Jed pressed his forehead to hers when he saw the tears in her eyes. He hated the pain she was going through. He didn’t let them see his doubt—he was good at bluffing—but fear was starting to settle like cement blocks in the pit of his stomach.
Victoria spread the sheets over the shower curtain and Jed placed Samantha in the middle of the bed against a pile of pillows. “We need more pillows.”
“I’ll get them,” said Ridge who’d arrived at the door seconds earlier. “AMS is on its way.” Jed looked at him and the knowledge passed between them that unless the ambulance was backing up to the front door as they spoke, they would indeed be too late. Samantha had been right.
“Are you comfortable?” Jed asked. She glared at him. “Damn it, Sam. I know you’re hurting but do you want to stay here or get on the chaise—”
She shook her head, returning to her breathing as he took the extra pillows from Ridge and propped them behind her. “Tell me something, Samantha. How long have you really been having contractions?”
She tried not to push as another one took over her voice. “I didn’t think they were con…tractions. It didn’t… hurt. . .just…heartburn.”
“And farting,” Jed teased.
True to her practical nature, she said, “Yes, lots of farting.” She panted. “Can I push now?”
“No, I have to clean up. Wait on me, you hear?” Samantha’s slightly crazed green gaze was so unlike her he almost laughed. Buffy arrived and handed him the bucket filled with supplies and cleaning agents and Jed kissed Sam’s forehead. “Put a hold on it for about five minutes okay?”
She panted. “I don’t… think that’s doable, Jed. You’d better… ohh, make it… one.”
“What?” he met her gaze.
“One minute,” she said and the certainty was there. Pain rolled through her and she clenched her jaw shut, her eyes boring into his.
He held his index finger up and dashed to the bathroom. He stripped off his shirt and soaped his arms, stomach and chest to make sure he was clean wherever he might come in contact with the baby. He’d come straight from the gym and hadn’t bothered with a shower.
“Jeeeed!” Sam screamed in a long keening cry. He rinsed, splashing water on himself and grabbed two clean white towels from the basket as he ran back to the bed.
He bent over her as she strained, pushing again and grunting. Then she relaxed, exhausted, breathing heavily. God, he didn’t know how long he could take watching her in so much pain. “Is the ambulance here yet?” he inquired over his shoulder, in empty hope of help from anyone… God even.
“Get it together, Sergeant Stern,” said Vic who leaned down to stare him in the face. “You’re it, buddy. Now, get ‘er done.”
He inhaled and exhaled twice. ‘Yes, sir, Commander.” Concentrating on Samantha once again he said, “Okay, darlin’, I have to check and see how far along we are.”
“We?” she grated but her knees flopped apart immediately allowing him a full view. “Check it out, detective,” she said panting.
Jed leaned in and blew out a breath at what he saw. “You were right, Sam. The baby’s head is crowning. Are you in a good position? You want to stand, stoop, get on all fours—”
She grabbed his ears and pulled him toward her. Through clenched teeth, eyes glaring into his, she said, “I. Want. To… Push!”
Jed grinned. “Well, hell, darlin’. What are you waitin’ for?” He settled between her legs and prepared to catch the football which was how he had to think of the. . .baby. Sam's baby. He shook his head and said, “Push.”
Buffy patted her arm while Vic sat beside Samantha on the bed and gripped her other hand. Sam’s face turned red as she strained. Her long groan went on until Jed saw the baby’s head edge a bit more through the canal. “Again, Sam. It’s almost here. You can do it.”
“How do you know?” she said sarcastically, but she took a couple breaths and seemed to marshal all her energy for one giant push.
It happened so quickly Jed was glad he hadn’t blinked. In just that flash of time his hands were filled with a malformed, bloody, red skinned alien. It was the ugliest thing he’d ever seen. His shock held him momentarily speechless. Then, it began to mew and he brought it to his chest to comfort.
“What is it?” Sam’s tired voice asked from far away.
“I—” He didn’t know. He held it against him just a second longer, closed his eyes, wondering what had just happened. Vic handed him a towel and he wrapped it around the poor thing, careful not to touch the umbilical cord.
“Here, Jed,” said Victoria. “Let me have her.”
Jed looked down at the small bundle in his arms and realized his eyes were blurry. The tiny little female opened her blue green eyes and blinked. It was a moment he knew he’d never forget. They stared at each other forever, or it seemed like it. Then, her mouth opened and she let out a scream no one that small should have been capable of. He passed her quickly to Victoria who laid her on Samantha’s chest.
There passed another one of those moments when Samantha looked at her newborn daughter. The smile that broke out across her face was like sunshine breaking out from behind stormy clouds, the rays of light spreading over everything. She’d never looked more beautiful. After inhaling the scent of her daughter and kissing her cheek, she turned that smile on him and he knew—he’d been inexplicably changed.
Chapter Nine
“Wow, one minute we’re sitting down to dinner and the next we’re celebrating the arrival of my little niece,” Luc said as he looked out over the Romano's party which had resumed with even more enthusiasm it seemed.
“It was a speedy delivery,” Del agreed. The backyard was alive with zydeco music. Even those who didn’t know Samantha or the Larues personally understood how rare it was to be part of a—well, call it what it was—a true Christmas miracle.
Samantha had walked in tall and elegant and when she left three hours later, the only reason she hadn’t walked out again was that Jed wouldn’t allow her to. He’d carried her to Victoria’s car and watched as they drove off toward the hospital. He had not looked happy to lose control over what would transpire after that.
Where was Jed? “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said to Luc. She found her partner in a dark corner of the front lawn, hands draped over his knees staring off into the night.
Jed wasn't hearing the laughter of Buffy's guests or Mudbugs' lively music even though it was loud and the festive voices carried far into the night. His thoughts were on a day in June after yet another conversation with his partner about Luc's family when he'd suddenly had an urge to find Luc's beautiful sister. She'd been on his mind more than he would admit, even to himself, since he'd met her and Victoria at the station.
He'd told himself he was not interested. He didn't have time or money to spend on dating. And she was pregnant and no one knew anything about the father. But none of his pep-talk had helped. He was interested, he was apparently thinking of making time— he figured out the money part later—and he'd never met a sexier more intriguing woman, pregnancy be damned.
He knew where her office was in a quiet area, mid-town, having cruised by many times ostensibly as duty required but in truth he'd been trying to get up his nerve to ask her out.
Apparently, he hadn't been the only one who'd felt the heat between them. He'd made three brief visits, the last one after hours. Most of the lights in the office were off as Sam prepared to leave for the day. She'd looked tired and a bit down but she wasn't one to volunteer what was on her mind. He usually tried to joke or tease her into a lighter mood but tonight when she looked at him there was such stark need that he'd been drawn to her, knowing without a word passing between them what was about to happen and suddenly he wanted it so badly he nearly lost his mind. Maybe he had, because one minute her lips had parted and those green eyes were imploring him. . . To what? He didn't know afterward, he stopped knowing anything.
But he remembered plenty, her hands in his hair, those luscious
soft lips on his, her tongue delving into his mouth, her full breasts in his hands. He'd lifted her and she'd wrapped her long legs around him, still kissing him as if she'd never get enough. She wasn't a lightweight but all six feet beautifully muscled inch of her felt like she belonged in his embrace. He'd bumped against the kitchen stool and set her on the counter.
She'd ripped his shirt open, surprising him with her ardor, then unbuttoned his pants and lowered his zipper so she could reach inside. She sighed as he pulled her knit top up around her neck and then his mouth was on those beautiful lush tips while his hands ran over the swell of her stomach and hips. She was Madonna and Aphrodite personified. "You're beautiful, Sam. So beautiful." He caressed the soft fullness of her belly. "Are you sure?"
"Oh, God, Jed, please show me that you mean that. Here. Now." Her eyes had pleaded with him, so fierce and yet. . .vulnerable. He could no more deny her than he could deny himself after that.
Their first encounter was a precursor to more of the same, fierce, tumultuous love-making followed by teasing and light banter, never taking things to a more serious level. And somehow after two months, it had always left Jed. . .unsettled. He'd wondered why Sam didn't try to force the issue, ask him for more but then, she held her emotions close to the vest , as if they might do too much damage if she didn't. He couldn't get her to talk about her service or the absent father of her child.
In the end, he decided that unsettled feeling was due to her increasing pregnancy and the realization, duh, that she was going to be a parent. What would that make him? He'd known most of his life he wouldn't be parent material so before things got awkward between them or she decided she wanted more than he could give, he'd ended their relationship.
Surprised and a bit disconcerted that she'd reacted so well to their breakup, Jed was still wondering if he'd made a mistake.
“Hey, Doctor Stern, what are you doing out here in the dark? You should be out back with us celebrating your delivery technique.” Jed didn’t answer. Del knelt down in front of him, frowning. “Jed, what’s going on?”
The moonlight glimmered briefly from behind fast-moving clouds and Del saw a sheen of moisture in Jed’s eyes. She put a hand on his arm and waited. The music seemed far away, cocooned as they were by the dark and the sound of wind blowing branches against the fence.
“I was so cock sure, Del, so arrogant. I was going to be sure she did everything right. Hell, I'm stupid. She’s a doctor, she knows what to do.”
“Well…” She started to say, she’s a Psychotherapist, but he kept talking like he hadn’t heard her.
“What if I’d been wrong? What if I’d messed up and they… something happened?” He whispered absently. “She was so tiny, so…” His eyes closed briefly “…breakable. I don’t think I’ve ever held anything so…” His voice choked off. Del watched as two tears dripped down her partner’s cheeks, catching the light. He didn’t need her to say anything. Her tough taciturn partner was experiencing emotions he had not been prepared for.
“I didn’t know,” he said softly. She wanted to allow him to explain but she knew Jed and if she was going to get answers, she’d have to ask.
“You didn’t know what, Jed?”
“She told me… that babies change everything. That they’re… tiny miracles.” He swallowed, shivered and whispered hoarsely, “I just can’t stop thinking about what might have happened.” His eyes were wide when he met hers. “Del, I’ve never delivered a baby. Why—what the hell was I thinking?”
Del gripped both of his shoulders and forced him to look at her. “Jed. You’re a hero. You were there, no one else was. No one had the training you’d had and it happened so fast there was no other choice. Sure, it was a little bit of stubbornness on your part that you stayed so close when she kept telling you to stop.” And maybe it was part fate. “You need to breathe, partner.”
Instead of breathing in like she expected, he exhaled and his head fell forward, his shoulders finally relaxing. He mumbled something she couldn’t hear.
“What was that?”
“She named her Nina,” Jed said, with what sounded like wonder.
Del thought, Okay, Nina, so?
Then he went on… “After my mother.” He looked at her intently, or rather in her general direction, remembering. “She said she would name the baby after me but calling a girl Jedidiah would just be mean.” His teeth gleamed in the light from the moon and he wiped his cheek. “She asked me what my mother’s name was.”
Del said, “You’ve never talked about your mother.” Not in all the hours they’d spent together on the road, or the long hours on investigations or stakeouts. He’d held back, as usual. Her partner had been a closed book and she hadn’t realized until just now how much of it she hadn’t read.
“She died when I was ten,” he said softly.
Del opened her mouth to tell him how sorry she was even though it had been a long time ago, but his next words shocked her into silence.
“My father killed her.”
Chapter Ten
Jed’s jaw worked as he looked up at the sky.
Del couldn’t see his eyes, now that the clouds had moved in again, but she understood better the reasons why he was protective of his past. Some of the other detectives called him hard and aloof but all of their coworkers respected him.
She squeezed his arm. “Well, she’ll live on now in that beautiful little girl.” She waited to see if he wanted to talk about it. When he didn’t say anything else, she asked, “Do you want something to eat? I’ll bring you a plate.” Jed didn’t drink. She’d wondered what the story was there and why he held himself under such rigid control. Now she knew his past was somehow part of it.
“Nah, I think I’ll be going. Tell Luc and Ridge I’ll see them later. And, thanks, Del.”
“For what?”
He grunted. “I don’t know exactly, for being here when I didn’t even know I needed it.”
“Hey, you’d do the same for me. That’s why we make a great team.”
“Always.” A rare appearance of the dimple when he smiled at her made her feel a little better about not pressing him. “And, for once, I think you’re right.” Her eyebrows lifted and he gave her a playful punch. “I delivered a baby, by God. A squirming, ugly, red-wrinkled… beautiful little girl. I’m telling you when she opened those baby greens and wrapped her tiny little fingers around my pinkie…”
He was quiet for another minute and when he got up, his voice was gruff. “I think I’ll head over to the hospital and see if she actually listened to me.” She, meaning Sam.
Del reached for him and he gave her a strong hug, something that hadn't happened since Jed had been part of the raid that saved Del from Luc’s stalker at KPI. “Sounds like a good idea. I love you, partner. You’re a good man.” She meant it but she thought he also needed to hear it.
He squeezed her shoulders. “Thanks.” As he walked away she detected a lighter spring to his step. Del leaned back against the bench and stared up at the moon as clouds moved swiftly across its face.
“Del?” She’d been so deep in thought she hadn’t heard Luc until he was standing next to her. Some cop she was. She shrugged. It was understandable. This was truly her safe place, with family and the new friends she’d made since meeting Luc.
He sat down next to her, tucked her head under his arm so she could rest against his muscular shoulder. “Is something wrong?” he asked and Del heard the hint of fear that had been present lately in some of his questions. She knew he was getting antsy about the date. He was probably fielding inquiries from all his siblings, parents, aunts, and extended family. It was a lot of pressure, and yet, he’d said nothing. Hadn’t pressured her. She was getting close to giving him what he wanted but there were a couple of things she hadn't resolved in her mind.
“Not a thing.” She tilted her chin up and kissed his jaw. “Jed just left.”
“Ah,” Luc said. He knew what a special relationship a cop’s partnership was. �
��We owe him, big time. I’m sure glad he was ‘hovering’ as Sam calls it, and had brushed up on his baby delivering. Ms. Independent was making it very hard for us to keep an eye on her. The emergency responders didn’t even have time to get here. I guess Nina was waiting for her chance to make a notable entry… don’t know what that portends for her teenage years.”
“I seem to remember you and Sam were the rebels of the family, standing against the horde so you wouldn’t get sucked up into their wake.” Luc and Sam were the closest in age with four years between them.
She looked up at him. “Jed’s in love with your sister, Luc. And I’m fairly sure the feeling is mutual.”
Luc angled his head so he could see her face.
“Really? Did he tell you that?”
“Ha!” It escaped before she could pull it back and she chuckled. “I’m afraid we’re in for a world of frustration. Those are two extremely stubborn people…” her voice trailed off.
“What is it?”
Luc was so attuned to her. She didn’t hesitate but a second because this was Luc; she trusted him, had trusted him with her life. Another reason why she wanted to give him what he and his family most desired—a wedding date. “Did you know Sam named her baby ‘Nina’?”
“Yes. I was kinda surprised since it’s not one of the names we discussed at the family reunion. Remember?”
Del smiled. Did she remember the weekend that had changed her life? When she’d been welcomed into the huge Larue family like she belonged, and she’d only known Luc for a couple weeks. It had been a wonderful experience she couldn’t wait to repeat every year of their lives. In fact, she was getting an idea.
She said, “Nina was Jed’s mother’s name. She died when he was ten at the hands of his father.”
Whispers of Winter: A Limited Edition Collection of Winter Romances Page 59
