Texas Bride

by Kate Thomas

  “I’m sure it is,” he agreed as he climbed out of bed, buttoned his fly—with difficulty—then pulled on his shirt.

  Hell, for saving his life, she could have every gold, platinum or purple card she found, all the cash, whatever. He told her so.

  “I didn’t save your life, Josh! I—” She gestured impatiently. “I broke your windshield. Please—just eat your breakfast and go.”

  Fat chance. Josh Walker always paid his debts and he owed Dani Caldwell. But he reserved arguing for the courtroom. “Okay,” he said mildly.

  As he headed toward the table, Dani retreated. As if... “You’re not afraid of me, are you?” Josh asked. “I swear—I’d never hurt a woman!”

  Dani’s eyes looked into a distance he couldn’t see. “I’m sure you mean that,” she said, “but...well, intentions make good paving material.” Her voice was too old, too resigned for someone so young. Someone with a baby coming and no father for it.

  “You can trust me, Dani.” Josh’s low voice stroked over her skin like rich, dark velvet. He seemed to fill the room with his large, lean frame, with his hard masculinity. “Are you in trouble? Let me help you.”

  Dani fought an urge to accept his offer. “I don’t need any help,” she insisted, mostly to remind herself. Didn’t marriage teach me anything? Leaning on someone just means you fall over when they leave.

  Josh did something with his jaw that brought granite to mind. “Then I’ll get out of your way,” he said stiffly. “May I use your phone to call a tow truck?”

  “Sorry.” She shook her head. “No telephone.”

  “Can you give me a lift to town, then?” Icicles dripped from every word.

  “No wheels, either,” Dani confessed, flashing a rueful smile.

  “You mean, you’re stranded out here? In your condition?” Josh looked as if he didn’t know whether to sit there stupefied or jump up, furious. “Are you crazy, woman?”

  “Just a little unlucky, that’s all.” Dani willed herself to believe it. But that darned backache kept coming back and the baby still hadn’t moved. What if something was seriously wrong?

  “Unlucky?” Josh croaked, those beautiful eyes wide with disbelief.

  He was still sputtering when heavy knuckles made contact with the door. Dani seized the interruption. “Who’s there?” she called.

  “County sheriff,” came the answer in a deep West Texas twang.

  Terror-stricken, Dani turned to Josh. “Please,” she whispered. “Please. Tell the sheriff I’m with you. Tell him—anything. Except my name.”

  For one long moment, Josh gazed at her, his eyes narrow slivers of glacial ice. Then a corner of his mouth quirked and he shook his head derisively. “I never did learn to ask the right questions at the right time,” he said softly.

  Dani closed her eyes to gather her strength. She was going to need it. The visitor knocked again.

  “Just a minute!” Josh shouted, then lowered his voice. “I owe you my life, Dani,” he said, “but I’m an attorney. Aiding a felon is grounds for disbarment.”

  “I haven’t committed any crime,” she snapped, rubbing her back.

  “Then tell me why you’re hiding.”

  Dani chewed her lip but she had no choice. She knew whose side the sheriff would take if he discovered her identity. This stranger was her only chance; she had to trust him. Simple but scary. She hadn’t trusted anyone since...Jimmy, who’d proven himself untrustworthy in the end.

  Taking a deep breath, Dani said, “My husband was killed by a stray bullet when a fight broke out at the bar that had become his second home. His parents blamed me for his lack of ambition, his choice of friends, and his death. And now they want custody of their grandchild. I’ve refused, of course, but they’re wealthy and have contacts all over the state. Obviously I can’t even hold a job right now....”

  Josh suddenly towered over her, his hands on his hips. “Sounds as if they can offer the child more than you can.”

  “I’m not giving up my baby,” Dani retorted, balling her hands into fists. “I don’t care what things they can give it, this baby is mine!”

  Those turquoise eyes flared into blue fire, then Josh touched her cheek gently with one fingertip. She could feel it all the way to her toes, even through the backache gripping her now like a bulldog on a bone.

  “Okay, sweetheart, okay.” Josh jerked his hand away. “I guess I can perjure myself this once.” He crossed the cabin in one stride.

  Pulling open the door, Josh leaned a broad shoulder against the door frame and greeted the beefy, leatherskinned man standing on the porch. “Morning, Sheriff.”

  “B’lieve it is,” the man drawled, hooking his thumbs in the service belt of his khaki uniform. He looked sleepy and slow, but Dani doubted it. Law enforcement in rural counties only meant dealing with fewer people, not less complex ones.

  “Name’s Lopez,” the sheriff announced, removing his wire-rimmed sunglasses and hanging them by one earpiece from his starched shirt pocket. “And you are?”

  “Josh Walker...and wife.”

  After a brief, searching look, Lopez said, “Quite a storm last night. Been out since dawn, checking on damage. That your car down in the creek?”

  “Yes. My wife and I barely got out in time. We took refuge here last night.” Josh did his granite-jaw exhibition again. “Hope that isn’t a problem, Officer.”

  The sheriff shrugged. “Real problem’s gonna be gettin’ yore vee-hicle outta that arroyo,” he drawled. “Don’t know if Vern can get his tow truck close enough to—”

  Dani didn’t hear the rest. A fresh fist of pain hit her, then—a gush of warm wetness between her legs. Her knees threatened to go on strike and she blindly clutched at Josh for support.

  His arm instantly wrapped around her. “Wh-what is it, Dani? What happened?”

  Before she could answer, Lopez chuckled. “As the father of five, I’d say the lady’s water broke.” Pushing the brim of his Stetson up with his thumb, he addressed Dani. “You havin’ pains yet, ma’am?”

  She managed to nod. “I—I guess I’ve been having them since I woke up this morning, b-but...” She bit her lip.

  “But what?” Josh demanded.

  His arm still crushed her against his side. Dani didn’t resist; she needed his strength right now. She wanted this baby so much, but—“Th-the pains aren’t right!”

  The sheriff whipped his sunglasses out of his pocket, snapped them open with a flick of his wrist and slid them on his face, his sleepy demeanor instantly replaced by cool efficiency. “They got a clinic in No Lake. I’ll hustle on down to the car and radio the doc. You bring yore wife.”

  As the sheriff spun on his heel and disappeared down the trail, Josh turned to Dani. “What do you mean, not right?” he demanded, his hands wrapped around her upper arms, his azure eyes hot and intense.

  “They’re in my back, not here.” Dani’s hand covered her abdomen.

  Josh’s grip eased. “My sister-in-law had back labor,” he said. “Twice. And both babies were perfect.”

  This is normal. Relief dissolved the fear washing through her, and without thinking, Dani aimed a thank-you kiss at Josh’s cheek.

  As her lips neared the beard-roughened surface, she caught a faint whiff of pine and a unique male scent she instinctively recognized as his. Then Josh turned his head and mouth met mouth—one warm and soft, one cool and firm. A momentary hesitation...then someone deepened the kiss. Stars exploded. Volcanoes blew apart. The earth shifted on its axis—and babies and back pains were forgotten for one eternal second while heat and passion consumed her. Someone moaned, the sound deep and throaty. Dani thrust her fingers into Josh’s thick, silky hair. He wrapped her braid around his wrist—

  Reality finally intruded. I’m having a baby. Jimmy’s baby. “I—I’m sorry,” she whispered as she pulled back. “I just... Thank you for telling me about your sister-in-law.”

  “Any time, lady.” Josh gave a ragged laugh as he raked shaking fingers
through his hair and let out a deep breath. “Except now, that is. We’ve got places to go.”

  His briskness told Dani that the errant kiss hadn’t affected him. A tendril of pain helped her ignore the desire still racing through her veins. “I n-need to get the b-baby’s things,” she said.

  Josh growled. “Where?”

  She pointed to a yellow quilted bag; he snatched it up. Then the darned man scooped her up, too. He carried her out of the cabin and down the path with long, swift strides, placing her in the sheriff’s car as if she were fine Austrian crystal.

  He balked, however, when the sheriff ordered him into the back seat, too. “Look, I’m not—Just take her to the doctor, okay? I’ll, er, wait here.”

  “You’re the reason she’s in this condition, son,” the sheriff snapped. “Seems to me, you oughta finish what you start.”

  Josh scowled. Dani wasn’t his woman; her “condition” wasn’t his fault. And Carrie had never given him the chance to finish what he’d accidentally started.

  Dani groaned.

  Instantly, Josh was beside her in the car. “Another pain?”

  She nodded, her face pinched and tight, those sensual lips pressed into a thin line.

  Which left nothing to do but—“Shh,” he murmured, pulling her onto his lap. “I’m here, Dani. I won’t leave you.” He wrapped his arms around her, held her tightly against his chest. It feels right. As right as that spine-tingling kiss a minute ago.

  All of which was completely wrong. Dammit, he didn’t respond like this to a woman, any woman—especially one having another man’s baby!

  “Thank you for not giving me away,” Dani whispered as the sheriff eased the patrol car onto the road. “I owe you.”

  Josh just snorted at that nonsense. Of their own accord, his arms tightened around her.

  “I don’t mean to tell you your business, Lopez,” he snarled, “but floor it, will you? The woman’s having a baby!”

  “I ain’t licensed to fly, son. We’ll get there. Don’t worry.” The damned fool slowed down then, just to go through a blind curve.

  At last, they reached a town. The sheriff spun the steering wheel, then stood on the brakes and screeched to a halt in front of a metal prefab building.

  “Here y’are,” he announced. “No Lake Medical Clinic. Told ya we’d get here in time.”

  “Thanks, Sheriff.” Josh jerked open the car door. “I, uh, I—”

  Even Lopez’s laugh had a Texas twang. “’Pology accepted, son. Best get yore wife inside now. The doc’ll take it from here. And good luck to ya.”

  Josh kept his hands steady and gentle as he eased Dani out of the car, and carried her carefully up the clinic steps.

  The place was deserted—except for one small, mahogany-skinned, too-damned-young man wearing a white knit shirt, nylon shorts and striped kneesocks. “Good Sunday morning to you,” he said as he directed Josh to an examining room and helped him settle Dani on the table there. “I am Dr. Ravjani, playing soccer only moments ago.”

  “Josh Walker. This is Dani.” Josh watched her anxiously. Her eyes were closed again as she rode out another contraction, breathing deeply.

  “Very happy to be meeting you.” Ravjani grinned as he began taking Dani’s blood pressure. “I am guessing first baby. Right?”

  “Yes,” she exhorted. “But my due date isn’t for two more weeks.”

  “Oh, first babies are notorious for not heeding the calendar,” the doctor said cheerfully.

  When Dani offered a tentative smile in response, Josh turned to leave.

  “Good idea!” Ravjani crowed, grabbing Josh’s arm. “I will help Mrs. Dani into a sterile gown while you are washing up to your elbows.” For a small man, Ravjani had a tenacious grip. Josh found himself being hustled from the room and down a hallway. “Then I will examine your wife while you are comforting her.”

  Josh shook his head. Tried to free his arm. The little man’s grip tightened.

  “This was not a question, Josh Walker. My nurse is barbecuing her boyfriend today, so I am needing your help.” The doctor shoved him into a tiny bathroom. “Mrs. Dani is already afraid of what she isn’t knowing. Now I am an excellent doctor, you understand, but my English—I may not be saying the comforting clichés correctly to keep her focus off the pain. I tell you—thinking about it will only make this delivery harder.” The little man shook a finger under Josh’s nose. “For the baby’s sake, you must be helping me.”

  With that, Ravjani disappeared.

  Well, hell. Josh reached for the soap. He’d spent six years mourning his lost baby. As he scrubbed his hands and forearms nearly raw, some scorekeeper in his head observed, Helping Dani deliver her baby will give you part of what Carrie denied you.

  Besides, he owed Dani Caldwell his life. And even if he didn’t, no man worth the name turned away from a woman in need.

  Josh grabbed a wad of paper towels and dried his hands as he hurried back to the examining room.

  Dani gave him a smile, but—Yes, some fear lurked in those luminous green eyes. So Josh wrapped his fingers around hers. Squeezed gently. Tried to act reassuring. Probably failed. Complications worthy of a soap opera kept flashing through his head.

  After Ravjani examined Dani—while Josh examined his impressive medical credentials on the wall—he assured them everything was proceeding normally. “Rest between contractions,” he advised, patting Dani’s hand. “This will be taking some time. Do not become anxious,” he added, spearing Josh with a significant look. Then he wandered off to catch up on paperwork.

  A tear slid down Dani’s cheek and lingered on the edge of her full lower lip. He remembered how soft her mouth felt under his, how sweet she tasted....

  “Dammit. Please, Dani—don’t cry!”

  Thank heavens. A distraction. Through her own anxiety, Dani recognized the discomfort beneath Josh’s gruffness. She knew men weren’t very good with the messy parts of life; Jimmy had especially hated her tears.

  And what good were they, after all? They didn’t change reality.

  “You don’t need to stay,” she said, feigning nonchalance. “My husband would have been long gone by now.”

  “No man would miss his kid’s birth,” Josh declared in a voice like hammered steel.

  “Do you and your wife—” She gasped as a contraction hit.

  “I’m not married.”

  Did he think biting off the words could hide the raw anguish and grief echoing through them? Despite herself, Dani wondered at their cause.

  “Quit wasting your energy,” he commanded. “I’m not leaving you.”

  His deep, quiet voice offered support, like a strong pair of hands. Okay, she’d admit it: she didn’t want to face this alone. But did she dare accept this stranger’s help?

  As the contraction eased, Dani gazed up into Josh’s beautiful azure eyes. She saw apprehension in their depths, but determination was there, too. This was a man, not a boy. He carried scars—that still hurt, apparently—but maybe they’d made him strong. The way disappointment had weaned her from dreams and toughened her.

  Another wave of pain pulled at her. “Then make yourself useful,” she gasped. “Talk. About anything. Just—talk.”

  And so, through long, draining hours and slowly escalating waves of pain, she clung to Josh’s strong, hard hand and his deep, smooth voice as he talked of his boyhood in Montana and asked about life in Lufkin.

  Late in the afternoon, the contractions changed. Dani groaned, fighting the urge to push.

  Josh leaped to his feet. “I’ll get Ravjani!”

  “No need,” the doctor proclaimed as he bustled into the room to stand between Dani’s legs. “Ravjani is here and, ah, just in time.”

  His bubbly confidence was reassuring, Dani thought hazily, even if his English was slightly fractured.

  “Look, Mr. Walker,” Dr. Ravjani ordered. “Your child is arriving.”

  As Dani lay panting for the few seconds she sensed were all she’d have, she
watched Josh reluctantly peek over the doctor’s shoulder.

  Beneath his tan, Josh’s color faded; his expression wavered between dismay and disgust. Alarmed, Dani cried, “Josh! What’s wrong?”

  “Your baby is crowning, that’s all,” said Ravjani. He smirked at Dani. “Perhaps your husband is one of those large, macho men who faints at the sight of one of nature’s miracles.”

  The greenish undertones to Josh’s skin turned greener. “I... It’s too—You can’t—Do something, dammit!” Had Carrie known about this...this whole appalling birth process? Was that why—

  Dr. Ravjani chuckled. “I am not the one who must be doing now. Your wife must begin pushing your creation out of his comfortable home. And you are still the cheerleader, Mr. Walker.”

  Begin pushing? What the hell did the idiot think she’d been doing? For hours and hours already. And there was more?

  “Mr. Walker. If I ask for the tray, I am meaning that,” Ravjani barked, pointing to a shallow metal dish filled with gleaming surgical instruments. “And I am needing it quickly.”

  The floor tilted. Blackness crowded the edges of Josh’s vision.

  Then, like yesterday, Dani’s voice, somehow urgent and calm at the same time, cut through the darkness. “Josh. I’ll be fine. Women have been having babies for thousands of years. Just come hold my hand.”

  Like yesterday, he obeyed that voice. Then following Ravjani’s instructions, Josh moved around to the head of the exam table so he could brace Dani’s back with his chest.

  As he touched her, moved her braid to the side, clasped her hands, the black mist cleared. Once again, Dani had rescued him—this time from embarrassing himself.

  “Push when you are ready,” the doctor told Dani.

  “Aauunnh!” She bowed forward, rigid with effort.

  Nothing happened. Eventually, she went limp.

  “Again.”

  She made another magnificent, shaking effort—her chin on her chest, her teeth gritted.

  Still nothing happened, except Ravjani in that damned calm voice said, “Once more.”

  Dani shook and pushed, her face white with the strain.