then you need to rest.” He tapped his fingers against his thigh. “You…uh…you didn’t tear or anything.” Shit, he so didn’t want to go into this. “I just thought you should know. Doc will check you out and all.”

Holly smiled. “I had a great delivery guy.”

At Jake’s signal, Tyler scooted off the bed and blew out the candles. Jake waited for the boy to precede him out of the room, then said to Holly, “I’ll leave the door open. If you need anything, I’ll be in the living room. Just call me.”

He checked in on her a couple of times and found both her and the baby sleeping. She looked exhausted, not even stirring when he brushed a stray lock of hair off her face. His gaze moved to the tiny bundle of the baby, as delicate as a porcelain doll. A fierce surge of protectiveness moved through him, and not just for the baby, he realized. His emotions had been riding a roller coaster since he walked in the door. Now looking at them both, he realized a connection was there. He’d been interested the first time he saw Holly, and that had only grown as she tried to juggle her pride with what she knew was best for her brother and her baby—and how what was best always won. He would get them both to the hospital just as soon as he could, and then? Then he would move them in with him—her, the baby, and Tyler.

Now, all he had to do was convince her. He hadn’t told her his suspicions about someone looking for her. Eventually, he would have to. For a moment, Jake wondered if moving her in was for them or him. He’d wanted a family, and fate had put one right in front of him.

Holly and Noelle. Tyler’d said Holly wanted to name the baby Noelle because her birthday was supposed to be around Christmas. Well, it was December. An early Christmas gift. He touched the infant’s head with his big palm and shifted his gaze to Holly’s pale face. He had helped her bring this baby into the world. He hadn’t counted on how that changed things. Emotional ties bound them together, and he wondered where it would lead.

Jake stamped his feet and blew on his gloved hands. Ice glittered on tree branches like a million prisms the next morning, but he had a lot more to do than admire its beauty. His focus was on getting his precious cargo out of here. That meant clearing the trees and branches littering the rutted road.

By chance, his chainsaw and a can of gas sat in the bed of his truck. He’d loaned them to one of the patrol officers who had taken his kids to cut a Christmas tree. Now Jake could put the saw to better use clearing a path for a holiday package to get to town.

As he and Tyler dragged the last of the branches off the still slick road, the boy asked, “Are we taking Holly and Noelle to the hospital today?”

Jake slapped bark and snow from his uniform with his gloved hands and grinned. “I hope so. I’ll call Chief Jones and Sheriff Barnes in a minute to see how the roads are. If they say four-wheel drives are moving okay, we’ll take Holly and the baby to see Doc.”

“They’re okay aren’t they?” Tyler asked.

Uncertainty clouded the boy’s face, so Jake put an arm around his shoulders. “’Course they are, Tyler. We did a great job helping Holly. It’s just a precaution. Kind of like having the teacher look over your work at school.”

“Oh. Okay.” Tyler tossed branches on the pile near him with renewed energy, a grin back on his narrow face.

After Ernie and Sam reassured him about the roads, Jake bundled the sleeping Noelle nice and tight. He strapped the infant carrier into the backseat. Jake hummed Christmas carols as he turned on the truck to warm it. He didn’t want Holly or Noelle getting chilled. He laughed to himself.
Careful, man.
He sounded like a new father.

“Ready to go?” he asked Holly as he entered her room. She sat on the bed’s edge, frustration evident. “What’s the matter?”

She sighed. “I feel useless, like I can’t do anything.”

Jake leaned against the doorjamb. “You just gave birth. If you’re exhausted, you should be. Relax. Let someone take care of you for a change. It looks to me like you spend all your time trying to care for everyone else.”

Her mouth quirked. “It would be a switch.”

“Good. Because I’m giving you a ride out to the truck.” While he carried her out and belted her in, Tyler followed with Noelle cradled in his arms. Jake smiled as he secured the baby in her carrier. Noelle couldn’t ask for a more protective uncle.

Jake climbed in. “Everybody ready?”

Holly leaned forward to touch his shoulder. “Thanks, Jake.”

Their eyes met in the rearview mirror, and he answered her with a small smile before putting the truck in gear.

* * * *

Holly stroked the baby’s cheek. Noelle had woken once during the night wanting to be fed, then again just after dawn. Feeling her nestled against her, tiny mouth pulling at her breast, had filled Holly with awe. This tiny, perfect human being trusted and depended on her totally and completely. Holly had vowed then and there to try to be the best mother she could every single day.

As far as Holly could tell, things were going fine. Somehow the smell of sweet, sweet baby was already erasing the pain of labor and birth. She smiled as she thought of changing her first diaper. Even that was something new and wonderful, another way to bond with her baby.

Icy patches still dotted the roads where trees shadowed the curvy highway. Holly was glad to see Jake was so careful. From the rear seat, she studied the back of his head and the part of his profile visible in the rearview mirror. She would have been in real trouble if not for him. The whole experience drove home just how isolated they were.

Maybe now was the time to ask for help. Filing for assistance was bound to leave a paper trail and make it easier for Spence to find her, but maybe it was time he did. She knew people here now. They could help her stand against him and all the influence the Dilby money could buy. More than anything, she had to remember Tyler and Noelle were what mattered. Maybe she could work from home and keep books for more than just Mr. Crawford. If she could get her own computer, she could work on taxes, too. That would support them if they could find someplace inexpensive to live in town, maybe rent a couple of rooms instead of trying to take on a house.

She’d ask Doc. Maybe Jake, too. They’d both grown up here, so they could help. Her gaze settled on Jake again. Those broad shoulders of his made her want to run her hands across them. Mr. Hot Cop was good inside and out. Sharing the experience of Noelle’s birth proved it. She would never forget the wonder on his face when he laid the baby on her belly. Why couldn’t Spence have been like Jake? Spence’s care and consideration had evaporated the moment he’d taken her to bed.

Jake watched her in the mirror, and she blushed, fidgeting with the baby’s snugly wrapped blankets. Holly had slept with Spence one miserable time. She couldn’t be sorry. Noelle was the result, and she wouldn’t trade anything for her little girl.

The storm had forced her to put her trust in Jake. She wasn’t quite ready to test these feelings, but she’d already seen how well he related to Tyler. She’d thought then he was just a cop with a big heart, but between delivering Noelle, and helping her the past day, she realized something basic had changed between them. She could depend on him, but more than that, he made her breathless.

When their gazes met again, they held for just a moment, and Jake looked away first to watch the road. He was as unsure as she was. Good. She’d had cocky and seen how empty that was.

Holly smiled at her tiny daughter, resisting the urge to once again unwrap her to examine the delicate fingers and tiny toes. For the first time since she’d told Spence about her pregnancy, Holly hoped things might return to normal. She wasn’t going to run scared anymore. Mountain Meadow was the place she was going to stay, and let Spence bring on his worst.

They arrived at the emergency entrance of the small regional hospital. Holly protested when an orderly brought a wheelchair out for her.

“It’s standard procedure,” Jake reassured her. After helping her out, he placed Noelle in her arms. He and Tyler followed as they wheeled her in. Jake spoke to the receptionist, then crouched next to Holly.

“Doc will be here in a couple minutes. Then they’ll get you settled in a room.”

Holly clutched his arm. “Jake, I don’t have enough money. The baby and I are fine. Won’t they be able to just check us out and let us go home?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Doc. Don’t worry about Tyler, though. If Doc says you need to stay, he can bunk with me. I just live right down the road. And don’t worry about the bill either. Sometimes these things have a way of working themselves out. It’s not like they’ll keep the baby till you’re paid in full.”

“That’s not funny.” Holly glared and Jake just chuckled.

“Good afternoon, Holly.” Jenny Owens approached, cutting her off before she could tell Jake she’d find a way to pay her own bills. She smiled at all of them. “Let’s see what we have here.”