“Sarah, I really appreciate your coming for Rose. Please don’t let anything happen to her,” Travis said fretfully.
“I’ll do everything I can to help her,” Sarah replied. “Now I better get up there and see my patient.”
“Okay. I’ll give you a few moments alone with her before I come up.”
“Thanks.”
Sarah hurried up the stairs and down the hallway to Travis and Rose’s bedroom. She opened the door just as Rose had a contraction.
“Oh, Sarah, I thought you’d never get here,” Rose said, grasping onto the bed sheets until her knuckles turned white.
“Don’t hold your breath, Rose. Pant until the pain passes,” Sarah instructed. Dropping her medical bag in a nearby rocker and coming around the bed, she took Rose’s hand. The woman squeezed her hand.
After the contraction had passed, Sarah asked Rose, “When did the pains start?”
“I don’t know. My back has been hurting since yesterday, but the hard pains didn’t start until after my water broke.”
“Lie back and let me examine you, Rose,” Sarah instructed. When Rose complied, she quickly examined the young woman. “Looks like we’ll have a baby before morning.”
“It’ll take that long?”
“I don’t know for certain; but you’re not ready, and first babies generally are slow in making their appearance.” Sarah washed her hands in a bowl of water, dried them quickly and then came around to the side of the bed.
“Let’s get you up and walking. Not only will that speed up the baby coming, but it’s better for you. When you feel a pain coming on, grab the bedpost and hang on. Tell me so that I can help you. We’re going to do this together. Okay?”
“Yes. Travis was the one who insisted I get into bed”
Sarah shook her head and smiled. “Goes to show you how much men know about babies. But I must admit your husband is pretty nervous.”
“It’s because he has no control over the situation.” Rose gave a nervous laugh just as another contraction hit her. “Oh, my God. What have I done? I’m about to become a mother. I’ve never even been around babies much.”
Sarah shook her head, laughing at the woman. “It’s a little late to back out now. You’ll do fine. Come on, let’s start walking.”
***
The closer they got to the ranch, the more Tucker yelled at the horses, pushing them to their limits. After he received Sarah’s note, he had found his mother shopping at Pearl’s, and together they were hurrying to the ranch.
“Son, slow this wagon down before you kill us both,” Eugenia cried. “I’m just as anxious to get there as you are, but I doubt this baby will be born in the next hour. Believe me, I’ve waited a long time for this child. Nothing is going to stop me from being there when it’s born."
Reluctantly, Tucker pulled on the reins, slowing the animals. “I just want to make sure that Rose and Travis are okay and that Sarah got there all right I worry about her riding to the ranch by herself.”
“Sarah knows how to take care of herself. She’ll be fine. Travis is a concern. After all, this is his first child.” Eugenia sighed. “I remember your father was beside himself until Travis was born. Actually, he was frightened during all three deliveries, until each one of you kids arrived. I do miss him, especially at times like these.”
Tucker sent his mother a fleeting look, surprised at this sudden insight into his father. “I never thought Papa got excited about much of anything.”
“Your father was not one for showing his emotions—kind of like you boys are—but he loved each and every one of you. And he was excited about each baby that came along.”
“I guess I never saw that side of him since I was the youngest.”
“No. But he was more excited when you were born than probably all the rest” She paused “I lost two babies before we had you, and we were afraid there weren’t going to be any more children for us.”
Tucker turned and stared at his mother, seeing tears in the comers of her eyes.
“It just about killed your father to have to bury those babies. Your papa was a loving father, who made you kids mind because he wanted you to grow up to be strong-minded adults who are honest and hardworking men he could be proud of.”
Cottonwood trees lined the road their new spring leaves bright and shiny in the late afternoon sun. Tucker paid them little mind as he thought of his father burying two babies. He shuddered as he realized that all three of them had become strong-minded stubborn adults who worked hard to take care of each other.
Yet his father had never accepted him not working on the ranch. He had always wanted him to be more like Travis, handier with a rope and branding iron than a gun.
“I guess I was a disappointment to him, since I ran off and became a gunfighter. But I wanted to see the world I didn’t want to work on a ranch all my life, like my brothers. I wanted some independence.” Eugenia laughed “Oh, Tucker, you were never a disappointment to him. In fact, you are probably more like him than the other two. Your papa wasn’t always a rancher. Before I met him, he didn’t want to settle down. He dreamed of coming to Texas and starting the ranch, but not with a wife. He wasn’t going to marry.”
Tucker chuckled. “I guess his boys aren’t much different, are they, Mother?”
“Not in the least.”
The ranch came into view, and Tucker couldn’t help but feel a sigh of relief at the sight of the old homestead sitting on the hill.
The sun was setting low on the horizon, casting shadows in the yard of the big house as they pulled up front. Tanner and Beth’s wagon was parked out front along with one of the stock horses that he knew was used around the ranch.
Eugenia scrambled out of the wagon and up the steps of the front porch before Tucker could stop her. He secured the brake on the wagon and then jumped down. Glancing up, he saw Sarah standing at the window of Rose and Travis’s bedroom.
She was here. Somehow just looking at her, knowing what she was doing for his brother and Rose, gave Tucker a warm feeling. Sarah was a fine woman in every sense. She was smart, kindhearted and loving, responsive and fun.
And he could marry her if he could just release his heart and give up his dreams.
But his dreams had been his for so very long, and though at times he wanted to give in and give her his name, he couldn’t let go of everything he had ever wanted. And those plans didn’t include a wife and child.
***
Travis slowly opened the door and watched his wife pacing the length of the bedroom in her nightgown. Her big belly preceded her as she walked the floor, her hand on her back.
Sarah stood at the window, glancing out at the countryside.
“Tucker and Eugenia just arrived,” she said.
“You know, Eugenia really likes you, Sarah,” Rose said, her facial expression suddenly changing. “Here comes another one.”
“Grab onto the bedpost. Don’t forget to breathe.”
Travis stepped into the bedroom. “Shouldn’t she be in bed?” he asked, going to Rose’s side, slipping his arm around Rose as she clutched the bedpost, her face tightening with pain.
“She’s doing just fine, Travis,” Sarah reassured him. “Breathe, Rose.”
“I am,” she said between gritted teeth.
Travis felt almost faint as he watched his wife and saw her belly contracting beneath her nightgown.
“Don’t you want to fie down, honey?” he asked nervously.
She turned and gave him a look that was clearly irritated. “Travis, I feel better up walking, rather than lying there in that damn bed hurting. Why don’t you go downstairs and tell your mother and Tucker what’s going on?”
“But I’d rather be here with you,” he said.
Rose gasped as the pain intensified. “Mon Cul.”
“Oh honey, don’t start cursing in French.”
“Couillion!” Rose said, between gritted teeth. “I’ll talk any way I want to. Now—go—downstairs.”
Sarah walked to
Rose’s side and put her hand on her belly. “It’s okay, Rose. Travis, I think it would be a good idea for you to see to your mother and Tucker.” Rose gripped the bedpost, her face turning red. “Breathe, Rose,” Sarah admonished, as she laid her hand on Travis’s arm and gently led him to the bedroom door. “I’ll call you if anything new develops. Births can take twelve to twenty-four hours, and we’re just getting started, so don’t panic. It’s probably going to be a long night”
Travis watched as Sarah shut the door in his face, the image of Rose breathing hard and panting frozen in his mind. He was scared as he slowly walked down the stairs. His baby was about to be born and suddenly he was frightened for his wife and child.
Dear God, please don't let anything happen to her, he prayed. How could she take this for twelve to twenty-four hours?
At the bottom of the steps he glanced up to see his entire family awaiting him. His mother stepped forward and took his hands in hers.
“How’s Rose?” she asked.
He shrugged. “She’s in pain, but Sarah seems to think it’s going to be a while.”
“Babies come when they’re ready and not before,” his mother reassured. “Just think of when your mares foal. It usually takes a while.”
“Yeah, but it’s different. This is Rose,” he said, worried.
“Come on,” Tanner said. “Our job as your brothers is to take you into the parlor and get you drunk.”
“I don’t want to drink,” Travis said, glancing back up the stairs. “I have to be alert in case Rose needs me.”
“Well, I’ll fix us some coffee at the very least,” Beth said, going into the kitchen. “If it’s going to be a long night, we’re going to need something to keep us awake.”
“Come on, son, let’s all sit in the parlor and wait for Sarah to let us know what’s going on. Once an hour, one of us women will go up there and check on Rose.”
“Thanks, Mother,” Travis said, sort of stumbling toward the parlor in a state of shock.
He was about to become a father. The woman who had disrupted his orderly world, changed his life for the better and shown him the real meaning of the word “love,” her life was in danger all because of him.
For the second time that night, Travis sent up a prayer. Please don’t let anything happen to Rose.
***
Midnight had come and gone. Lucas had been in bed for a long time now, and Sarah missed kissing him good night. She stretched, tired, knowing that Rose was exhausted, worry beginning to nag at her. Rose’s labor had been long and hard, and Sarah didn’t know how much longer her strength could hold out. The pains were getting closer and closer.
Time seemed suspended, and the world was centered in this room, waiting for this child to be born.
Rose groaned, the sound eerie in the night. “Sarah, I’ve got to push.”
“Wait.”
Sarah lifted up the sheet and checked Rose again. She gave the woman a smile of relief. “We’re almost there, Rose. You’re ready.”
“Thank God,” Rose said in a low whisper, drawing shallow breaths, getting ready for the next pain.
“You should start feeling the need to push. At the next pain—”
“I’ve—got—to—push—now.”
“Chin down. Go ahead, push, Rose.”
Sarah sat at Rose’s bottom, waiting for the appearance of the baby’s head. Rose strained as hard as she could, but nothing happened.
Sarah jumped up and ran to the bedroom door. She yelled down the stairs. “Eugenia, I need your assistance.”
Eugenia bounded up the stairs. “What’s wrong?”
Rose was panting when Eugenia came into the room. She started to cry. “I can’t do this anymore, Sarah. I just can’t.”
“I need you to help Rose. Hold her up in a sitting position so that when she pushes, the baby will come out.”
Sarah tried to soothe her patient’s fears. “Yes, you can. We’re almost there. In just a few moments your baby is going to be born. Eugenia’s going to lift you up in the bed and help you. Together we’ll help this baby be born.”
Eugenia got behind her daughter-in-law and crooned softly to her. “Come on, you can do this. I’m going to help you.”
“Okay, on the next pain . . .”
“Oh, God, here it comes. . . .”
“Push, Rose,” Sarah demanded.
“I am—”
Sarah felt a thrill as she saw the crown of the tiny head. “Push, Rose. I can see the head.”
Rose took a deep breath and then gave a mighty push that turned her face a brilliant red.
Sarah saw something around the neck of the baby. “Stop pushing. Pant,” Sarah cried. Sarah gently unwound the cord from around the infant’s head. “Okay, now push.”
In a matter of moments she pulled the infant from Rose’s body.
“It’s a girl!” Sarah cried excitedly.
She wiped the mucus from the child’s mouth and nose and checked on the little girl’s breathing. The baby lay limply in her arms, her skin a bluish gray, not kicking or crying, not even breathing.
Fear shot through Sarah, and she wiped the infant’s face and mouth once again and patted the baby’s back.
Nothing. No response from the child.
“What’s wrong?” Eugenia asked, her voice strained.
“Sarah?” Rose questioned, her voice cracking.
Sarah didn’t reply, but now pounded on the baby’s back. She put her lips on the infant’s mouth and forced air into the baby’s lungs and then pounded again on the child’s back. The infant drew a deep breath and gave a wail of protest. Sarah released a sigh of relief.
She wanted to laugh; she wanted to cry at the sight of the little girl’s face scrunched up in a wail, furious at her entrance to the world.
The baby began to move her arms and feet as if suddenly realizing she was no longer cramped. She screamed and wailed, her eyes tightly shut, her fists curled, and with relief Sarah watched the color of her skin change from blue to pink.
Sarah turned to Rose and held up the crying infant. “Rose, you have a daughter.”
Rose, who had been lying spent, turned her face toward the wailing infant and held out her arms. “A girl? Let me see her.”
Sarah tied off the umbilical cord and then with a snip cut the link between mother and child and then handed the wet, slippery infant to her mother. The baby stopped crying and opened her eyes, blinking them rapidly in the dim lantern light.
Eugenia started to cry as she reached out and ran her finger down the infant’s skin. “A little girl. Oh, my. I always wanted a daughter, and now I have a granddaughter. My first grandchild.”
Sarah couldn’t look at the woman. Eugenia had a grandson she knew nothing about.
While Rose and her daughter were getting acquainted, Sarah delivered the afterbirth and cleaned up the new mother. She covered the tired woman and tidied up the room.
“I better go get your husband. I know he’s worried.”
She stepped to the door.
“Sarah?” Rose called. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Sarah said, and stepped outside. The shakes began the moment she stepped out of room and started down the stairs. By the time she had reached the parlor, her knees were knocking so badly she could hardly stand. This always happened after a birth, especially a dramatic one where the baby was in danger. No matter how many times she delivered a baby, each birth was unique, and she knew she would soon fall apart.
She pulled herself together just as Travis spotted her and ran to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Rose is resting. Your mother is with her and the baby.”
“She had the baby?” he asked, shocked. “It’s over?”
Sarah smiled and patted him on the arm. “Go up and see your wife and child.”
“What did she have?”
“Go up and see your wife. I’ll let her show you your child.”
“Is Rose okay?”
�
��Rose is tired, but she’s fine. Now go see the two of them.”
Travis ran out of the room and raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. When Sarah heard the bedroom door close, she turned to the waiting group of people in the parlor.
“Rose delivered a little girl about fifteen minutes ago. Mother and baby are both fine.”
There was a collective sigh at her announcement, and then everyone started talking at once. It was as if they had been silently waiting for the news for hours and only now were allowed to talk.
A few minutes later, Eugenia came down the stairs, wiping her eyes, and joined the family in the parlor. “I wanted to give the three of them some time alone. She’s just beautiful.”
“How’s Travis?” Tanner asked. “I was worried he wasn’t going to make it through the night.”
Eugenia laughed. “He came in asking about his son, and Rose said, ‘I told you it was a girl.’ But he wasn’t disappointed in the least. Just happy they were both fine.”
“And Rose?” Beth asked. “Sarah told us she’s tired, but she’s okay?”
“She’s exhausted. But Sarah is a great doctor. I was so afraid when the baby wouldn’t start breathing. But Sarah saved her. She kept working on her, even breathing in the baby’s mouth trying to get her to take her first breath. And she did. She finally started crying, and I swear that was the most blessed sound I’ve ever heard.”
Eugenia gave Sarah a quick hug and had to wipe her eyes again. “Thank you, Sarah.”
Sarah shook her head. “We were lucky. It could easily have been so much worse. Now, if you’ll excuse me for a moment, it’s been a long night I’d like a breath of fresh air.”
Sarah walked through the house and out the front door, needing some time alone to calm her shattered nerves. No matter how many babies she delivered, they always filled her with awe, leaving her completely drained both physically and emotionally whenever the birth was over.
But this time she had been frightened when the child wouldn’t breathe. She walked over to the swing, sat down, put her face in her hands and let the tears fall. Barely a minute had passed before the swing rocked, and she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her as Tucker gently pulled her into his arms.
“Shh! It’s okay. Rose is safe, and the baby is going to be fine.”
The Marshal Takes A Bride Page 22
