Renegade Cowboy

by Sara Richardson

  Levi ambled into the kitchen and focused on Naomi. “Ready to start talking logistics?” Maybe they could skate right past whatever had riled them up.

  “What the hell did you do?” Jessa demanded before Naomi could answer. “Seriously, Levi.” She popped out of the chair and marched over to him. “You told Cassidy you wanted a fling?”

  Why did women always feel the need to tell one another everything? You didn’t see him detailing his plans to his brothers, and they were connected by blood. “Wow. You sure didn’t waste time meddling, did you?”

  “What are we supposed to do?” Naomi stood with some difficulty. She braced her hand against the table. “It’s not like we had to drag it out of her. She came to us.”

  Which meant they were coming to him. The beginnings of a headache pulsed in his temples. “She doesn’t want more than a fling right now.” Not with him at least. “I only made the proposition so I could spend time with her. Convince her to give me a shot.”

  “So you’re not planning to sleep with her and move on?” One of Jessa’s eyebrows raised sharply. The woman had the best prying expression he’d ever seen. No wonder his brother never lied to her.

  “Of course I’m not planning to move on.” He did plan to sleep with her though. If that’s what she wanted.

  “Okay, then.” Jessa kept her eyes on him, like she wanted him to know she’d be watching him.

  Yeah, he had no doubt.

  “Then I’ll let you two get your work done.” She finally broke the death stare and walked over to the coat rack near the front door to collect her purse. “I’ll see you later.”

  Naomi followed behind her. She seemed to be moving pretty slow this morning. Hopefully it wasn’t the stress of everything she’d taken on lately.

  “Where are you headed?” he asked Jessa, helping himself to a cup of coffee.

  “To Denver.”

  When he’d first come in, she’d practically incinerated him with all the glaring, but now she refused to look at him. He didn’t get women. “What’s in Denver?”

  “I have some appointments.” Her tone was clipped.

  Naomi gave her a hug. “Keep me posted,” she murmured, likely not wanting him to hear, but those two were louder than they thought.

  “Posted on what?” Levi joined them by the door.

  “Nothing.” Jessa shot a desperate look at Naomi.

  “None of your business,” Naomi said in the nicest possible way.

  “Oh, well pardon me. Since you two make everyone else’s business yours, I thought I had the right too.”

  Surprisingly, Jessa didn’t shoot back a smart-ass comment. She simply turned and walked out the door.

  “What’s going on?” Jessa never missed the chance to spar with him, never let him have the last word.

  “Nothing you need to worry about.” Naomi plodded back to the kitchen table, rubbing her belly with a grimace. “We should get started. We have a lot to talk about.” She was suddenly all business, and while he recognized an effort to distract when he saw it, he also knew she’d never give up Jessa’s secret so he let it go.

  Naomi opened her laptop. “I thought we’d start by going over some options for insurance coverage. I’ve been doing a lot of research.”

  Thank god someone had. He’d been a little preoccupied with Cass lately. Levi sat next to Naomi, and she pulled up a massive spreadsheet. “Wow.” He’d known she’d be the perfect person to help him with the details. He sucked at details. Sucked even worse at spreadsheets. “Damn. I owe you big for this.” Maybe he’d offer to babysit Gracie and the new rug rat overnight so she and Lucas could get away. Or maybe flowers. Flowers would be easier…

  “I loved it,” she said, scrolling through endless rows of numbers. “It’s been the perfect distraction.”

  Over the next hour, they went over supply and insurance costs, coming up with a budget that seemed relatively doable given the short amount of time they had to work with.

  “So by my estimations, we can serve about fifty kids, breaking them up into groups of ten and running them through the different stations,” Naomi said.

  Was it just him or did she sound winded?

  “Fifty’s pretty good.” He’d initially hoped they could include more. He didn’t want to turn anyone away, but maybe they could grow it over time. “So how many additional volunteers do I need to recruit?”

  “Based on state regulations for—” A sharp intake of breath cut her off. Naomi sat straighter and poked her stomach.

  Uh…“You okay?” She definitely seemed to be breathing harder than a normal person.

  “I think so.” She shifted as though trying to get more comfortable. “Anyway, like I was saying, the state requires a ratio of one adult for every fifteen children over the age of five.”

  Levi quit listening and assessed her face. He didn’t like how pale she’d gotten. “You don’t look so good.” Worry churned in his gut. He was starting to not feel so good.

  “It’s nothing. Just muscle cramps, I think.” Naomi exhaled slowly and held a hand at her abdomen, poking and prodding. “I’ve had them off and on all morning.”

  All morning? “Are you sure they’re cramps? Maybe we should call your doctor.” He wasn’t qualified to take care of her. Hell, he’d never even been able to watch an animal give birth on the ranch. When he was eight, their dog had puppies, and he’d passed out cold.

  “No. There’s no reason to call.” She waved him off. “I still have three weeks. I mean, we’re not ready yet. We haven’t finished sorting through all the clothes. I haven’t even bought diapers…”

  “I don’t think the baby cares if you’re ready.” Hello! Had she lost her mind? People had babies early all the time, and he did not want to be the one delivering it. Okay. He blew out a breath. Stay calm. He had to stay calm.

  A gasp punched out of her mouth and turned into a groan. “Oh my god.” She doubled over.

  “Holy shit, Naomi.” He lurched to get to her and knelt by her chair. “Don’t tell me you’re in labor.” His knees threatened to buckle. “Please. You can’t be in labor.” Lucas was in Wyoming for chrissake. And Jessa was gone. It was just the two of them. He didn’t know anything about labor. He couldn’t deliver a baby…

  He shot to his feet. “We need an ambulance.”

  “No! I don’t think it’s labor.” She pushed out of the chair with a staggering effort and started to pace away from him. “I mean, I don’t know. It’s been so long. I had Gracie eleven years ago. And I was eighteen! I don’t remember much…”

  “I’m calling nine-one-one.” Levi felt around his pockets for his phone. Shit. He’d left it in the truck.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Naomi snapped. “You’re not calling anyone. Geez, Levi. Get ahold of yourself. Even if I am in labor, it’ll probably take hours.”

  He blew out a breath, then inhaled deeply. “Really?”

  “With Gracie, I was in labor for eighteen hours.”

  “Oh.” That took the edge off his panic. “Okay. Eighteen hours. Good. That’s good.” That would give him plenty of time to get her settled with a qualified professional and get the hell out of there before he had to see any blood. “Get your shoes on. I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

  Naomi didn’t budge. “I’m not having the baby at the hospital.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “I’m going to a midwifery center in Vail,” she said as though he were an idiot. As though he should know it wasn’t trendy to have a baby in a hospital anymore.

  How was it possible she didn’t already realize that he knew jack shit?

  “It’s a brand-new facility,” she babbled. “Just opened a couple of months ago, and I’ve heard great things about it. Tons of celebrities have had babies there.”

  He didn’t care who’d had a baby there. “We’re not going to Vail. That’s almost a two-hour drive.”

  “It’s all planned out.” Naomi sat on the couch stubbornly. “When I start having
contractions, Lucas and I will grab my suitcase and drive over to Vail. We’ll have plenty of time to get there.”

  “Well, Lucas isn’t here.” And this wasn’t fairy-tale land. “Which means I’m driving and we’re going to the hospital.”

  “You’re not even supposed to go in until the contractions are every five minutes and lasting for—” The sentence ended in a grunt. Naomi wrapped an arm around her midsection and heaved out ragged breaths. “Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod,” she moaned.

  “Ohmygod,” Levi echoed. He stumbled to where she sat hunched over, her body seized in pain. “Come on.” He slipped an arm around her, prodding her to get up and urging her to the door. “Let’s get you into the truck.” At this point, he could get her to the hospital much faster than an ambulance could get all the way out to the ranch.

  “Oh. Ohhhh.” Naomi shuffled along beside him, holding on to him. “Holy fucking shit,” she wheezed. “Why does it hurt so bad?”

  “I don’t know.” His breathing wasn’t any better than hers. “We just have to make it to the truck. Okay?” He urged her on. “Then you can relax.” And he’d try to steady his hands so he could drive.

  Naomi stopped suddenly, a look of horror widening her eyes. Slowly, her gaze moved down to the floor.

  He looked too. A large puddle spread around her feet.

  A hard swallow knotted his throat. “Your water just broke. Didn’t it?”

  “I can’t believe this is happening.” She fisted his shirt. “It was supposed to be this beautiful birth. Calm and serene. Lucas was going to be with me, holding my hand. I was going to play Adele!”

  “It’ll still be beautiful.” He choked out the words. From what he’d seen in health class, there was nothing beautiful about it. In fact, it was messy. And there was blood. Lots of blood.

  His stomach roiled. Fuck it. He swept her up into his arms and hauled ass out the front door. Adrenaline carried him down the steps and across the driveway to his truck. He set her feet on the ground right next to the passenger’s side, fumbling to get the keys out of his pocket.

  “Oh no,” she whimpered. “Oh god, another one’s coming.” She leaned against the truck, her body folding in on itself.

  No way had it been five minutes since the last contraction. Levi held her up with one arm while he ripped open the passenger’s side door with the other. He lifted her into the truck and sprinted to throw himself into the driver’s seat. “Hold on, honey.” He tried to sound soothing, but panic broke through.

  While Naomi curled up on the seat and panted heavily, he gunned the engine and tore down the driveway. Swerving out onto the highway, he dug out his cell phone and called Cass. “Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he yelled into the phone.

  Finally, there was a click. “Hey, Levi. Now’s not a good—”

  “Naomi’s in labor,” he growled. “I’m trying to get her to the hospital, but I don’t know if we’re gonna make it.” They were still twenty minutes away, even though he was driving like a NASCAR racer. “We’re on the highway at mile marker eighty-six…”

  “Wow. Okay.”

  Why the hell did she sound so calm?

  “How far apart are her contractions?”

  He glanced over at Naomi. Once again, she was gasping and swearing. “Not far enough.” He put the phone on speaker.

  “Like a minute? Two minutes?” Cass asked.

  “I don’t know.” He couldn’t even think straight, much less count out the seconds between each contraction.

  “I don’t think they’re a minute apart,” Naomi said, crying. “Oh my god, Cassidy. I’m having this baby. I already feel like I have to push…”

  “No!” Levi’s body broke out into a cold sweat. “No pushing.” This couldn’t be happening…

  “Levi,” Cass said sternly. “Take me off speaker.”

  He did as he was told, trying to focus on the road, his vision threatening to double.

  “You listen to me,” Cass said. “You have to be strong for her. You can do this.”

  “I can’t.” He was pretty much the worst person in the world to do this.

  “You’re all she has.” Cass’s voice soothed. “Now, I need you to pull over. Do you have any blankets in your truck?”

  “Um…ye…yeah…I think so,” he stammered, swerving the truck onto a wide dirt shoulder. “But she can’t have the baby in my truck. I can’t help her with that.” Panic and fear sent the world into a spin. What if something went wrong? What if something happened to the baby? “Shit, Cass, I think I’m gonna pass out.”

  “You can’t. Do you hear me?” Her voice had raised. “I’m coming right now. I can be there in a few minutes. But I need you to find blankets. And water bottles. I need you to help her get comfortable in the backseat.”

  “Okay,” he breathed. “Okay. Blankets. Water bottles.”

  “I’m only a few minutes away,” she assured him. “I’ll call dispatch and be there as soon as I can.”

  The line went dead.

  He cut the engine and dropped the phone on the seat before clawing his way out of the truck. Blankets. Water bottles. He kept both in the locked toolbox in the back of the pickup.

  Somehow he threw himself over the side and into the bed and popped open the box. Quickly, he selected two of the softer blankets and grabbed as many water bottles as he could carry. He jumped back to the ground and then opened the backdoor and threw everything on the floor. Hands shaking, he smoothed one of the blankets onto the seat.

  “Cass’ll be here any second.” He opened the passenger’s side door and leaned in to lift Naomi.

  She clung to him, sobbing. “I can’t do this, Levi,” she cried. “Oh god, it hurts. Why didn’t I want the drugs? Can she bring me some drugs?”

  “I don’t know, honey,” he murmured, settling her on the backseat. Whimpering, she lay down. “We’re gonna do our best for you. Got that?” he said stronger than he felt. “You’re gonna be fine.” She had to be fine.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gas pedal is on the right, genius,” Cassidy muttered to the clueless semi-truck driver in front of her. Even though it was a double yellow line, she swerved around him and floored it— sneaking back into the right lane just as an oncoming SUV honked at her.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She pushed the speedometer as high as it would go. Up on the right, she caught sight of Levi’s truck pulled off on a dirt shoulder, the hazards blinking. She skidded to a stop behind it and somehow managed to kill the engine as she flew out the driver’s side door.

  Levi ran to meet her. “Thank god you’re here.” His tanned skin had paled. Sweat caked his forehead. “I think something’s wrong. She’s in so much pain…”

  “She’ll be fine.” Refusing to consider the alternative, Cassidy jogged alongside him, toting the medical bag she kept in her car for emergencies. “The ambulance should be here in less than ten minutes.” At least it’d better be. She’d told Molly to haul ass.

  Loud cries and gasps came from the backseat of Levi’s extended cab. Cassidy turned to him. “You need to calm her down. I want you to stay right next to her head. That’s your job. Stay next to her and keep her calm.”

  From the sound of things, they were going to deliver this baby, and they had to keep Naomi stable in the process.

  “I’ll try,” Levi’s face turned a ghostly shade of white. He jogged away and opened the door on the other side of the truck.

  Cassidy bolted to Naomi and climbed up on the running board. “I’m here, honey.”

  Her friend lay on the backseat, curled up on her side. “Cass?” she panted. She was pale too. Pale and breathing too fast.

  “Yep. I’m here, and we’re going deliver that baby.” As soon as possible.

  “I don’t want to,” her friend moaned. “Not in a truck. Not on the highway.”

  “The ambulance will be here any minute,” she assured her, pulling on a pair of rubber gloves from her kit. “But I need to check you and see where we’re at.” Another b
lanket lay near Naomi’s feet. She carefully smoothed it over her friend’s lower half. “While I get you undressed, Levi’s gonna help you breathe.” She shot him a glare. “Deep, even breaths. Try to make sure each one lasts at least three seconds.” Judging from the purplish tint to her lips, Naomi was already on the verge of hyperventilating, and she didn’t have any oxygen to give her.

  “Deep, even breaths,” Levi repeated hoarsely. He eased onto his knees next to Naomi and took her hand. “Ready?” He breathed in, lowering his face over hers.

  Naomi nodded, inhaling as though trying to stay with him.

  While Levi coached, Cassidy slipped off her friend’s shoes, pants, and underwear, careful to keep her covered. “I’m just gonna check to see how many centimeters you are,” she said. Not that either of them heard her. Levi was completely focused on Naomi, speaking gently to her while he brushed his hand over her hair.

  “That’s it, honey,” he murmured. “Good job. Keep breathing just like that. You’re doing great.”

  Cassidy shot him an encouraging smile. He was doing great too, considering ten minutes ago he thought he was going to pass out.

  “You might feel some pressure.” She performed a quick check of Naomi’s cervix. Oh. Yeah. Wow. “Ten centimeters.” She shared a look with Levi.

  He seemed to have stopped breathing. Dread flared in his eyes, but Cassidy nodded toward Naomi. He had to help her focus.

  She scanned the highway. No sign of the ambulance. Damn. If only she knew when they’d be there…

  “Ohhhh,” Naomi moaned, writhing in pain. “I have to push, Cass. I have to…”

  “Okay. Then let’s do this.” They couldn’t wait. Not even for five more minutes. She had no way to monitor the baby, to make sure she wasn’t in distress.

  “Will she be okay?” Naomi gasped, raising her head as though looking for the truth in Cassidy’s eyes.

  “She’ll be fine.” This was just another delivery. She’d done several, and only one had gone badly. “But I’d like to deliver her as quickly as possible so the ambulance can take care of her as soon as they get here.”