by Taylor Lee
Wyatt whirled on him, his voice harsh. “Worst case?”
“Yes.”
“We will have to go in and take the baby.”
“You mean cut her open?” Wan asked, his face paling further.
“That’s exactly what I mean. Because, Wan, if it comes to that—if we don’t do it—we will lose both Lei and the baby. That is how my wife died. Because I didn’t know enough about Cesareans to save her.”
Wan glared at him. “Do you now?”
“If it makes you feel better, I have read every book I could get my hands on for the last six years to see if there was something I could have done. As it turns out there was.”
Chief broke in. “Wyatt, you’re being unfair to yourself. We didn’t even have sutures then. Vivian could never have survived the way she was bleeding, but Lei can.”
“You’re right, Chief.” Wyatt’s voice shook. Turning away from Wan, he appealed to Chief. “Goddamnit, Chief. Please help me.”
Chief’s voice was firm, “I’m right here, Wyatt. If anyone can do this you can. Do you hear me? And don’t forget that if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have Alex and Elena. Nobody but nobody could have saved those babies but you.”
Wan looked from Wyatt to Chief, terrified to hear what they were saying. His expression revealed the beginning of an understanding of what would have happened if Wyatt hadn’t forced his way in.
Wyatt shook off his fear. “Okay, Chief, let’s get prepared for the worst. What do you have in your bag? Anything you don’t have? Something to knock her out? I have my knives. What about the herbal bath to keep out infections? Carbolic acid? Did you bring sutures? Needle? Okay, if we have to, we can do it.”
He turned to the midwife. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. We have a different way of dealing with births, apparently.”
She sniffed. “We don’t put our hands inside their bodies. They aren’t clean.”
Wyatt looked at her disbelieving; his eyes were cold and hard. Chief again stepped between them. Wyatt said, “Have you ever thought about washing your hands? You’ve got a hell of lot more germs on your hands than Lei has inside her body.”
She stared straight ahead and said in a haughty voice. “We have our ways, you have yours.”
Wyatt felt his anger rising at her dismissive ignorance. “How do you prevent infections? What do you use for pain? Jesus, we’ve been using carbolic acid for ten years and we’ve never had an infection in a horse, much less a person. But yeah, we do get our hands “dirty.” That’s how we know what’s going on. Christ, I’ll bet you’ve never been butt fucked either, right?”
“Wyatt…” Chief put a restraining hand on Wyatt’s shoulder as the midwife stepped back, her face pale with disbelief.
Wyatt’s fury rose. Christ, leave it to Wan to bring in a white midwife. Hell, he probably thought it was a status thing. Hadn’t he ever seen what happens in an American hospital? Damn, no one went there unless they wanted to die of cholera.
Wyatt turned to Wan, his voice harsh, commanding. “Wan, why the hell don’t you have a Chinese-trained midwife? They’re the best in the world. Call the women in your household and find out who has had at least three babies and get a couple of them over here now. Get these people the hell out of here before I throw them out.”
“Wyatt, something is happening.” Lei was standing in the doorway. “I think I am starting labor again.”
Chapter 30
As if a switch had been turned on in his head, Wyatt became the whisperer: competent, fearless and comforting.
“Okay, Princess, that is great because we’re going to see if we can get him to turn while you are having a contraction.”
“Come lay down, sweetheart. I’m going to get you as comfortable as I can. Here’s what we’re going to do. When your contraction starts, I’m going to see if he seems to be moving down. If not, in between contractions, I’m going to see if we can get him to turn. Okay? Now when the contraction starts like it is now you can hold my hands tight—that’s right. Just like that. I’m not going to let go of you.”
Between contractions, Wyatt tried to maneuver the baby’s body by massaging her stomach, but stopped when her contractions increased. Wyatt was surprised by how hard her contractions were. Soon, she was moaning in pain. Her body was covered with sweat. In between contractions, Wyatt wiped her face and body with a cool cloth and gave her sips of water. He murmured comforting words and told her how great she was doing and that it would stop hurting in a minute.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she gave him a shaky smile. “Your mares are lucky, Wyatt. The midwife wouldn’t touch me. When I asked for some water, she wouldn’t give me any. She said she didn’t want me to throw up on her.”
“Bitch! I’ve never understood women who take care of other women when they don’t seem to like them much.”
“You’re right, Wyatt. I don’t think she liked me. I was afraid to tell her how much it hurt.”
“Well, honey, you don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything. I’ll do what I can to make it easier on you.”
He put his hands on her pubic bone in the middle of a fierce contraction and frowned. After three more hard contractions they lightened. As quickly as they had started, the contractions stopped. A frown creased Wyatt’s brow. He exchanged a glance with Chief and shook his head.
Lei saw the expression on his face. “What, Wyatt? I can tell something is wrong.”
“Yeah, honey. I don’t think this route is going to work. The baby is pretty well stuck. Your body is working as hard as it can, but he’s got himself lodged in this bony part here. No matter how hard your contractions are, the baby can’t move down.”
“What does that mean?”
“Lei, do you know what a caesarean birth is?”
“When you cut open my stomach and take the baby out that way.”
“Yeah, honey. That’s what we’re going to need to do. I don’t want you to keep having contractions with nothing happening. That’s hard on the baby and hard on you.”
“Is the baby all right, Wyatt?”
“I’m sure he is now, but it’s not good for him to be in this position any longer. Let me tell you what I am gonna do.”
Chief and Alono immediately started making preparations as Wyatt talked. In soft voices, they directed the two women who had come to help. They showed them how to mix up the disinfectant and the herbal anesthesia Wyatt would use.
Wan was standing off to the side, his face pale, his hands clenched in tight fists. Wyatt looked up and focused on him for the first time.
“Tell you what, Wan, why don’t you come over here and sit in this chair so you can hold Lei’s hand. I want to tell you both what I’m going to do, okay? Where is that brother of yours? Let’s get the whole family in here.”
Ri poked his head in the room from his perch in the hallway. He was blinking hard to keep from crying and was as pale as his father. Wyatt motioned for him to come into the room by the bed.
Keeping his gaze on Lei’s face, he said, “First, honey, we’re gonna move you over to the table so that both Chief and I can reach you. Then, Lei, I’m going to make a cut here down close to this bone here. Feel here? That’s the best place for me to get into your womb with the smallest cut possible. Once I’m inside here, I’m going to make a cut along the side of your womb and take the baby out. Alono and Chief are almost as good with babies as I am, aren’t you? Almost. They will take care of him while I work with you, okay? After we take the baby, then I’m going to sew you up with this.” Chief handed him a needle that had a long suture thread on it.
“Gonna be like darning a sock,” he said with a grin. “You’re lucky Chief made me do that when I was a kid. Never knew how handy it would be. Then I’m going to sew up your tummy. Don’t worry, I’ll make it beautiful. I don’t want anything to spoil this masterpiece,” he said, pointing to her body.
“Now the good thing, Lei, is that you aren’t going to feel any of this. Chief is a master
with herbs and other concoctions. What are you putting in that, Chief?”
Chief gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s a little opium, some narcotic herbs, and some other unpronounceable things.”
Wyatt continued, “The main thing, Lei, is that I want you to go to sleep. I don’t want you to feel the cutting, but I don’t want you to sleep hard. I don’t want the medicine to affect the baby, okay? I tell you that because you might feel some pain. But Alono and Chief are going to hold you the way Joey and Chief did when we fixed your ribs, okay?”
“Wyatt?”
“Yes, Lei.”
“Are you afraid?”
“Yeah, honey. I’m afraid. Kinda the way I feel before I fight an important match. But just like I control my anger before I fight by going to that place I told you about — that’s where I’m going now. That’s where I’m gonna work. Do you want to come there with me? To that place where we both know everything is going to be all right? Okay, honey, let’s do that. Let’s go there together.”
He leaned down and kissed her; first her eyes, then her cheeks, and then her lips. She kissed him back and they held each other for a long moment. “Christ, Princess, I’ve missed this mouth,” he said with a grin running his finger over her lips. Tears welled up in his eyes. He didn’t try to hide them.
“I love you, Lei. I love you more than anything in the world.”
“I love you, Wyatt. I always have and I always will.”
Chief came over and handed Wyatt a glass with an herbal mix.
Wyatt helped her raise her head. “Okay, honey, I want you to drink this. It’s going to make you sleepy. Then we’re going to put this cloth up close to your nose. It has medicine on it. Chief can tell how much you need by how fast you go to sleep, okay?”
She said in a sleepy voice, “Wyatt, will you be okay if it is a girl?”
“Oh yes, honey, as long as she looks like you. But it isn’t. I know it’s a boy. He has come to me several times in dreams.”
Lei smiled and nodded. Within minutes she drifted off to sleep. Wyatt quickly went into a different mode.
“Okay. Let’s get her on the table. We’re going to need to move fast. I will tell you now that I’m worried about the baby. Chief, if you have any trouble getting him to breathe, give him to me and you do what you can to stop Lei’s bleeding.” He motioned to the women Wan had brought in. “You two. You’ve birthed babies, right?” Both women nodded. “Probably not like this, I imagine,” Wyatt said with a grim smile. He continued, “If everything is okay with the baby, I want the two of you to take him, clean him up and make sure he’s warm.”
They nodded.
“Wan, you and Ri can stay if you want. I recommend it because there is no bigger miracle than a new born baby, particularly if it’s your first grandson and your first nephew. But if you would rather wait outside, I’ll call you as soon as the baby is born.”
Ri said, “I want to stay.”
Wan nodded, his face tight with fear.
“If you don’t mind, please stand back over there so Alono can hold her down. Chief is going to help me stop the bleeding as much as we can. I’m going to wash up and then soak my hands in this carbolic acid. Chief soaked everything we’re putting in her body in it. This is how we’re going to keep her from getting an infection. I wasn’t lying when I told that bitch we haven’t had a single infection with our mares. Oh, and by the way, Wan, this is my first Caesarian on a woman. But I have done, what Chief, four so far on mares?”
He stood up and soaked his hands in the carbolic acid while Chief scrubbed Lei’s stomach with the liquid. When they finished Wyatt moved over beside Lei. “Okay, Chief, any time that you want to start that chant, I’m ready to go.”
Chief began to hum, softly chanting a prayer of grace and blessing. Wyatt picked up his knife.
He took a deep breath and made a five inch cut above her pubic bone. “I’m going into the womb now. Get ready. There will be a rush of fluid. It’s going to help keep her clean. How’s her breathing, Alono? Okay, stop with the medication. I don’t want her to have any more until I get the baby out. Okay, here goes.”
Both women stepped forward with towels as Chief instructed.
Wyatt expertly spread the skin from the cut. He cut through the muscle underneath and exposed her womb. Taking another deep breath he made another cut releasing a flood of bloody amniotic fluid. Wyatt reached inside. In a choked voice he said, “Okay, little man, time for you to come out of there.” He pulled out the baby; a tiny blue gray little creature. It was a boy.
“Stop the bleeding, Chief. I need to work on the baby.”
Wyatt held the silent little body up to his face. First reaching a finger in his mouth to clear the airway, he blew in his mouth and nose while pressing softly against his chest. He did this for what seemed like hours, but was less than a minute when they heard a small cry, and then a lustier one.
Tears ran down Wyatt’s face. He kissed the baby and said, “God bless you.”
He tied off the cord connecting the baby to the placenta and then cut the cord. He handed him to Chief who kissed him and held him close to his body. Wyatt looked over his shoulder at Wan who had his head in his hands crying. “I told you, Wan. It’s a fucking miracle.”
Wyatt expertly delivered the placenta then with a large syringe flushed out the cavity and started to stitch up the incision. Chief handed the baby to the women and turned back to help Wyatt. Between the two of them they repeatedly flushed out Lei’s abdominal cavity. When Wyatt gave the word, Chief handed him another needle and suture thread. He carefully closed the incision on her stomach as the blessed sound of the baby’s cries filled the room. Lei’s breathing was slow and regular.
Wyatt stood up and put his arm around Chief who was shaking and crying softly. Wyatt sighed. “We did it, Chief. We fucking did it.”
He embraced Alono, who like Chief, was crying. Wyatt leaned over and kissed Lei on the lips. He held her face and said, “Wake up, Lei. I have something to show you. Wake up soon. Your men need you, Princess.”
He motioned to the women to bring the baby to him. Nodding to Lei, he said, “After Chief finishes bandaging her please wash her body and put warm dry clothes on her. Make her bed comfortable. Alono will carry her back to bed when you are finished.”
He turned with the baby in his arms and walked away from the group. They could hear him murmuring softly. The baby stopped crying and opened his eyes. Wyatt laughed out loud. “Oh, God, Lei is going to kill me. His eyes are as blue as mine. Are you going to be as much trouble as your dad, little man? Hope so!”
He held the baby for several minutes whispering to him. He walked over to Wan and said, “Do you want to hold your grandson?”
Wan’s hands were shaking and his face was pale. He looked at Wyatt uncertainly but Wyatt gave him an encouraging grin. “Hell, Wan, it’s almost as easy as killing someone with your bare hands.”
After everyone had a chance to hold the baby, Wyatt put him next to Lei and crawled in beside them. He said over his shoulder, “Lei will wake up any minute. If you don’t mind, I would like to introduce her to our son, just the three of us.”
EPILOGUE
Nicolas Deshi Chang McManus was an anomaly, at least by Wyoming standards. By historical standards, he represented a racial heritage that had played out many times in the past. Over the centuries, continents and bloodlines were crossed to create a physical combination that must have been much like Nick’s. Only his eyes, straight from Wyatt’s mixed uncertain past, broke the pattern.
If his panoply of physical characteristics was complicated, so was his cultural heritage. Only time would tell if being the grandson of Wan Chang and son of Wyatt McManus would be a blessing or a curse.
Wyatt came from the cottage to a familiar sound. Elena was struggling with the feisty two-year old, imploring him to get dressed. She looked up and saw Wyatt.
“Daddy, Deshi won’t put on his riding clothes. He says he wants to fight more.”
Alex said in exasperation, “Dad, now he won’t wear a shirt. He’s trying to wear a bandana like you.”
Wyatt laughed as the bandana Deshi had tied on his head fell over his eyes and the frustrated child fell to the ground crying.
Wyatt swooped the little boy up in his arms. “Come here, little guy. If you are going to wear this thing, you’re going to have to learn how to tie it. But Elena’s right. Now you need to put on your riding clothes.”
The four of them headed off to the training ring, where Alono was saddling the children’s horses.
Wyatt looked up and saw Lei coming from the barn, leading her Arabian. He handed Deshi to his sister and went to Lei.
He swept her up in his arms and kissed her full on the lips, as if it had been weeks since he had seen her not hours before.
Two days after Nicolas Deshi was born, Wyatt brought Lei and the baby back to the ranch. Closing the door physically on the previous six months, he was determined to wipe out the sadness and horror of her pregnancy. Her recovery was challenging, but Wyatt would have died himself before he let her die.
Day by day, he declared the break from the past to himself and to Lei. In time, the sanctuary that had been Wyatt’s and Vivian’s became his and Lei’s invaded only by the raucous presence of their three children.
When he lifted her up on her horse, she smiled at his solicitousness. “You know you’re hovering, don’t you?”
With a leer, he said, “I’ll show you the difference between loving and hovering tonight when I have you begging for mercy. You got that, honey?”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, Princess, that’s a promise.”
The End
Race for Redemption
Chapter 1
Cheyenne, Wyoming
July 1892
Bernie Catron was dead. He was too young to die. It made you think. In Wyoming politics, it made you think a lot. Bernie had been governor for little more than a year. Damn, you wouldn’t think Bernie could have pissed off anybody bad enough in that short time to make them want to kill him. But the signs were all there. Hell, at least Lincoln got himself shot. It would have been better if Bernie had been shot too. Cleaner, not so many questions. The coroner ruled Bernie died from natural causes. Doc Hanson saw the body. Said it was the first time he heard arsenic poisoning called a natural cause. Doc Hanson reminded anyone who would listen that the coroner was a staunch Democrat.
