Babies And Badges (American Baby)

by Laura Marie Altom

  “Again,” he said, keeping one eye on her and the other on the baby. Instinctively, he pushed her legs wider. “Push, Cassie, push. Come on, you can do it.”

  “Easy for you to say!” she snapped.

  “That’s right, darlin’—give me hell. Come on, I can take it! Give all men hell—especially your husband!”

  “I—I’m—arggghhh—not married! I d-don’t need a man!”

  “Great, then I’ll head back to town and grab a beer.”

  “No,” she said through another grimace. “I do need you.”

  “Good,” he said, eyes welling at the miracle unfolding before him. “Because a truckload of TNT couldn’t tear me away from this spot. Push, darlin’, push!”

  “I’m trying!”

  “Try harder!”

  “I am—arrrrgggghhhhh!”

  “Oh my God, I’m holding its head. Just a little more. A little mooorre. Got it. Oh my God,” he said laughing through his tears. “It’s a girl. You had a beautiful baby girl, Cassie!”

  With his pinkie finger, he cleared the baby’s mouth, and when the tiny, redheaded dream cut loose with a wail every bit as powerful as one of her momma’s, with his spare hand he managed to spread a towel across Cassie’s tummy before presenting her with her child—cord and all, which he planned on letting the paramedics cut.

  Cassie’s fiery hair hung in damp tendrils, and her complexion was misty with sweat, but never, in all of his days, had Noah seen a more beautiful, downright mesmerizing sight.

  Then that gorgeous face of hers once again scrunched with pain.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “The baby’s here.”

  “A-another one,” she said with more pants. “Twins. Oh God, help me, please help me,” she said, writhing her head from side to side, still clutching her baby girl. “Noooo, something’s not right. It hurts—oh, it hurts!”

  Heart hammering, Noah looked between her legs and not since seven years earlier on the night of that accident had he experienced such terror. Instead of a head, he saw a toe.

  Sweet, merciful Heaven, why?

  Okay, Noah…think.

  Growing up in rural Arkansas, he had a lot of friends who’d lived on farms. He’d seen breech births with cattle—even a horse, but…

  Okay, only difference is size. Sort of.

  “It hurts, Noah! It hurts…” Cassie’s agonized cries turned to racking sobs.

  No. Not again.

  Please Lord, don’t let this be another night like that one on Blue Springs Road. I couldn’t bear it. It wouldn’t be right. That woman hadn’t deserved to die, and You wouldn’t let me save her. Just like Cassie, she’d had kids—a family.

  Sure, Noah’s friends had told him a hundred times over he hadn’t been to blame, but by God, he’d been the one on the scene and he’d been the one holding her when she’d asked him to tell her husband and kids she loved them.

  Too many times in his life, he’d been unable to fix things. It happened over and over in his job, then there’d been the messy breakup with Kelsey. Way before that, his folks’ crappy marriage—or for that matter, his own. Not a damned one of those situations had he been able to fix. But this one…

  With a light shake of his head, he told himself no. This wasn’t going to be a replay of that night.

  No one was taking this woman and her babies from him—not even almighty God Himself!

  Fumbling across Cassie’s still rounded belly, he felt the baby’s head, and said, “I’m not gonna lie. This is probably—well, hell, there’s no probably about it—this is gonna hurt real bad, and I’m sorry, but there’s no other way.”

  Teeth gritted, she nodded, but her fire was gone, and her cries had faded to whimpers.

  “Stay with me,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut, frantically trying to remember that cheesy emergency labor video he and the guys laughingly winced their way through. Teeth gritted, he said a hundred more prayers in his head, then felt for one tiny foot, then the other, and gently tugged the baby by his or her ankles.

  “Please don’t let my baby die!”

  “Nobody’s dying here,” he said. “Push!”

  “I can’t! I’m so tired.”

  “Push, dammit! Nobody’s dying on my watch! I’m responsible for you—all of you. You hear me? Nobody’s dyin’ today! Now push!”

  “I caaaaaan’t!”

  “That’s it! I’ve got this little princess’s behind. Come on, Cassie, give me all you got!”

  Thankfully, she did, and he rotated the infant’s trunk to get one arm. Another slight rotation earned him another.

  “Come on, Cass! You’re almost there!”

  “Arrrrggghhh!” In one last superhuman effort, she pushed and the baby’s head popped out.

  Noah trembled so hard he feared dropping the second baby girl, but he held tight, reaching for another towel that he could hardly see through his tears.

  He cleared the baby’s mouth, and when she cried, he cried and started shaking all the harder. “You had another girl, darlin’. You did it.”

  Clutching both babies close, Cassie cast him a luminous smile before saying, “We did it. Thank you.”

  Bracing himself against the truck’s frame, Noah shook his head and smiled.

  Hot damn, what a rush.

  Chapter Two

  Cassie Tremont opened her eyes just enough to see hazy morning sun silhouetting one of the most handsome, kind and concerned faces she’d ever seen.

  Noah.

  Her savior. Her babies’ savior.

  Fast asleep in an orange vinyl guest chair he’d pulled to the head of her hospital bed. If only she’d come across a guy like him before meeting Tom, maybe her life would’ve turned out differently.

  Maybe she’d even still believe in happy endings, because she wouldn’t have had her dreams twice shattered by grim-faced company representatives standing at her front door. What were the odds of first, Tri-Comm reps telling her when she’d been just eight years old that her father had died of a heart attack while on the corporate jet. Sorry. We’re so sorry. Then later, years later, Jubilee Cruise Lines reps telling her that not only had Tom, her husband, died, but he’d died on holiday with another woman. A woman who’d claimed to also be his wife! We can only imagine your pain.

  Tom hadn’t even been in the right country. He’d told Cassie he was on a business trip to London. In reality, he’d been on a Caribbean cruise when he and his legal wife—a woman named Felicity—died in a freak diving accident.

  The day Cassie had found out she was carrying twins, she’d been so happy—they’d been so happy. Tom had held her hand during the ultrasound, kissing the tips of her fingers, telling her she looked beautiful and was going to make the best mom in the world. His loving touch combined with the fierce love she already felt for the tiny miracles growing deep within her had made her teary with joy.

  Even though the doctor warned Cassie that multiple births meant multiple risks, she hadn’t cared. The only thing that mattered was that she and her beloved husband would soon have not one baby to love, but two.

  She’d been twelve weeks pregnant when her world crashed around her. Tom’s death had been hard enough to take, but hearing that their whole life together had been a lie—that was almost worse than knowing he was dead.

  She’d been with Tom since college.

  The night of her twenty-first birthday, when she’d taken legal possession of the millions her father left, Tom had proposed. She’d been so dewy-eyed with adoration for him, she’d taken his words of love at face value.

  After all, why would he say he loved her if he didn’t?

  Little did she know, he’d been living a double life.

  With another wife.

  Another house, car and cat.

  How many times had she wished Tom were still alive? Not so she could hug him or kiss him or tell him how much she missed him, but so she could have the satisfaction of telling him how much she hated his guts!

  Since the day sh
e’d discovered the depth of Tom’s deceptions, Cassie had immersed herself in the everyday running of her interior design firm. Her best friend and co-worker, Chloe, was constantly telling her to slow down, reminding her that she didn’t have to work.

  To which Cassie replied, no, she didn’t have to work. She needed to. For if she slowed for even one second to think about all the laughs Tom and this Felicity woman must’ve had at her expense, she’d surely go stark raving mad!

  For five idyllic years, she’d played house, while all that time Tom had been playing her for a fool!

  Looking back on the past months, and especially the past week, from the perspective one gained after an uncomfortably close brush with death, Cassie guessed she should’ve paid closer attention when her doctor told her not to go on a business trip so close to her due date.

  But since Tom’s death, Cassie prided herself on controlling everything.

  Guess in this case, Mother Nature got the last laugh.

  Eyeing Noah again, she yawned. Not because anything about him was remotely boring, but because something about just having him here with her in the room filled her with an uncharacteristic feeling of peace. One she hadn’t felt since the last time she’d fallen asleep in his arms.

  NOAH LOOKED UP when the door to Cassie’s room burst open and a nurse wheeled in a baby on a cart.

  “How’s our mommy doing?” the heavyset woman asked.

  “Still pretty out of it.”

  “That’s to be expected,” she said, making a clucking sound that matched the baby ducks splashed all over her yellow surgical scrubs. “She had a rough delivery, but she’ll be fine now.” Leaving the clear plastic bassinet with the baby near the sink, the nurse washed her hands before bustling over to the bed. “Ms. Tremont, I know you’re still tired, but your babies need breakfast. We’ve been in touch with your OB/GYN in Little Rock and she said you’re planning on breastfeeding?”

  Eyes closed, the weary patient nodded.

  “Okay, then, I’m sorry to do this, but you have to wake up.” The nurse lightly shook Cassie’s shoulder.

  “B-but…” Cass licked her dry lips, and Noah reached for the tube of Chapstick he’d bought her in the hospital gift shop, gliding some on. With the tip of her tongue, she traced his balmy line.

  Noah swallowed hard.

  How come Cassie merely licking her lips had resulted in immediate below-the-belt action?

  Sleep. Had to be lack of sleep.

  Only possible explanation.

  “It’s okay, darlin’,” he finally found the air to say, holding her left hand while speaking into her thick hair. “Time to rise and shine.”

  “Do I have to?”

  The nurse laughed. “You can’t imagine how many of my new mommies say the same thing. Come on now, Ms. Tremont, time to wake up. Your adorable babies need their first meal.”

  “Maybe Cass needs something to eat?” Noah suggested.

  “She’ll be fine,” the nurse said with a sharp, authoritarian tone.

  Well, excuse me for asking. Checking that his tiny princess hadn’t been frightened by the nurse’s bark, Noah eyed his baby girl. Lucky for Nurse Nasty she contentedly continued her nap.

  “Most of our new mommies are a little out of it, but Ms. Tremont, here, had an extra tough time.”

  “Tell me about it,” he said under his breath.

  “You the father?”

  “No, I—”

  “Well, then, you’ll have to leave. Patient privacy and all.”

  “I don’t think so.” With me gone, who’s gonna keep an eye on you, Nurse Nasty?

  “Please, sir. Ms. Tremont really does need to get on with the business of mothering. While nursing is a natural, beautiful part of that process, the patient will undoubtedly want her privacy.” The nurse handed a pink bundle to Cass.

  Nursing? Noah scratched his head. What was this woman talking about? Cassie couldn’t even get out of bed. How was she going to—oh.

  That kind of nursing.

  The kind with babies and breasts.

  I’m outta here!

  Noah leaned over the bed rail to kiss Cassie’s forehead, then the baby’s. “I’ll uh, be around,” he said, giving Cassie’s hand a final squeeze. “Just holler if you need me. Not that you will. I mean, I’m sure you can handle this on your own. But you know how—”

  “I know,” she said, wide eyes glowing from the intensity of her adorable sleepy grin. “Go on. Get. I’ll be fine.”

  Sure, she’d be fine, but what about him?

  Those spur-of-the-moment kisses had been a mistake!

  Cassie’s grin had him all hot and cold and maybe even dizzy. And all of that was before he’d made the mistake of kissing her baby! The kid smelled confusing. Like sweetness and innocence and baby lotion and shampoo. But then underlying that was Cass’s exotic oriental perfume—that spicy, musky, sexy, sultry storm of mixed signals designed for no good reason other than landing him in serious bachelor trouble.

  Okay, deep breaths.

  There’s nothing to be alarmed about.

  He hadn’t slept in what? Like eighteen hours? Surely lack of sleep was bound to mess with a guy’s head?

  “Noah?” Cassie asked, voice ripe with concern. “Are you okay? All of a sudden you don’t look so good.”

  “Sure…I’m, ah, great.” He swallowed hard, ran his fingers around the already loose collar of the dress shirt he had yet to change out of. “Probably just need some shut-eye.”

  “Of course, you do. Poor thing, you’ve been here all night. I’m fine. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep?”

  Great idea!

  While Cassie was still recovering, honor would never permit him to leave her of his own free will. But since Nurse Nasty was still giving him the evil eye, and Cassie had told him to leave, and not to mention the fact that she was about to bare her breasts, Noah made a final round of kisses, then high-tailed it out of the room.

  “THAT’S QUITE A MAN you’ve got there,” the nurse said to Cassie while making a note on her chart.

  “Thanks, but Noah’s not my man. He’s my guardian angel.”

  And speaking of angels…

  The sleeping angel Cassie held in her arms took her breath away. Had there ever been a more beautiful sight?

  Apple-blossom-pink cheeks and a tiny scrunched nose. And that shock of red curls! Guess those old wives’ tales about heartburn had been right!

  Emotion swelling, Cassie blinked back tears.

  For the miracle she now held in her arms, every bit of the anguish she’d been through over Tom had been worth it.

  Not only was she alive, but she was holding her very much alive baby in her arms, with another perfect baby waiting in line for her breakfast, as well.

  And just think, she had this double blessing and her own life all because of Noah. Though the actual delivery of her babies had become a blur, he was the one thing about her ordeal that she’d never forget. His soothing voice, and the way he’d held her hand, urging her not to give up.

  Starting at the still-warm spot on her forehead where Noah had planted his tender kiss, a quiet contentment crept through her.

  “Given any thought to names?” the nurse asked, reading the card on a pink carnation bouquet.

  Of course. Since Tom’s death, Cassie planned her days down to the minute, and since the end of her second trimester she’d known the girls would be named Rachel, after her mother, and Ruth, after her grandmother, but now…

  Now she wasn’t so sure.

  “Was this baby born first?” Cassie asked, gazing at the infant in her arms.

  The nurse nodded, reading the cards on lilac and then peach roses.

  “Then she’ll be Noelle.”

  The nosy nurse smiled and nodded approvingly. “And her sister?”

  “I don’t know.” Cassie grinned, skimming her finger along Noelle’s tiny strawberry-blond brows. “I think I’ll just dream up something when I meet her.”

  Noell
e woke with a start, scrunching her mouth into a full-blown squall.

  “I take it that means she’s hungry?”

  The nurse nodded before talking Cassie through the breastfeeding procedure.

  Far from what the many books Cassie had read on nursing had told her, there was nothing simple about it! Still, after a few rough starts, by the time the nurse brought in Cassie’s second baby, then left mother and daughter on their own, Cassie felt like an old pro.

  Now that her latest diner had eaten her fill, then promptly fallen back to sleep, Cassie took her time memorizing her dear face—not hard since she looked exactly like her sister!

  “What should I name you?” she asked, smoothing her hand over her second daughter’s silken crown.

  A knock sounded on the door, and Cassie looked up. “Come in.”

  “Hey. How’s it going? Everyone decent?” Noah popped his head around the edge of the oversized door.

  “Hi,” Cassie said, unprepared for the rush of warmth flooding her system on hearing his voice—let alone meeting his warm, brown gaze and easy smile.

  “Hi.” The paper rustling of shopping bags bursting with gifts preceded him into the room.

  “What in the world?”

  He dumped his purchases on the room’s spare bed. “Thought you and the girls might need a few things.” Out came matching Malibu Barbies and tea sets and stuffed bunnies and ducks and rattles and teething key rings and pink, purple and yellow dresses with ruffled skirts bigger than both babies combined.

  “A few things?” Cassie laughed. “Noah, from the looks of it you’ve got the girls set up with enough gear to last them from infancy straight through to college.”

  Drawing the guest chair away from the window to the head of her bed, he shrugged. “I figure what can it hurt to plan ahead?”

  While he sat, she grinned. “Tea sets, Noah? They can’t even sit up.”

  “What can I say? They were on sale.”

  His easy smile stole any further protests she might have launched. And then his expression turned strangely serious. Leaning forward, he reached for her closest hand, enfolding it in his.

  She swallowed hard, willing her pulse to slow.

  “I’m so glad you and the girls are out of the woods,” he said. “I know all of these presents must seem like overkill, but I’m just so damned relieved.”