Heart of Texas Vol. 3

by Debbie Macomber

  Finally Amy could stand it no longer and lifted the lid.

  She gasped.

  The robe was stunning, beautiful beyond anything she’d ever owned. She put the lid aside and reached for the robe and held it against her. Burying her face in it, she felt surrounded by Wade’s love.

  She heard Dovie’s car just then, surprised it had taken her so little time. Amy glanced out the window and, sure enough, saw Dovie parked in her driveway. She waved, grabbed a sweater and hurried out the front door, map in hand.

  “You ready?” she asked.

  “Ready, willing and able,” Dovie said with a conspiratorial grin.

  Dovie drove while Amy navigated. The instructions were clear and it wasn’t difficult to find the spot where Nell said to turn off the highway. The terrain was rough after that, but Dovie drove slowly and cautiously, winding around one hill and then another for what seemed forever.

  Luckily a number of other cars had followed the same route in recent months, and their tires had worn a narrow path in the hard ground. It seemed incredible to Amy that anyone had ever found this place. They followed the route as far as it took them and stopped by a high limestone ledge.

  “This is where the path ends,” Dovie said.

  Amy continued to study the map. “Nell says we’ll need to go on foot from here.”

  “Down there?” Dovie questioned, sounding unsure.

  “Yup,” Amy confirmed. She opened the car door and climbed out, then walked to the edge of the limestone outcropping. Nestled in a small valley below was Bitter End. She saw stone and wood structures lining both sides of a main street. A church with a burned-out steeple and fenced graveyard stood at the other end. A corral and livery stable. A two-story hotel. From this distance, the buildings looked intact, as though the years had stood still. Amy sucked in her breath and glanced over her shoulder for Dovie. The older woman came to stand beside her.

  “My goodness,” she whispered.

  The sight was oddly impressive, Amy had to admit. “Let’s go see it up close,” she said, reaching for Dovie’s hand.

  Dovie hesitated, studying the rock-strewn descent. “Amy, do you really think we should?”

  “I haven’t come this far to stop now.”

  “I know. Should you be climbing down this bluff in your condition?”

  “Probably not.”

  “But you’re going to do it, anyway?”

  Amy nodded. “We’ll help each other.”

  “If you’ resure,” Dovie said and slipped her arm through Amy’s.

  The trek down wasn’t easy. Not with Amy this close to her due date, and Dovie unaccustomed to this type of activity. But they took it slow and easy. Still, by the time they reached the town, both were breathless from exertion and excitement.

  “Wow. We’re really here,” Amy said, taking her first tentative steps into the town.

  Dovie’s grip tightened on Amy’s arm. “Frank would have a conniption if he could see us.”

  “Let’s check it out,” Amy said.

  “I don’t think it’s safe to actually go inside any of the buildings, do you?”

  “The stone ones look pretty solid,” Amy said, surveying the street. This was an absolutely remarkable experience. She couldn’t believe she was actually in Bitter End…and only wished Wade was here, too.

  Together they explored from one end of town to the other. They identified the old tree and after some investigation found the word cursed, which had been carved into the wood more than a century ago.

  “This takes my breath away,” Amy said, marveling anew as she traced the letters with her fingertip.

  Dovie explained the curse. “I don’t think anyone would have understood how this all came about if it wasn’t for Nell and Travis. They were the ones to unravel the mystery.”

  “It’s so…” Amy couldn’t think of the right word.

  “Barren,” Dovie supplied.

  “Exactly.” Nothing grew in Bitter End. The town and everything around it had died. Bitter End had once held such promise…

  Her thoughts skidded to a halt. Her relationship with Wade had been filled with promise, too, but that was dead now, too, like this town. Stop it, she told herself. That’s a ridiculous comparison. She was annoyed by her self-indulgence and embarrassed that she’d been so melodramatic. Wade deserved better from her. If only he was here…

  As if in protest the baby moved. The pain was fast, sharp, sudden. “Ooh,” she said involuntarily, wrapping her arms around her stomach.

  “Amy?” Dovie’s voice rose with concern.

  “The baby just kicked,” she said, making light of it.

  “You’re not in labor, are you?”

  “No…no. It’s three weeks yet. There’s nothing to worry about.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than warm liquid gushed from between her legs.

  Her water had broken.

  “Amy, what’s happening?”

  She heard the panic in Dovie’s voice and reached out to take the other woman’s hand. “We have a small problem here,” she admitted in a shaky voice. “It looks like no one told Sarah she wasn’t due for another three weeks.”

  “Your water broke?” Dovie asked. “Are you in pain?”

  “It’s not too bad.” Amy was more frightened than anything.

  “Let’s not panic,” Dovie advised although her voice was shrill with nerves. She carefully led Amy to the rocking chair outside the hotel and sat her down. “Let’s think this through.”

  “All right,” Amy said, clinging to Dovie’s hand.

  “Frank. I should call Frank.” She said this as if it were divine inspiration.

  “What about Dr. Jane?”

  “He can phone her,” Dovie said. “For now, it’s more important that you be comfortable and relaxed.”

  Amy clasped her abdomen. “I’ll be fine as soon as…as soon as this pain passes.” She closed her eyes, taking a deep calming breath. After a moment she opened her eyes again to find Dovie gazing at her, lines of worry between her eyes.

  “Frank will have my head,” she muttered as she punched out the number on the small cell phone and waited. It seemed an eternity before Frank answered. Amy watched Dovie’s expression as she explained the situation, then saw her eyes widen. She held the phone away from her ear as Frank’s voice gained volume.

  “You can yell at me later, Frank Hennessey, but right now there are more important concerns.”

  The conversation between the two continued, but Amy concentrated on timing her contractions and heard little more of what was said. Dovie started pacing. She’d been off the phone only a minute before it rang, the sound cutting through the still afternoon like a fire alarm. Dovie answered immediately and talked for several minutes.

  “That was Dr. Jane,” she said when she finished, “but I lost her. My phone’s dead. Frank knows exactly where we are, though. He’ll see to everything.”

  Amy was in the middle of a contraction and she closed her eyes, counting the seconds the way she’d learned in class.

  “Are you all right?” Dovie asked.

  “The pains,” Amy whispered.

  “They’re bad?”

  “I didn’t think they were supposed to be this intense right away.”

  Dovie squatted down beside her. “Not to worry. We’ll get you to the hospital in Brewster in no time.”

  “I’m not ready! There’s so much to do yet,” Amy protested, more confused than frightened. She’d assumed she had three weeks. When she awoke that morning, she’d felt better—physically—than she had in days. But not emotionally. That afternoon she’d experienced almost a compulsion for physical activity. She’d hoped that exploring Bitter End would be an interesting distraction.

  Like so much else lately, her adventure had backfired.

  “Everything’s going to be fine,” Dovie murmured.

  “I know. It’s just that I shouldn’t be here…. Oh, Dovie, how could I have been this foolish?”

  “We bot
h were, but everything’s going to be fine,” she said again. “Frank’s on his way and he’ll get you to the hospital in plenty of time.”

  “Thank you,” Amy whispered. She closed her eyes to keep her thoughts focused on what was happening to her and the baby. She tried to remember everything she’d learned in the birthing classes, her breathing exercises and the importance of remaining calm and composed. It had all sounded manageable when she was in class; reality was a different matter. She knew she dared not climb back up the steep incline to the car. With her water broken, it could be dangerous for the baby.

  Dovie comforted her and counted with her, encouraging her to breathe through contractions.

  Finally, what seemed hours later, she heard the sound of someone approaching.

  “Thank God,” Dovie said. “It’s Frank. And Wade.”

  “Wade?” Amy’s eyes flew open. “You knew he was coming, didn’t you?” she accused.

  “Frank couldn’t have kept him away,” she said, pleading forgiveness with her eyes. “He was with Frank when I phoned.” Dovie regarded her expectantly as if seeking absolution for not telling her earlier.

  “It’s all right,” Amy said. In truth she was glad he was there. She was afraid and, heaven help her, she needed him at her side.

  Wade raced down the hill and into town well ahead of Frank, slowing down only when he reached the hotel steps. His eyes searched hers, his love visible enough that her chest tightened with pain.

  “How are you?” he asked.

  She smiled. “I’ve been better.”

  He clasped her hand in his and kissed her fingers. “I’m coming with you to Brewster. Please don’t say no, Amy.”

  She smiled weakly and nodded. He knelt down in front of her, brushing the hair from her temples.

  “Sarah’s doing great, I think,” she said, gripping his hand.

  “What about you? What’s the pain like?”

  “Like nothing I can describe.”

  A contraction took hold of her just then and she drew in a deep breath and bit her lower lip. “Oh, Wade,” she gasped.

  Her hand tensed in his. She didn’t mean to be so dependent on him, but now that he was here, she couldn’t help it. She needed him. “Count,” she instructed. “Please count.”

  “One, two, three…”

  “Slower.”

  “One…two…three…” He continued until he’d reached twenty and she told him to stop.

  She took several big breaths and opened her eyes. “The pains are much more intense than I expected.” If they were this strong now, she couldn’t imagine what they’d be like later.

  “Let’s get her to the car,” Frank suggested.

  “I’m ready,” Amy said, and the two men helped her stand. Dovie stepped back and watched, her face taut with concern.

  They’d gone only a few feet when another contraction ripped through her, nearly doubling her over. She moaned and clutched her stomach.

  “Stop!” Dovie shouted.

  “Stop?” Frank repeated, then stared at Dovie. “What’s happening?”

  “We aren’t going to make it to the Brewster hospital in time, not with her contractions two minutes apart.”

  “What do you mean?” Wade demanded, although her words were perfectly clear.

  Frank Hennessey studied him with a shocked white face. “Tell me, Preacher, how much do you know about delivering a baby?”

  CHAPTER 10

  SHERIFF HENNESSEY COULDN’T have called at a worse time. Max Jordan’s pacemaker had gone haywire, and Jane dared not leave him, so she’d sent Frank on to Bitter End with specific instructions to phone the clinic as soon as they arrived in Brewster. The rest of her afternoon had been hectic, with the phone ringing off the hook. When she’d finished sewing up Wiley Rogers’s sliced thumb and setting Walt Wilson’s broken leg, she sorted through the messages and realized she hadn’t heard back from Frank.

  She was about to call Brewster Memorial to check when Ellie burst through the door.

  “Is it true?” Ellie asked, her face bright with excitement as she hurried into Jane’s office.

  “If you’re asking about Amy, yes, it’s true,” Jane said. She stood in front of her file cabinet and slipped a chart back into place. She felt a rush of excitement herself. “Amy’s about to have her baby. It turns out she went into labor in Bitter End.”

  “Why didn’t somebody tell me sooner?” Ellie demanded. “Every tongue in Promise is wagging, and I’m the last person to hear what’s happening with my own employee.” Disgruntled, she flopped down on the chair and stretched out her legs.

  “How’d you find out?” Jane asked, curious. The nuances of small-town life continued to fascinate her. Having been born and raised in Southern California, she never failed to be astonished at the lightning-quick way word traveled in Promise.

  “George.”

  “Who told George?” Jane asked, shaking her head in wonder.

  “Pete Hadley, who heard from Denise down at the bowling alley. According to Pete, Denise has a real soft spot for Amy.”

  A lot of people had a soft spot for Amy, Jane reflected. The young mother-to-be had captured the town’s heart. Sunday, when Wade had stood before the congregation and asked for a vote of confidence, the people had given him their overwhelming approval. But their votes hadn’t been cast for Wade alone. They were showing support and approval for Amy, as well.

  Jane suspected there was even some sneaking admiration over the fact that he’d been defending her against the likes of Lyle Whitehouse. Given the circumstances, a lot of the men in the congregation would have done the same thing.

  She didn’t think Lyle would be showing his face round town anymore. Billy, the owner of Billy D’s Tavern, had suggested the ranch hand take his business elsewhere. Feelings ran high when it came to looking after one of their own. Wade McMillen was highly respected, and folks tended to feel protective toward Amy, too.

  “You know who’s kind of a gossip?” Ellie said, waggling her eyebrows as if this was an interesting tidbit of information.

  “You mean other than you?” Jane teased.

  “Me!” Ellie pointed to her chest in mock outrage. “I’m the picture of discretion.”

  “If you say so.” Struggling to hold in a smile, Jane closed the file drawer and waited. “Well, don’t keep me in suspense. Who?”

  “Martha Kerns.”

  “The church secretary?” Jane had trouble believing it.

  “How else do you think word got around so fast?”

  “Hold on here,” Jane said, stopping her sister-in-law. “What’s Martha got to do with any of this?”

  “She was working in the church office when Wade suddenly rushed in and said he was leaving with Sheriff Hennessey.”

  “Okay, got you,” Jane said. It made sense now. Wade had told Martha and word had spread from there. She opened the small refrigerator in her office and removed two bottles of spring water, holding one out to Ellie. “No caffeine,” she said.

  “Thanks.” Ellie reached for it, popped open the top and sank back into her chair. “Do you think Amy’s having a boy or a girl?” she asked after a moment of silence.

  “Girl,” Jane predicted. “After a while a doctor gets a feel for these things. A sixth sense.”

  “Really?” Ellie sounded impressed.

  Jane hadn’t a clue which sex Amy’s baby was, and as for any measure of shrewd intuition, well, that was a joke. She didn’t think she’d be able to carry on this nonsense much longer and abruptly changed the subject. “Have you told Glen you’re pregnant yet?”

  Ellie leaned forward and set the bottle on Jane’s desk.

  “From that grin on your face, I’d say he knows.”

  “He does.”

  “And he’s happy?”

  Ellie giggled. “You’d think he was the first man ever to get a woman pregnant. All this strutting around the house like a rooster.”

  Jane shook her head. That sounded just like her brother
-in-law.

  Although Cal and Glen were brothers, their personalities were vastly different. Jane’s husband was quieter, more intense than his fun-loving brother. When she got pregnant herself and the time came for her to tell him, she could predict Cal’s reaction. He’d grow quiet, and then he’d gather her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her. He’d pamper and spoil her, and they’d spend long quiet hours making plans for their baby. Glen might pamper Ellie, too, but he’d joke boastfully about it and be sure folks knew what a great husband he was. His high energy and good humor would make him a wonderful father.

  “We’re telling Mary and Phil tomorrow night,” Ellie said.

  “They’ll be so thrilled.” Jane took a long swallow of her drink. “If this keeps up, Promise is going to have a population explosion,” she said. First Savannah Smith, then Caroline, Amy and now Ellie. She knew from talking to Nell that she and Travis hoped to add to their family, too. It’d been ten years since Nell had given birth to Emma, but Jane could find no reason for her to experience any difficulty in getting pregnant again.

  “Twins run in my family,” Ellie said absently.

  Jane couldn’t help smiling. She could just imagine how her brother-in-law would react to twins.

  “Do you think Amy might have had the baby by now?” Ellie asked. She leaned forward, anxious to hear the latest word.

  “I was about to phone Brewster Memorial when you arrived,” Jane told her.

  “Go ahead. I’d love to be the one to give George the update.”