It wasn’t good to be alone. She’d learned that when her mother had died and even more these past months she’d been pregnant. That was one of the reasons she’d decided to come out here with Lonnie Corteen. Because she hadn’t felt so alone when she was with him. And because he’d offered her the hope of having a family. Not a family with him. But a family with the Ketchums. She had to keep reminding herself of that. Otherwise she was headed for a heartache she might not ever get over.
Several minutes later, Lonnie appeared in the room with a plate of food and a cup of coffee. Katherine sat on the side of the bed, and he dragged up the wooden chair and placed the small meal in front of her. There were a few other people, like Althea, who cared for her well-being, but it just wasn’t the same as it was coming from this man with his bashful, sexy smile.
“We just ate at Amarillo, Lonnie. I really didn’t need anything else. And I could have gone to the kitchen. There’s no need for you to wait on me like I’m a queen or something,” she protested.
“I’m not treating you like a queen. Just a pregnant woman.” He stood at the edge of the bed and peered at her closely. “Katherine, you don’t look so good to me. Are you sure you’re all right?”
The concern in his voice brought a lump to her throat, but she did her best to smile at him. “Other than being tired, I have a few twinges in my back. But I’m sure it’s from all that riding today. And I know the baby is fine. He’s moving around like a kick boxer. Here, feel.” She reached for Lonnie’s hand and placed it palm down on the lower portion of her stomach.
His eyes widened as the movement of the baby rippled beneath his fingers. “Hey, that’s something,” he murmured. “What does it feel like to you? Does it hurt?”
A wan smile tilted her lips. “No. Not unless he really gets to pushing, and then it gets uncomfortable.”
Her eyes met his, and he realized he’d gone on touching her for far longer than necessary. But she didn’t seemed to be objecting, and his fingers lingered for a few seconds more before he slowly eased his hand away from her belly and stepped back from the bed.
“You, uh, still keep calling the baby a he,” Lonnie said as he tried to hide the sudden awkwardness he felt at being so personal with her. “You really are convinced it’s a boy.”
Katherine smiled impishly. “Yes. But if I’m wrong, I’d take a girl, too.”
“I’ll just bet you would.” And so would he, Lonnie thought. He’d love to have a daughter and a son. Maybe even three or four kids. He’d grown up without any parents or siblings and during that time he’d vowed he was going to make up for it by having a big family of his own someday. But then he’d gotten old enough to realize he needed a wife for such things and coming by one of those wasn’t easy. Not if a man did it right. And after his fiasco with Ginger he wasn’t at all sure he could ever get it right.
Katherine’s eyelids began to droop, and he decided he’d lingered in her room long enough. On his way to the door he said, “I’m going to get myself a bite to eat and head for bed. If you need anything I’ll be right across the hall.”
“Thank you, Lonnie. Good night.”
He paused on the threshold and glanced back at her. Katherine smiled tiredly at him and he wondered how she could be so pleasant with him after he’d put her through such a trying trip. Most women would have been howling mad.
“Good night, Katherine. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She’d see him in the morning. Somehow knowing that made her bone-deep weariness seem only like a little discomfort and as he closed the door behind him, Katherine realized she’d made a big mistake coming out here to West Texas. She was falling for a man she couldn’t have.
Someone was calling his name, but who? It was a woman’s soft voice and it sounded sweetly familiar, like a pleasant song he often hummed.
“Lonnie! Are you awake?”
Sitting upright in the bed, Lonnie searched the shadows of the room until he spotted Katherine’s silhouette moving in the open doorway. The sight sent his heart pounding with fear.
“Katherine. Is something wrong?” he asked in a voice rough with sleep.
She stepped into the room, and he reached over and switched on a small lamp by the head of the bed.
“I don’t know,” she said in a small, strained tone. “I…think I’m going into labor. The pains start in my belly and go around to my back. And they haven’t let up since they started.”
Wide awake now, Lonnie swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his jeans lying on the floor. “How long has this been going on?”
She shrugged. “Oh, about thirty minutes, I think. I’m not sure.”
“Thirty minutes!” He jumped to his feet and at the same time hiked his jeans up over the white boxer shorts he was wearing. “Why didn’t you wake me when it started?”
She made a helpless gesture with her hands. “Because I didn’t think it was anything. I ate all that Mexican food and then I ate a little of that stuff you brought me. I thought it was my stomach…” The remainder of her words trailed away as her features twisted into a tight grimace. Then suddenly she clutched her lower abdomen. “Oh!” she gasped. “Oh, my goodness! Lonnie!”
Just as he reached for her, a flood of water splattered the floor and pooled around her feet. Lonnie was quick to recognize the liquid wasn’t water. It was amniotic fluid. And from what he knew about birthing, that meant the baby was surely on its way.
“Katherine! Oh, God!” Swinging her into his arms, he carried her to his bed and placed her on the mattress. “You must be going into labor. I’ll get the phone and call an ambulance.”
Her eyes flew to his face, and Lonnie couldn’t mistake the fear he saw in them. “The ice storm,” she said. “Do you think an ambulance can make it out here?”
He didn’t want her to think about that now. He didn’t want to think about it.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Let me call first.”
He hurried out to the living room and picked up the telephone, but before he could punch in the number, he realized there was no dial tone. Apparently some of the lines had fallen under the weight of the ice!
Slamming the useless receiver back on its hook, Lonnie rushed to the kitchen and found the cell phone in one of the bags he’d carried in from the truck before he’d gone to bed.
Quickly he pushed the power button on the instrument, only to have his hope dashed when the phone refused to give him a usable signal.
His eyes darted frantically around the room as his mind turned at a chaotic speed. Think, Lonnie! Improvise!
Suddenly he groaned with disbelief. Along with the two-way radio in his truck, he also had one set up in a corner of the living room he used for office space.
Sprinting back to the living room, he quickly powered up the radio and felt an immense sense of relief when the ambulance dispatcher responded.
“Yes, I can hear you, Sheriff Corteen, this is Pete, how’s everything out your way? Iced in yet?”
Recognizing the young man as a longtime acquaintance, Lonnie barked back, “Hell yes, I’m iced in! And I need an ambulance sent out here. On the double. A woman is having a baby.”
The dispatcher spluttered. “But…but, Sheriff, all the medical vehicles are out! There’ve been some serious car accidents out on Highway 60. Folks have been injured.”
“I know about the accidents, Pete. But surely there’s something left around there! The woman has gone into labor!”
“I think—I have the feelin’ you’d better try to drive her in yourself,” the dispatcher suggested. “Babies are unpredictable. You might not have time to wait.”
The roads had been nearly impassable when he and Katherine had traveled over them a few hours earlier. He didn’t expect they’d gotten any better. Not when he could hear sleet striking the windows at this very moment. Damn it! What was he going to do?
“I don’t think it’s possible for me to drive,” he said, then quickly thanked the dispatche
r and hung up.
Back in his bedroom, he found Katherine writhing in pain. Fear shot through him like an unexpected bolt of lightning, and he hurried to her side.
The moment he touched her cheek, she realized he was in the room, and she took his hand and urged him down on the bed. Carefully Lonnie took a seat on the edge of the mattress and leaned over her.
“Is…the ambulance coming?”
Beads of perspiration had formed along her upper lip and forehead. Since the room was cool, he figured the sweat had to be a result of her pain.
“Uh, not right now. They’re all busy. But they’ll send one as soon as it’s free.”
A moan of despair slipped from her throat, and Lonnie was suddenly hating himself. He’d gotten Katherine into this predicament. Now he couldn’t even help her out of it.
“I can’t wait, Lonnie! The baby is coming. I can feel the pressure!”
The sound of panic was threaded through her words, and Lonnie understood that was the last thing she needed if the two of them were going to bring her baby safely into this world.
Since she was still gripping his left hand, he used his right to wipe the disheveled hair from her damp brow.
“Calm down, Katherine. Everything will be all right.”
Her gaze latched desperately on to his. “Are you going to drive me into the hospital at Canyon?”
With a rueful expression, Lonnie shook his head. “That would be impossible, Katherine. It’s been freezing rain ever since we got here. The roads could have only gotten worse. I can’t risk stranding you out in the cold. If the baby was born—well, it wouldn’t be good.” He stroked the top of her head. “Do you really think it’s coming soon?”
She nodded earnestly, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. “It’s all my fault. I should never have come out here. I should have thought of my baby first. But I was…I mean…I thought maybe if I did meet the Ketchums, then he might have someone later…like cousins and uncles and aunts.” She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. “But that was foolish thinking ’cause it just wasn’t meant for me to have a family and now…if I lose this baby I’ll not have anybody.”
Tears continued to ooze from beneath her closed eyelids. Lonnie wiped them away with his thumb and wondered how he could live if something were to happen to this beautiful woman and her baby. But he couldn’t dwell on that dark possibility. They were in his hands now and he was going to try his damnedest not to let them down.
“Shh. Don’t even think such thoughts,” he admonished firmly. “I’m going to take care of you. I won’t let anything happen to you or the baby.”
Her eyes opened and she looked at him doubtfully. “But you—”
“I’ve delivered a baby before,” he interrupted. “A few years back, when I was just a young deputy. But I still remember how things work.”
Relief flickered in her green eyes. “You’ve done this before?” she asked hopefully.
He nodded just as another pain doubled her over. Lonnie quickly disentangled his hand from hers and rose to his feet. “I’m going to go clean my hands and get some towels,” he told her. “Just try to relax and not worry.”
That was more easily said than done, Katherine thought, as Lonnie hurried out of the room. She’d never felt such excruciating pain in her life. The pressure on her pelvis felt as if she were being ripped apart. Yet above her physical pain was the sheer terror that she was going to have her baby right here in Lonnie’s bed. Without painkillers. Without a doctor!
But she wasn’t alone, she fiercely reminded herself. Lonnie was with her. And she trusted him. If she could have anyone, other than a doctor with her, it would be him. He was calm and steady and, being a sheriff, he’d dealt with crises. And this was definitely a crisis.
The bedroom door creaked, and through a fog of pain Katherine realized he’d come back into the room, carrying several towels and a shallow bowl. After he removed the plate of her bedtime snack from the chair, he placed the things on the seat and positioned the whole thing closer to the edge of the bed. From the shallow bowl, he wrung out a white washcloth and began to bathe her hot face.
The water was cool and heavenly against her skin, and her eyes flickered gratefully up to his. “That feels so good.”
His smile was gentle as he glanced down at her. “I’m glad. Have the pains gotten closer? How do you feel?”
“Like I’m…oh, oh!” She stopped, gritted her teeth, then expelled a long breath. “I feel like I’m about to have a baby.”
He folded the cloth and left it lying against her forehead. “I know this is embarrassing for you, Katherine, but I think I’d better have a look. The baby’s head could be crowning.”
She nodded and started to speak, but just then another fierce pain ripped through the lower portion of her body.
Lonnie didn’t wait for her reply. He lifted the cover, and she turned her head to one side and drew up her knees as best she could. His hand closed around her knee before it slid inward to the intimate part of her thigh. His firm yet gentle touch was reassuring, and she instinctively parted her legs to allow him a better view.
“I’m not absolutely certain, Katherine, but I think I see the head. I believe it’s time you started pushing.”
“I…I’m not…sure I can,” she sputtered between moans. “It hurts…sooo…bad, Lonnie!”
His hand cupped the side of her face that was exposed to him. Katherine turned her head and looked up at him with eyes that were glazed with pain and uncertainty.
“You can, honey,” he urged. “You have to. You want your little guy to get here safe and sound, don’t you?”
The pain ebbed away, and she whispered hoarsely, “More than anything. But I’m so tired.”
He took the cloth from her forehead and washed her face again. “I know you’re tired,” he said softly, “but you’ve got to help the baby. He can’t do it all on his own.”
She bit down on her bottom lip as another searing pain racked her body.
Lonnie tossed the washcloth aside and grabbed both of her hands. “Here. Hold on to me and push. Now. Push hard!”
Gripping his hands, Katherine strained so hard the upper portion of her body lifted from the mattress. But once the pain subsided, she fell limply back against the pillows and panted weakly for breath.
Bending over her, Lonnie exclaimed, “That’s doing it, Katherine! I can see more of the head now. It’s covered in dark hair, just like yours!”
The awe and excitement in his voice filled her with a strange sense of elation, and she laughed and sobbed at the same time.
“Oh, Lonnie! Lonnie! Help me—I’m tearing apart!”
“Just a few more pushes, Katherine! That’s all you need to do,” he urged.
A few. Her head swam as agony enveloped her, but she tried to hold on to Lonnie’s encouragement.
“I’ll try,” she whispered weakly.
The two words had barely gotten past her lips when another pain ripped across her pelvis. Lonnie urged her to push again, and this time the baby’s head emerged.
Katherine let out a low scream as she strained to expel the infant. Lonnie finally managed to get a grasp on the baby’s head and help it the rest of the way. Once the baby was safely in his hands, Katherine fell lifelessly back against the bed.
A glance at her white face had Lonnie fearing she had passed out, but he didn’t have time to check on her condition. The tiny boy in his hands needed immediate attention.
As he grabbed a towel and began to administer to the baby, Katherine stirred.
“It’s not crying, Lonnie!” she exclaimed hoarsely. “Why isn’t my baby crying?” She attempted to rise up far enough to see, but she was too weak to even lift her arms from the mattress.
Her frantic pleas pierced Lonnie’s heart. He hated knowing she’d had to suffer and worry through an experience that should have been special for her.
“It’s all right, Katherine. I’m just trying to get the mucous out of his mouth. He looks
like he’s—”
Suddenly the baby sucked in a loud breath, and Lonnie laughed with sheer joy and relief. “There he goes. He’s breathing, Katherine!”
Loud wails of protest erupted from the baby, and Lonnie decided he’d never heard a more beautiful sound.
Tears of relief slipped down Katherine’s face. “Oh, thank God!”
“Thank God, is right,” Lonnie reiterated as he reached for a sterilized knife to cut the umbilical cord. Afterward, he wrapped the newborn in a clean towel and then placed him in her arms.
“The doctor will tie that off and make him a nice belly button later,” he assured her. A wide smile crossed his face he looked down at mother and baby. “Will you be all right for a couple of minutes while I go get some more things?”
“I think so. But Lonnie, I—” Pausing, she frowned and glanced down to the lower portion of her body. “It feels like I’m bleeding.”
Instantly Lonnie yanked back the tangled covers. Shock rippled through him as he saw a bright red stain spreading beneath her. The afterbirth had already been expelled, seconds behind the baby. There wasn’t any reason for her to be bleeding. Unless, dear God, she’d ruptured a blood vessel.
“Just be still,” he ordered. “And calm. You’re going to be all right.”
Please God, let her be all right, Lonnie silently prayed. He couldn’t imagine this world without her.
Quickly he pressed the flat of his hand down hard against her pelvis region and held it there. “You’ve probably just torn a spot,” he tried to reassure her. “That boy of yours looks to be pretty hefty.”
She glanced adoringly at the baby who was still crying lustily. And as she studied his precious face, another trail of emotional tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“He’s so beautiful,” she said in a fascinated whisper, and then her gaze turned desperately to Lonnie. “If something…happens to me you’ll raise him, won’t you?”
He was so shocked and overwhelmed by her question that for a few seconds all he could do was stare at her. “Katherine!” he finally scolded. “Nothing is going to happen to you.”
Shaking her head, she reached for his free hand and squeezed his fingers. “Lonnie, promise me! I don’t have anyone. There’s no one I’d rather have raise him than you.”
A Baby on the Ranch Page 10
