“Why isn’t she in the hospital, surrounded by her obstetrician, nurses, and all her family?” Not to mention having an epidural available if she wants one?
“Momma, I’m simply going by what Tessa texted me. She said Beth was in labor. She’d apparently been in labor for several hours. Said she thought it was back pain. Beth thought it was from bending over…um…doing something she shouldn’t have been doing. When the pain got worse, Tessa rushed her to the clinic. Doctor Stevens checked her with the fetal monitor and said she was in labor. Oh, and Brody’s not there either.”
Those words hit her like a slap in the face. There was no way Brody wouldn’t be at Beth’s side when she was having the baby. Not unless something was wrong. Anxiety pooled in the pit of her stomach, and she held out her hand.
“Give me your phone.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Quickly dialing Tessa’s number, the phone rang and rang until finally an out of breath Tessa answered.
“Rafe, honey, I said I’d call you when I have any news. How’s Ms. Patti?”
“I’m fine,” she replied. “What I want to know is where Brody is, and why he isn’t at Beth’s bedside?”
“Ms. Patti! I’m so glad you’re okay. You had us all so worried. Why didn’t you call if you were in trouble? One of us could have come and—”
“Thank you, dear. Now, please answer my question. Where is my son?”
“Brody drove to Austin on some fool’s errand, and on his way back his truck broke down. Dante’s on his way with the tow truck to pick it up. Chance decided to head that way too, to pick up Brody and rush him back here as fast as he can.”
She let out the breath that had been caught in her chest at the thought of something bad happening to her son. Now at least she could relax for a minute before they hit the road back to Shiloh Springs. The only hold up was the doctor coming back with the discharge papers, or the nurse, or somebody, anybody, but they’d better hurry or she was fixing to walk out without approval. There was no way she was going to miss this big event. It wasn’t every day a woman became a grandmother.
“Good. Now tell me how Beth is doing? Are they moving her to the hospital?”
“We’re not sure yet. The contractions have slowed, which is good, but they haven’t stopped, so Doctor Stevens thinks we have some time. He’s got a call in to Beth’s obstetrician, and she’s on her way. But she’s also dilated to ten centimeters, which means the baby might come at any time.”
“Tell Beth we love her and we’re on our way. If anything changes or if she has the baby before we get there, please call us. Tessa, I’m glad you’re there for your sister.”
“No place else I’d rather be, Ms. Patti. Love you.”
Ms. Patti drew in a deep breath at Tessa’s declaration. It never got old, hearing the women she’d come to think of as daughters express their feelings.
“Love you, too, Tessa. See you soon.”
Handing the phone back to Rafe, she turned to face her husband. “Get me out of here, honey.”
Without a word, Douglas swept her up in his muscular arms and headed for the door, Rafe and Stan quickly following. Even after all these years, Douglas Boudreau remained her knight in shining armor, slaying her dragons, and hopefully in this instance, getting her to the birth on time.
She leaned her head against his chest and whispered, “I love you.”
His expression tender, he smiled and whispered, “I love you too.”
CHAPTER NINE
Rafe was pretty sure he was breaking all kinds of speed records heading back toward Shiloh Springs, and if he wasn’t the sheriff, he was sure he’d be pulled over. Luckily, he was in his cruiser, so he radioed ahead and let dispatch know he’d be running with lights and sirens. Of course, once he told Sally Anne why, he knew word would spread across Shiloh Springs like wildfire, because if you wanted people to find something out, all you had to do was tell Sally Anne. Not that she was a huge gossip or anything. She was just an overly friendly lady who didn’t mind sharing news if she had some. And Beth being in labor would be considered big news.
“Any word from Tessa?”
“Nothing since the last time you asked, Momma. I’ve got the phone right here,” he pointed to a cell phone holder on his dash, “so I won’t miss any calls or texts.”
He glanced over at the stranger seated in the passenger seat of the cruiser. Stan Ferguson ended up coming with them, at his mother’s insistence. He might be wrong, but he had the feeling his mother wasn’t about to let Stan walk away without showing her appreciation. It would simply have to wait until after the baby was born. Rafe was glad the man had stuck around, because he wanted to get the full story from him of how he’d managed to find his mother when nobody else could.
“Ferguson, my Patti tells me you’re William and Beverly’s son. How’s your dad doing?”
Stan swiveled in his seat, as far as the seatbelt allowed. “I talked to my mom this morning. She said he’s doing a little better. They’re waiting for the doctor to come and see him today, and a couple more tests, to determine if he’s going to need surgery or whether they’ll send him to a cardiac rehab place.”
“You let your mother know if she needs anything, we’re here for them. And for you too. I know it’s rough dealing with something like this.” Ms. Patti leaned her head against Douglas’ shoulder. “We just went through something similar with my husband and his heart. Scared a good ten years off my life, the not knowing, the waiting to find out, for decisions to be made.”
