Though Sheila’s bedroom was just down the hall, the large, two-story traditional home swallowed sound. Ashley had no idea if Cord’s stepmother was still upstairs or not, let alone what she might be up to.
The minutes dragged by. Finally she saw the Land Rover roar into the driveway. With her heart pounding out of control, she left the room and fled into the hall. There was no sign of the other woman as Ashley started down the stairs.
But when she reached the landing, she caught sight of Sheila’s blond head. The older woman was a few steps ahead of her on the stairs, intent on reaching the elegant foyer.
Ashley could hear her husband calling to her. Then the front door flew open and Cord’s powerful frame burst inside. He saw the two of them at the same time.
“Darling?” he cried out.
Sheila’s hand went to the pocket of her jacket, filling Ashley with inexplicable dread.
“Look out, Cord!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.
In her haste to protect her husband, Ashley tripped on the next step and fell forward, hitting her head against the banister. She saw bright lights, then everything went dark.
CHAPTER TEN
The mournful wail of a siren reached Ashley’s ears and brought her awake. At first she thought it was farther away, until she opened her eyes and discovered she was riding inside an ambulance with a male paramedic leaning over her, taking her vital signs.
Her head hurt and she had low back pain with a kind of dragging sensation in her pelvis. All of a sudden she remembered everything.
“Cord!” she screamed and tried to move, but her head and neck were held in some kind of brace and the attendant cautioned her to lie still.
“I’m right here, darling,” came the deep voice of her beloved husband who she could now tell was crouched near her feet.
Hot tears gushed from her eyes. “Are you all right? Sheila didn’t hurt you? I thought she had a w-weapon of some kind.”
“I’m fine,” he said in a ragged whisper. “Don’t worry about me. Sheila has gone out of our lives. All that is important is you and the baby.”
The mention of their unborn son reminded her that the pain in her back was starting to come all the way around to the front, and the pressure was building.
“Have I hurt the baby?” she cried out in panic.
The attendant remained calm. “You hit your head pretty hard, but fortunately for you, your husband caught you before you landed on that marble floor, so no bones are broken. Since you’ve come back to full consciousness and your vital signs are strong, the only thing serious to report is that the fall broke your water which means your baby is going to be born a little sooner than you expected.”
“Oh, no!”
“You’re going to be fine, darling,” Cord rushed to reassure her. “Dr. Noble has been notified.”
She couldn’t stop the tears. “I—I was hoping he’d be born on your birthday. I wanted him to be my present to you.”
“Have you forgotten how much I love early birthday presents?” he said huskily: “Especially this one.”
“But we’re not ready for him yet! I haven’t bought any diapers or little shirts or sleepers or—”
“With one phone call I can have all those things delivered to the house. The only thing that matters is you.”
“No. It’s not!” Ashley half-sobbed, uncaring that the attendant was privy to their nightmare. “I’ve been horrible to you, Cord. How can you ever forgive me for not believing you?” Her voice rang out. “When Sheila came into the bedroom this morning and started baiting me again, I suddenly realized that she had lied, about everything!
“I’m such a wretched creature. You don’t deserve to be married to a horrible wife like me.”
“You’re the only wife I want or need,” he answered emotionally.
“I don’t see how. I’ve been an ugly person on the inside for so long. Even Greg was shocked at how bitter and hard I had become. I hated myself for it, but—” Her voice trailed off as she began crying in earnest.
“Hush, darling. Sheila made victims out of everyone, starting with Dad. What we can be grateful for are true friends like Greg who encouraged us to never give up on our marriage.”
“I know,” Ashley moaned. “And Sister Bernice. They could both see what I couldn’t see.”
“What we couldn’t see, Ashley,” he amended with a residue of pain in his voice. “Sheila had even poor Dan hanging by a thread, slowly poisoning our relationship until he stopped believing in himself and me. But that’s all over.
“Dan is going to run the company from here on out. As for you, Mrs. McKnight, we’re going to have our baby and be a real family. Forever.” His voice shook.
“Oh, Cord—” Those words brought her so much joy, she didn’t stop sobbing until she felt the ambulance come to a stop.
“We’re here, darling. It won’t be long now.”
“Don’t leave me, Cord.”
“As if I would.”
The next few minutes went by in a blur as Ashley was taken to emergency to be examined. She had gone into labor but it was progressing slowly. Eventually they placed her on a gurney and sent her to the maternity floor. Cord held her hand throughout the journey, his midnight-blue eyes never leaving hers.
“Feel like déjà vu?” he whispered when they put her in one of the labor rooms.
Her misty gaze feasted on his handsome features. “Was it only a week ago? It seems like we’ve lived a lifetime since I came to join you for the clinic.”
“I know the feeling,” he muttered thickly.
“Well, well—” a familiar voice broke in on them several hours later. “What have you been doing to yourself to get that goose egg on your forehead, Ashley?”
“Dr. Noble—”
He came over to Ashley’s side, smiling down at her. “It’s all right. I know all about the accident. You were given something to speed up your labor, but it hasn’t worked. At this point I’d deem it advisable to perform a cesarean. Don’t worry,” he said when he saw her anxiety. “If another miracle occurs, you and Cord will be able to have a second and a third child without any problem.”
Cord sucked in his breath. “That would be wonderful, but right now all I care about is Ashley.” The wealth of love in his tone humbled her.
When she looked at her husband—how drawn and pale he’d become—she realized that the trauma of the last eight hours had finally caught up with him. He was afraid for her. She could see it, feel it.
Just then she experienced an outpouring of love for him that overwhelmed her entire being. Every step of the way he’d been so strong for her. Now he needed her strength.
“Sweetheart,” she whispered, squeezing his hand. “I’m going to be fine. In a little while we’re going to have that baby we’ve wanted. I’m so happy, I could burst!”
Her blue-green orbs were on fire for the love she had for him. No shadow of fear lurked as her generous mouth broke into a brilliant smile.
“Ashley—” he cried, covering her lips in a trembling kiss.
“As you can see, Cord, there’s nothing to worry about,” the doctor murmured. “Now, if you can relinquish your wife long enough for her to be prepped for surgery, I’ll have an orderly find you a mask and gown so you can watch the delivery.”
At Dr. Noble’s words, Cord lifted his head. Excitement now warred with his anxiety.
“I’ll see you in a few minutes,” she whispered, feasting her eyes on his attractive face and powerful physique before he left the room with obvious reluctance.
“Okay, Ashley,” the doctor said as soon as they were alone. “Let’s go have a baby, shall we?”
“Yes!”
“Dr. Ball will administer the anesthetic. You’ll be awake and feeling fine the whole time. You might experience a slightly dizzy sensation when I take the baby from your womb, but it will be over in seconds. I’ve already contacted your pediatrician, and she’ll be in the delivery room with us. Any questions?”
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��No,” she answered with shaky excitement.
“When did you last eat or drink?”
“Nothing today. A piece of pizza last night, about nine.”
“That’s good news,” he muttered while he examined her. “I find you in excellent shape for someone who took a nasty fall. Just relax now and let us take care of everything.”
“All right.”
“Between you and me—” he winked “—your husband is the one I’m concerned about. Being a brand-new father is a scary experience for us men, but especially for Cord who didn’t think he would ever be one.”
“I know,” came the shaky admission.
“Capable, protective men like your husband feel particularly helpless at a time like this. He’s in awe of your strength. For the moment he has forgotten that you have a partnership with God. It gives you power beyond your mortal reserves. Every time I deliver a baby, I’m in awe of it.”
Ashley stared up at him. “Thank you for being here for me.”
His eyes shone with sincerity. “It’s a privilege.”
Fifteen minutes later Ashley couldn’t feel a thing from her chest down.
“Okay. Let’s go.” Two orderlies wheeled her out of the room and down the hall through the doors marked delivery. It was one of the strangest sensations in the world to be lifted onto the operating table and not be able to move her legs.
Everyone was in hospital green and masked. Dr. Noble talked happily with the nurses and Dr. Ball as Ashley was draped with sterile sheets, her feet placed in the stirrups.
She moved her head to the side and caught sight of her husband coming into the delivery room. The nurse indicated the chair he was to sit on. Ashley had an idea Dr. Noble had done that as a precautionary measure in case Cord felt faint. It made Ashley smile.
Though Cord resembled a doctor, his anxious dark blue eyes gave him away. They fastened on her and never left her face throughout the delivery.
While Dr. Ball constantly informed Ashley of what he was doing, Dr. Noble got started on his end. A few breathless minutes passed. Just before she was told she was going to be given a little oxygen, she heard a gurgle and Cord shot out of the chair.
“Oh, ho—” Dr. Noble made a satisfied sound as he lifted the baby. True to his words, Ashley felt a little dizzy and breathed deeply through the mask, but the sensation passed.
All of a sudden she saw her baby still bathed in amniotic fluid. Even so, his perfect little head was covered with Cord’s dark hair. She started to cry for joy, mask and all.
“Have you two ever got a beautiful son! Come here, Cord, and take a look.”
Her husband needed no urging. “Ashley—” Now his rapturous cry rang throughout the delivery room.
“He’s looking good, breathing on his own.” This from the pediatrician who’d taken the baby to examine him.
Excitement permeated the atmosphere.
“Your son is twenty-three inches long and weighs in at nine pounds four ounces. Being born three weeks earlier doesn’t seem to have fazed this big guy at all.”
“He’s a whopper,” Dr. Noble agreed with the pediatrician. “When you do a job, you really do it, Cord.”
Ashley thought she knew what happiness was until the mask was removed, and her wiggly baby who made newborn noises and was wrapped in a blanket, was placed in the crook of her arm.
Her eyes raced from the curly dark hair to each adorable feature. “Cabe,” she spoke to her little boy. “We’re here. Your mommy and daddy are right here.”
Cord’s masked face was right next to hers. “We are, son.”
Their baby’s little eyes were looking at them as if he could really see them. It tugged at her heart and her soul quickly memorized every inch of him.
She marveled at his sturdy body with its broad shoulders, the tiny fingers with their square ends, the long feet and toes, visible testimony of the man who fathered him.
“Oh, Cord—I—I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it.” She broke down. “Cabe’s here. He’s beautiful.”
“You’re both beautiful.” Cord was so choked up, he couldn’t talk.
“We hate to break this up,” Dr. Noble broke in, “but I need to finish taking care of Ashley. Cord, you can go down to the nursery with the baby. Your wife will be in recovery for a couple of hours, then she’ll be taken to her room where you can join her.”
Cord pulled off his mask, then lowered his head. “I love you,” came the throbbing declaration against her lips, then he followed the nurse who was pushing the baby’s cart out of the delivery room.
Dr. Noble patted her cheek gently. “I’m almost through here, Ashley. We’ve given you a hypo so you won’t have any pain for a while. I’ll be in to visit you in the morning.”
Already Ashley could feel the effects of the drug. Her thank-you came out slurred as she sank into a state of ecstatic oblivion. Ecstatic because she would awaken to the husband and the brand-new son she adored.
It was after ten at night when the orderlies came to wheel Ashley from the recovery room to her private hospital room. Despite the fact that she’d just had surgery and her head throbbed where she’d hit it, she couldn’t wait to see Cord and hold her baby again.
The first sight to greet her eyes was a vase of at least two dozen red roses. Cord’s gift made her eyes fill. Then she saw another smaller floral arrangement of yellow roses and baby’s breath which had been placed on the utility table. Something told her those were probably from Greg and Bonnie.
She looked around for Cord but there was no sign of him yet. Maybe it was just as well because she couldn’t keep her eyes open.
The next time she awakened, it was mid-morning. When the day nurse came in and started taking care of her, Ashley asked for her purse so she could try and make herself look a little less hideous.
Just to brush her hair and put on lipstick helped her to feel a little more human. The nurse talked to her about breast-feeding her baby. While the fortyish woman was showing her how to get started, Ashley heard a noise in the hallway. There had to be at least a half dozen babies crying their heads off.
“Do you think one of those is mine?” she asked the nurse in an excited voice.
But she didn’t hear the answer because Cord suddenly entered the room seeming larger than life and too handsome for Ashley to contain her emotions. “Cord, darling!”
His eyes looked burningly alive as he approached her bed. “If I hadn’t been there to witness it all for myself, I wouldn’t believe you’ve just had a baby.”
She wanted to tell him exactly how he made her feel, but his lips smothered any sound as he engulfed her in a kiss that said so many things, she forgot where she was or what was happening. That is, until she heard a baby’s lusty cry which was growing louder by the second.
“Our son is dying to see his mother,” Cord whispered against her avid mouth. “Just don’t forget that his father demands equal time with you later.”
“I’ll never forget,” she vowed, pressing another kiss to his lips before he backed away enough for the nurse to place Cabe in her arms.
“Oh—” Ashley half-cried as she removed the folds of the receiving blanket. “He’s so beautiful, Cord. Look at him.”
“I’ve been down in the nursery with him the whole time, getting everything on video. They even let me bathe him this morning,” her husband exclaimed with deep satisfaction. “I’m now an expert.” He pulled up a chair next to the bed.
“How wonderful! Did he love his bath?”
Cord’s smile hurt it was so tender. “He did.”
“Look at his ears and eyelashes. Aren’t they adorable?”
Together they examined every inch of him, exclaiming, laughing with delight over every perfect part, especially the little faces he made.
Cord was quick to point out the likenesses to her, the telling details that proclaimed him their child and no one else’s.
The baby quieted down, seemingly content to have both parents fussing over him.<
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“He’s more mature than the other babies,” Cord confided with fatherly pride. “I made it my business to find out that he’s the biggest newborn in the nursery.”
Ashley laughed. “No wonder I was so uncomfortable! But I’d do it all again for another one just like him.” She kissed the soft skin of his cheeks. “He does seem solid, doesn’t he? And gorgeous, just like his father,” she cried out, still trying to believe that the miracle had happened.
“Ashley—” he whispered thickly. “I’ve wanted this for so long…” He caressed the side of her neck with his lips, unable to contain his emotions.
Despite the drug still in her system and her exhaustion, the sensations he aroused shot through her body like wildfire. She knew her hormones were raging right now, and Cord’s nearness only made them that much more pronounced.
“So have I, darling,” she said when she could find her voice. “Everyone in the world should experience this happiness.”
Together they doted on their son until he started to show signs that he was hungry. At that point Ashley did her best to accommodate him.
The nurse explained it took time to do it right. In a few days it would all come naturally. Her optimism reduced some of Ashley’s anxiety, especially when Cabe finally fell asleep satisfied.
“You’re ready to pass out, too,” Cord murmured. “I’ll put him in the crib right here by your bed.”
“Don’t leave me,” she begged him after the nurse had administered more painkiller. The IV was still in her hand and wouldn’t come out till morning. Then she’d be able to eat.
“There’s no chance of that!”
The primitive ring of those words sent her off to heavenly oblivion. When she awakened a couple of hours later, she discovered her husband in a lounging chair, the baby fast asleep against his shoulder, their cheeks touching.
Her heart turned completely over. If only she had a camera to preserve the moment!
Fortunately the nurse popped in before either of them awakened. In a whisper, Ashley prevailed on the older woman to hand her the video camera Cord had put on the dresser.
Baby In A Million Page 15
