Page 77 of Not Our First Rodeo
The room is quiet, and I listen to the clock ticking on the wall, my hand pressed against my stomach, feeling my baby move around inside it. It’s crazy how clearly I can feel her movements now, when just a few months ago, they were barely there flutters, butterfly wings brushing against my insides. Now, I can see the outline of her foot even through the fabric of my T-shirt.
Beside me, the door opens once more, and the doctor returns. I can’t read her expression, but my heart skips a beat in my chest regardless.
“There was protein in your urine sample. We’re going to go ahead and send you over to labor and delivery to be induced. Congratulations, Elsie. You’re having a baby.”
“We’regoingtowreck,and then you’re really not going to make it,” Cooper says from the passenger seat. I’ve been driving back to Larkspur as fast as humanly possible with a quadruped-filled trailer attached to my truck since I got the call from Elsie almost two hours ago. Cooper insisted we pull over for lunch, so I was in a fast-food parking lot when she called and told me they were taking her to labor and delivery. Cooper has kept up a steady stream of conversation since, probably in an attempt to keep me calm, but I think this is the first thing that’s actually registered.
He’s right. I need to get back home, but I also need to do it safely. I lift my foot off the gas ever so slightly. I have a skittish horse in the trailer, and driving recklessly is only going to make him harder to deal with when we get back to the ranch.
I heave out a breath, and some of the tension in my shoulders relaxes just a bit. “I’m freaked out,” I admit into the quiet of the cab. “I missed one single appointment, andthishappened.” I risk a glance at my brother.
He’s watching me calmly, a look of understanding on his face. “I was terrified when Willow went into labor,” he says.
Surprise ripples through me. I wasn’t aware that my brother was scared of anything.
A laugh rumbles out of him at the look of shock I must be wearing. “Any man who says they’re not terrified when their partner goes into labor is lying.”
“I just need to be there with her,” I tell him.
“You’ll get there.” He’s quiet for a minute. “And when you do, you’ll be scared as hell but also relieved and also feel like you’re going to throw up just a little bit.”
This pulls a smile from me.
“But birth is so cool. And Elsie is strong. She and the baby are going to pull through like champs, okay?”
I squeeze the wheel a little harder, my knuckles turning white. “What if she doesn’t?” I ask the question into the void, refusing to look at him. The fear has been nagging me since she called, since I heard the waver in her voice. Since I pulled up the web browser on my phone and looked up what we’re dealing with. Preeclampsia. It terrified me. Most cases turn out fine, but the risks, the complications put a fear in me like I’ve never felt before.
“I just got her back,” I tell him, my voice cracking. “I just got her back. I can’t lose her, Coop.”
“You’re not going to lose her.” He sounds calm but firm. Steady. He sounds like a father. He sounds likeourfather, and it soothes some of the jagged edges of fear inside me. “At this time tomorrow, you’re going to have a healthy wife and baby.” He pauses. “Well, hopefully.”
I cut a sharp look at him, and he laughs.
“What? Labor can take forever.”
I slump against the steering wheel. “God, Cooper. Choose your words a little more carefully next time.”
He chuckles again. “They’re going to be okay, Beau. And you’re going to be a dad.”
“I’m going to be a dad,” I whisper.
Elsie is uncomfortable by the time I finally make it to her hospital room. To my surprise, everyone in my family except my father—who was waiting for us at Lucky Stars to assist Cooper with the horse so I could head to the hospital—is already in the labor and delivery waiting room. I brush by them, telling them I’ll report back as soon as I see Elsie. Then I run up to her room, my heart thumping in my chest.
Jade is there with her, helping to adjust the pillow Elsie is leaning on. Elsie’s face is scrunched in pain, but when she sees me, everything in her body softens with relief. “You’re here.”
“I’m here,” I say, and move to the side Jade isn’t on, grabbing her hand and pressing a kiss to it. “I’m sorry it took so long.”
She shakes her head. “It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re here now.”
“I told her I could deliver the baby if you didn’t get here,” Jade offers. “How much harder can it be than a calf or foal?”
“Beau isn’t delivering the baby,” Elsie tells her in a tone that makes me think this isn’t the first time she’s said it.
Jade shrugs. “Offer still stands.”
“Thanks for being here with her,” I tell Jade.
She smiles. “Of course.”
