“Swell.”
The nurse arched an eyebrow in concern. “I’ll bet. You lost a lot of blood during delivery. You’re still much too weak to be journeying back and forth to the nursery without some help.”
“I want to see Amanda. I have to feed her,” Maggie said on a sigh.
“Your husband is with your daughter now. I’ll have him bring a wheelchair for you when it’s time to feed her again.”
As if on auto-pilot, she pushed a tray of scrambled eggs and toast in front of Maggie. The eggs made her stomach do an acrobatic roll.
“You need to eat to build up your strength. Try to at least have some juice and toast.”
She’d managed a few bites of toast and a cup of black coffee before her mother came in to help her dress out of her hospital gown. Sponge bathed and donning the new pink nightgown and robe her mother had given her for her hospital stay, she was wheeled to the nursery to spend some time with Amanda.
Jonah was sitting in a chair beside the bassinet which was still positioned under the bili-lights. During the time she slept, he’d changed out of his old clothes into a pair of jeans and a green cable knit sweater. His attention was so focused on Amanda that he didn’t realize she was there until she reached him.
She and Jonah spent the day sitting in the nursery, not really talking about anything. Maggie reveled in the moments when she could have her baby in her arms to feed her. Once through, Amanda went back under the bili-lights and all either of them could do was look at her, stroke her soft skin, and talk to her in a reassuring voice.
Jonah placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, never leaving her side. It was easier to handle seeing Amanda, touching her but not being able to hold her, when Jonah was with her.
As the hours ticked by, Maggie felt more of her energy drain, a day of worry having taken the better of her.
“Come back to the room, Maggie,” Jonah said.
She lifted her chin, shaking her head. “I don’t want to leave Amanda.”
“I know you don’t. But you look as if you’re about to drop. You’re going back to the room now before I have to pick you up off the floor.”
Maggie didn’t protest when, after giving the baby a sweet kiss on her tiny hand, Jonah wheeled her back to her room and helped lift her into bed.
As soon as her rump hit the mattress, her body sank deep into bed and she slumped against the cool pillow. The room continued to spin.
“Let me get the nurse,” Jonah said.
“No, I just...need to rest a bit. I’ll be fine.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Jonah conceded. “Okay. I’ll be in the nursery if you need me.”
As soon as the door closed behind Jonah, the telephone rang. No one could have been more surprised than Maggie that it was Aaron Wallace.
* * *
With Maggie safely back in her room, Jonah turned his full attention to the baby lying in the incubator. Her face was turned away from him and by the rise and fall of her chest, she appeared to be sleeping peacefully. He slipped his hands under the lights so he could stroke Amanda's silky cheek, as if needing the connection to let her know he was there for her. That he'd always be there for her if she needed him.
Her very existence astounded him, how she could be so beautiful, so tiny, and so strong all at the same time.
“Daddy's here, princess,” he said softly. As if on cue, Amanda turned her head to face him. She couldn't see anything because of the protective visor covering her eyes, but something told Jonah she knew he was there. His heart exploded with the love he'd been so utterly afraid to feel.
A deep chuckle had him turning around, where he was met by the amused Dr. Haskell.
“You act surprised that she recognized your voice. She knows who her father is. She's had nine months to get to know you. Well, in her case, a little less since she decided to make an early entrance into the world.”
“How's is she doing?”
Dr. Haskell's smile faded and his demeanor immediately turned professional. “Not as well as I'd like. In fact, I'd hope that the bili-light treatment would have changed her condition by now. It usually does.”
“But in this case it hasn't?” Jonah glanced at the baby. All through the day he'd promised Maggie everything would be fine. Amanda would get well and they could take her home. He would keep that promise. But after hearing the doctor voice his concerns, fear engulfed him.
Dr. Haskell continued. “The Coombs test showed minimal change in her bilirubin levels. I'm afraid we're going to have to take the next step and do an exchange transfusion.”
Jonah's face drained of blood, turning his skin cold. “What for?”
“Your wife's blood type is O. Your daughter has blood type A. Sometimes the mother's blood creates antibodies that fight against the baby's blood type. It's that incompatibility that is causing the high bilirubin levels and making your daughter jaundice.”
Jonah's mind raced. If Maggie's blood type was O and the baby had blood type A, then the baby's natural father was also blood type A.
A pang of jealousy assaulted him and he fought mightily to squash it down. His blood type was O, the same as Maggie's. But this wasn't about him, or the man who fathered Maggie's baby. It was about Amanda.
“Normally we'd take blood from the mother to use in a transfusion. But since Maggie lost a lot of blood herself during delivery--”
“I'm sorry, I thought you'd use the same blood type as Amanda's. Blood type A like the father.”
“Mother and child share the same blood in the womb. Just after delivery, we'd want to make a compatible match with the mother's blood type. Since blood type O is compatible with all blood types, we'll look for a donor with blood type O. It will take care of the elevated bilirubin and pull your daughter out of immediate danger.”
Jonah's pulse hammered at his temple. “How much danger is she really in?”
The doctor's face screwed into a frown. “We don't like to see bilirubin levels this high for too long. It can do a lot of damage. The amount of blood needed is small, but it could make a world of difference.”
He peered down at little Amanda and saw so much of the woman he loved in her. Only a day old and already she had a heavy burden to carry for someone so small. It would shattered Maggie if anything were to happen to Amanda.
“Use my blood. I'm blood type O as well.”
Dr. Haskell smiled knowingly. “Mr. Wallace, a lot of people assume they know their blood type and are shocked when they learn otherwise. I assure you, if your daughter has blood type A, which she does, then it is impossible for your blood type to be O given the fact that Maggie's blood type is also O.”
No, it wasn't, Jonah thought silently. He wasn't Amanda's natural father. But his blood was a compatible match. It wasn't revolutionary, since millions of people shared blood type O, like him and Maggie.
Call it coincidence, but Jonah wanted to believe it was fate. Fate that brought Maggie into his life. Fate that made him able to give her baby the very gift she needed now. His blood.
“I understand what you are saying, Dr. Haskell,” Jonah began, his jaw tight with pent-up emotion.
Amanda didn't have his genes. His blood wasn't the blood that had given her life. But his love for her was stronger than anything he'd ever known. He didn't care if anyone knew he wasn't Amanda's biological father. He knew and it didn't matter.
“I understand Amanda's biological father would share the same blood type as her. But I also know for a fact I have type O blood.”
Dr. Haskell's eyebrows drew together in a dark line on his forehead. He didn't say a word when he nodded his understanding.
“Now if you'll just direct me to where I need to go, I'd like to donate my blood...for my daughter.”
* * *
Maggie woke up with a start, clutching her stomach. The baby was born, safe in the nursery. And Jonah. Where was Jonah? She vaguely recalled Jonah slipping in and out of her room last night. He'd held her briefly, telling her she could
sleep peacefully because everything would be okay. That their baby was going to be healthy and safe.
The sleep along with the medication the doctor had prescribed to build up her blood had done her a world of good. Now she could focus on the future. She only wished she knew what that held for her and Jonah.
Now that the baby was born, Jonah could fulfill his part of their arrangement. There was no reason for the two of them to remain married, especially in light of the phone call she'd received from England from Aaron Wallace.
Aaron had called to congratulate Maggie on the birth of the baby. And to invite the family out to spend a few weeks next summer with him at his home in England now that his grandson finally came to his senses and decided to remain married. When Maggie asked him to explain what he meant, Aaron was clearly distraught that Maggie knew nothing about Jonah's visit to England.
She had to admit she was too when she finally learned the truth. Jonah had never told her his grandfather had already signed Wiltshire over to him. And more importantly, that she and Jonah didn't have to remain married any longer. She could only guess that Jonah's reason for keeping it secret was to hold his end of their arrangement. He would stay married to Maggie until the baby was born. Beyond that, there was no longer a reason.
Maggie had known going in that marrying Jonah was the price she had to pay for giving her baby a name. She just hadn't realized the cost to her heart. It was a price she'd pay for the rest of her life.
She'd made a decision. She and Jonah couldn't go on the way they had. If there was no reason for them to stay married, then she would let him off the hook and move back to the tenement with her mother as soon as she and the baby could leave the hospital. To move back into Jonah's house now would be suicide for her heart. She didn't know if she could endure the pain of leaving him later.
The door to her room eased open and Jonah lightly stepped in. He peered over at her, keeping the door ajar with his foot, and smiled when he saw her sitting up.
“I'm glad you're awake. I wasn't sure if you'd be up for company.”
He looked exhausted, like he hadn't had any sleep. And she knew that in the last 48 hours he'd had little.
“Come on in.”
He opened the door wider, pulling the baby bassinet with him.
“Dr. Haskell said she's going to need to be watched for a few days just to make sure she didn't have a reaction to the transfusion. But other than that he gave Amanda a clean bill of health. I thought it was time to move her in here with the family.”
Maggie's hand flew to her chest. “Oh, I'm so glad you did. I missed her.”
Once Jonah had positioned the bassinet next to the bed, Maggie started to get up, but Jonah held her back.
“You stay there. I'll hand her to you in a minute. We need to finish filling out her birth certificate first.”
It was all she could do to keep her shock from showing in her expression. He wouldn't even hold the baby before and now he was handling her up like it was second nature to him, cradling her in his arms with love and affection.
“You look like an old pro,” she said softly, when he didn't immediately hand Amanda to her. The baby looked impossibly lost in his arms and completely content.
“I've been holding her most of the night.”
“You have?”
“Yes. She was none too happy about the transfusion and was quite vocal about it. The only thing that seemed to settle her was having her daddy hold her.”
Maggie's bottom lip trembled. These darned hormones. The nurse said she would have fantastic mood swings until her body chemistry settled. She didn't want to read anything more into what Jonah was saying. Calling himself her daddy, watching him gaze at Amanda as if he planned to be in their lives for more than just the year was the one thing she'd been dreaming of all these months.
“Thank you being there for us. For donating your blood to her.” How could she convey what it meant to her? “You didn't have to do that.”
His face registered pure shock. “That's where you're wrong. I did have to do this. And I'll keep doing this for as long as she needs me. As long as you need me, Maggie. No arguments.”
“Thank you, but that wasn't part of our agreement.” She cleared her throat, trying to hold back the well of emotion that threatened her control. “I know about Wiltshire, Jonah. I know that your grandfather told you we don't have to stay married for you to inherit.”
“Hmm, he did a little more than congratulate you in his phone call, I see.”
“You knew about the phone call?”
Jonah nodded. “Yes, I had Mary call him to let him know that Amanda was born. I wanted him to come to America to meet the both of you.”
“Why didn't you tell me sooner about Wiltshire?”
“I didn't see any reason to.”
“But…there's no need for us to stay married anymore.”
“Oh, yes there is.” His face was serious, she realized, filled with a range of emotions that both frightened her and gave her a slice of hope.
“I don't understand.”
“She's my daughter and you're my wife. Whether we fulfill the agreement we made when we first got married or not that won't change. Not to me.”
Her chest squeezed tight, afraid to give in to the hope that was welling up inside her. “What are you saying?”
“Nothing I've ever learned in life prepared me for how I feel about you. I foolishly thought that I could waltz into your life, play the hero, and waltz right back out when the year was through just because of this stupid agreement.”
The baby stirred and Jonah gently lifted her to his shoulder. He kissed her on the forehead then eased himself down to the edge of the bed next to Maggie, wrapping his free arm around her.
“You see, I can't breathe when you're near. In fact, I can't think about anything at all but you when you're not with me. Being this close to you, knowing what I have right here in my arms makes me feel like the luckiest man alive.”
She couldn't help it, her bottom lip trembled uncontrollably and tears flowed down her cheek.
“The nurse said you'd have postpartum for a few days.”
“That's not why I'm crying,” she sobbed.
“Happy tears?”
Maggie's breath caught in her throat. “I love you.”
She noticed the brimming of tears in his eyes and the depth of emotion that caused them. “I love you, too, Maggie. More than anything.”
She reached up and ran her fingers along his strong jaw line before kissing him. She let her lips linger on his as if to make sure he was real, that all the feelings that were whirling around them really did exist. When they parted, she nestled her head on his other shoulder and stared across his chest at her baby. No, their baby.
“I've been alone most of my life, Maggie. I don't know how to be a family. Lord knows I haven't a clue about how to be a father, since I didn't have much of an example when I was a child. I used to think my family home was what I wanted, that it was my anchor to my family. But the only thing I really want is here in my arms right now. And I promise you, I'll do my best by you and Amanda.”
“What are you going to do about Wiltshire?”
“It will become a home to children who need one. Cam and my grandfather were right. Love hasn't lived in that house in a very long time. I aim to give it a much needed dose of life.”
She snuggled up close and buried her face against his shoulder, not trusting her voice to utter the words of love she felt deep inside. Jonah's arms felt so right holding her.
“She's so beautiful and content in your arms,” Maggie murmured.
“I know,” Jonah whispered, kissing Maggie on the forehead. “I've fallen in love for the second time.”
Maggie pulled back enough to look up at his face. “Oh, really? And when was the first time?”
“The moment I walked into the Coffee Drop and looked at you. I want us to get married, Maggie. I want us to be a family. Will you marry me?”
Sh
e chuckled, feeling giddy with excitement and love for this incredible man. “We're already married, in case you've forgotten.”
He shrugged slightly. “I know, but I want to do it right this time, complete with church wedding and a reception with dried out baked stuffed chicken. The whole shebang, just for Rhonda. Maybe she'll even like me then.”
Maggie couldn't help but laugh, recalling how loudly her mother had complained when they'd married at City Hall.
“I want to do it right this time and give you all the things I should have given you then.”
“I think we did it perfect the first time.”
Jonah kissed her deeply, with all the emotion they felt flowing thick between them.
“How long did the doctor say we had to wait?” he murmured against her lips.
“Too long,” she answered, her lips pressed firmly against his. “But for now, this will do.”
THE END
Dear Reader:
Thank you for reading my Fate with a Helping Hand series! I hope you enjoyed the stories. If you did, please help other people find this book by writing a review on Amazon. If you want to find out about new releases, please visit me at http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com or email me at [email protected]. Sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win a new Ebook Reader! Details are on my blog.
Thank you,
Lisa Mondello
Look for these books as part of my TEXAS HEARTS Series:
Texas Hearts Series:
Her Heart for the Asking – Book 1
Mandy Morgan swore she’d never step foot in Texas again after Beau Gentry left her for life on the rodeo circuit eight years before. But now her uncle’s heart is failing and she has to convince him that surgery will save his life. She never dreamed the first thing she’d see when she stepped off the plane would be her biggest nightmare...the one man she’d never stopped loving.
Beau Gentry had the fever for two things: the rodeo and Mandy Morgan. But for Beau, loving Mandy was complicated by his father’s vendetta against her uncle. This led him to make the hardest decision of his life and he can still see the bitterness and hurt on Mandy’s face. All these years it has killed him to think Mandy had forgotten him and moved as far away as possible from him. But now they’re back in Texas, and he’s going to do all he can to win back her love.
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