Maggie Meets Her Match
Page 20
“No, ma’am, ‘fraid I can’t do that. I intend to stay right here, in case Maggie needs me.”
I was in no shape to say much of anythin’, so I stayed where I was, panting and groaning as the pain ebbed and flowed.
“I understand you want to watch over your wife, but that just isn’t the way these things are done,” Abby asserted in her gentle way. “We’ll be sure to run for you should anything—”
“I’m not about to take that chance. I mean to stay here, and nothing either of you can say will change that.”
I could hear the firmness in his voice; I knew he meant every word of what he said, there was nothing they could do.
“Well, I never!” Libby gasped.
“Alright, we don’t have time to squabble right now,” Abby said, putting my arm around her neck and helping me to my feet.
I wobbled as I stood, but Libby quickly steadied me. She might not be happy about my husband watchin’, but I could see she had resigned herself to it. I understood perfectly—I’d known for some time now that Clay wasn’t a man you fussed with. Not without consequences, anyhow.
The women helped me walk around the room, tellin’ stories and trying to make me laugh, just as we had with Libby. When the pains got so close together that I couldn’t hardly move, Clay took Abby’s side and walked with me, murmuring encouraging words in my ear with every step.
I knew it flew in the face of tradition, but I sure was glad to have him by my side. Before I knew it, Abby was tellin’ him to lay me down. I couldn’t talk anymore, I could only gasp and grunt through the pain.
“Push, Maggie,” Abby called out.
I bore down with all my might, feeling something tear inside me. “Aghhh!”
“What’s the matter? What’s happenin’?”
I was in too much pain to reassure my frantic husband.
“Everything’s fine,” Abigail assured him in her soothing way. “This is perfectly natural.”
“And is exactly the reason men shouldn’t—”
“One more word outta you, Libby Swift, and you can leave the room.”
I turned to Clay, letting my eyes plead with him. I couldn’t do this with them fussin’ at one another.
“If you two don’t stop, she’s never goin’ to have this baby,” Abby huffed as though she could read my very thoughts. It was enough to make them both fall silent, and I found myself with three pairs of eyes on me as I pushed and cried with every attempt.
“How long does this normally—”
“Any time now,” Abby said, in a voice that made it clear she wanted him to be quiet. “One or two more, Maggie, and I believe you’ll have done it.”
True to her words, the next I bore down, straining with all my might, a loud, wailing cry pierced through the silence in the room. I felt tears prickle in my eyes and begin to slide down my cheeks as I saw Abby hand our baby to Clay.
“A girl,” he said, in a voice so awed and filled with wonder that I couldn’t think he’d ever wanted anything else.
“She’s beautiful, Mags,” Libby said, lookin’ a mite tearful herself.
“Let’s get you two cleaned up and then we’ll leave you to get properly acquainted.”
I watched as Clay handed our daughter back to Abby; the moment she stepped out of sight, the baby still wailin’ for all she was worth, Clay was kneeling beside me.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m gonna be fine,” I assured him, reaching for his hand.
He quickly clasped mine with his own and gave it a squeeze. “I love you so much, Maggie. You know that, don’t you?”
“I love you, too,” I rasped out.
“Have you thought of any girl names?”
“Maybe… maybe Kathleen, for my mama.”
“That’s a mighty pretty name, sweetheart. We’ll call her Kat for short.”
Just then, Abby came back in the room, cradling my daughter in her arms. Libby had a few wet rags with her and began to mop up the mess I’d left, but I hardly noticed. From the minute Abby laid her in my arms, I couldn’t think of anything else. Nothing else mattered. She was beautiful and perfect in every way and all mine.
“Isn’t she just the prettiest little thing?” Clay cooed.
I smiled up at him, my heart full to bustin’. I’d never seen this paternal side of him and I thought it suited him fine. “Oh, yes. Kat,” I called to her, trying it out. When her blue eyes found mine, I could have melted. Oh, what a thing it was, to be a mother and it seized my heart the instant she looked at me. What a wonderful thing indeed.
The End
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More Stormy Night Books by Dinah McLeod
A Husband’s Duty
Now that she is finished with college, living in a nice house, and married to a handsome and devoted man, life seems to be going quite well for Jessica… except for one thing. Her wounded relationship with her younger sister Beth, torn apart years ago by a dispute over a high school sweetheart, has been allowed to fester for so long that she doubts it can ever be healed.
As much as he loves her, Jonathan is well aware that Jessica can be a stubborn brat from time to time. Fortunately he also knows the proper way to deal with a naughty wife: a good, hard, bare bottom spanking. When Jessica’s estranged sister Beth and her fiancé Zach visit for dinner, Jonathan demands that she treat them with civility and respect. Jessica does neither, and her disobedience and defiance earn her a painful and embarrassing spanking… with Beth and Zach still in the house and hearing every stinging swat.
Jessica’s chastisement is as shocking for Beth as it is for Jessica, and almost before she knows it she finds herself having a conversation she would never have expected with her own fiancé… a conversation that she quickly realizes could eventually lead to her own bottom being bared and firmly spanked.
Will Jessica’s sore backside motivate her to put aside her childish grudge and make amends with her sister, or will it push them further apart? Is Beth prepared to accept discipline when Zach feels it is necessary, or will the subject drive a wedge between them?
Swept Off Her Feet
Twenty-nine years old and still without a husband, Maggie Swift does her best to be happy living on the family ranch. Now that her brothers are both married, however, she cannot help but feel she is being pushed out of her own home by her sisters-in-law… especially Libby. Her brother does his best to keep his bride in line—often with a firm hand applied to her bare bottom—but Maggie cannot seem to reconcile with the beautiful, feisty shopkeepers-daughter.
She has all but resigned herself to miserable spinsterhood, until an absentminded stroll through town leaves her standing unexpectedly in front of a rough-looking saloon. It is there that she is confronted and scolded by the imposing, ruggedly-handsome Clayborn Callahan. Offered a ride with him, Maggie accepts, promising that she will not be missed for a few hours though she knows her brothers will be worried sick.
When her lie is found out, Maggie discovers that her new suitor is more than ready to take her out back and make her cut a switch. In spite of her sore bottom, Maggie feels something for Clayborn that she has ne
ver felt for any man, and she is excited when he asks to come calling again. She wonders, though, if she can be the well-behaved woman he expects, or whether she will find herself over his knee more often than her pride and her tender bottom can handle.
Dinah McLeod Links
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
More Stormy Night Books by Dinah McLeod
Dinah McLeod Links