The Pregnant Bride Wore White

by Susan Crosby

  “I don’t need to call anyone?”

  The fact they were having this conversation while they were both naked and had been about to go back to bed and make love again struck her as funny. “Let’s not get Aggie all worked up yet.”

  “I was thinking of Doc Saxon. Believe me, I don’t want to call Mom until it’s unavoidable.”

  “Um. Maybe you haven’t heard, but she’s my labor coach. We took the classes together.”

  “She’s been replaced.” He shut the shower door, and she saw the shadowy silhouette of him leaving the room.

  “Don’t call the doctor yet,” Keri shouted, then she turned on the shower and stood under it, her eyes closed, letting the water pour over her. It wasn’t what she’d imagined for herself—about to give birth and unmarried—but at least Jake was here with her. If she’d gone into labor three days ago, he wouldn’t have been at her side.

  After a while she dressed in a fresh nightgown and dried her hair. Jake leaned against the bathroom door jamb the whole time.

  “Doc says you should get some sleep while you can,” he said when she put the blow-dryer away.

  She plunked her fists on her hips. “You called him? I told you not to. He needs sleep, too, you know.”

  “He made a point of mentioning that.” He held out a hand to her.

  She didn’t have to ask if he would stay with her. She knew he had no intention of leaving her side, no matter how intimately graphic everything got. As a nurse, it didn’t bother her. But as a woman who wanted to be seen as desirable, a woman who’d fallen in love—

  Jake gripped her arm as she came to a quick stop. She felt the blood drain down her body to her lead feet.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice rough.

  “Nothing,” she answered quickly, making herself move toward the bed again. “I’m just tired.”

  Fallen in love? No. Not truly. Not deeply. No way. She’d gotten caught up in the town’s fantasy of her being in love with him, that’s all. And he was the father of her child, about to come into the world. Plus she loved his family and Chance City and the life she’d been building. He’d made love with her, and it was exciting and satisfying.

  But it wasn’t love. That was impossible. She barely knew him.

  Keri climbed into bed, content with her conclusion, grateful she’d made sense of it so she could relax instead of brooding about it. He handed her a glass of water, which he’d set on the nightstand. The clock said 2:32. She wasn’t the least bit sleepy.

  He didn’t speak to her, even now as he took the glass when she handed it to him, turned out the light and climbed in bed. She lay on her side, facing him, wondering at his thoughts, because his expression was blank. She couldn’t begin to guess what he was feeling and thinking.

  “Your mother’s going to be very disappointed not to be in the delivery room,” she said.

  He was lying on his back and spoke to the ceiling. “If you want her there, that’s fine. But I’m your coach.”

  “You don’t know what to do.”

  “Not true. I tracked down your birthing coach yesterday. She condensed your twelve-hour course into two hours for me. I watched videos, asked questions, learned the breathing techniques. I’m prepared.”

  So, that’s where he’d been. Why hadn’t he told her yesterday? Why make it a secret? She’d spent that time with Nana Mae, playing Yahtzee.

  Keri reached for his hand, deciding maybe he’d kept it a secret as a surprise for her. “Thank you.”

  “Go to sleep.”

  She tried, she really did, but sleep was out of her reach. She ran down checklists. The nursery was ready. Her going-to-the-hospital bag was packed. Plenty of food in the refrigerator. Cell phone and iPod charged.

  “You’re not following doctor’s orders,” Jake said into the quiet.

  She was glad he was awake. He’d been so still, she thought he’d gone to sleep, although she should’ve known he wouldn’t, not unless she did. Maybe not even then. “You didn’t tell the doctor we had sex, did you?”

  “You think I shouldn’t have?”

  “Meaning, you did?”

  “He told us to. Was almost insistent we should…” He let the sentence drift.

  “Oh. Right,” she muttered. “It’s just that it seems like everyone in this town knows everyone’s business.”

  “Small towns are famous for that. But you don’t have to worry about Doc Saxon telling anyone, you know.”

  “I know. I suppose most people either wouldn’t believe it or would think we were crazy.”

  “Crazy horny, maybe.”

  She smiled. “I guess finishing what we started in the shower is out of the question?”

  He didn’t say anything, was probably taking her words as a joke, not worthy of comment.

  “You really need to sleep, Keri.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “What would help? What can I do?” he asked.

  “Hold me.”

  “I don’t know. That’s pretty dangerous. Look what happened last time.”

  “It was good,” she said, not responding to his teasing tone. “Really good.”

  “Yeah. Roll the other way.” He tucked his body along hers, his arms around her, one hand resting on her belly.

  She wriggled her backside closer to him.

  “Behave yourself,” he said.

  She laughed softly but closed her eyes, feeling his warmth—too much warmth when added to her own pregnancy furnace—and felt herself drift. She didn’t want to fall asleep. Didn’t want to give up one second of feeling him wrapped around her. After they’d had sex in the cell, she’d fallen asleep against him, feeling safe for the first time in days, but less than an hour went by before José had come into the cell and quietly helped them escape.

  Now José was dead.

  “You’re not sleeping.” Jake’s voice rumbled through her.

  “I can’t stop what’s going through my mind.”

  “Are you worried?”

  “Not about the baby. I can’t stop thinking about José.”

  He hugged her tighter, rubbing his chin against her hair, then smoothing it with his hand. “We haven’t talked about baby names.”

  She let him change the subject—it probably wouldn’t help to talk about it, anyway. “Do you have some in mind?”

  “Maybe. Will he or she have a hyphenated last name?”

  “You’d be agreeable to that?”

  “Why not?”

  “Okay. What are your ‘maybe’ names?” she asked.

  “You first. I’m sure you’ve been giving it a lot of thought since you’ve known for much longer.”

  “Isabella Rachael, after my godmother and mother.”

  “And if it’s a boy? And don’t say Jake Jr.”

  “Sam Jacob. But I’m open to a discussion about them.”

  He was quiet for a few seconds. “I like Isabella Rachael. But for a boy, I’d rather do Sam Donovan.”

  “That’s fine, Jake. I like it.” Although she wondered if it would bother Joe. Maybe there would be a second son someday who they could honor Joe with.

  “Good.”

  She angled back a little to tell him thanks for making it so easy. Her abdomen tightened. She felt it from her back forward. “Did you feel—?”

  “You’re having a contraction,” he said, his hand splayed over her belly.

  “Yes. What time is it? We need to time them.”

  They stayed in bed until the third contraction, each about ten minutes apart. Then she wanted to walk, to help things along. The doctor said not to call until they got down to five minutes. The hospital was only fifteen minutes away.

  Jake walked with her, sat with her, let her lean against him. She dozed off and on. He was steady, supportive and…distant, hardly saying anything except to ask her to gauge the intensity of each contraction. He kept track of them, knew in his head how far apart they were and how strong.

  Keri turned the responsibili
ty over to him and just let herself live in the moment. She knew that having him with her was an entirely different experience from what it would have been without him. Aggie would’ve been wonderful, but Jake? He was perfect.

  At 11:00 a.m., her contractions had progressed to five minutes apart. They called the doctor, then Aggie and told her to meet them at the hospital, then they headed to the car, stopping on the porch to wait out a contraction, then again right after she climbed in the car.

  Keri admired Jake’s continued calmness as he walked around the car to the driver’s side. He put the key in the ignition, turned it and then didn’t put the car in gear but stared out the windshield.

  “Jake?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “Jake, what’s going on? Why aren’t we moving?”

  “Something’s wrong,” he said.

  “Everything’s fine.” A contraction started. She breathed through it, slow, easy breaths, focusing on a manzanita bush in her line of sight. “Really,” she said as it ebbed. “Everything is textbook.”

  “No. This isn’t right.”

  “What isn’t?”

  He grabbed her hands. “We have to get married. Now.”

  Chapter Nine

  “Now?” Keri screeched.

  Jake had never been more sure of anything in his life. He got it, finally. He understood. He wanted his child born into a marriage, like every other child in the McCoy family. “I’ll be right back.”

  He ran into the cabin, grabbed the envelope with the marriage license and the beach bag stuffed with Carly’s wedding dress, and a sport coat for him, then jogged to the car, tossing everything into the backseat.

  “How’re you doing?” he asked as he headed up the driveway.

  “I’m wondering if you’ve gone crazy,” she muttered, arms crossed, resting on her belly.

  “You don’t want our baby born to parents who are married to each other?”

  “I didn’t say that. Of course that would be my preference. But you’re rushing it, Jake. We hardly know each other.”

  He gave her a glance before he turned onto the highway, saw the belligerence he’d seen only in the jail. “How many times have you heard about people who’ve lived together for ten years, then they get married, and within months they’re splitting up? I figure we have as good a chance as those people, don’t you?”

  “So you figure we can get a divorce, no sweat? That we could make a clean break of it?”

  “You have a better plan?” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Donovan.

  “Yes,” Keri said. “We have the baby and take some time to figure out our future.” She closed her eyes and breathed through a contraction.

  “I need a favor,” Jake said to his brother when he answered. “Give Laura Bannister a call and see if she can line up a judge ASAP, like within the next fifteen minutes, who can come to the hospital and marry Keri and me.”

  “What changed your—”

  “Questions and answers later. Just do it, okay?”

  “Consider it done. I’ll be in touch.”

  “You okay?” Jake asked Keri, reaching for her hand.

  “The contraction is over, if that’s what you’re asking. But I’m not okay. You can’t just order this wedding, Jake. I’m part of that decision, too.”

  “So tell me your objections.”

  “I won’t ever want a divorce.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because I stick to my commitments,” she almost shouted.

  He heard the stress in her voice, which quavered with emotion. “I understand and admire that. Look, Keri, no one in my family has been divorced. No one. You think that doesn’t put pressure on me, too? I’m putting our child first. I want to be able to say we were married when he or she was born. Lots of marriages don’t work out, for lots of different reasons.”

  “There’s no time for a prenup.”

  He smiled at her ridiculous train of thought. “I’m not after your money.”

  “I could be after yours.”

  “No, you’re not. And you know I’ll always take care of the both of you. I told you that. You can take it to the bank. But if it really matters to you, we can have Laura draw up something in a hurry. I’m sure she’s got a basic template—”

  “No.” Keri blew out a breath then gripped his arm. “Ow. This is a hard one.”

  Neither of them spoke again until they reached the hospital. Aggie’s car was already in the parking lot. Doc Saxon was just pulling in.

  “Can you walk, or should I get a wheelchair?” Jake asked Keri as he offered a hand to help her out.

  She gave him a look that made him laugh. He felt light-headed. The supersonic pace was at odds with his usual step-by-step way of doing things. But it was the right thing. He knew it.

  The doctor came up on Keri’s other side.

  “You’re just in time,” Jake said. “You can be a witness at our wedding.”

  “Won’t be the first time,” Doc said, then met Jake’s gaze. “This is good.”

  Jake nodded. Yes. It was good.

  Keri came to a quick stop at the hospital entrance, and they all waited out her contraction. Then the minute they stepped inside, Aggie raced up and hugged her, then Jake.

  “How’re you doing?” she asked Keri.

  “Just dandy.”

  Aggie blinked at the sarcasm. She patted Keri’s arm. “It’ll be over soon, angel,” she said, then noticed the bag that Jake carried. Her eyes widened. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

  “We’re getting married. Would you see if the chapel is available, Mom?”

  “You betcha.” She eyed Keri with concern. “You don’t seem happy about this.”

  A contraction gripped Keri. Aggie took off to do her task, the doctor went to the OB wing and Jake convinced Keri to sit in a wheelchair while they checked in. A few minutes later, she was in a room being examined and then quickly changing into the wedding gown that fit her surprisingly well. She was wheeled to the chapel, where a judge awaited them, but also Jake’s brothers, most of his sisters, Dixie, Laura and Nana Mae.

  They raced through the ceremony, cutting to the core of the vows, borrowed Aggie’s wedding ring. Keri looked dazed half the time and in pain the other half. After a brief kiss to commemorate the pronouncement that they were now husband and wife, she was whisked back to the room where she would finish her labor and delivery.

  It bothered Jake that Keri stopped talking to him unless he asked a question she had to answer. She looked…hurt. Not just in pain from the labor, but like her feelings were hurt. She rarely made eye contact. His mother gave him questioning looks, which he ignored. Later, when they had privacy, he would get Keri to open up.

  After a few more contractions, fierce and close together, the doctor settled on a stool at the foot of the bed. “Let’s meet your little one. You can push with the next contraction. Jake, lift her shoulders. Let me know if the mirror needs adjusting for you to see.”

  Before Jake took his position, he bent close to Keri and whispered, “Thank you for marrying me. It mattered more than I thought.” Then he kissed her, a soft press of his lips to hers, longer than the wedding kiss. He felt her quiver, then he backed away and saw a sheen in her eyes, but she said nothing.

  After an emotional and physical roller-coaster ride of pushing, their daughter was born, their beautiful Isabella Rachael, who already looked like her mother.

  And it took only one glance to understand what Keri had meant by “heart-tied.”

  Through a pleasant haze somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, Keri observed what happened around her. Isabella was weighed and measured, cleaned and diapered, then blanketed snugly, a little pink cap on her head pulled down to her eyebrows. Aggie cooed. Jake kept watch, overseeing every step of Isabella’s care.

  Isabella. Keri had thought for sure she was having a boy. It had taken her a minute to think daughter instead of son.

  Which was only a small adjustme
nt, after all, when weighed against the fact that she was married now. Married to a man whose specialty was damsels in distress.

  Is that what changed his mind about marrying her? He thought she needed rescuing? Or had he really only been thinking of the baby, as he said?

  She closed her eyes, too tired to think about it. A hand clasped hers. Jake’s voice reached her.

  “Keri?”

  “Hm?”

  “A lot of people want to see her. Everyone is still here in the chapel, waiting. Are you up to visitors?”

  “I want to hold my daughter first.”

  He brought Isabella to her, laying her along Keri’s side, tucked in her arm. The nurse and Aggie slipped out the door, leaving them alone as a family for the first time.

  “How much did she weigh?”

  “Seven pounds, seven ounces,” Jake answered. “Nineteen inches long. Healthy lungs.”

  Keri smiled. “I heard.” She ran a finger over Isabella’s tiny face. “I want to see her. Let’s unwrap her.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Keri pushed the button to raise the back of the hospital bed so that she could sit up. She moved Isabella onto her thighs and opened the blanket. “She’s perfect.” She leaned over to kiss each tiny foot and hand, then bundled her up again when she squirmed, as if ready to wake up. Love poured from Keri to her daughter, a deep, eternal flame. No matter what else happened, they would always have each other.

  Keri settled her against her chest. “Where’d the flowers come from?” she asked, spotting a vase of roses.

  Jake looked bemused. “That’s the bouquet you carried during the ceremony. You don’t remember? Joe gathered them. Dixie added the ribbon.”

  “I don’t remember much about the…wedding.” She still couldn’t believe she was married. In fact, almost everything in her life had been fairly unbelievable since the day she’d met Jake McCoy. “I guess I said ‘I do.’”

  “There are witnesses to that effect. When you signed the license, you indicated you were taking my name. Do you remember that?”

  “Now that you mention it, yes.”

  “If you want to keep Overton, I need to track down the judge before he files the license.”