by Nicole James
“I’m not an instructor.”
“You taught me how to ride.”
He grinned. “I did, didn’t I?”
“Um hmm. And did a damn good job of it, too.”
He lifted his chin. “What do you have there?”
“Just a payroll issue. I think I transposed the numbers.” She took two steps toward him, and a knifing pain tore through her. She doubled over, crying out and clutching at the counter to keep on her feet.
Charlie was at her side in an instant, cradling her in his arms as she almost went to her knees. “Rayne! What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”
She clutched at him. “Set me down, Charlie.”
He lowered her to the floor behind the register, and she leaned against the display case.
“I don’t know. My back’s been aching all day.”
“Maybe you’re in labor. We better get you to the hospital. I don’t want to take any chances. It’s not worth it.”
She nodded. “You’re right. It’s probably nothing, but I should at least go have them check me out.”
“Don’t move. Let me get Cody, and I’ll be right back.” He ran to the garage area.
Rayne dug in her pocket to text Rory but realized she’d left her phone on her desk.
Charlie returned and knelt by her. “Cody is bringing my car around. Do you think you can walk to the front door or should I carry you?”
“Don’t be silly, of course I can walk. Just help me up.”
He pulled her up, and an aching cramp stretched from her back and radiated all the way around her stomach. “Oooo,” she moaned. “I don’t know for sure, but that felt like what a contraction is supposed to feel like.”
“Let’s get you to the hospital, then.”
“Wait. My purse and my phone! I need to call Rory and Sasha and my dad.”
“Cody can bring them out. Let’s just get you to the car.”
Twenty minutes later she was being wheeled up to labor and delivery. Sasha was on her way with the bag that Rayne had packed just in case, and she was also calling the girls and stopping to get Rayne’s father on the way.
Rayne had left several texts and voice messages for Rory, but she knew that today they were traveling across western Tennessee toward Knoxville, and they may not get good cell service in the mountains.
By the time Sasha and her dad arrived, she was in a room with monitors.
When she saw her father walk in the room, for some reason, she burst into tears.
“Aw, baby girl. Everything’s going to be fine.” He moved to the bed and hugged her.
Her throat was tight, and she couldn’t speak, so she nodded and tried to draw in a calming breath. He patted her arm above her hospital bracelet and where they’d run an IV line.
Sasha came around on the other side of the bed and gave her a hug. “What can I get you, honey?”
“I haven’t been able to get a hold of Rory. I’ve called and called.”
“Where was he supposed to be tonight?” Sasha asked.
“I don’t know. I think Knoxville, but I can’t think straight. Maybe that was last night. He’s in a different town every night.” She started to feel scared. “What if he misses it?” She clutched Sasha’s hand. “I don’t want to do this alone.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll track him down. I’ll pull up his concert tour schedule and find out where he is—and you are not alone, Rayne. I’m here and your father is here and Carmen and Jenna are on their way. We’ll tag team, and we’ll never leave you alone. You can do this, Rayne.”
She nodded. Sasha was right. She could do this without Rory if she had to, but she really didn’t want to. She breathed deep. Everything would be okay. Everything will be okay.
***
Rory jumped out of the cab, tossed some bills at the driver, then dashed into the hospital entrance. He ran to the reception desk. “Where do I find Labor and Delivery, Room 4?”
“Third floor. Follow the signs.” She pointed to a bank of elevators on the right.
“Thanks.” He jogged over and hit the button, then watched the numbers slowly descend. The doors sluggishly slid open. He jumped inside and repeatedly punched the button for the 4th floor. Someone followed him on and pressed the button for the 3rd floor, and he silently cursed.
It was a young man carrying a teddy bear and a balloon.
“Just have a baby?” Rory asked, trying to make small talk while he tapped his thigh rapidly with his thumb, his foot bouncing a mile a minute.
The man nodded. “This morning. I just went down to the gift shop to get her something. And you?”
“She’s in labor and delivery. They told me the fourth floor. I just flew in.”
The doors slid open for the 3rd floor. “Well, good luck.”
The man stepped out.
Rory rode up to the next floor and exited. He was immediately struck in the face with that hospital smell. Someone paged a doctor to radiology over the speakers. There was a nurses’ station and a hall with a sign that read 1-6 with an arrow. Rory walked quickly that direction. The door to the room four was closed, but the name Connor was written on a sign.
He tapped his knuckle on the door and cracked it open. “Rayne?”
“Rory?” she called back.
He walked in to find Rayne in the lone bed, dressed in a hospital gown. A monitor blipped with what he supposed was the fetal heart rate. Another monitor displayed a squiggly line. There was an IV bag hanging with a line of tubing draping down to the cannula inserted into the top of her hand.
Galen sat in a chair by the bed, watching a ballgame on the TV up on the wall. “You made it, son. Thank God.”
“Galen.”
Rayne’s face lit up, and he immediately went and kissed her. She lifted the hand with the IV and tried to hug him.
“Careful, baby.”
“You made it.” She clung to him, and he hugged her tight.
“I ran all the way through the airport and told the cab driver I’d tip him a hundred bucks if he got me across town in five minutes.”
She tried to laugh, but it came out a sob.
He cradled her cheek. “Baby, don’t cry. I’m here. How are you? Is the baby okay?”
Just then another contraction took hold of her, and she clutched his arm, moaning. Rory glanced at one of the monitors and saw the squiggly line climb higher and higher. Her nails dug into his arm until finally the line descended back down, and she released him.
She blew out a breath. “That was a bad one.”
“What did they tell you?”
“That I’m almost there. I’m not quite dilated enough. They didn’t want to give me anything to induce because you weren’t here yet. The doctor is suppose to be in to check on me soon.”
Rory nodded and brushed the hair from her forehead. “What can I do? Can I get you anything?”
“Those ice chips over there. That’s all I can have.”
Rory grabbed the cup off the tray and handed it to her. “Where are the girls? I thought they’d be here.”
“They’ve been with me all day. They just went down to get something to eat. Dad said he’d stay.”
The door opened, and two nurses and a man in green scrubs walked in, his mask pulled down. “How are we doing, Ms. Connor?” He looked over at Rory. “Are you the father?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m Dr. Harrison.” He held his hand out, and Rory shook it.
“Let’s take a look and see where we are, Ms. Connor.”
Galen stood. “That’s my cue to leave. She’s all yours, Rory.” He bent down and kissed her head. “I love you, baby.”
“Love you, too, Dad. Thank you for being here.”
“I’ll be in the waiting room if you need me.”
“Thanks.”
Rory shook his hand. “Thank you.”
Galen patted his arm and left.
The doctor moved to the end of the bed and lifted the sheets to examine her. Rory stood by her side, ho
lding her hand.
“Looks like this little girl is ready to be born, so we’re going to get started.”
The nurses began making preparations. After that, everything was a blur. It seemed to take forever, yet on the other hand, it happened so quickly. Before he knew it she was making that last long hard push that brought his daughter into the world. The doctor cradled her while Rory squeezed Rayne’s hand as she fell back in exhaustion on the pillow.
“Mr. O’Rourke, now comes your part. You get to cut the cord if you want. Come here.”
Rory was a little scared, but he did what he was told and soon they were putting his daughter on Rayne’s chest to bond skin on skin.
“She’s beautiful, sweetheart,” he murmured.
Rayne cuddled her. “Oh, my sweet baby girl.”
After a few minutes, they took the baby away, cleaned and wrapped her, and gave her back to Rory to hold. He cuddled her close while the doctor delivered Rayne’s afterbirth.
And that’s when everything went to shit.
Rory heard things he’d never wanted to hear.
“She’s losing too much blood.”
“Her pressure’s dropping.”
He looked over at Rayne. She was losing consciousness. “Baby!”
“We’ve got uterine inversion. Let’s move her. Go. Go.” The doctor glanced at Rory. “We’re rushing her to surgery; I don’t have time to explain.”
Rory held the baby while there was rushed commotion going on in the room. The next thing he knew they were wheeling her bed out the door and rushing her down the hall toward a set of double doors.
He followed them out the door into the hall. After they disappeared, he felt time slow to a stop.
Rory just stood there in shock. They’d left him alone with the baby. He had no idea what to do, and he was panicked about what was happening to Rayne. He walked quickly down to the nurses’ station at the opposite end of the hall. There was one woman working at a computer.
“Help me, please, My girlfriend just gave birth, and they rushed her down to surgery. They left me holding the baby, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Oh!” The woman jumped to her feet and came around the desk. She ushered him back to the room. “Let’s get her taken care of.”
She took the baby, checked her out, and examined her hospital bracelet.
“Could you please check on my wife? There was no time…I don’t even know what’s happening. Please.”
“Of course. Here, sit down and hold the baby while I go get someone.”
After she left, Rory reached in his pocket and dialed Sasha. He had her number from when she’d called him.
“Hey, Rory. Did she give birth yet? Do we have a little baby?”
He didn’t answer her questions. “Get up here, now. Hurry.”
When the girls came in the room and saw the empty space where the bed had been, their faces went white. Sasha asked, “Rory, what happened? Where’s Rayne?”
“Is she having a C-section?” Carmen asked.
Their eyes fell to the baby.
“She couldn’t be having a C-section; the baby is right here,” Sasha stated in a foreboding voice. “Rory, where’s Rayne? Is she okay?”
“Oh, God!” Carmen covered her mouth. “She’s not okay, is she?”
Rory shook his head and looked up from his precious daughter with tears in his eyes. “I don’t know. Everything was fine; she’d had the baby, she even got to hold her. Then they were saying she was losing too much blood and her pressure was dropping. They raced her out of here. A nurse said she’d go find out what was happening for me, but she hasn’t come back….” His voice started shaking. “I-I don’t know what to do.”
“Let me take Danielle,” Sasha said, reaching for the sleeping baby.
Rory at first was reluctant to let her go but finally did. When Sasha had her, he bent forward, buried his face in his hands, and broke down. “I can’t lose her. I can’t. I just found her. We were just starting out…”
Carmen rubbed his back. “She’ll be fine. They’re taking good care of her. I’m sure the nurse will be back any minute to tell you that everything is good.”
“She’s been gone a long time.”
“No.” Sasha shook her head. “It hasn’t been that long, you just think it has because you’re upset. You just called us ten minutes ago.”
He shook his head. “No, they’ve been gone too long. Someone should have come back by now.”
Jenna moved toward the door. “I’ll go find out.”
When she was gone, Rory fell to his knees and prayed. “Lord, please don’t take her. I need her. The baby needs her. Please, Lord.”
Down the hall they heard Jenna’s raised voice. “Then somebody better find out and get in there and tell that man what’s going on with his wife, and I mean now!”
A few minutes later a nurse practitioner came in with Jenna.
“Mr. O’Rourke?”
He sat in the chair, his shoulders hunched and his head down. His elbows were on his knees and his hands clenched.
When he heard his voice, he slowly lifted his head.
“Sir, I’m Dr. Warren. I’m a nurse practitioner. I’ve checked on your wife. They’ve finished the procedure, and she’s doing fine. She’ll be moved to recovery shortly, and then you can see her. Dr. Harrison will be down to talk to you soon.”
“Thank God,” Rory whispered.
“Is there anything I can do for you, sir?”
“The doctor—he’ll be here soon?”
“Yes, sir. Probably within about fifteen minutes, I’d say.”
“Okay. And she’s all right? You said she’s okay?”
“Yes, sir. She’s doing fine. Dr. Harrison will give you all the details. Okay?”
“Thank you. And the baby…”
“A neonatologist will be down to check on her shortly. We’ve had a busy day, but I saw her just down the hall. She’s making her way to you.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She nodded to everyone and left the room.
Sasha put the baby down in the clear plastic basinet, and the girls encircled him.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” Sasha said, rubbing his back.
He ran his hand down his beard, took a deep breath, and murmured a thank you prayer to God. Then he stood and wrapped his arms around the girls in a group hug. “Thank you all for being here. Where’s Galen?”
“He was getting something to eat in the cafeteria. I could hear in your voice something was wrong, and I didn’t want to upset him until I knew,” Sasha explained.
Doctor Harrison walked in and the group stepped apart.
“How is she?” Rory blurted.
“She’s fine. Everything went well. She’s in recovery right now.”
“I didn’t know what was happening.”
“Sorry about that. I didn’t have time to explain; your wife was my priority at that moment. Whenever we’re dealing with blood loss and a drop in blood pressure, we have to take it extremely seriously.”
“But she’s fine?” Sasha asked.
“Yes, she’ll be back in her room soon.”
After the doctor left, the neonatologist came in. She was a short Asian woman with a big smile. “Hello! I heard we had some commotion with this little one.” She bent to look at her, then turned and shook Rory’s hand. “I’m Doctor Cho. My specialty is newborns. Let me unwrap her and check her out. What’s her name?”
“Danielle,” Rory murmured.
She unwrapped Danielle from her blankets.
“She’s wrapped up like a burrito,” Rory said, letting out a little laugh as relief washed over him that Rayne was okay.
“Yes, we like to keep newborns swaddled tight.” She listened to her heart and lungs, took her temperature, felt her abdomen and checked her reflexes. Then she began wrapping her back up. “Watch what I do, Daddy. This is how you swaddle you’re baby.”
He stepped over and stud
ied what she did, folding here, and tucking there.
She put Danielle in his arms and brushed her cheek with her finger. “Everything seems fine. She’s doing great. And when Mom comes back, she can try to breastfeed her. It’s very important to start as soon as she’s able. Okay?”
Rory nodded. “Okay.”
“I’m sure your regular pediatrician will be at the hospital in the morning making rounds and will check her out then. She’ll give you more information.”
“Thank you.”
She shook his hand. “Congratulations, Daddy!”
When she left, Rory stared down at his beautiful baby and allowed himself the happiness that he’d been afraid to feel earlier. He couldn’t help but smile at her. “Hello, precious.”
Chapter Thirty-one
Three months later—
Rayne cuddled against Rory’s back in the big king-size bed. She peered over his shoulder at the clock on the bedside table. 5:00pm. As soon as she’d gotten little Danielle down for her nap, they’d laid down and both immediately fallen asleep—something they hadn’t been getting a lot of recently.
Rory was in town for the Denver stop of his tour that had recommenced six weeks ago. He’d only missed one show when the baby was born before a break in his tour had started. He’d planned the break around her due date so he could be home for a month with her and the baby.
Now little Danielle was three months old and growing fast.
Rayne was so excited for tonight’s concert. Rory’s family was all coming to town for it and would probably be arriving in about an hour. Sasha and Carmen were also attending, as well as her father.
Rory had told her he’d wanted to make it a special night after nearly losing her—his words—and he wanted to make every moment count from now on.
Her eyes moved to the chair across the room where the short silver cocktail dress was laid out. He’d picked it out for her at a stop in New York City and had brought it home in a big gift box. She’d been so shocked and excited when she’d pushed the pink tissue aside. He’d also bought shoes to match, jewelry, and a bottle of exquisite perfume.
He really was spoiling her, and she had to admit, she loved every minute of it.
Tonight would be the first night out for her since Danielle was born, and although she was nervous about leaving her with Jenna, who’d volunteered to babysit, she knew she needed some time out of the condo.