“Has anyone called an ambulance?” she asked, taking in some badly needed air. She had several reasons for needing it. Of course, the number one reason was Sam Arquette himself. The man was...well...suffocating.
“No, not yet,” Kathy replied.
“Then do it,” Amanda ordered, hurrying forward.
Within a split second of scanning the entire waiting room, Amanda saw Lucy Foreman hunched over in a chair in one corner of the room. Crouched down at Lucy’s feet was Sheré, Amanda’s nurse. She was taking Lucy’s blood pressure.
Amanda hurried over, then bent down in front of her patient. “What’s going on, Lucy?” she asked, trying to evaluate the situation for herself. For the moment, at least, Sam Arquette was nowhere within her immediate thoughts. Still, her pulse was racing from the urgency of the moment—and, regardless of what else she told herself, from the fact that it was him, she knew, who was now standing right behind her, practically breathing down her neck. As a result, chills ran rabid down her spine.
But, regardless of her reaction to Sam Arquette, one thing was becoming perfectly clear to her.
Ready or not, there was a baby on the way, and it looked as though he or she wasn’t planning to wait around very much longer for the rest of the world to figure that out.
“It’s the baby, Dr. Lucas,” Lucy cried out.
“I know, Lucy,” Amanda said in a comforting voice. “But don’t worry. Everything is going to be okay. Where’s Tom?”
Tom was not only Lucy’s husband, but he was also supposed to be her coach during labor.
“At a cattle auction in Freemont Springs,” Lucy replied, tears brimming in her eyes.
Amanda stood and drew in a deep breath. Freemont Springs was almost two hours away from Mason’s Grove. There was no way Tom Foreman could make it back to Mason’s Grove in time to be at his wife’s bedside for the birth of their first child. One thing about babies, they were notorious for ignoring the readiness of others and coming into this old world when they were good and ready.
And, without a doubt, Lucy’s baby was ready.
“I can’t do this without Tom,” Lucy cried out.
“Of course, you can,” Amanda said, giving her patient a warm, reassuring smile. In her experience as an OB doctor, it never failed that when a woman went into labor, the one person she wanted at her side was the man she loved. But sometimes that simply wasn’t possible. She thought of Sabrina Jensen. If Mr. Arquette’s story was true, the young waitress would have to deliver her baby into the world all alone. As a woman, Amanda allowed herself a moment to feel sad for Sabrina; however, as a physician, she knew she had to get a grip and focus on what was happening right now.
“I know you were counting on Tom being here with you,” she said, gazing at Lucy, “but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Just think about it, honey,” she added, her whole manner growing serious, but confident. “You could do this all by yourself if you had to. But, of course, you don’t have to. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
After a moment’s pause, Amanda’s words seemed to sink in, and Lucy nodded in agreement.
Assured in her ability to get her patient through her labor without the added guidance of a labor coach, Amanda moved quickly to get her office ready for the unexpected delivery. Still, she took a moment to give Lucy a reassuring hug.
Turning with the idea of giving her staff additional instructions on what to do next, Amanda was startled to find herself face-to-face with Sam Arquette.
Well, they weren’t exactly face-to-face. It was more like face-to-chest. Her face. His chest. Her eye level was just below the base of his threat—in fact, right above the V opening of his sport shirt. Never in her life had she been so starkly aware of the dark, springy hair that grew on a man’s chest. Not even in med school. He swallowed, and without much upward movement of her eyes, Amanda watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. Her breath lodged in her throat. The whole thing gave her the silliest feeling in the pit of her stomach. Then she lifted her eyes a few inches higher, and wham! They locked with his.
He grinned knowingly, as though somehow he knew about the silly feeling in the pit of her stomach and the breathlessness that was presently making her feel almost light-headed. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.
For some reason, that question was enough to suck out any air that was left in her lungs. If she ever decided to allow herself a naughty moment, there would have been plenty of things she would have liked to have seen him do. But, of course, she never allowed herself such things.
“Uh...” she stammered, mentally shaking herself free of the unconscious hold he had on her. “I need to get Lucy Foreman to one of the examining rooms in the back. Can you help me?”
A cocky, lopsided grin slid up one side of Sam’s face. “I can do better than that,” he said, brushing past her and lifting Lucy into his arms. “I can get her there myself.”
In his sudden move to get to her patient, he had rubbed his arm across Amanda’s breasts. Without actually looking at her, he mumbled an apology.
“Uh—no problem,” Amanda answered.
But, of course, there was a problem.
A big problem.
Her nipples were squeezed tight. And the tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach persisted.
Amanda was rattled, no doubt about it. Still, she refused to accept what was happening to her. She had come too far from her past experience with men to allow some arrogant so-and-so to walk into her world and shake it up.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Amanda straightened her shoulders. “Have you ever done this before, Mr. Arquette?” she asked, adding a slight edge to her voice. It was intentional, of course. She wanted to make sure that the distance she planned to keep from him was well-defined. She only hoped he had gotten her message.
Sam gave her the most incredulous-looking smile. “What—carry a woman?”
Amanda felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She had no idea why she had asked him such a dumb question. Of course, a guy like him had carried a woman before. Plenty of times, no doubt. And straight up to bed, she was more than willing to bet. Nonetheless, determined now to see this moment through, she met his stare evenly. “I was referring to the fact that Lucy’s in labor,” she added for clarification.
The corners of Sam’s mouth twitched up. “Well, now that you mention it, I once came to the rescue of a pregnant woman.” He tightened his hold on Lucy. “But it’s a long story. We probably don’t have time for it right now.”
Lucy groaned.
Amanda felt another wave of heat rise to her face.
“N-no, of course not,” she finally stammered after coming to her senses. Still, she found herself intensely curious about his story—particularly about the pregnant woman. And though she usually minded her own business, she would have liked nothing better in that moment than to have heard its details. “Follow me,” she commanded instead.
“I want Tom with me,” Lucy wailed, wrapping her arms around Sam’s neck.
They reached the nearest examining room. “Place her in here,” Amanda said. Sam entered the room and gently laid Lucy down on the examining table that had been made ready for her just moments ago. Then he stepped back, clearly with the intention of leaving the room.
Reaching out, Lucy grabbed hold of his arm. “Don’t leave me,” she cried. “Please...”
Startled, Sam gaped at her. Finally, he said, “I’m not what you need, Lucy. I’m not a doctor.”
“I don’t care,” she cried out. “Tom’s not here. Please don’t leave me.”
Sam glanced up, his startled gaze meeting Amanda’s. His eyes probed hers and he didn’t blink once during the following few seconds. But finally, unable to deal with the intensity of the moment, Amanda had to look away. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, “If Lucy wants you to stay, that’s fine with me.”
Looking completely bewildered, Sam shook his head from side to side. “Now wait a minute,” he said, his ha
nds perched on his hips. “You’ve got the wrong guy here. That story I mentioned a moment ago had nothing whatsoever to do with delivering any baby. The woman just happened to be pregnant. Period. I don’t know the first thing about women having babies.”
Which was the truth, Sam realized. On both occasions when his girls had been born, he had been out of the country on a mission.
“It’s not all that difficult,” Amanda found herself saying. “All you have to do is tell her when to breathe and when to push.”
Once again, Sam’s eyes met Amanda’s. And, once again, the encounter did strange things to her. Things she would have preferred not to have to recognize. Suddenly, she felt hot all over.
“Is that all there is to it?” he asked.
“That’s it,” she replied breathlessly—and she was completely aggravated with herself for feeling that way.
But, in spite of everything, Amanda had a feeling that Sam Arquette was quite capable of filling in as Lucy’s labor coach. In fact, she had a feeling that he was quite capable of doing anything he put his mind to.
“Well, Mr. Arquette, you’re going to have to hurry and make up your mind on this one,” Amanda stated in no uncertain terms. “As you can see, there isn’t much time. Either you’re in or out. So what’s it going to be?”
It was going to have to be out, Sam told himself. This was one time he was in way over his head.
He sucked in a deep breath and tried to find the right words to explain his decision to the lady-doctor and her patient. Surely once he did, they would understand why he couldn’t be a part of this.
But then Lucy started moaning, again.
And then Sam remembered something.
Something very vital to his nature.
There was no way he could ever live with himself if he turned his back on a woman in need.
He simply wasn’t made that way.
Regardless of the circumstances.
Dammit.
He slipped off his bomber jacket and threw it in a far corner of the room. Then he began rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “Okay, tell me what I have to do,” he said, resigning himself to the inevitable.
Amanda was impressed, both with the man and his decision to stick by Lucy when it was obvious that wasn’t what he really wanted to do. “Stand at her head,” she instructed him. He quickly moved into that position. “Now,” she added, “when I give the word, lift her shoulders slightly off the table and instruct her to push hard. When she isn’t pushing, you want her breathing like this.” She demonstrated the technique. “Got it?”
“Got it,” he replied.
But it wasn’t long before Sam realized that he didn’t have it quite like he thought. Giving birth was a laborious job.
In fact, it was downright exhausting, and he was only the coach. Lucy had to do all the work. Poor woman. If she wasn’t pushing so hard that her face was turning as red as a beet, she was working hard at breathing correctly. Amanda Lucas was the coolest person there. She was in total control. Thank goodness, someone was, he thought.
But Amanda was anything but cool. As a doctor, she was in control of the situation. But as a woman, practically forced into the company of a man she found extremely attractive, she was on fire. Burning up. Nonetheless, this was her moment of glory—her reason for deciding to specialize in prenatal care and delivery. If she couldn’t have children of her own, she would help other women give birth. Somehow, even if it was vicariously, it helped to ease the ache inside of her. Right now was a moment of joy...a moment of complete wonderment.
Amanda’s heart began to pound. “It won’t be long now, Lucy,” she said. “The baby’s crowning.” Then, without actually glancing up at Sam, she added, “Are you all right?”
“Uh—yeah—sure,” Sam replied. “Is the baby coming?”
“Uh-huh...a couple more minutes should do it,” Amanda said.
“That’s it?” he asked in awe.
Amanda gazed up at him momentarily. “You’re doing fine, Mr. Arquette. Hang in there just a few minutes longer. A good way to stay focused is to think of this baby as your child being born.”
“Is it a boy?” he said, grinning. “I always wanted a boy.”
For some silly reason, Amanda’s heart sank to the floor. “Then this should be easy for you.”
“Not as easy as it looks for you.”
“I’ve done this many times, Mr. Arquette,” she reminded him.
At that moment, Lucy gave a loud moan.
Amanda drew in a deep breath. “Come on, Lucy,” she said, turning her total concentration back to her patient. “Give me one more big, hard push, and I promise your baby will be born. Come on, you can do it.”
“Yeah, Lucy, you can do it,” Sam added enthusiastically.
A moment later, with a smile of pure contentment on her face, Amanda assisted as the baby slipped from Lucy’s body and into Amanda’s caring hands. Seconds later, the newborn was crying on his own. “He’s beautiful, Lucy,” Amanda said.
“I wish Tom were here,” Lucy replied in a voice filled with tearful joy.
From the doorway someone announced that the ambulance had just arrived.
The baby was really squalling now. Amanda finished with what she had to do for her patient and then gave the newborn to her nurse who wrapped him in a blanket. Soon the crying infant was in his mother’s arms.
Lucy was crying and laughing while cuddling her baby against her. Sam found himself choked up with emotion, as well. Experiencing a birth firsthand was...well, powerful stuff, even for an ex-soldier who thought he had seen it all.
His eyes met Amanda’s, and she gave him a joyous smile unlike any she had given him thus far. And yet, for just a moment, Sam sensed something very sad in it. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was, but it was there, hidden just beneath the curve of her lips. In more ways than he cared to think about, Amanda Lucas intrigued him.
And, heaven help him, Sam thought, but he had always been a sucker for a good, challenging puzzle.
Amanda’s staff and the ambulance personnel worked together to prepare Lucy and her baby for their trip to the hospital. Lucy thanked Sam again and again, and even said that she and her husband were going to invite him over to their ranch for dinner one night soon. She made Sam promise that he would come.
“I could use a cup of coffee. How about you?” Amanda asked as soon as Lucy and her baby were in the ambulance and on their way, all safe and sound.
“That sounds like a winner,” Sam replied.
She motioned toward a closed door. “You can clean up in there,” she said.
A few minutes later, after rejoining Sam in the hallway, she led him to the coffee room where a fresh pot was done brewing. She had the greatest staff in the world. “Thanks, Kathy,” she said, loud enough for her receptionist to hear.
“You’re welcome,” Kathy replied.
Amanda poured two cups of coffee. “Sugar? Cream?” she asked.
“Black,” he replied.
After giving him his cup and leaning one hip against the counter, Amanda blew on the surface of her coffee. Then, glancing up, she said, “Since it seems I have a moment, I’d like to hear about that story you mentioned earlier.”
Sam frowned. “What story?”
“The one where you rescued a pregnant woman.”
“Oh, that story,” Sam replied:
“Uh-huh,” Amanda said, taking a sip of her coffee. She pretended that her inquiry was simple curiosity—and, in fact, that was all it was, she tried to tell herself.
Sam shrugged. “It really isn’t much of a story. I was in Bosnia some years ago on a mission for the navy. As it turned out, I ran across this woman who had gotten caught in the cross fire of a battle going on near her home. Like I said, she was pregnant. Anyway, I got her to safety. That’s all there was to it.”
“So, you’re a war hero,” she said evenly.
“I can assure you, I’m no hero. I was just doing my job.”
&nb
sp; Amanda’s heart picked up tempo. She wasn’t all that sure she could agree with him on that one. Lucy Foreman certainly thought he was a hero. In any case, Amanda wasn’t about to argue the point with him. “Are you still in the navy?” she asked.
“No. I retired a year ago. Personal reasons,” he said. For a moment, Sam thought about spilling his guts to her, but he decided not to. The busy doctor probably didn’t have time for his problems, anyway. Nor did she want to hear them. “Look,” he said, sighing deeply, “I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind about giving me the information I asked for earlier.”
Amanda immediately stiffened. “No, I haven’t changed my mind.”
Sam placed his empty coffee cup in the sink. “I didn’t think you had,” he replied, giving her a thorough once-over that sent electric jolts down her body.
Amanda knew he was trying to intimidate her—and, frankly, it was working. Her confidence in herself as a doctor was infallible and not even the sexiest grin on his face right now could change that. But for years her confidence in herself as a woman had often stood on shaky ground, and just about any good, strong shakedown—like the one Sam Arquette was presently giving her—was enough to send her emotions into a tailspin. Which was ridiculous of her, she knew. This was the twentieth century, for heaven’s sake. Just because she was infertile didn’t make her any less of a woman.
Right?
Right.
As though Sam sensed it was time for him to make his exit, he shoved himself away from the cabinet and headed for the door. “Well, see you around, Doc,” he said offhandedly.
Amanda released a deep breath. Hadn’t she been counting the seconds until he would leave her office? Why then, she wondered, did she suddenly feel so...so let down. “I doubt it,” she replied stiffly. “I stay busy and don’t get out much.”
He gave a small laugh. “Ouch,” he said, grinning at her. “Is that your way of telling me to get lost? Because if it is, let me assure you, you’ve got my intentions all wrong. I was just being polite.”
Amanda felt her face flush. “Well, let me assure you, if that’s what you think, you’ve got me all wrong. I’m a busy person. I don’t have time for any of this. Thank you for assisting me, Mr. Arquette,” she continued, now in a very formal tone of voice. “But I must get back to my patients. Good day.” She strolled past him and disappeared down the hall.
The Daddy And The Baby Doctor Page 3
