And if she weren’t in the clinic?
There were a few other places in town Kylie knew the ten-year-old often liked to go if she wanted to be by herself. There was the gazebo in the park, a video arcade next to the pizza shop in the Plaza. She could take Buffy in there.
Knowing panic would do absolutely no good, also knowing Molly had a good head on her shoulders, Kylie went to the kitchen for her boots. She slipped out of her moccasins and a sharp pain stabbed her back. She’d strained it this morning with the heavy Crock-Pot. That’s all it was.
She tried to call Brock on his cell phone, but she couldn’t get him. His voice mail picked up. If he were on the wagon behind a tractor hoisting hay into the pasture with the wind blowing against him, he wouldn’t hear it. So she left a message. “Molly’s missing and I can’t just sit here. I think I know where she might be. I’m driving into town to look. First, I’m going to the clinic. She knows where Seth hides the key and she knows how to turn off the alarm. I’m betting that’s where she is. I’m taking my cell phone with me, however good it is. If they really worked, I could get you now. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
She wanted to say so much more, but she didn’t know how, and she didn’t know if it would do any good. So she simply added, “I’ll see you soon,” and then hung up.
Ten minutes later she was on the road in the new pickup truck headed toward town. The pain in her back was getting worse, but she ignored it as best she could, concentrated on her driving as snow fell now, and heard a siren in the distance that told her there had been an accident or someone needed an ambulance. After she arrived at the clinic, she quickly parked in the space closest to the back door. A light layer of snow was covering everything, and she didn’t want to slip.
Before she rounded the corner of the building she reached a Rocky Mountain juniper, pushed the limbs aside and found the brick she was looking for. A couple of times when Seth had to go out of town, she’d come in and tended to the animals for him.
Finding a fingerhold, she pulled on a corner of the brick and it slid out. But no key rested behind it. She checked the ground under it to make sure the key hadn’t fallen. It hadn’t. That meant Molly was probably inside.
As she pushed the brick back into its space, sharp pain lanced up her spine and she doubled over, hugging her tummy. The pain made its way around her middle. She realized now, heavy Crock-Pot or no, she was in labor. At that moment, water gushed from between her legs, right there at the corner of the veterinary clinic.
Calm. You’ve got to stay calm, she told herself. First, she had to get inside and make sure Molly was safe.
Lifting her purse from the ground where it had fallen when she’d doubled over, she went to the door and pounded on it. “Molly. It’s Kylie. If you’re in there, come open the door. I’m in labor.”
If Molly were back in the kennel with the animals, she might not hear. Kylie pounded again, even harder, until her fist hurt. She called once more, “Molly, I’m in labor. Let me in.”
A light went on and Molly opened the door, wide-eyed. “You can’t be in labor. You’re not due until the twenty-ninth.”
Forcing a smile, Kylie slipped inside. “Tell the baby that, honey, because he or she isn’t listening to me.”
“What do you want me to do?” Molly asked, as her puppy came over to Kylie and sniffed around her boots.
“I don’t want you to do anything. This is my first baby so it shouldn’t happen fast. I’ll have to time the contractions.” She tugged on the ten-year-old’s arm and pulled her toward a bench in the reception area. “Come sit with me and tell me what’s going on with you.”
“Shouldn’t we call somebody?”
“I could be in labor for hours.”
Sliding onto the bench, Molly stooped down to pet her pup. She mumbled. “Did you talk to Mom?”
“Yes, I did and she’s worried sick.” Kylie took her cell phone from her purse. “Can you tell me her cell number? I have to let her know you’re okay.”
“I’m not ready to go home yet.”
“Molly.” As she said the little girl’s name, tightness began in her womb, curved around her tummy and took her breath away.
“Are you having another contraction?”
“Looks like I am,” Kylie managed to say, breathing as the midwife had taught her.
“We’ve got to call an ambulance!”
“I’m going to time the contractions first. Use the land line and call your mother. Now, Molly. I’ll try to call Brock on my cell. If I can’t get him, maybe I can get Gwen or Shaye.”
But neither of them had any luck.
“I tried Mom, but she’s not answering. And Dad isn’t home, either. I left messages for both of them.”
The calls had taken a few minutes and another contraction began. Now Kylie became scared. Where was everybody today?
She remembered. Yesterday Dylan had driven Shaye and Timmy into Billings. He had a meeting there with the editor of a magazine. They had decided to take Timmy and make a family outing out of it. Gwen and Garrett, officially newlyweds now, could be anywhere, including in Garrett’s outside hot tub. Tiffany and the baby could be visiting a friend. Kylie dialed the midwife.
At the midwife’s chipper greeting, she said quickly, “Wanda, I’m in labor at the veterinary clinic.”
“Why are you at the veterinary clinic?” the midwife asked, aghast.
“It doesn’t matter. I think you should come. The contractions are less than five minutes apart.”
“Are you alone?”
“No. Molly Daily, who’s ten, is with me. Why?”
“Because I can’t get to you. The road’s closed at this end of town. There was an accident. I doubt if the ambulance will be available, either. I’m going to have to drive west and go over some side roads to get around to you. But I will get there. See if Molly can gather supplies for you. Tell her to find clean towels. I imagine Seth has those. Is there a cot or anything where you can stretch out?”
“I think there’s a sofa in Seth’s office.”
“Good. Go in there and get as comfortable as you can.”
Suddenly, Kylie’s cell phone beeped, signaling another call coming in. Not that she knew how to take it. “Wanda, I’m on my cell phone and somebody’s calling.”
“Go ahead. If it’s an adult and they can get to you, let them.”
She’d left a message at Gwen’s. Maybe her friend was calling back.
Pressing the button she used to answer the phone, she heard Brock’s voice. “Kylie?”
There was no one else she’d rather talk to, even if he yelled at her. “I’m here…at the clinic. And I’m in labor.”
There was a pause as if it took a second for the shock to sink in. “I’m already on the road. I’ll be there in five minutes. Thank God Dix souped up his truck. How bad are the contractions?”
“I’ve only had—” The next one took her breath away and she handed the phone to Molly.
As soon as Molly figured out who she was talking to, she gave Brock a blow-by-blow, which probably wasn’t the best thing to do. Molly explained the call that Kylie had placed to the midwife.
After the contraction passed, sweat beaded on Kylie’s forehead. She took the phone again and pushed herself up from the bench. “I’m going to Seth’s office. I can lie down there.”
“Don’t fall,” Brock warned her.
“I won’t. I have Molly to lean on. We’re okay, Brock. Really.”
“As okay as a pregnant woman in labor can get,” he muttered. “Damn it, Kylie, why couldn’t you have stayed put?”
“Because I had to find Molly. And right now I want to talk to her. I’m going to click off. You’ll be here soon. I need a few minutes alone with her.”
She heard his sigh of frustration. “Okay. But don’t click off the phone. Keep it in your hand and connected to me.”
As Molly helped Kylie to the office, she asked, “Did Mom tell you I’m adopted?”
; Kylie sucked in a breath but managed, “Yes, she did. Did you have any idea before today?”
“No. Never. Not even when my parents were arguing. But now I realize I don’t look like either of them. I have blond hair and Mom has red. Dad has brown.”
In the veterinarian’s office, Kylie took off her cape and saw the afghan lying over the back of the sofa. Undressing from the waist down, she lay on the sofa and covered herself with the throw. “You’re a smart girl, Molly. If you never suspected you were adopted, what does that tell you?”
For a few moments, Molly looked confused. Then she knelt down next to Kylie, her puppy close by her side. “I guess it means I never felt adopted.”
“Exactly. Do you know why you never felt adopted? Because your mom and dad loved you so much—they love you so much—that there isn’t any difference if you had been their baby or an adopted baby. They love you as their own. When you came to live with them they took you into their hearts and they’ve kept you there. All the tension you’ve been feeling the past couple of months, I imagine, came from them trying to decide what the best thing to do was. My guess is your mom was afraid you’d love her less if you knew the truth. Or you’d want to go find your real mother. And where would that leave her? Think about that, Molly. Think about how they’ve always taken care of you. How they’ve always loved you. You are theirs, in every way that matters.”
Kylie heard something then and looked around Molly to see Brock standing in the doorway. “How are we doing?” he asked.
“We’re doing—” The next contraction almost brought Kylie to a sitting position.
Hurrying inside, he tossed off his hat and quickly supported her with his arm around her shoulders. The contraction no sooner ended than the next one began.
Molly looked frightened, and the puppy beside her whined.
“This is going to happen sooner rather than later,” Brock said briskly. “Molly, get me towels. Then I want you to take the pup with you and go to the waiting room. You can let the midwife in.”
“Keep trying to call your mom and dad,” Kylie said between clenched teeth. “And remember—”
Molly looked back at her. Then she said slowly, “I know. Remember…they love me.” The pup trailed behind her as she went to find those fresh towels.
There was no hesitation in Brock as a few moments later he slid a towel under Kylie and stacked a few more beside the sofa. Then he spread her knees. “I have to check.”
Kylie felt no embarrassment as he said, “I can see the baby’s head. We’ve got to get it out. Just so we’re in sync here, when the next contraction hits, you start pushing. I’ve delivered animals, but never a baby.”
His hand capped her knee for a moment as she caught her breath. When she looked into his eyes, she wished for so many things. Right now, at the top of that list was a healthy baby.
As the contraction came, Kylie rode with it. With all the yearning in her heart, with all the hope in the future she could muster, with all of her past love for Alex and her enduring love for Brock, she pushed and pushed and pushed.
“Looking good,” Brock said, concentrating on the baby. “With the next push let’s get these shoulders out. Come on, Kylie. Let’s do it.”
She thought about her child, ready to be born. She thought about Brock’s waiting arms and made the most monumental effort of her life to see her baby born.
There were moments of panicked silence, then Brock explained, “I’m cleaning out her mouth.”
There was a cry, and he held a baby girl in his hands.
“I want to see her,” Kylie murmured, tears flooding down her cheeks.
“You’ll see her,” Brock said. “I just have to figure out how to do this right.”
The feeling in his voice made Kylie look up, right at him. Her breath caught. His expression told her this could be the most important moment of her life.
Chapter Thirteen
The miracle had happened before Brock’s eyes.
He was old enough to know life could change in the blink of an eye. It had changed for him the night he had kissed Kylie after her graduation. It had changed when Alex had explained his intentions to marry Kylie. It had changed the moment Brock had set foot in Kylie’s hospital room and seen her again after five long years.
Tonight, it had changed most of all. When he’d heard the voice mail message that Kylie had left, he’d wanted to wring her neck. But more than that, he’d wanted to hold her forever. He never wanted her to be in jeopardy. He always wanted to keep her safe…to keep her his.
At that moment he’d known he could never leave her and had been a fool to think he could. As he’d raced toward town, as he’d called her and learned she was in labor, as he’d heard her telling Molly that her parents loved her even if she were adopted, his heart had begun turning—turning away from the past—turning toward the future…and Kylie…and a child they could raise together.
He loved Kylie Armstrong Warner. Maybe he always had and just hadn’t wanted to admit it. He’d been too old, she’d been too young, until the years had evened that out. Now that Alex was gone, why was he continuing to punish himself for being the son that Jack Warner had never wanted? And why did he even care anymore? His life was his to grab onto now.
He’d seen that the moment this child had been born. He’d caught her in his hands and known in his soul that he and Kylie could both give their hearts to this little girl. The love he felt for Kylie and this baby was so powerful it almost brought him to his knees.
He stared at the baby now, mesmerized by her chubby cheeks, her brown hair and her blue eyes. He saw a combination of Kylie’s dad and Kylie, Jack and Alex. But most of all, he saw a child who needed two parents—two parents who loved deeply and could commit to each other for the rest of their lives.
Kylie had pulled up her sweater and unclasped her bra. With the umbilical cord still attached, Brock maneuvered the baby onto her stomach, not knowing how to tell her what he was feeling yet sure he had to do it now.
Tucking the blanket around the baby, he laid her close to Kylie’s breast, asking, “Would you believe me if I told you she’s changed everything?”
Kylie’s cheeks were wet with tears. “What does that mean?”
The baby quieted as she rooted for Kylie’s breast. Finding the nipple, she clasped on.
The sensation made Kylie start…then smile. “I wish you could feel this.”
“I do. I feel the bond, Kylie. I know Alex fathered this child, but I want to be a father to her. I want to be a husband to you.”
When he crouched down beside her, the words poured out. “I love you, Kylie Warner. I’ve loved you since I first saw your blond hair flying behind you as you rode bareback. You were too young for me to stake a claim. Then I was too late, or too damn considerate to take what I wanted…to think I deserved you. All these weeks I’ve been telling myself I could leave after this baby was born. I could just walk away. But I can never walk away from you, just like I can never walk away from this child.” He took Kylie’s hand in his and intertwined their fingers.
“Oh, Brock…I’ll sell Saddle Ridge,” she hurried to say. “We’ll start fresh wherever you want to go.”
Kneeling beside her, he kissed her fingertips. “You’d actually do that?”
“I love you. I would do anything for you, Brock Warner. Absolutely anything.”
He knew that now. He knew love was about moving aside anything in the way. He knew love was about forgiveness and healing and looking ahead. “You don’t have to do anything. I think you’ve always been able to read me as well as I can read myself, if not better. I have always felt connected to Saddle Ridge. And I’ve always hated loving it because of the way Jack treated me. But you’re right. Jack’s gone. We can make Saddle Ridge into whatever we want it to be. You and I, together. So…will you marry me?”
Her face was radiant with joy as she held out her arm to him. He bent to kiss her.
They were still kissing when Wanda said from
the doorway, “It doesn’t look as if you need much help from me.”
Breaking apart, they both laughed.
“I can take over from here,” Wanda assured them. “The paramedics are on their way and, if you’d like, we can have you both checked out at the hospital.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Brock decided. Then he looked down at Kylie and put his hand on her shoulder. “But it’s your call.”
“I’ll go to the hospital if you promise to stay by my side.”
“Forever,” he vowed, and then kissed her again.
Epilogue
One year later
“Reach for the bridle!” Kylie encouraged her one-year-old.
“No, Sarah. Reach for the hammer,” Gwen called.
This was a birthday ritual Kylie’s dad had told her about when she was a young girl. Parents laid out symbols of career choices on the floor and let their child crawl and reach for the one she preferred. Brock had set out a bridle, a hammer, a twenty-dollar-bill and a doll.
Now Sarah Marie crawled toward all of them quickly as Kylie, Brock, Brock’s mother, Gwen, Garrett, Tiffany, Amy, Dylan and Shaye, as well as Molly and her parents, looked on.
All of a sudden Sarah approached the four items, sat before them and grinned at the adults.
“Pick one,” Brock encouraged her.
Kylie smiled at her husband. He always encouraged their daughter, praised her as if she were a princess. This little girl had her daddy firmly wound around her finger. Kylie wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sarah gave her dad a little wave, turned toward the symbolic items and, at the same time, picked up the bridle in her left hand and the small doll in her right.
Everyone laughed as Brock’s mother asked rhetorically, “Why should she have to choose when she can do both like her mom?”
Conchita had been a godsend to Kylie and Brock. Shortly after Sarah’s birth, Kylie had asked Brock to invite his mom to attend their wedding and visit with them. She had and, a few months later at their request, she’d moved to Saddle Ridge permanently. She kept all running smoothly so Kylie could concentrate on Sarah and the work she loved. Conchita had even encouraged Kylie and Brock to take the baby to visit Kylie’s mom in Colorado during the summer. They had. But Kylie almost felt closer to her mother-in-law now than to her own mother. Brock’s mom was a wise woman and the two of them had had many talks about Brock and Saddle Ridge and changing the past into a bright future.
Expecting His Brother's Baby (Baby Bonds #3) Page 19