by Sandy James
“I’m having a daughter,” Cassie announced. “And I’ll hear no arguments against it.”
After a chuckle, Grace said, “Your daughter, then. When you’re holding her in your arms, the pain will be all but forgotten.”
***
Caleb was grateful the snow had stopped. Sunrise was still a good hour away, but he was bundled up and half way through the trek to Ty’s home.
He was proud of Sara for braving the cold and drifting snow to be with Cassie in her time of need. Although he’d always wanted a family, he’d never considered how difficult it was for a woman to bring a child into the world. Cassie was facing a trial, but Sara would be with her.
Since Adam had come to fetch her, Caleb assumed Grace Morgan was there as well. A good thing considering he had no idea if Sara had any experience with helping a woman deliver a baby.
Would Cassie and Grace come to help Sara when her time came? Not that he expected to become a father any time soon. He’d only made love to his wife once. But the future boded well—especially for tonight. Sara had given him exactly what he’d worked so hard to earn.
Her trust.
She’d wanted to share his bed for more than sleeping or him pleasuring her, and he’d felt the hunger in her kiss, the desire in her touch. From today forward, they would be in a true marriage—one of both companionship and passion.
How long would it take Cassie to have her baby? A few hours, more or less? The baby didn’t have too awfully far to travel.
He gave his head a shake to rid himself of the image of a baby being forced from a woman’s body.
How could mother and child survive such an ordeal? It was a miracle anyone was ever born at all.
His only experience with birth was attending sheep and horses. Those females handled birth with very little fuss and bother. Surely a human giving birth wouldn’t have any more trouble than a mare or a ewe. Perhaps his overactive imagination was exaggerating how difficult a human birth was since he’d never seen one.
Caleb guided the one-horse sleigh around another rather large snowdrift, grateful to see the Bishop’s home in the distance—nothing but a dark spot surrounded by pines set in a field of white. While it might have been faster to ride, he still had no idea if Sara could handle a horse. They’d only been together six weeks. She’d never had the to opportunity to show whether she was able to handle a horse well enough for long distances. The few places they’d traveled by horseback, they hadn’t ventured far from home. A frigid winter morning was no time to put her new abilities to the test.
He’d helped Sara bundle up for the trip and hoped she’d made it with little discomfort. It was colder now, something that tended to happen right after a good snowfall. Caleb had planned for his trip well, dressing in layers and covering almost all of his exposed skin. He’d also grabbed some wolf pelts to help make the trip home more comfortable for his wife.
And once they got back home, he’d stoke a fire inside her that would banish the cold for both of them.
The trip normally took about an hour. Even though he couldn’t check his pocket watch, Caleb knew almost two had passed. The sun was rising, although no warmth came with it. By the time he reached Ty’s home, he was cold, tired, and cranky. He’d give himself some time to warm up before he scooped up Sara, got her wrapped nice and warm, and then got her home. Where she belonged.
Adam came from the house, probably alerted by the sleigh’s bells. He’d donned his coat and gloves and was pulling a knit cap over his head. He grabbed the horse’s bridle and held the animal steady while Caleb climbed out of the sleigh. “Didn’t expect to see you so early.”
“Early?” He helped Adam unhitch the sleigh and set it aside as Adam led the horse toward the barn. “It’s a good hour after dawn. Figured the baby arrived hours ago. Thought I’d let Sara rest up before taking her home.”
“Rest up?” Adam’s chuckle rose from his mouth in white clouds. “I’m guessing you’ve never waited for a woman giving birth before.”
“Of course not,” Caleb said. “But seen plenty of ewes and mares and—”
Adam let out a deeper chuckle. “Let me give you a bit of advice, son. I wouldn’t be likening the women to sheep or horses. Doubt they’d take too kindly to the comparison.”
After the horse was rubbed down and put in a stall, Caleb followed Adam into the house. Ty didn’t even acknowledge them, pacing from one side of the room to another. None of the women were anywhere to be seen.
A scream rent the air, making all the men stop and turn to stare at the bedroom door. A cold chill ran the length of Caleb’s spine at hearing Cassie’s voice in such obvious pain.
When Ty sprinted for the door, Adam blocked his path. “Wait.”
“Get outta my way Adam.” Ty clenched his hands at his sides.
“You’re not going in there until—”
Another sound, a baby’s lusty cry, spilled from the bedroom.
“See?” Adam said, cuffing Ty on the shoulder. “All’s well. Let Grace and Sara help Cassie get settled. She won’t want you to see her ’til she’s ready.”
“Sara!” Ty shouted. “Is Cassie all right?”
“She’s fine,” came Sara’s muffled reply. “So is the baby.”
A grin spread over Adam’s face. “Our Sara is such a clever girl.”
“Clever?” Caleb asked. “Don’t get me wrong, I think Sara’s clever too. Just not sure what made you mention it now.”
“Did you happen to notice,” Adam replied, “that she didn’t mention whether that rather loud baby is a boy or a girl? She’s going to let Cassie share the happy news with Ty.”
Chapter Twelve
Sara cradled the newborn, marveling at the ten tiny fingers and chubby pink face. The baby’s eyelashes were thick and brown, and her fingernails were delicate and long enough to need trimming.
Such a miracle. So perfectly formed. So small. So very...loud.
After pitching a crying fit after her birth, the little girl settled down until Sara bathed her. The water—even though it was warm—had set the child to bellowing, so Sara hurried, being sure to clean away the messy part of bringing a child into the world while Grace tended to Cassie.
The night had been long and, for Sara, filled with worry. Cassie was brave, bearing up as wave after wave of pains assailed her. Toward the end, she’d pulled her knees up and pushed hard enough her face flushed cherry-red. Had Grace not been there, Sara would have panicked, worried that the baby was stuck or that it wasn’t in the proper position for birthing.
But Grace had been every bit the embodiment of her name. She’d told Cassie about the two times she’d given birth and had offered encouragement. To distract the expectant mother, Grace had kept up a stream of chatter, asking questions of both Cassie and Sara and fussing with tasks like refolding already orderly towels or dusting the pristine furniture. Sara quickly learned that whenever Cassie was distracted, she seemed better able to handle her labors, so Sara had joined in, trying to learn more about her brother and her husband and see them through Cassie’s eyes.
When the baby’s birth drew near, the normally sweet-natured Cassie had morphed into an angry shrew, even bellowing profanities at Ty through the closed door. Ty had shouted back an apology, no matter what it was that Cassie blamed him for—everything from causing her to be in her predicament to bringing about the snow storm that had kept the wind crying through the night.
Grace smoothed the clean quilt over Cassie. “Now remember…take it easy. Daisy will be coming to help so I can get some rest, but I’ll be back soon. You’ve just fought a war and need to let your body recover.”
“I shall remember,” Cassie replied. “Truth be told, I’m far too weary and sore to do anything except hold my daughter.” She beckoned to Sara.
Sara smiled and settled the baby in Cassie’s arms.
Cassie stroked one tiny palm with her pinkie, causing the baby to grasp and hold that finger tightly.
“Thank you both,”
Cassie said, tears filling her eyes. “I will never be able to tell you how much it meant to me to have you both here. I could never have survived had you not come to my aid. I panic when I ponder Ty performing those duties. I never wish for him to see me in such an dreadful position.”
“I think of you as my own daughter.” Tears pooled in Grace’s eyes as well. “Just as Ty is my son. I’m honored you asked for me to attend you.”
“And you, Sara.” Cassie sniffed. “You are the sister I always wished for, and I hope you will stand as godmother for my child.”
Although Sara had grown up with Jacqueline, she’d never once considered her “charge” as sisterly. Jacqueline treated Sara as a servant. Sara’s own sisters had all abandoned her to life, as had her brothers.
Except Ty.
Ty had been the one to relentlessly track her down. Had he not done so, she’d still be at The Palace, playing the whore for men not worthy to spit upon. But thanks to her brother, she had a loving husband and a home of her own.
Godmother? Never in her life would Sara have believed someone would ask her to perform that sacred duty.
And now she had a sister who cared for her.
Tears spilling down her cheeks, Sara could only nod.
“Now you must give my daughter a cousin—someone she can grow up with,” Cassie ordered. “You and Caleb must start a family of your own.”
The sincerity and love in Cassie’s voice made Sara long to immediately agree. But she wasn’t sure she could ever be a mother. Instead of replying with the stark truth, she only nodded again. There was no need tainting such a beautiful moment with sadness. The burden was Sara’s alone to bear.
Grace smoothed the backs of her hands over her cheeks. “Just look at the three of us weeping. The men are likely to see us and think there’s a problem.”
A loud knock sounded. “Everything okay in there? Ain’t hearing cryin’ no more.” Ty shouted through the door. The incessant rattle of the knob spoke of his urgency to meet his new child and see to his wife’s welfare.
“You may come in,” Cassie called.
Sara and Grace stepped back, a good thing considering Ty—followed closely by Caleb and Adam—spilled into the room. Taking a seat on the side of the bed, Ty gently touched his daughter’s head with a trembling hand.
“We have a daughter,” Cassie said. “A fine healthy daughter.”
Ty smoothed his hand over the baby’s brown hair, making it lie flat. The tresses immediately stood back on end. “Why’s it do that?” he asked, his tone full of wonder.
“Pardon?” Cassie asked, knitting her brows. “What does what do what?”
“Her hair,” Ty replied. “It stands on end like something gave her an awful scare.”
While everyone chuckled, Cassie frowned. “Her hair is beautiful.” She kissed the baby’s head.
Ty kissed Cassie’s forehead. “You did good, Cassie girl.”
“We did well,” she countered.
Caleb came to stand by Sara and snaked an arm around her waist. She was so worn-out she leaned heavily against him and yawned.
“You tired, sweetheart?” he asked.
She let out another yawn as she nodded. “A rather unnecessary question considering it’s past dawn.”
“Do you have a name picked out for my granddaughter?” Adam asked. He stepped behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him, clearly as exhausted as Sara was.
Sara was so weary Adam’s question made little sense. “Granddaughter? How can she be your—?” Ty’s story of how Adam had taken him and Jake Curtis in and raised them as his own sons came flooding back. “Oh. Pardon my confusion.”
If only someone as kind as Adam Morgan had taken her in as a child, her future would have been so very different. Instead she’d become an indentured servant and then an inexperienced mistress to a man who’d used her and then sold her into Crazy Kate’s service.
But there was no use wishing for what could never be.
Thankfully, Adam’s smile spoke of forgiveness.
“We ain’t talked about names,” Ty replied. “Guess we’ve got a chore to do.”
A soft chuckle from Cassie was interrupted by a yawn, and the heaviness of her eyelids attested to how hard the new mother struggled to stay awake.
“Well then...I’d say you two have plenty to discuss.” Adam rubbed his wife’s shoulders. “Snow’s let up, Gracie. Let me take you home. You need some rest.”
“I need to see Benjamin first,” she said. “Then I can sleep.”
“Benjamin?” Sara asked.
“Our son,” Adam replied.
“He’s three,” Grace added. “Cassie?”
Cassie glanced up from her daughter.
“I’ll be back soon,” Grace promised. “Daisy was supposed to set out at dawn. She should be here anytime.”
Cassie nodded.
“Don’t you worry none,” a friendly rather husky woman’s voice sang from the other room. “Daisy’s here!”
With the force of a tornado, a plump, gray-haired woman rushed into the bedroom. She hurried to the bed. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll take right good care of Miss Cassie and this beautiful new baby.”
“I have a daughter, Daisy,” Cassie said.
The familiarity was evident, so Sara didn’t ask who this whirlwind was.
“Daisy keeps the Morgans’ house,” Caleb whispered in her ear. “But she’s more like family.”
She gave him a quick nod of understanding, grateful he’d so easily followed her thought process. “Shall we go home? If the snow has stopped, will the trip be treacherous?”
“The sun’s coming out good and strong,” Caleb replied. “It’ll be warm enough to melt some of the snow away. I’d be happy to take you home.”
***
Will I ever be warm again?
Although Caleb had gone to considerable effort to make the trip home as cozy as possible, Sara felt chilled to the bone. She shed her outer garments and huddled close to the heat. Thankfully, he’d lit a fire in the stove and in the bedroom hearth before going out to tend the horses, but even the rising flames couldn’t seem to help her banish the cold.
Shivering hard enough her teeth chattered, she rubbed her hands together, hating the stinging feeling of them rewarming almost as much as she’d hated them feeling like blocks of ice. A moan slipped out as she shifted her weight between her numb feet to try to restore circulation.
Sara flopped into a chair and tried to remove her boots. Her fingers were too stiff to obey her will. She probably should have alerted her husband to her growing discomfort on the ride home, but he’d been preoccupied simply guiding the horses along the barely visible path he’d made in the snow on his trip to Ty’s house. Since he had to be suffering from the cold every bit as much as she’d been, she wasn’t about to complain.
Now she was paying the price. She knew little of how to help frostbite, and all she could think to do was get her shoes and socks off, move close to the fire, and hope there was no permanent damage. Her fingers were turning red as they rewarmed, something she hoped was a good sign. Unfortunately, they were also beginning to swell, looking more and more like fat sausages.
Just when she’d abandoned hope of getting her boots off, Caleb came in, shaking the snow off his coat. He took one look at where she’d left her coat, mittens, hat, and scarf on the floor and frowned.
“I’m sorry to be so untidy,” Sara said through teeth that still chattered. “I–I wanted to get close to the fire.”
He shook his head. “Don’t rightly care about that. Are you all right?”
“F–fine.” A shudder raced through her body. “I seem to be having trouble sh–shaking the chill.”
Caleb jerked off his hat, scarf, and gloves, dropping them on top of her small pile. His coat quickly followed. He strode across the room to kneel in front of her, taking her hands in his.
How could his hands be so warm after that long, cold ride
and then tending to the horses?
He turned her hands over so he could look at her palms. “You’re near to frostbit, sweetheart. Why didn’t you tell me you were hurtin’?”
Sara shrugged.
Rubbing her hands with his own, he helped the circulation return. With it came more of the pain that felt like dozens if not hundreds of pin pricks. She bit her lip hard to keep from moaning, but tears pooled in her eyes. She dropped her chin so he wouldn’t notice.
“What about your feet?” he asked. He finally let her hands go. “They hurtin’ too?” It only took him a few moments to remove her boots and socks.
Her feet were white.
“Oh, Sara. Sweetheart, we gotta get you warm.” Caleb stood and scooped her into his arms. Instead of carrying her closer to the stove, he strode to their bedroom. “Need to get you out of them wet clothes and wrapped up with something warm.”
She didn’t fight him when he unbuttoned her shirt. Since his intent was solely focused on helping get her warm, she saw no need to fight him. If anything, she took great comfort in knowing he was concerned for her wellbeing.
Trust. She truly did trust him. Once she was warm, she intended to follow through with the promise she’d made. She would be his wife in truth, and her body shook at the notion that the pleasure he’d shown her would not only continue but grow when they shared themselves with each other. Funny, but her passionate thoughts were helping relieve the chill.
In no time, he had her stripped even her underwear, but he quickly covered her with a flannel nightgown. He swept the covers aside, picked her up, and set her on the mattress.
“What is warm enough to wrap me up in?”
“Me.” With a glint in his eyes, he stripped quickly, coming to the bed naked. And aroused.
Caleb hadn’t forgotten her promise and her declaration of desire. Hell, his cock got hard the moment he’d stepped back in their house. He wasn’t going to push her, though. Right now she needed his warmth. Only when she was again comfortable would he try for more.