by Jaci Burton
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"About two minutes," she replied and then clutched Kyle's hand as a contraction overwhelmed her. Sabrina knelt by the side of the chair and held Jenna's other hand until it passed.
Jenna inhaled deeply as the last of the contraction subsided. "This is gonna be tough, I think."
"Let's get her upstairs," Kyle said as he lifted Jenna easily in his arms.
"Shouldn't we go to the hospital instead?" Sabrina asked.
He shook his head. "Not a chance. Hospital's an hour and a half away. She'll have this baby by then." He motioned to the phone. "Try Luke's cell phone again and see if you can raise him. He needs to know he's about to become a father. And call Jenna's doctor--the number is on the pad by the phone--and let him know what's going on. See what he wants us to do."
She nodded and dialed Luke's number as Kyle carried Jenna upstairs. After several attempts she finally reached him, and he told her excitedly that he and Brady would turn around and head back to the ranch. Sabrina assured him she and Kyle had the situation under control.
Right. Like anyone could control when a baby wanted to be born.
She hoped Kyle knew something about birth, because she was completely clueless. She had a rudimentary understanding of the process, of course, but had never seen one up close. She had a feeling that was going to change tonight.
The next step was contacting Jenna's doctor who acted like having a baby at home was as natural as pouring milk from a bottle. Easy for him to say--he already knew how to do it. He gave her instructions and told her he'd be there as soon as he could but they should be prepared to assist Jenna with the birth since it was unlikely he'd make it in time. He said to call him on his cell phone if Jenna started to push, and he'd talk them through it.
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Trying not to panic, Sabrina hurried upstairs with the list of instructions and found Kyle had put Jenna in what used to be her childhood bedroom. Creamy wallpaper covered with tiny violets surrounded the room. A queen-size, four-poster bed adorned the middle of the room. Kyle had stripped the fluffy purple comforter off the bed and was placing plain white sheets on it.
"All the years I spent in this room growing up, and I never expected I'd deliver my first child in it."
"Would you like me to carry you to your place?"
Jenna shook her head. "Makes me feel closer to Mom to be in this house, you know?"
Kyle nodded and stroked his sister's hair while they exchanged warm glances in memory of their mother.
Then Jenna got busy as another contraction hit her. She forcefully inhaled and exhaled as she stared ahead, gripping Kyle's hand.
He looked at Sabrina, a calm smile on his face as if he were trying to assure her it would all be okay. She smiled and informed them of her conversations with Luke and the doctor.
"Well I guess this baby's coming with or without the daddy or the doctor being present," Jenna said as she panted through yet another difficult contraction.
"They tend to have their own minds when they're ready to be born,"
Kyle said with a smile. "You know how it is, it's just like the cattle. In the middle of a blinding snowstorm they'll drop their calves."
"Oh great," Jenna replied, her sense of humor intact. "Now you're comparing me to a cow."
Kyle and Sabrina both laughed. She wiped Jenna's brow with a wet cloth. She wanted to keep Jenna calm, but inside Sabrina was near panic. She'd never done this before--had never even been around a woman who was pregnant. Despite her assurances to Jenna, she had no idea if things were proceeding smoothly or not.
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"You're doing fine, honey," Kyle said with a soft voice as he held Jenna's hand. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and spoke reassuringly to his sister, helping her through the difficult contractions and reminding her to focus on breathing through the pain.
Kyle glanced at Sabrina, his emerald eyes intense and concentrated.
They were going to do this together.
She gathered the necessary supplies the doctor told her they'd need and continued to work with Kyle to keep his sister calm. Her labor was proceeding rapidly and soon Jenna was soaked in sweat and preparing to bear down and deliver her child.
Kyle instructed Sabrina to sit next to Jenna while he prepared to deliver the baby. He told her this was old hat to him, having seen his brother and sister born when he was no more than a child himself, as well as hundreds of cattle and horses.
Sabrina wiped Jenna's brow and helped her focus on breathing as instructed by Dr. Maynard. Jenna appeared to be handling everything, talking and laughing in between contractions. Sabrina hoped she could handle it as well as the mother-to-be, and prayed she wouldn't pass out when the time came.
It seemed like they were at it for hours but it was actually less than a half-hour when Jenna announced she had to push. Kyle calmly told Sabrina to get the doctor on the phone and help Jenna sit up so she could press through the contractions.
She relayed the doctor's instructions to Kyle as Jenna strained to push the baby out.
It didn't take long at all before Kyle shouted, "I see the baby's head!
Push again at the next contraction, Jenna. Hard."
Sabrina supported Jenna's back as she inhaled and pushed.
"Ok, Jenn, you're doing fine. The baby's head's out. Just one more deep breath and push and we should have a baby."
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Jenna took a breath and forced it out as she pushed her child into the world with one hell of a yell of pain.
"Here it is," Kyle said excitedly as he held up a wet, squealing baby in his hands. "It's a boy." Kyle followed the doctor's instructions and laid the baby on Jenna's stomach.
Tears rolled down Jenna's face as she gingerly grasped her baby's tiny fingers. "He's perfect," she said as she laughed and touched her son.
He was red and wrinkled and squalling loud and long.
Sabrina had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life as the screaming bundle of creation before her. Her heart beat so fast she thought she might faint. The sight of new life before her touched her like a magical spell, and she sat in the chair with unabashed tears streaming down her cheeks.
"That he is." Kyle wiped his sister's dampened hair and kissed her forehead. "Good job, sis," he said with a smile.
Jenna held her son, her face beaming with the glow of new motherhood.
Pangs of want and desire hit her with such a force it took her breath away. Seeing Jenna hold a baby in her arms awakened what she had missed all these years, what she would never experience herself. She forced the feelings inside. Nothing was going to spoil Jenna's moment.
Now was not the time for her to feel sorry for herself.
Kyle turned his gaze to Sabrina, his face glowing with joy and a hint of moisture in his eyes. She smiled back, feeling closer than ever to him.
Dr. Maynard finally arrived and after inspecting both Jenna and the baby pronounced them fit and healthy.
"Women have babies at home all the time, dear," Doctor Maynard said to Sabrina. A kindly man in his early sixties, he had a full face and a cheerful smile. His bedside manner was definitely more along the lines of a country doctor than a big city one. He laughed and joked with Jenna
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and Sabrina, tickled the baby's feet and told Kyle he made a damn fine doctor.
No sooner had Dr. Maynard left than the door downstairs slammed open and heavy feet pounded quickly up the stairs. Luke raced into the room and skidded to a halt as he saw his wife holding their newborn son.
Brady followed behind but lingered in the doorway, grinning widely at his sister.
"Here's your son," Jenna said proudly as she gently lifted the baby into her husband's waiting hands.
Luke's hands were as big as the rest of him, making the infant look like a tiny ball in his massive arms. Then suddenly the big mountain of
a man broke down and cried as he held his child for the first time.
Sabrina and Kyle left the new parents alone to bond with their baby.
Brady claimed exhaustion from the day and the whirlwind trip and went to bed since he had to get back on the road early in the morning.
There was no way Sabrina would be able to sleep yet. She was too wound up, adrenaline still pumping through her system.
Kyle must have felt the same way because he followed her downstairs.
She stood in the middle of the kitchen, her arms wrapped around herself, and stared out the window at the moonlight. What a night it had been.
"Thank you," Kyle said as he stopped behind her.
"For what?"
"For helping me tonight. For helping Jenna. You did a great job keeping her calm."
"I had no idea what I was doing up there. Frankly I was scared to death. I'd never seen a baby born before."
"Well you couldn't tell," he said in a low voice as he laid his hands on her shoulders. "You did great."
"Thanks."
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They stood like that for a moment, both of them staring out the large window of the dark kitchen. Kyle's hands continued to rest on her shoulders. She was finally starting to come down from the adrenaline high of Jenna's birth. Her anxious jitters were replaced by a restlessness she couldn't name, but she knew it had something to do with the warm male standing behind her.
"How about a drive?"
She nodded. "That sounds fine. I could use a little fresh air."
"I'm going to clean up a bit. Meet me outside in about fifteen minutes."
Sabrina freshened up too, then they got in the truck and Kyle headed down the dirt road leading further onto the Rocking M property.
During the past few weeks she'd seen much of the Rocking M, but not all. Although typically ranchers drove their trucks to the outlying areas of their properties, Kyle wanted Sabrina to grow more comfortable riding a horse so he had been limiting their excursions around the property to areas they could reach on horseback.
In the darkness she was disoriented. The full moon shone brightly in the sky, but no other light was available as they headed further and further into the woody area of the ranch. Tall oak trees lined the side of the road, obstructing any view of what lay behind them.
"Where are we going?" They had driven in silence for almost thirty minutes, Sabrina assuming Kyle was as deep in thought about the events of the day as she.
"There's a place I've been wanting to show you, but it's not reachable by horse so I haven't had a chance yet." He glanced at her. "You don't mind the ride, do you?"
She shook her head. "Not at all." The night was beautiful, the moon full, the weather quite warm. The truck's windows were rolled down and the leisurely pace blew a balmy breeze against her hair and face. Sabrina inhaled the scent of night, of dirt and wooded forest. Cicadas hummed
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their songs of the evening, their rhythmic pulses hypnotic. She finally began to release the tensions of the day.
"So what kind of place are we going to?" she asked.
He smiled. "You'll see. It's kind of special and I think you'll like it."
They came to an off road and Kyle turned the truck and headed over dirt and rocks. The road was full of severe jolting bumps and sharp curves. It couldn't even be called a road, in her opinion--really little more than a narrow path in the heavily forested woods. She hoped Kyle knew the way back because she didn't see him throwing breadcrumbs out the truck windows to map their trail.
He halted the truck at the end of the road, turned off the lights and opened his door. He grabbed a bag from behind his seat and came around to her side of the truck.
"It's pretty dark out here. Take my hand so you don't fall."
She grasped his hand and he led her from the truck down a narrow pathway between a crop of trees so tall they momentarily obstructed the moon overhead, plunging them into total darkness. She held on tight to Kyle's hand, knowing if she let go she'd be lost.
They finally reached the end of the long row of trees, and she couldn't suppress her gasp as the forest opened up before her.
The moon was so full it shone like midday, its light casting a luminescent sheen over the expansive lake centered in the middle of a clearing. Majestic oak trees surrounded them on all sides, and grass grew from the edge of the trees to the bank of the lake. Scattered throughout the grassy areas were hundreds upon hundreds of lavender wildflowers, popping up like silver-tinged rainbows across the valley of green.
Sabrina laid her hand on her heart, emotionally struck at the raw beauty of this secluded Eden. The trees stood so tall it seemed as if she and Kyle were completely isolated. The rich, thick grass felt lush under her tennis shoes, and she longed to kick them off and feel the cool blades
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tickle her feet. Not a sound could be heard except for the trees rustling in the slight warm breeze.
"What do you think?" Kyle whispered behind her.
She turned to look at him. "I've never seen anything so spectacular.
Doesn't it take your breath away?"
He shook his head. "No, you take my breath away. You should see your face."
She tilted her head. "What's wrong with my face?"
"Nothing," he said as he laughed. He picked up a curl of hair that had come loose from her ponytail and played with it, sliding it over his fingers. "It glows in the moonlight. You have a child's wonder in your eyes, like you've never seen anything like this before."
"I haven't. I've never seen a place so beautiful."
"And I've never seen a woman so beautiful."
Her heart soared and her breath hitched at his words. "Thank you."
"I thought we'd spread a blanket out, have a drink and look at the moon. If that's okay with you."
Wow. Now this she hadn't expected. It was almost like a...date. "I'd love to."
He opened the bag he brought from the truck and spread the blanket near the water's edge. Then he produced a bottle of wine, an opener, and two plastic cups. She giggled at the disposable plastic glasses. Mark would have had an apoplectic fit if she'd tried to serve wine in anything less than fine crystal.
"What's so funny?" Kyle asked as he fit the corkscrew into the bottle, popping the cork out easily.
"I was just thinking how different my life is now compared to a year ago."
He handed a glass of white wine to her, and she sipped it as she sat on the blanket.
"How different?"
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She kicked off her tennis shoes and wiggled her toes in the thick carpet of grass, sighing as the cool blades caressed the bottom of her feet. "Just different," she said. "I don't know. Like this impromptu picnic.
Mark never would have thought of something like this. Everything was planned, each day had an agenda. In his world, spontaneity was nonexistent."
"Too bad for him," Kyle replied as he sipped his wine. He sat on the blanket next to her, one leg stretched out in front of him. "Spontaneity makes life exciting, don't you think?"
"I wouldn't know," she replied absently. The reflection of the moon over the lake looked like a woman's waving silver hair undulating on the surface of the water. "Is the water warm?" she asked as she turned to Kyle.
He shrugged as he sipped his wine, the hint of a smile hidden behind the cup. "Don't know. Why don't you go stick your toes in it and find out?"
"Okay." She rose, glass in hand, and walked the few steps to the water's edge. Although summer was fast approaching, she knew there hadn't been enough days of warm weather to heat the water yet, so Sabrina expected it to be ice cold. Sliding one big toe gingerly in the lake, she turned to Kyle and exclaimed, "It's warm!"
He nodded and grinned. "Lake's fed by hot springs underground.
That's part of the attraction of this place. A big warm bathtub."
"Want to take a dip?"
She whirled and almost lost her balance as Kyle spoke behind her.
He grabbed her arms to keep her from falling.
"How do you do that?" she asked as she steadied herself in his grasp.
"Do what?"
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"Sneak up on me all the time. I never hear you."
"I think it's because you're so often lost in thought, like you were just then." He turned her to face him. "What were you thinking about?"
She looked again at the water. "I was thinking of this lake as a big hot tub and had this sudden urge to take a dip."
"Let's do it then." He let her go and walked toward the blanket, slipping off his boots and socks.
"Do what?"
"Take a swim in the lake." He started to unbutton his shirt.
Sabrina's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"
He reached the last button and pulled the shirt off his shoulders. His naked torso glistened in the moonlight, the dark burnished curls on his chest glowing bronze. "I'm going with your suggestion, Sabrina."
"What suggestion?"
"To go skinny dipping." He stood there waiting for her. "Are you going to take your clothes off or are you planning to swim in jeans and a T-shirt?"
Skinny dipping? That would mean... Good Lord he was unbuttoning his pants. He expected her to swim naked with him!
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Chapter Eleven
Kyle laughed at the shocked expression on Sabrina's face. "What?
You've never gone skinny dipping before?"
She shook her head furiously. "No."
"You wanted new experiences didn't you?"
She nodded mutely.
"Independence, freedom, make your own choices? That kind of thing?"
"Yeah, I guess."
He stepped toward her, placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. God her eyes were beautiful. So full of wonder, so much innocence reflected in their amber depths.
"Sabrina, what do you want to do?" She opened her mouth to speak but his finger on her lips stilled her. "Don't think about the way your life used to be, think about what you want now. From your heart, what do you want to do?"
She pondered and he watched her expression change from
uncertainty to determination. "I want to go swimming in the moonlight.
