“This time is different. I am definitely in labor this time. My water just broke. And my contractions are less than three minutes apart,” she said, biting her lip. She was worried he might start freaking out on her if he realized how little time they had.
He didn’t ask again. He jumped up and started throwing his clothes on. By the time he turned to look back at Lisa, she had stood up and was pulling on her robe.
Once she sat back down on the edge of the bed, he knelt down and helped her put her flip flops on. He could tell by the look on her face she was already having another contraction. “Remember to breathe, Tiger.”
He stood back up and crammed his wallet in his back pocket and grabbed his keys off the dresser.
Lisa let him get her all the way to the front door where her bag for the hospital sat before she asked, “Baby, are you going to put shoes on?”
James looked down at his feet and groaned. “Sorry. Just a minute,” he said, sitting down where his shoes sat by the couch to pull them on.
“James, it’s okay. We have plenty of time. We’re not even five minutes away from the hospital. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” he said, rubbing his hand over his face and standing up. “I’m just anxious. I can’t stop my mind going over everything that could go wrong.”
“James, the baby and I are both healthy. We’re going to be fine.”
James just shook his head, unable to say anything. When he picked up her bag and went to open the door, she said, “We need to get my purse and at least one of our cell phones.”
He looked down at the end table by the couch and without saying a word, picked them up and held the door open for her.
*******
Lisa took her cell phone from him once they got in the truck and called her mom and dad to let them know she was on her way to the hospital. It was only fifteen after five by the time they made it up to the maternity ward and James was getting more keyed up by the second. Thankfully it didn’t take the nurses very long to get her in a labor and delivery room. That only helped James’ nerves a little.
“James, call your mom and dad. They’re going to want to be here,” Lisa said, hoping that giving him something to do, and would help calm him down a little bit more.
“Yeah. I’ll be right back,” he said and turned and darted back through the door.
It wasn’t a full five minutes later, and he was coming back in her room. “They’re on their way.”
“James, I think you need to remember to breathe. I don’t think this is going to take long. The nurse said I’m already to an eight. Just relax.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to make you nervous, Tiger.”
“You’re not making me nervous. Come here.”
When James walked over to Lisa, she took his hand in hers. “Everything’s going to be fine. Don’t freak out on me.”
“I’m not freaked out. Yet, anyway.”
“I see he’s doing as good as we expected.”
“Hi, Zane. I should have known we’d see you. It’s not quite time for you to be at work.”
“Mom called after she got off the phone with you. She wanted me to come and check on James. She figured I could make it faster than them or his parents. She was worried he would be freaking out.”
“I’m not freaking out.”
“Yet. You said so yourself,” Zane said, trying not to laugh.
“I know. If this takes very long, they may have to sedate me.”
“You’re going to do fine, James. Zane, you’re not helping.”
“You want me to take him for a walk?” Zane asked, truly trying to help this time.
At the same time Lisa said yes, James said no. “James, it might help you relax,” Lisa said, squeezing his hand she still held in hers.
“No, I would just be more worried. I would be worried you might be needing me.”
“He’s right. He’s never been good at staying on the sidelines.”
“Yeah, but this is his first child,” Zane said, still sounding concerned.
“It’ll be alright, Zane,” Lisa said with a tone that said drop it.
Just then Carl and Jamie walked in, along with Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. James’ dad walked up behind him, and laid his hand on his back. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m good,” James said, looking at his father, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.
“I can see that,” Mr. Sullivan said, trying not to laugh.
Just then a really hard contraction hit Lisa and she groaned getting James’ full attention. “Here, Tiger, take my hand.”
“He may regret that in a few seconds,” Carl said, with an almost panicked look on his face, watching Lisa squeeze James’ hand hard enough he winced. “I think I better get out of here. This is not the place for me to be. I’m sorry, Baby Girl. I love you.”
When the contraction had passed, and Lisa was able to speak again, she said, “It’s okay, Dad. I remember Zoe and Emily’s births. I didn’t expect you to stay in here.”
Just as Carl walked out the door, the nurse walked in. “I need to check to see where she’s at. I need everyone except the father to step out in the hall.”
“Oh, why so formal Marie?” Lisa asked with a grin as the rest of her and James’ family walked out behind her dad.
“I’m just trying to do my job right,” Marie said with a grin. “But just so you know, since I wasn’t able to speak to you at the wedding much, it’s about time you two got together.”
“We’ve always been together,” Lisa said with a grin.
“I know. Most of us did know,” Marie said with a grin, looking over at James.
James just laughed and shook his head. “I really was the only one who didn’t know what was going on.”
The whole time they had been talking, Marie had been checking on Lisa. She looked up at her with a look of surprise. “You’re almost ready to push. They told me you have only been here about forty-five minutes.”
“I think I had been in labor most of the night. I woke up a couple of times with some strong contractions. I just slept through most of the labor pains.”
“Lucky you.”
“How close am I?”
“I’m going to go get the doctor.”
James stepped out in the hall long enough to tell the rest of them the nurse had went after the doctor.
It was close to thirty minutes later when he stepped out in the hall again with the baby in his arms, to find a large number of the Townsends had arrived to see the new addition to the family. The second Jamie and Mrs. Sullivan saw him, they both started crying.
“Meet Andrew David Sullivan. Andrew after my biological father, and David after Dad.”
“He’s beautiful, James,” Mrs. Sullivan said, wiping the tears out of her eyes. “Goodness, how big is he?”
“Eight pounds and fifteen ounces, and twenty-one inches long.”
“I guess he’s going to be the size of a small mountain too then,” his dad said, chuckling.
“I just want to know how you handled the delivery part,” Carl said with a grin.
“I thought it was the most beautiful and amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”
Keep reading for a preview of the first book in the Sapphire Springs series. Thank you! Happy reading!
Excerpt from the Rodeo Star’s Return :
Prologue – Sunday, October 21
Tyler Wentworth just barely resisted the temptation to punch the glass out of the passenger side window of the old pickup. He knew he needed a new rig, but he had always been irrationally attached to the old Ford. It was a faded red and had a couple of dents in it from his grandpa hauling wood in it. There was even a dent in the passenger side door where a deer had bounced off the side of it one night, out on Y highway. To say it was in need of an overhaul, was an understatement.
His grandpa Wentworth had passed the eighties model truck down to him just a couple of months before he passed on himself
. He had kept it with him for the past eight years while he was out on the rodeo circuit. Now that he was back in Sapphire Springs, he planned on putting it in the shop as soon as he got the chance. Right now, he was just wishing the old rig had picked a warmer day to break down. Well, warmer and drier.
He stood with his hands braced on the truck door and his head bowed, rain water running off his cowboy hat in small rivers. His clothes were soaked to the point that his western style shirt was transparent, and his jeans probably had tripled in weight. He shook his head in frustration. He just had to get himself caught in one of the worst down pours of the year, and now he was soaked and frozen practically to the bone. He would almost swear it was just warm enough to keep the rain from freezing. He felt like he was going to turn into a full-size ice sculpture any second now.
This kind of rain in October just wasn’t the norm. Of course, Missouri weather never was easy to predict. In another thirty minutes, the sun could be out, and the temperature could be ten degrees higher. He just hoped he didn’t have to stand here another ten minutes to find out.
“God, help me,” he mumbled under his breath. He’d already called his parent’s house enough times, his cell phone was dead. So, even if he had other numbers to call, he wouldn’t be able to.
He swore under his breath. If he had thought before now to get cell numbers for some of his old friends, he could have called someone else before the battery in his phone died. For the time being he was stranded on the side of the road, just outside of town, with a torrential down pour beating down on his head. He’d already been standing there for ten minutes, and there hadn’t been a single soul pass yet. The way his luck had been running lately, he could probably stand there all night without one passing. “I guess I might as well start walking,” he grumbled to himself.
“Excuse me.” He heard a soft, feminine voice coming from the other side of the truck. He had been so deep in thought, he had obviously missed someone pulling up. “Is someone there? I stopped when I saw the hood partially up and the flashers going. I can’t help you with the truck, but I can take you somewhere. You’d probably like to get out of this monsoon. This weather is really weird for this time of year.”
Tyler’s head popped up, his gaze automatically turning in the direction of the most angelic voice he’d ever heard. One he hadn’t heard in too many years, but would never fail to recognize. “Lucy? Lucy Cranes, is that you?” he asked, fearing he’d conjured her out of frustration and desperation. He rounded the truck, a smile splitting his face the second his eyes landed on her. She looked just as angelic in his eyes, as she ever had. His day brightened so much, he had to look up to assure himself the clouds where still there, and making their very slow journey across the sky.
The rain had already plastered long strands of her dark, brown hair to the side of her face and neck, with the part still caught in the clip, starting to slowly slide down the back of her head. She wore a pair of worn blue jeans, with holes in the knees, and hugging her rounded hips, the tips of her cowboy boots scuffed from wear. Her plain t-shirt done nothing to disguise her full shape, despite it’s dark color.
When she realized where he was staring, her creamy skin flushed pink, and she crossed her arms in front her. “Stop that,” she snapped, shooting daggers from her beautiful, brown eyes. She was a gorgeous sight to behold, indeed. Even if she did look like she could happily strangle him with his own belt.
“Thank you, God,” he whispered, his face splitting even more at her groan. “Sometimes when God answers your prayers, he sends you an angle in disguise.”
“Tyler Wentworth,” she huffed, giving him a grim look. “I should have known. I knew you’d never get rid of this truck.” She shook her head. He still looked as sexy as ever in his tight jeans and western shirt, soaked to the bone as he was. He may be eight years older, but the years looked good on him. The rodeo had honed his body, giving him a lean muscular form. His blue eyes danced with mischief, and she groaned again when he gave her that crooked grin of his.
“Well, hello to you too, Beautiful,” he said, barely hiding a chuckle.
She gave him a grouchy look, tightening her crossed arms over her chest, like she could make them seem smaller. “What are you doing back in town?”
“Coming home,” he grinned, throwing his arms wide.
“For good?” she snorted, giving him an incredulous look.
“Yeah, for good,” he said, giving her a goofy grin, all his cowboy swagger, out the window with one look at her pretty face.
“I wouldn’t think small town life would suit you anymore.”
“When you’re raised country, deep down, you’re always country.” She just raised an eyebrow at him. There really wasn’t much to say to that. “How about that ride?”
She sighed, pursing her lips. “I guess I can’t leave even you out here in this down pour.” With a shake of her head, she turned and made her way back to her car. He slammed the hood the rest of the way down and retrieved his keys, then followed quickly behind her, enjoying the sway of her hips.
He climbed in the passenger seat of her little, economy car, giving her a big goofy grin. When he just sat there, she finally huffed. “Are you going to fasten your seat belt?”
“Oh, sure thing,” he grinned. “I’m not in the habit of using one. The ones in the truck messed up a long time ago.”
“If you’re going to insist on keeping that truck, and I know you are, you probably should check with Phillip to see if he can fix them, or get replacements,” she mumbled, watching him fasten up. Once she was satisfied he was secure, she put the car in gear and pulled back onto the road.
“Phillip Townsend?” he asked, sounding awed.
“Of course. Who else?”
“He owns his own shop now?”
“Yeah,” she said, frowning at him.
“He didn’t when I left,” he said with a shake of his head. “He had talked about it plenty of times. It’s good to see he met that goal.”
“He opened his shop about a year after you left. It didn’t take him long to earn a solid reputation. He’s always busy,” she frowned again. “You mean your parents never said anything to you about it. Did you not bother to ask about everyone here?”
“Sure, I asked,” he shrugged. “I always thought they kept me fairly up to date. I guess they missed that detail.”
“I wonder what else they might have missed telling you,” she grouched.
“What’s wrong, Luce?” he asked, grinning at her, knowing the reaction he was going to get.
“Don’t call me that. You know I hate when you call me that,” she snapped. “My name is Lucy.”
“No. Your name is Lucille. We’ve always called you Lucy for short, Luce.” He grinned, just waiting for the explosion. She didn’t disappoint him.
“Why do you do that?” she screeched, slapping the steering wheel.
When the car swerved on the slick asphalt, he rethought his actions. They had just reached the busier part of town, and he didn’t want to be the cause of her hitting someone. “Sorry, I’ll stop. For now, at least.”
“Whatever,” she grouched, slumping down in the seat.
“So, back to the topic we were on.”
“What?” she asked, giving him a confused look.
He chuckled softly to himself. “The news my parents kept me up on.”
“Oh, yeah. That.”
He grinned at her, deciding not to call her on being distracted. This time. “I know Luke bought the garage from old man Peterson, and that Mindi and he are getting married in January.
“Yeah, finally.”
“Finally?”
“They should have married when she graduated out of high school. It started at her sixteenth birthday party.”
“They’ve been dating since she was sixteen?” he asked, sounding shocked. He knew Luke was a good guy, and Jamie and Carl would have trusted him, but that was still a little surprising.
“No, they weren’t dating
. He waited to ask her out until she came back from college, this last summer. Their relationship was more like a medieval war, without the battle armor and the swords.”
“Oh, you mean like our relationship has always been?” he chuckled.
“Yes… No, that’s not our relationship at all,” she snapped, gripping the steering wheel tight enough to turn her knuckles white.
He just smirked and asked, “So, you’re not married, and my parents forgot to tell me, are you?” He already knew the answer to that question. That was the one thing his mother would not have failed to tell him about.
“No,” she blushed, refusing to look over at him.
He breathed a sigh of relief, despite himself, before asking, “Why is that?”
She shrugged her already tense shoulders and huffed. “I’ve just not found the right one yet, that’s all.”
“Oh, I was hoping you would say you were waiting for my return,” he said, only half teasing.
She glared at him, and answered with a snort. “You really are stuck on yourself, aren’t you?”
He groaned, grabbing his chest dramatically with both hands. “Ouch. You wound me.”
“I seriously doubt anything could truly penetrate that tough hide of yours. You’ve got crocodile hide for skin.”
He chuckled, trying not to let his true feelings show. “Let’s see, what else? Lisa is pregnant with James’ baby, but they aren’t engaged. Yet, anyway. I’m sure it’ll happen soon enough. Actually, I seen Lisa and James in Harris Grocery last month.”
“Last month?” she asked, giving him a dirty look. “Just how long have you been back in town?”
“Since August thirty-first.”
“That long, and nobody bothered to warn me,” she grouched.
“Oh, come on, Baby. Don’t be that way.”
She just gave him a dirty look and turned to face back out the windshield. “You should probably call Luke to go get your truck.”
“I would, but my cell is dead.”
“We’re not far from there. I’ll just drop you off. I’m sure neither he or James would mind giving you a ride home.”
Oh, Baby! (The Townsends Book 2) Page 23