Page 122 of Lone Star Longing
“I’m pretty sure it’s nothing,” she said, stepping back when he moved toward her, his hand outstretched.
“Better safe than sorry,” Tanya said briskly. “Come on, I’m going with you.”
“Then I am, too,” her mother said.
“No,” Beck said, taking charge. “We’ll let you know what Austin says, but right now, I’ll just take her.”
Lacey put her hand in his and looked up at him gratefully. “That sounds like a plan. Don't eat the cake without me.”
She let Beck put his arm around her waist as he guided her out of the house to the relative peace of his truck. She pulled in another gasp of surprise as she stepped up on the running board, but he was there to support her as she managed to get into the seat and buckled in.
“I don't want Austin examining me.”
“I thought you said you were okay with him delivering the babies if it came to that.”
“Well, saying it and actually being ready for it are two different things. I’ve known him since I was a little kid, since he was a little kid.”
“Imagine everyone probably feels that way about him,” Beck said. “That’s something you’re all going to have to get over.”
“Yeah, tell me again if you need a colonoscopy or a proctology exam.”
“Oh, yeah. I’ll go to the city for those.”
“Too bad the town doesn’t have a midwife,” she mused as he parked the truck in front of Austin’s office.
“I think if anyone in town is qualified, it’s you.” He parked and slid out of the truck, running around the front of it to open her door before she’d even unlatched her seatbelt.
“I can hardly deliver my own baby.”
“No, but you can become a midwife and help others deliver theirs so they don't have to drive all the way into the city. You already have your nursing degree.”
“I already have patients, too.”
“Sure, but how often do you think you’d be called on?” he asked as he helped her down from the truck. “A couple of times a year?”
“Maybe. But there’s more to being a midwife than that. Classes, both birthing and lactation, stuff like that.”
“You sound like you’re thinking about it.”
“I’m trying to distract myself from the crisis at hand,” she said, only lying a little.
“It’s not a crisis. It’s inevitable. Come on. Let’s go see what he says, then we’ll call everyone at your house, and Poppy if we need to go to the city.”
She nodded, and looked up to see Austin holding the door waiting for them.
“Didn't think I’d see you professionally so soon,” he teased, motioning her through the small waiting room into the exam room.
The place smelled old, musty, like it had been closed up a while. But there was also the odor of freshly cut lumber, so she wondered what had been added. She didn't have much time to look around, because both Beck and Austin were ushering her toward the exam table.
She shook them both off and climbed up by herself, albeit not very gracefully.
“So tell me what’s going on,” Austin said, holding his hand up to Beck when he started to speak. “I want to hear it from Lacey.”
“My stomach started cramping during dinner, but it’s not constant. It’s rhythmic. My stomach gets really hard, and then relaxes.”
Austin nodded, looking right at her. “Have you been timing them?”
“No, I didn't have a watch or phone handy. Not super fast. Not even sure how rhythmic they are, just that they seem to have a pattern.”
