“I’m certainly hoping so.” Mesa’s face grimaced as another contraction pulled her lower body muscles, as she settled into a seated position.
Trish lowered one experienced hand to feel the length of the tightening and smiled encouragingly at the woman in the chair. “Yeah,” she said after a few seconds. “That’s a good one.” Her brown eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked up at Rafe. “Are you going to help?”
“Of course, he is,” Mesa answered for him.
All Rafe managed to do was nod and Trish saw the fear reflected in his eyes. She patted his shoulder. “Want me to call Levi to come up here and sit with you?”
He managed to shake his head negatively. “Let’s just get Mesa inside so her doctor can check her out.”
A chortle trickled back as Trish pushed the chair toward the entrance. “All this is going to take a while, cousin. Try to relax, or we’ll have to get a doctor down here for you, as well.”
“Just wait until it’s your turn. Women think they do the hard part. It’s hell, watching someone you love go through this,” he groused.
Trish laughed heartily, and Mesa groaned. “The next time, you carry the baby and give birth. I’ll gladly watch you go through the whole pregnancy and give birth,” Mesa offered.
“If men had to do that, we wouldn’t ever have to worry about birth control or over populating the world,” Trish managed to get out, despite her laughter.
Six hours later, an exhausted Mesa sat in the bed, quietly holding her newborn son while he nursed. Rafe sat next to her, one of his hands gently rubbing the baby’s head, amazed at the thick, black hair that covered the tiny scalp.
“He’s so little,” Rafe muttered for maybe the fifteenth time.
Mesa looked at him, her eyes sparkling with joy. “You wouldn’t think that if it had been you trying to push him out into this world.”
He dropped a kiss to the side of her head. “It was unbelievable, watching you give birth. It’s one of my top two favorite memories.”
“What’s the other top memory?” she asked.
His face split into a grin. “Making him.” His dark eyes held hers and his head dropped to allow a long, emotional kiss. “Thank you, Mesa,” he said when the kiss ended. “Thank you for giving me two, beautiful children, thank you for being my wife, and thank you for being the most attentive lover I could ever imagine having.”
Their moment of private bonding with their son ended when a soft knock sounded on the door.
“Come on,” Rafe called softly, while Mesa lifted the sheet up to cover little Jess’s head and her breast where he still suckled.
The door opened and Uci, Raale, Shirley and Rance, Jory and April, his soon-to-be-announced-intended, Levi, Beth, and Heather entered quietly.
“Where’s Jess?” Raale asked, her dark eyes darting from the empty, clear plastic bassinet to her parents, sitting side by side in the bed, her father’s long frame stretched out on top of the blanket that covered all of her mother, except for her head and shoulders.
Mesa had disengaged her son from her nipple and discreetly pulled her gown back over her breast. Now she carefully folded the cover back to reveal the tiny ruddy head to all her guests.
Raale climbed up onto her father’s lap and leaned over for a closer look, her face changing by the second, displaying the range of emotions that she was feeling. “He’s so little,” she breathed softly.
“Touch his head very gently,” Rafe encouraged. “He’s just gone to sleep.”
After a few minutes, he placed his daughter back on the floor and then eased his own big frame off the bed, making it possible for other’s to get closer to Mesa and the baby. It wasn’t long before the tiny bundle was passed from arm to arm, being introduced to the whole clan one at a time. Like a true Storm Horse, he wasn’t disturbed by the movement or the noise. He slept deeply and ignored them all.
After each person, including Raale, had an opportunity to hold the bundle, Uci took charge and placed him in the bassinet provided by the hospital and tucked the blanket tightly around him.
One or two at a time, the visitors left, only to be replaced by others, as news of the birth drifted across the town and when a nurse finally ushered the last of them out and closed the door, Mesa was already asleep.
Rafe stood beside the bed, looking at the woman who was the center of his universe and the new child she’d presented to the world.
He knew he couldn’t see the future, couldn’t know what challenges might lay ahead of them, but for this moment in time, he felt he was the most fortunate man alive. His coffee brown eyes closed, and he offered up a silent prayer of thanks for the blessings with which he had been gifted.
The End
If you wish to contact me, or leave a comment regarding my books, you can reach me at: [email protected]
Thank you for reading Sweet Talking Lawman and, especially if you enjoyed it, please leave a review, so others will know how you felt about it.
Sweet Talking Lawman Page 29