Architect's Angel (Culpepper Cowboys Book 16)

by Merry Farmer

  “It’s okay.” Faith was still panting with shock. Or maybe not shock. “It’s okay, it’s…aaaaah!” She clutched the side of her pregnant belly with one hand and leaned heavily against Tabby.

  Tabby’s first thought was that Faith was a true friend for faking labor pains as a result of Arch’s dumb prank. She grinned wickedly at Arch, as if she’d already gotten him back. Arch went from looking victorious and smug to contrite and anxious.

  When Faith groaned a second time and started shaking even harder, Tabby lost every bit of gloating she had. She turned to face Faith, giving her all of her focus.

  “Is it the baby?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” Faith wailed. She glanced up to meet Tabby’s eyes. “I’ve been having a little bit of pain this morning, not too much, but I dunno. All that snow sort of flipped a switch or—oh!” Her eyes went wide. “I think my water just broke.”

  Tabby the vengeful prankster with confusing feelings for her rival disappeared. Tabby the obstetrician was all that was left. “The clinic is just across the street. Do you think you can make it or should we get a car?”

  “I can make it,” Faith said, more anxiety in her voice than Tabby liked to hear from her patients. She proved her words by starting to walk.

  “I’ll get Cooper,” Arch said. His face had gone pale. “I’m really sorry, Faith. Really sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Faith said, waving for him to go all the same.

  Arch glanced from her to Tabby. “I’m seriously sorry.”

  Tabby didn’t have time to worry about looking like a fool if she was nice to him. She sent him a sympathetic smile and said, “The baby was coming soon anyhow. Right now, the best thing you can do is to get Cooper and meet us over at the clinic.”

  “Right. Okay.”

  Arch leapt into motion, rushing away to find Cooper. Sammy came up on Faith’s other side, and together she and Tabby walked her through the church parking lot and across the street to the clinic.

  “I guess I couldn’t ask for more,” Faith tried to laugh as they squeezed through the clinic’s front door. “I’ve got an obstetrician on one side and a midwife on the other.”

  Tabby was able to laugh too, once they made it inside the clinic. They were on her turf at last. She had everything around her to do what she did best, and instantly her confidence level soared.

  “Let’s just get you into the delivery room over here, get you changed into something more comfortable, and bring this baby into the world,” she said, steering Faith down the hall.

  “It’ll probably take a while anyhow,” Sammy added as soothingly as she could. “First babies can be stubborn.”

  “I don’t know about this one.” Faith sounded more at ease too as they entered the cozy delivery room. “I think he wants out.”

  With Sammy’s help, Tabby got Faith undressed, cleaned up, and into a fresh, warm hospital gown. She had Faith in bed and had started on a thorough check of vitals and dilation before Cooper burst into the room.

  “What’s going on?” Cooper asked in a panic. “Is everything okay?” He rushed straight to Faith’s side. “I’ll murder Arch O’Donnell for pulling that prank.”

  “I’m sorry, Cooper.” Arch marched into the room too. “It was supposed to just get Tabby.”

  Cooper sent him a dubious look, then turned his attention to his wife.

  “When are the two of you going to grow up anyhow?” Sammy asked as she busied herself at the side of the room, getting together all the instruments and supplies Tabby would need for the delivery.

  “I’ll grow up when he grows up,” Tabby answered without thinking. A second later, she blinked up from where she was taking Faith’s blood pressure. “Hang on, what are you doing here?”

  “I brought Cooper,” Arch answered lamely.

  Tabby left Faith to walk over to him, grab him by the arm, and push him out the door. “Family only. You know that. Everybody knows that.”

  “I was just trying to help,” Arch protested, stopping in the hall. “Things went too far.”

  Tabby sighed. “Arch, things went too far fifteen years ago. It’s time we ended this.”

  His tumultuous expression softened to something that left Tabby tingling. “You’re right,” he said, voice lowered. “It is time we end this. Tabby, I—”

  Faith groaned in the room behind them. Tabby flashed back to doctor mode. “Later,” she said, stepping back into the delivery room. “We’ll talk about this later.”

  Things moved quickly once she gave her full attention to Faith. As soon as Sammy had everything set up, she left to call the nurse who usually assisted Tabby with deliveries. Once Faith was satisfied that she and her baby were in good hands, she insisted Cooper go grab her pre-packed bag of supplies from their car, still in the church’s parking lot.

  “I called Dad to let him know we’re not going to make it to Christmas dinner,” Sammy said when she came back into the room.

  Tabby glanced up from where she was checking on Faith’s dilation. “You don’t have to skip Christmas dinner for me.”

  “Yeah,” Faith added, a little calmer than at the church, but also in a tiny bit more pain. “Don’t wreck your Christmas plans on my behalf.”

  “Hey.” Sammy walked to the head of the bed and squeezed Faith’s hand. “Trust me, there’s no place I’d rather be than helping at the birth of the first Culpepper grandchild.”

  Things moved fast from there. Cooper returned with Faith’s bag, and with half the rest of the family. Most of them had to wait out in the lobby with Sammy acting as go-between, but Tabby let Linda in along with Cooper. It was a good thing they’d been so close to the church when Faith went into labor. Faith was right—her little guy was in a hurry to come into the world.

  After only three hours of labor, the crown of his head made its big appearance.

  “Here he is,” Tabby announced, shifting into position to deliver the boy. “Are you ready to push?”

  Faith nodded vigorously, her sweaty hair plastered to her brow. It all happened so fast, they hadn’t even had time to give her an epidural. Although Faith had insisted from the start that she didn’t want one.

  “Here we go,” Tabby announced. “Ready? Push.”

  Everything moved like clockwork. Cooper gripped Faith’s hand on one side, Linda on her other, as Faith bore down with everything she had. Tabby didn’t even blink as she watched the baby’s progress, ready to do anything she had to. Her nurse, Carly, stood by, ready to assist. But in the end no extreme measures were needed. The healthy baby boy that they’d been expecting for so long, slid into the world, easy as pie. Carly stepped in to suction his mouth and nose, and he let out a loud cry of greeting and protest. Tabby lifted the baby straight onto Faith’s chest, getting all teary as Faith and Cooper wept with joy at the birth of their son.

  “He’s perfect,” Faith sniffled, bending as best she could to kiss his forehead. “He’s absolutely perfect.”

  As much as Tabby would have liked to stay there and share in the joy of the new family, her job as Faith’s doctor wasn’t done. After happy introductions, Carly took the baby to clean him up and take his measurements, while Tabby made sure that Faith was clean and clear, stitched up where she needed to be, and ready for a well-deserved rest. Faith fell asleep in the middle of it all, and Tabby didn’t blame her one bit.

  “Thank you so much.” Linda gave Tabby a huge hug once Tabby was finished with her work. “I’m so proud of the doctor you’ve become.”

  It was a huge shock to hear the woman who she’d admired from the time she was a young girl dealing with her parents’ divorce say that she was proud. Such a shock, in fact, that it left Tabby as teary as any of the Culpeppers.

  “Thanks, Linda,” she managed to squeak back.

  Linda hugged her again and whispered, “I just know that your turn for a family of your own is just around the corner. If you’re brave enough to go for it.” She finished the hug and held Tabby at arm’s length. “A
nd I know you’re brave enough.”

  Linda winked, then went to join the rest of her family in the lobby. Heart full in a way it never had been before, Tabby turned to look at her sister, who had witnessed the whole exchange. Without words, Sammy’s grin managed to convey that she felt the same way. And there was a touch of mystery in her eyes too.

  “Good job, sis,” she said, coming over to give Tabby a hug. “Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas to you too.”

  “Come on. It’s too late to go to Dad’s, but we can have supper together at the diner. I hear they’ve cooked an entire Christmas feast for everyone who’s away from home this year.”

  “That sounds awesome,” Tabby said.

  She checked on Faith one more time, then left Carly in charge as she and Sammy headed over to the diner. She sure was lucky to have family and friends who cared about her so much.

  After Tabby and Sammy left the clinic, Sly and Rachel, along with Doc and Nancy, slipped out of the side office where they’d been hiding.

  “Is the coast clear?” Sly asked, just to be sure.

  The entire Culpepper family was packed into the waiting room. Chris got up to check out the window. “Yep. Tabby and Sammy just went into the diner, and Arch’s truck is gone.”

  “Good.” Linda smiled brightly. “So what’s the plan?”

  “To get Tabby and Arch together?” Honor asked.

  “Well, they’ve got to stop dancing around the issue before someone gets hurt,” Cooper growled, the only one there who wasn’t bubbling with mischievous excitement.

  “They obviously want to be together,” Linda went on. “They just don’t know how.”

  “Fortunately, I know just the thing.” Sly grinned, surveying them all with a grin like the cat that ate the canary. “We’re all going to need to be on board with this. I’ve already talked to Sammy, and she’s called their dad to get him involved too. Tabby and Arch won’t know what hit them.”

  “It’s about time,” Linda said.

  Sly leaned closer, everyone else moving in to hear him. “The plan starts in three days…”

  Chapter 4

  It was a sobering feeling to know you’d done something very, very wrong. Arch carried that feeling around with him for the next couple of days. He’d never questioned for a moment whether he was the hero of his own story—not to mention the story of him and Tabby—but there was no denying he’d crossed a line. And sure, Faith and little Joseph Culpepper were perfectly fine, but they so easily could have not been.

  “Dude, it’s two days after Christmas,” Doc called across the space that separated the living room from the dining room. Doc and Nancy were tucked on the sofa together playing something on the new game system Sly had got for the family. Arch sat at the dining room table, putting together the deluxe-level Lego set Elvie and Evan had bought him. “You’re as gloomy as if someone condemned a building you designed.”

  “I just don’t feel like being social,” Arch explained, keeping his eyes on his Legos. He would build the space ship according to the instructions that came with it, then he’d take it apart and make it into some sort of futuristic house.

  The sound of a video explosion followed, and Nancy tossed her controller aside. She twisted to kneel on the couch, resting her forearms on the back. “You’re still upset about Faith going into labor because of your prank, aren’t you?”

  Arch grunted. His heart sank a little farther into his stomach. What had ever made him think that pulling pranks the way he used to in high school was a suitable activity for an adult?

  Tabby, that’s who.

  But not through any direct statement to that effect. It was something about knocking heads with her at the class reunion, something about seeing her again after so many years. Sure, he’d been back in town since the summer, and as far as he knew, she’d never left, except maybe to get her medical degree. They’d seen each other in passing a time to two earlier in the fall, but it was the reunion that really ignited all those old sparks.

  He should have manned up and talked to her like a sane person. As much as he hated the idea, maybe he really had resorted to stupid pranks because he wanted to be close to her but couldn’t figure out how.

  “Uh oh.”

  Doc’s statement pulled Arch out of his thoughts. He frowned and turned to his brother. “What?”

  “He’s got that look.” Doc was talking to Nancy, not him.

  “What look?” Nancy couldn’t keep the teasing grin off her face.

  “That look he has when he knows he was wrong about something, but rather than do anything about it, he lets it eat him up inside.”

  “Nothing is eating me up inside,” Arch argued. Which, of course, was a blatant lie. Everything was eating him up. Particularly the fact that he didn’t know what else to do besides let it eat him up.

  “Okay, well, I’m relatively new to this family,” Nancy went on, “but isn’t stopping your brother from eating his heart out the familial thing to do?”

  “Sure.” Doc shrugged. “But Arch is pretty stubborn. I’m not sure that he’s done sulking about it yet.”

  “I’m not sulking,” Arch snapped. And that was another stupid lie.

  He sighed, putting down the Lego piece he’d been about to fit into place. He turned in his chair to face Doc and Nancy.

  “I’m mad at myself for taking things too far,” he admitted. Ugh. Admitting stuff like that was way harder than it should have been. At the same time, a little bit of the weight pressing down on him left his shoulders. “I feel terrible that Faith Culpepper went into labor because I was acting like a juvenile delinquent.”

  Doc and Nancy exchanged a look, brows raised. “Wow,” Nancy said. “Apparently, he can be taught.”

  “It’s a Christmas miracle.” Doc chuckled.

  “Shut up,” Arch mumbled, turning back to his Legos.

  “No, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Nancy rushed on, holding out her hands. “I was just teasing. I’ve never had siblings to tease before.”

  Arch rolled his shoulders, working to fight off the misery that wouldn’t let him go. “It’s okay.”

  There was a short pause, then Nancy went on with, “So how did this whole prank thing with Tabby Ross start anyhow? I mean, I know it started when the two of you were in high school.”

  The uncomfortable feeling that Arch was seventeen again crept up on him. “It started when we were running against each other for class president.”

  “Yeah, I heard that you two ran a pretty tense race.” Nancy shifted to sit on the couch, arms resting on the back as she listened to him. Doc settled in for the story too.

  Arch glanced between the two of them. He might as well tell the whole thing.

  “You probably heard that Tabby and I dated the summer before our senior year too.”

  “Yep,” Nancy said.

  A swirl of bittersweet memories curled back on Arch. Those had been good days. The best days. Right before the worst.

  “We had a good time.” That was all he was going to say about it. “We’d sort of been friendly before that, so it’s not like dating came out of the blue. That was the summer our parents tried to go into rehab for alcohol,” Arch added with a grimace.

  “Oh yeah.” Doc sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “It was that same summer.”

  “What happened?” Nancy asked, her voice small.

  Doc shrugged. “Rehab didn’t work. Mom and Dad fought a lot about it. They were gone a lot too. Sly pretty much took care of the rest of us, and I left for college in August.”

  “Elvie was away too,” Arch went on. “I pretty much bore the brunt of the mess Mom and Dad created.”

  He’d never said that before. In all the years since, he’d never talked about how he’d been the only one at home—besides Sly and his occasional long visits home—at the beginning of the end of his parents’ abuse problems.

  “Anyhow, Tabby was a big help,” Arch went on. He shook his head. “I’m not gonna l
ie. She kept me going for a while there.” His frown darkened to a scowl. “Which was why I felt so hurt when she announced she was running for class president.”

  “Why?” Nancy shrugged, blinking innocently.

  “Why?” Arch echoed. “Because I needed her. Class president was a big job. I knew it meant we wouldn’t get to spend as much time together.”

  “Yeah,” Doc began slowly. “But if I remember right, Tabby had wanted to be senior class president for years. She was always super organized and had all sorts of ideas for ways to help your class.”

  “I didn’t see it that way,” Arch answered. Of course he hadn’t. He was a teenager with a chip on his shoulder, siblings who had disappeared, and parents who he wished would disappear. It seemed foolish and selfish to think about it now, but he’d wanted someone to be there for him, to be his rock.

  “So why’d you run against her if you knew the class president job took so much time?” Nancy asked.

  That was much harder to admit to. “I wanted to get back at her,” he mumbled. “I thought if I won instead of her, then she could help me do the job and end up spending a lot of time with me too.”

  Nancy arched a brow, looking dubious. “So when did the pranks start?”

  Arch ran a hand through his hair, then rubbed his face. “They started when I went around drawing moustaches on all of her campaign posters.”

  Doc snorted. “Real mature there, Arch.”

  “I was seventeen,” he growled. He paused, then went on. “She retaliated by putting up a bunch of fake campaign posters for me saying things like ‘Arch Sucks’ and ‘Vote Arch for Class Weiner.’”

  Nancy laughed, then slapped a hand over her mouth.

  “So, I put a frog in her podium when we had the debate. She retaliated by filling my locker with orange rinds.”

  “You two were ridiculous,” Doc laughed.

  Arch could see that now. But at the time, it had been war. “Tabby won, of course. I was furious. She’d broken up with me after the frog thing, but I wasn’t just going to sit there and take it. I slipped a few pictures of naked fat guys into her copy of the victory speech she gave when she won. I thought that would be the end of it, but a few days later, she painted my car pink.”