Page 42 of A Cowboy's Claim
“Tessa, it’s Dr. Jeremiah.” Sydney stepped into view, but Tessa barely acknowledged her presence. “I need you to take a deep breath and let me check you over.”
“This is not happening,” Tessa insisted between gasps. “I don’t want to have the baby now.”
“Let me take a look,” Sydney insisted, her nerves crawling as Tessa continued to wail.
Unfortunately, this was no false alarm.
“You’re well into labour,” Sydney assured Tessa. “But you still have a ways to go. The best thing is if you can keep moving a bit. Have you called an ambulance?”
“I’m not calling an ambulance. This happened before,” Tessa told her. “And then it stopped. I’m not leaving home. Danny will be here soon, and then it’ll all be okay.”
“Glad to know your husband’s on his way, but I’m calling the ambulance,” Sydney began.
“No,” Tessa shouted. “I won’t go in it.”
“That’s your right, but my choice is to have medical backup.” Sydney tried not to cringe as another contraction hit and Tessa’s volume went back up past ten. “I’ll be right back.”
She was gone for all of twenty seconds, cutting the call to 911 short after she’d given the necessary information.
“Breathe,” Sydney instructed again, having finally herded Tessa into the kitchen to set up camp.
Another quick check, and Sydney changed her mind about the time frame. This was looking as if delivery was only minutes, not hours, away. “You know, it’s a rare baby who actually arrives on their due date.”
“Not due yet,” Tessa complained for the umpteenth time. “Danny would never have gone away if we knew the baby was coming.”
“This is why prenatal care is important,” Sydney snuck in, just on the off chance this was baby number one. Its future brothers or sisters might have a better chance of not being such a surprise. “Let’s keep you as comfortable as possible until the ambulance arrives.”
Tessa gritted her teeth together. “I’m not having the baby until Danny gets here.”
Good luck with that one.“Right now, you’re not in charge. The baby is, and that’s a good thing.”
Tessa began another nerve-racking scream that set Sydney’s hair standing on end. Somehow she smiled and talked the woman through the contraction, but the ambulance could not get there soon enough.
Everything was going well.At least that’s what she kept telling herself.
Yet every single class that Sydney had ever taken about the things that could go wrong before birth, during birth, and after birth flashed through her mind like some twisted medical horror flick.
This is why I am never ever doing this myself, the parts inside of Sydney’s brain reminded her sternly.
Another contraction faded, and in the modest silence of Tessa’s panting moans, the distant sound of a siren cut through the air.
Which is when Tessa gripped Sydney’s arm tight enough to cut off the circulation, her fingernails digging in. “Oh my God. Something’s wrong.”
Sydney shut down the panic and took a quick check. “You’re fully dilated. If you want to push, now is the time.”
Tears poured down Tessa’s cheeks. “I want Danny.”
Me too, Sydney thought.
A few more twists and Tessa was in position, squatting beside the kitchen table. “He’ll be here as soon as he can,” Sydney reassured her. “Now when the next contraction hits, it’s time to push. Hold onto the chair,” she ordered, moving from gentle encouragement into straight-up bullheaded dictator.
The baby beat the ambulance by a half-dozen siren wails. Miraculously, Danny arrived a few seconds later. Sydney was still checking vitals and clearing the baby’s airway when Danny burst in. She barely had time to hand off instructions to the EMT before Tessa collapsed into his arms, his presence finally turning Tessa’s screams into a good old crying jag.
Sydney stayed until the EMTs gave the all-clear for Tessa and the baby to remain at home under Denny’s supervision. The new family promised to head into the doctor’s office the next day for a well-baby checkup.
Sydney’s ears were still ringing as she got into the truck and followed the ambulance back to the highway. It turned north, and she headed south, the adrenaline flooding her system slowly wearing off.
She pulled off the highway on the first side road that was safe and moderately private. She barely made it out of the truck before she lost what remained of her lunch.
