Page 55 of Bridles and Bribery

Dave remained standing in the middle of the lane, watching until he drove out of sight.

Josh strode his way. “I think we can rule out any connection to the case.”

“Yeah.” Dave shook his head wryly. “Pretty sure he’s not one of the creeps after us.”

“Come on.” Josh squeezed his shoulder. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry. You’re about to become a dad.”

They jogged back to the sedan and climbed inside.

“Missed my ride to the medical center,” Dave grumbled.

“No, you didn’t.” Josh turned on an emergency siren Dave hadn’t realized was installed in the car and flashed a set of emergency lights that Dave did know about.

They took a different route than any of the ambulances and arrived at the medical center right behind thefirst ambulance screaming into the parking lot. Josh drove to a side entrance reserved for authorized personnel only. “This way!”

The moment Dave stepped from the car, he was converged on by more Lonestar Security guards. They ran with him in a huddle to the building and entered an authorized personnel only set of elevators.

Within moments, Dave stepped through yet another pair of guards into Jillian’s delivery room.

She looked up from her bed, flushed and panting. “Dave!” She sobbed out his name, reaching for him. “You made it!”

He sprinted her way, bending over the bed to kiss her tenderly. “Sorry I’m late, babe.”

“You’re right on time.” She winced as another contraction seized her.

He held her hands, not knowing what else to do.Please, God, be with Jillian and our baby.Dave’s entire world was in this delivery room.

Jillian gripped his hands like a lifeline as she bore down, keening in pain.

His mother was perched on a vinyl chair on the other side of the bed. At the sight of him, tears started dripping down her cheeks. “Oh, Dave!” She waited until Jillian finished panting through her contraction before standing and moving around to his side of the bed. She slid her arms around his neck from behind. “I love you so much. Both of you.” She kissed the top of his head, weeping softly. “I’ll be in the waiting room if you need anything.”

He reached up and awkwardly patted her hand, unaccustomed to any show of emotion from his irascible parent. “Stay,” he pleaded.

He’d never expected her to remain in town this long,but she had. More importantly, she’d been there for Jillian in ways that he hadn’t been able to. She was as much a part of this now as he was.

Jillian soon pushed out a squalling baby.

“It’s a boy,” the delivery physician announced excitedly.

Her medical staff did their thing — clipping, suctioning, weighing, measuring, and cleaning. They pronounced the infant smaller than average at just shy of six pounds. He was otherwise in tiptop shape. They wrapped him in a clean white blanket and handed him to Jillian.

“Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips!” The physician shook Dave’s hand and beamed a satisfied smile at Jillian before leaving the room.

“Thank you,” Dave called after her. “And thank you!” He turned in wonder back to his wife. “Thank you for giving me a son.” He gently stroked a finger down her cheek, unable to tear his gaze away from her and the baby trying to nurse for the first time. After helping put countless criminals in jail, it was an entirely new experience for him to witness the miracle of birth.

“Just look at those itty bitty fists,” his mother sighed. “And those sweet little dimples in his feet. My heart is full, son.” She reached out to press a finger into one of the miniature dimples.

“What do you think of Bowen Chess Phillips?” Jillian’s voice wafted up to Dave, soft and questioning.

His hand on her cheek grew still. “For our son?”

She nodded, all misty-eyed and glowing. She’d never been more beautiful to him. “After both of our fathers.”

“I like it, babe.” They hadn’t had the opportunity to spend much time discussing stuff like this. Clearly, she’d given it more thought than he had.

“I know my dad’s name is Chester, but I like Chess better.”

“Me, too.” It was a nod to her father without giving him the full glory he didn’t deserve.

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