“Well, that’s just how I felt before each of you was born.”
Kerry leaned back in the chair and glared at her mother. “How long before each of us was born?”
Her mother looked a bit pained before she replied, “Oh, maybe a couple of hours.”
The full impact hit Alexi like a fist to his solar plexus. “Are you saying that she is in labor?”
“Probably,” Mrs. Jacks replied, pulling Kerry to her feet. “We’d best get a move on. Walking is good.”
“I’m supposed to have this baby in Belegovia!”
“Well, it looks like the baby wants to be born in Texas,” her mother said.
Fifteen minutes later he and Mrs. Jacks paced the waiting room of the Wheatley Medical Clinic. A small group of friends clustered nervously at the other end of the room. “I can’t believe there is no hospital nearby!” He felt so powerless at the moment. There was nothing he could do to change the outcome. He should never have agreed to this trip. Kerry should be back at their country home, resting in bed with a good book and a glass of milk. Or better yet, at the palace, with his sister for company and a staff to cater to her every whim.
“Maybe there’ll be time to get her to the regional hospital. Dr. Amy will see how far she’s dilated.”
Alexi was just about to voice more concerns when the door opened and the nurse—he believed her name was Gladys—stuck her head out. “You’d better get in here right now.”
He and Mrs. Jacks collided at the door, then scrambled inside to find Kerry straining on the exam table. She looked flushed and angry.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. She’s just having the baby. Now,” Dr. Amy Wheatley added, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. “We don’t have time for the usual formalities of gowns and masks, so each of you just grab one of her hands and hold on tight.”
Alexi felt panic building, but he had to be strong for Kerry. He had to help her through this time.
“This is all your fault,” she gritted out between panting breaths.
“I know, sweetheart. Breathe as we’ve learned in class.”
“You’re going to have the next one.”
“Whatever you say, princess.”
Fifteen minutes later, after much panting, yelling and swearing by his bride, a smiling Dr. Amy laid a blanket-wrapped bundle in his arms. “Prince Alexi, meet your son.”
“My son,” he said in awe, looking down at the pink, wrinkled, dear face of his surprisingly robust child. He leaned over the table so Kerry and her mother could see. “Isn’t he wonderful?”
Kerry reached out and touched the baby’s tiny fingers and downy cheek. “He has so much hair,” she whispered.
“Family tradition.”
“Like his name,” she said softly, her eyes shining with love. “Alexander Wilheim Charles Ladislas. That’s a long name for such a little baby.”
“Not so little,” Dr. Amy said. “Eight pounds, two ounces and twenty-one inches long.” She gave them a wink. “Good thing he was premature.”
“Remember, the next one had better be a girl,” Mrs. Jacks reminded them.
Alexi wondered if Kerry remembered she’d told him to have the next baby. Did that mean she didn’t want to go through this again? Had the pain been all that horrible? Everything had happened so fast.
“Next time, Mama,” she said, stroking their baby’s cheek, “we’ll have a girl, and just like our family tradition, her middle name will be Lynn.”
Alexi breathed a sigh of relief. There would be another baby, God willing. Maybe several more, if Kerry decided she could work pregnancy into her schedule of saving the world, Belegovian-style.
“Wait until your father sees his grandson,” Kerry said, looking up.
“He’s going to lose that cool British composure.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing that sight,” Kerry said, then she frowned. “There’s only one thing, Alexi.”
“What’s that, love?”
“Tell your father he can’t invite the contessa to our son’s christening. Just in case he hasn’t noticed, your carefree bachelor days are over.”
“Everything I want is right here. You and our son.”
“And,” Kerry said with a grin, “he might be a future king, but he was born in Texas.”
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6860-2
THE PRINCE’S TEXAS BRIDE
Copyright © 2003 by Victoria Chancellor Huffstutler.
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* A Royal Twist
The Prince's Texas Bride Page 20
