The Texan's Christmas Page 21

  Cadde drew a heavy breath. “The only thing I feel is the love Mom showered on us.”

  “Me, too,” Chance said.

  As they stood there they realized almost at the same time that their mother had been the stabilizing force in their lives. She was always there for them, helping with their homework, class projects, baking cookies, being a room mother and all the while making a home for them.

  “He was never here,” Cadde said. “Mom built him up in our eyes, telling us what a great man he was and how much he loved us.”

  “He was home about ten days a month,” Chance added.

  “We doted on his every word because we craved his attention.” Kid sneezed as the dust got to him. “At night he was down at The Beer Joint chatting up some woman.” He’d told his brothers what Lucky had told him.

  “I think we can safely say that none of us is like him. I’d never leave Jessie or the boys that long. I couldn’t.”

  “Me neither,” Chance said. “No one is taking me from my family.”

  “I thought I was most like him, but I’m not. Lucky is my life now.”

  They stood for a moment in silence.

  Chance cleared his throat. “I want to make sure Henry Faust doesn’t destroy the magnolia tree or Mom’s rosebushes when he tears down the house. I’m going to put a brick border around them as a memory to her.”

  Kid spotted an old catcher’s mitt on the floor and remembered the times their father had tirelessly pitched a ball to them. He picked up the mitt and placed it in the dust on the table. “In his own way I guess he loved us and I don’t think we’re going to have any peace until we forgive him.”

  Chance held out his hand, palm down. “Here today we forgive our father.”

  Cadde placed his hand on top of Chance’s and Kid followed suit. They stood like that for a moment and then walked out. There was nothing in the house they wanted. Their future waited outside. As the door closed, they knew their past was truly behind them.

  Lucky hugged him. “You okay?”

  “Yep.” He clapped his hands. “It’s time to liven up this party.” He started to sing. “We’re living in High Cotton…”

  “Ah…o-o-oh…”

  He didn’t think his singing was that bad. He turned to his wife who was making the noise. She was clutching her stomach.

  “My…my water just broke.”

  All humor left him. “No. No! It’s too early.”

  “Kid!” she screamed. Still clutching her stomach, she sank to the ground.

  He grabbed her. “Take a deep breath. Calm down.” He looked around but Chance had already left to get the helicopter. Jessie and Shay were gone, too.

  “I’m having contractions just like before. Kid, please, we can’t lose this baby.”

  His insides roiled with a sick feeling. “Hold on, honey. Chance is bringing the chopper. We’re going to Houston to our doctor. Take deep breaths. Breathe like they told us. Hold on, Lucky.”

  The aircraft taxied to a stop beside them. Shay and Jessie came running with towels, sheets, pillows and blankets. Cadde swung open the door and Kid picked up his wife and carried her inside. Everyone climbed aboard.

  “Let’s go,” Chance shouted, and the chopper lifted off.

  Lucky screamed as another contraction hit her. Shay and Jessie spread blankets on the floor and he laid Lucky on them.

  “Call the hospital,” he shouted, and rattled off the number. “Make sure they contact our doctor.”

  “I’m on it,” Cadde shouted back.

  “We have to get her out of her clothes,” Shay said. In a matter of seconds Kid had her clothes off. Jessie covered her with a sheet.

  Lucky let out a tortured breath as another contraction ripped through her stomach.

  “How far apart are the contractions?” Cadde asked, on the phone with the hospital.

  “About every two minutes.” Kid rubbed her back, trying to help her relax.

  “He says the baby’s coming. Be prepared. She can either sit or lay with her legs apart, her knees bent. Have something clean to catch the baby.”

  “What! Tell him it’s too early. She’s not due until June tenth.”

  “He said get ready.”

  “Damn it! Lucky can’t have the baby here. We don’t know anything about childbirth.”

  “Kid.” She took several deep breaths. “We have to be strong. Ah…ah…o-oh.”

  Jessie and Shay propped her up with pillows, wiping her brow with bottled water and a washcloth. Kid positioned himself between her legs.

  “Check and see if she’s dilated,” Cadde instructed.

  “How in the hell am I supposed to know that?”

  Shay made an annoying sound and scooted over to look beneath the sheet.

  “Yes, a lot. This baby is coming now.”

  “Kid, no! It’s just like before. No. Please!”

  “Shh. Don’t push. Try to relax.” He wouldn’t allow himself to think about the past.

  Lucky screamed and the excruciating sound curdled his blood. He couldn’t stand to see her in this much pain.

  “I have to push. I have to push!”

  Kid rubbed her lower stomach. “Relax, honey. Relax. Pant like we practiced.”

  She panted for several seconds and then screamed again. “It’s coming,” she gasped.

  “Use something clean to catch the baby.” Cadde relayed the message.

  Jessie handed him a sheet, which he tucked under Lucky’s buttocks.

  “Can you see the head?”

  Kid lifted the sheet farther away. “Yes. Oh, God, yes.”

  “Guide the baby’s head out with your hands. Don’t pull or push. The face should be down.”

  “Kid.” His name was barely a sound as her strength waned. He had no idea how she was enduring this. How did women do this?

  “It’s okay, honey. I’m right here. Now take another breath and push our baby into the world.”

  She gritted her teeth, held on to her knees and pushed with all her might between screams. The bloody, wet baby slid into his hands. He stared in wonder at the precious life as his heart pounded against his ribs. He couldn’t move or do anything else.

  “Lay the baby on Lucky’s stomach,” Cadde said, “and be careful with the umbilical cord.”

  He gently laid the child on Lucky’s chest. “We have a daughter, honey. A beautiful baby girl.”

  Lucky turned her head, kissing her daughter’s forehead. “Kid, she’s not breathing. She’s not breathing! No!”

  “Cadde!” Kid frantically glanced at his brother who was still on the phone with the hospital.

  “Stick your finger in her mouth to clear the mucus.”

  He didn’t hesitate, gently poking his finger in the tiny mouth to clean it. His hand shook and he prayed. Please, please breathe, precious one.

  Everyone held their breath. First there was a whine and then a wail and it was the loveliest sound they’d ever heard.

  “We’re landing,” Chance said. “Emergency crew is waiting.”

  Kid leaned over and rested his face against Lucky’s.

  “Look at her, Kid. Isn’t she the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”

  He kissed her lips. “Almost.”

  Two hours later they sat in the neonatal unit watching their child through the glass of an incubator. “It’s just a precaution,” he assured Lucky. “She’s fine. The doctor said she was just anxious to be born. He wants to keep her here for a few days.”

  She clutched his hand. “I was so afraid we were going to lose her.”

  “Me, too. I think I had a heart attack when she wasn’t breathing.”

  “I think she’s going to give us a lot of those in the years ahead.”

  “Mmm.” He peered close at the gorgeous face. “I can’t wait to get her out of here so I can hold her and carry her around.”

  “I can’t wait for Daddy to see her.”

  “Chance is on his way to get him and Nettie.”

  S
he smiled. “It really does take a village for us to have a child.”

  “That’s why when you go to school in the fall we’ll have lots of babysitters. Mainly me who will probably not let anyone keep her.”

  She rubbed her face against him. “We have to give her a name.”

  “We’ve gone through every name in the alphabet, but I think I have the perfect one. I thought of it today when we were in that old house. My mother’s name was Carol and yours was Rose. Let’s call her Carol Rose. Carly for short. Of course, I’m calling her Precious.”

  She frowned.

  “What?”

  “Precious? And don’t you dare say ‘come on, Lucky.’”

  He wrapped an arm around her. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’m happy. We can call her anything you want.”

  “You are such an…”

  He kissed her and smiled into her eyes.

  She smiled back. “Welcome to the world, Carol Rose Hardin—better known as Precious by her father.” She stroked his face and everything was right in the universe.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-8240-7

  THE TEXAN’S CHRISTMAS

  Copyright © 2011 by Linda Warren

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  For questions and comments about the quality of this book please contact us at Customer_eCare@Harlequin.ca.

  ® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com

  * The Belles Of Texas

  ** The Hardin Boys