Jack sighed with obvious relief and chucked the keys to David, who barely managed to catch Jack’s bad throw. “Maybe I’ll stay here. Call me when it’s over.”
She quivered with the effort not to laugh at her brother, whose anxiety level was probably ten points higher than her own.
David glared at him and, with a slight edge in his voice, said, “Get yer ass in the car. Ye’re going with us. I won’t have Charlotte worrying about ye while she’s trying to birth a bairn. Ye can pace in the waiting room with Elliott.”
The cat rubbed up against Jack’s leg, and he scratched her head. “I’ll be back later, Cat, and we’ll talk about giving you a name. I guess you’re here to stay.”
95
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia
“Why aren’t ye here already? If ye don’t get on the plane now, ye won’t make it, and Charlotte wants ye attending the birth.” David disconnected the phone and refilled Charlotte’s empty cup with ice chips. “They’re on their way to the plane, and they’ll be here in less than two hours.”
Charlotte adjusted her bulky frame, searching for a comfortable position. “What took them so long? I thought they were leaving two hours ago.”
David put his arm around her back and helped her straighten in the bed. “A mare.”
Charlotte groaned. “Elliott’s not vetting anymore. Why’d he have to be there?”
“He has high hopes for the foal. It’s one of Stormy’s.”
She crunched on the ice. “Where’s Jack?”
“Pacing in the waiting room, on the phone with his agent.”
“I forgot the New York Times best seller list comes out today. I bet he made it again.”
David placed his hand on Charlotte’s bulging tummy. “He didn’t say.”
Even before David had belly-mapped the baby, whenever he was with her, he had caressed her stomach. She had asked him why, and he had shrugged, saying he owed Braham for saving Jack’s life, and he wanted Braham’s child, as he grew, to feel the warmth of a man’s love and hear the burr of his Scottish accent.
She placed her hand over David’s, appreciating his warmth and strength. His hand reminded her so much of Braham’s, with its long slim fingers and powerful grip.
“Are you sure you want to stay in here during the birth?” she asked.
He kissed her forehead. “After going through those classes, I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Did you clear your schedule when you talked to your agent earlier? I’d love for you to stay a few more days.”
“I told her I wanted time with my godchild before I left town. She gave me two weeks, but then I have to leave. She’s scheduled a book tour starting the first of next month.”
“Between your tour and Jack’s, the baby and I will have to find a bookstore to get five minutes with either one of you.”
Jack popped his head in the door, but didn’t venture into the room. “I talked to Ken. As soon as he finishes rounds, he’ll be on his way. He said to wait for him.”
Charlotte laughed. “We’re not waiting for anybody.” Unless it was for Braham. If she knew he was on his way, she—they—would delay as long as possible. “Come in here and sit with us.”
“No, thanks. I’ll wait out here. Where are Elliott and Meredith? I thought they were supposed to be here by now.”
“There’re only now leaving the farm.”
“Well, if you need anything, I’ll be in the waiting room.” The door whooshed shut behind him.
She heaved a sigh. “Do you suppose if I told Jack I wasn’t in pain and I simply wanted him to hold my hand, he’d stay?”
David shrugged. “Ye know him better than I do. What do ye think?”
“I don’t know him as well as I used to.”
David poured more ice in her cup. “Has he changed so much?”
Something about the way David was looking at her, as if he could see inside her mind, made her heart knock lightly against her ribs. “No, but I have. Jack’s noticed, too.”
She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes for a few minutes. “Sometimes when I close my eyes, I see rats. I never saw them in the darkness, but I felt them. At night, when the baby moves and wakes me, I wake up thinking I feel them crawling on me again.”
David didn’t move, but something changed in him. He straightened, and then he quickly settled into his skin again. “Why are ye thinking about it now?”
She licked her lips and popped another ice chip into her mouth. “Moms and babies die, even in hospitals.”
He set the ice pitcher on the table with a smack. “I killed them, Charley. There were four. They’ll never crawl on ye again. They’ll never bite ye or scare ye.”
She fingered the scar on her ear. “You never told me.”
“No point in mentioning it, if ye didn’t. If I had only stayed in Washington and sent someone else to Maryland, ye wouldn’t have spent more than fifteen minutes in Henly’s hellhole.” As he spoke, the tiny lines around his eyes tightened with strain.
“Everyone was doing what they could to free Jack. Gordon gets all the blame. Come here,” she said. He leaned in, and she kissed him very lightly on the lips. “You saved my life.” She gasped and pressed her hand against her back. “Even with the epidural, I feel a different kind of pressure with this contraction.” She pressed the call button.
“Can I help you?” a nursed asked.
“I think something is changing. Will you send my nurse?”
The nurse arrived within thirty seconds. David rested his hand on Charlotte’s shoulder and she squeezed it.
After finishing her exam, the nurse pulled off her gloves and covered Charlotte’s legs with the sheet. “You’re getting close. You’re about eight centimeters dilated.”
Once the epidural was in and she no longer needed to breathe through contractions, Charlotte gave the okay for a few visitors. Word had spread, and most of the OB nurses
