Читать книгу The Cowboy's Family Plan - Judy Duarte, Judy Duarte - Страница 10

Chapter Two

Late Thursday afternoon, when her last patient had left and she’d closed up the office, Selena had driven to the new Brighton Valley Wellness Center.

A few days after it had opened for business, Selena had taken a tour with several of her colleagues. She’d been amazed at all the facility had to offer the community, including a rehab unit, a state-of-the-art gym, physical trainers on hand to answer questions or provide private lessons, an indoor pool, a variety of classes. But more than that, it also catered to the disabled and elderly because of its close connection to the medical center.

In fact, Selena had been so impressed with the center that she’d signed up before leaving that day, telling herself it wasn’t just about becoming more physically fit. After all, she watched her diet and jogged daily. But joining the BVWC would also fit nicely into her get-out-into-the-real-world-and-start-living-again campaign.

Now all she had to do was find the time to work out, because she usually kept busy with her ever-growing practice. However, on the days she had another doctor covering for her, she slipped on a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a pair of sneakers, just as she’d done today.

Now here she was, jogging on the treadmill and working up a sweat. With each stride she made, she pondered her options and considered the other medical specialties that had always interested her. The problem was, without going back to school and racking up more student loans, she’d have to settle on general or family medicine.

But not in Brighton Valley. In spite of the respect she’d earned in the medical community, she was giving some serious thought to selling her practice and moving back to Houston, where she’d change her specialty to one that didn’t revolve around pregnancy and newborns.

That was her secret, though. That and the fact that there were way too many nights she’d found her small condominium overlooking the playground at the city park to be painfully quiet, nights when she’d cry herself to sleep.

She’d loved that complex and the two-bedroom condo. But after learning she’d never get pregnant, she’d listed it for sale. And just six months ago, after selling her first home to a couple of newlyweds, she’d moved to a quiet, older neighborhood in town.

When her time on the treadmill came to an end and she began the cool-down process, she scanned the gym and spotted a man who looked a lot like Alex Connor. In fact, it was Alex, only minus his Stetson and boots. Today he wore a Texas Aggies T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, rather than the cowboy garb he’d had on Tuesday night.

He was talking to one of the female fitness instructors—a tall, lean blonde with a healthy glow.

What was he doing here? Not that it mattered, she supposed. It’s just that she’d been a little surprised when he hadn’t blinked about the cost of hiring a gestational carrier to bare his children.

At the time, she’d suspected that he might own a ranch. But why was he working out at a gym in town? Wouldn’t he get enough exercise from riding and roping and doing whatever else was required of him?

So who was Alex Connor?

Ever since she’d shared a cup of coffee with him, she’d found herself thinking about him, wondering about him. She’d chalked it up to her interest in the relationship he must have had with his late wife, but the man himself intrigued her.

She shut off the treadmill, then stepped onto the floor, her knees a little wobbly from the exertion. Then she started for the women’s locker room, where she would shower and change into her street clothes.

Before she could get ten steps—or tear her gaze from Alex and the female trainer—he glanced across the room and noticed her. He waved, then moments later, he left the blonde’s side and made his way to Selena.

“Hey, fancy meeting you here,” he said.

She could say the same thing. Instead, she smiled. “It’s my day off, and I thought I’d get a little exercise in.”

“Do you like it here?” he asked.

“Yes, I do. It’s a great facility.” Her curiosity mounted until she asked, “Are you thinking about joining?”

“I would if I lived in town.”

Where did he live? And why was he here?

She couldn’t very well come out and pummel him with all of her questions, so she tossed out an easy one, hoping to get a little more information.

“So why are you dressed as if you’re thinking about joining?” she asked, prodding him again.

“I’m here for a couple of other reasons, one of which is business.”

At that, she couldn’t help but cock a brow. And he chuckled.

“Jim Ragsdale, who’s on the wellness center board of directors, wanted to meet with me today. They’re interested in providing hippotherapy for adults and children with physical and emotional difficulties, and he wanted to run a couple of ideas past me.”

She didn’t know all that much about the program that used horseback riding as therapy for the disabled, other than those who’d taken part often showed improved balance, coordination, speech and mobility.

“It’s interesting that they’re thinking of adding that to their wellness program,” she said.

He nodded. “I was intrigued when Jim first mentioned it, too, so I agreed to meet with him while I was in town today.”

“Why the gym clothes?” she finally asked, unable to avoid a more direct approach.

“Yeah, well...” He sighed and gave a little shrug. “I messed up my knee a while back, and my orthopedic surgeon sent me to physical therapy, which I get here.”

“How did you get hurt?” she asked.

“I...uh... Well, it was pretty stupid.”

“Most accidents are.”

Alex chuffed. “I thought I was immune to that sort of thing, but that’s what I get for taking shortcuts and not keeping my mind on my work.”

He still hadn’t told her what he’d done, but she refrained from pushing any further. After all, his injury really wasn’t any of her business.

“So what are you doing now?” he asked.

“I’m going to head home and get a bite to eat.”

“Oh, yeah? Me, too. Why don’t you let me buy you dinner? There’s a little café a couple of blocks from here.”

She wondered if he had more questions this time around—or if he just wanted to spend some quiet time with her. As appealing as the latter seemed to be, she shook off the feminine thoughts. “You don’t need to buy my dinner.”

“All right. Then we’ll ask for separate checks.”

As she pondered the invitation, shaking off the urge to agree too quickly, he added, “You probably spend way too much time around the hospital and this place anyway.”

He was right. And she had made up her mind to spend a little more time getting out into the world... So she said, “Sounds good to me. Do you mind if I take a quick shower and put on my street clothes? I won’t take long.”

“I’ll wait for you in the lobby area.”

“All right.”

True to her word, she returned within ten minutes. “Sorry I took so long.”

“You didn’t.” He got to his feet, and they made their way to the entrance. He opened the door and waited for her to exit first.

How about that? The handsome cowboy was well-mannered as well. She’d have to make a note of that.

Oh, for Pete’s sake. Alex Connor wasn’t the kind of man she’d ever allow herself to crush on—and for several reasons, the biggest of which was the fact that he still seemed to be in love with his late-wife.

In college, Selena had fallen for a graduate student in the biotech program. They’d had something special, or so Selena had thought. She’d even started daydreaming about June weddings.

Then, when he went home for Christmas break, he met up with his first love, and their high school romance had blossomed again.

Selena, of course, had been heartbroken and had vowed never to get involved with a man who still pined over a lost lover—and that would certainly include late wives.

Of course, sharing a cup of coffee and killing an hour or so before bedtime wasn’t even close to having a date or “getting involved.”

“It’s a nice evening for walking,” Alex said, as they made their way across the parking lot and to the street.

Selena looked up at a nearly full moon and an array of bright, twinkling stars. “You’re right.”

When was the last time she’d taken time to gaze at the evening sky, let alone noticed the natural beauty in nature?

She couldn’t remember. She’d been so caught up in her practice that she’d spent her days and nights either holed up at the medical center or at home. But she was trying to change that—first with the membership at the wellness center and maybe even with her agreement to walk to the coffee shop this evening with Alex Connor.

As they stepped onto the sidewalk and turned to the right on a side street that ran along the busier county road, she realized that Alex walked with a limp.

“Maybe we should have driven,” she said.

“It’s only a couple of blocks.”

They continued in silence until Alex asked, “What made you want to be a doctor?”

“I don’t know. I’ve always had an interest in medicine. And science and math were my favorite subjects when I was in high school, so it seemed like a natural career choice to make.”

Her efforts had also pleased her parents, something that was important to a girl who was the middle child in a family with seven siblings. And those same efforts had proven to be invaluable because she’d been offered a full-ride scholarship at almost every college to which she’d applied.

“Why did you choose obstetrics?” Alex asked.

Because she’d loved babies ever since the time her mother had first laid her newborn brother in her chubby little arms. But because she’d always thought her reason for choosing obstetrics wasn’t all that impressive, she gave him her standard response when people asked the same question. “I found the birth process fascinating.”

At least she’d found it fascinating when she’d envisioned experiencing it herself once or twice.

But enough about her. The conversation and the questions were getting way too personal for comfort, and she was ready for a change in subject.

She was tempted to start by turning his original question right back on him and ask, What made you want to be a cowboy?

But maybe she’d been wrong about him. Maybe there was more to Alex than a Stetson and boots.

The Aggie T-shirt he was wearing suggested he might have attended college. And he hadn’t blinked about the cost of having a woman carry those embryos for him.

Maybe she’d been right. Maybe he was a rancher. After all, he’d mentioned that he lived outside of town.

Either way, if Jim Ragsdale had approached him about the hippotherapy program, his background with horses had to be pretty impressive. So he was more than the average cowboy.

Before she could ask what line of work he was in, he pointed to the red-and-white-striped awning over the entrance of the coffee shop he’d been talking about. “There it is. Katie’s Country Café.”

Even though the diner was located within sight of those who traveled along the nearby county road, it didn’t appear to be too busy this evening.

As they neared the entry, a pregnant brunette who’d parked her weathered sedan in one of several spaces in front opened the rear passenger door and removed a preschool-age girl from her car seat. Then she waited for an older boy to climb from the car.

The mother and children walked into the diner, just in front of Selena and Alex. The boy, who was about seven or eight, spotted the refrigerator display case that held a variety of pies and cakes.

“Look,” the boy said to his sister as he pointed to the goodies. “Maybe we can have dessert, Kimmie.”

“Grandma will have cookies for us when we get to her house,” the pregnant woman said. “So we’ll just grab a quick bite to eat here.”

As they all waited to be seated, a waitress serving slices of chocolate cake to an elderly couple in one of the booths in back said, “Y’all can choose any table you like.”

The mother reached for her daughter’s hand, then gasped and looked down at her feet, where her amniotic fluid had formed a puddle. “Uh-oh.”

The little girl pointed to the wet spot and asked, “Mommy, did you potty in your pants?”

“No, sweetie. I...” The woman, her cheeks flushed, her eyes wide, glanced at Selena, her embarrassment and apprehension obvious. “My water broke.”

It certainly had. And she just stood there, clearly perplexed.

“Can I call someone for you?” Selena asked, thinking the woman’s husband ought to be notified.

“My mother, but that’s not going to do me much good now.”

“Why not?”

“Because she doesn’t drive at night. The kids and I were on our way to pick her up and take her back home with us so she could help out when the baby came, but...”

“But what?” Selena prodded.

The woman paled and bit down on her bottom lip. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m not due for another five or six weeks.”

Selena turned to Alex, who’d taken a step back and was watching the drama unfold with an expression that said he was out of his league when it came to this sort of thing.

About that time, the waitress made her way to the front of the diner with a mop. “Here, sweetie. I’ll get this cleaned up for you.”

The pregnant woman blew out a ragged sigh. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Who’s your doctor?” Selena asked, reaching into her purse to pull out her cell phone.

“Martin Staley, but he’s not from around here. He’s in Houston. And my mom...” The woman reached for her lower belly and groaned as another pain gripped her.

Apparently, her contractions weren’t going to waste any time in starting up. She was clearly going into labor—and before term.

As the pain subsided, Selena studied the woman. If the boy and girl with her were her natural-born children, she’d given birth before. So if that was the case, her labor could go more quickly than that of a first-time mother.

“Oh, no,” the woman said, raking a hand through her head. “What do I do? Who do I call?”

Selena placed a hand on her back, trying to relieve her fear. “I’m a doctor, so you’re not alone. How long was your last labor?”

“Two and a half hours. It went so fast, I almost didn’t make it to the hospital in time. In fact, that’s why Dr. Staley told me to stick close to home when I got within a month of my due date. But...” She glanced at Selena. “I thought I still had plenty of time. And because my husband left me, I’m going to need help when the baby comes. That’s why I decided to get my mother tonight and take her home with us.”

“Where does she live?”

“In Oakville, which is more than two hours away. I should have kept driving, but the kids were hungry. So when I saw the restaurant sign, I decided to stop and get them something to eat.”

“It’s a good thing you stopped when you did,” Selena said. “Otherwise you would have been on the road when this happened. And Brighton Valley has a medical center a couple of miles from here.”

The woman groaned and reached for her belly again. “Here comes another one. Why are they starting out so close together?”

Because this baby might come faster than her other two, which meant they couldn’t very well stand here and time her contractions. Besides, there were also a lot of complications that could arise during a preterm labor and delivery, so it was best if she got medical attention as soon as possible.

Selena turned to Alex. “I’m going to have to drive her to the hospital. Would you mind coming to get me in a little while?”

Although he still appeared to be a bit stunned by all of this, he straightened and said, “No, not at all. And because the kids are hungry, why don’t I order them something to go? I can bring it with me when I come to pick you up.”

“That’s a great idea. Thanks, Alex.”

The woman reached for her purse, which had a safety pin holding one of the straps to the bag. “Here, let me get you some money.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Alex said. “I’ll get it. You’d better get to the hospital.”

“If you’ll give me your keys,” Selena told the woman, “I’ll take you and the kids there in your car. It’s only a five- or ten-minute drive.”

“I hate to put you out.”

“It’s either that or we call an ambulance,” Selena told her.

The woman reached into her purse and handed over her keys. Then she told the kids to get back in the car.

“But we’re hungry,” the little girl said.

“This nice man is going to bring dinner to us.” The woman stroked her belly, resigned to the inevitable.

“Don’t worry,” Alex said. “I’ll be right behind you guys.”

Selena sure hoped so. One of the obstetrical residents would be the one to deliver the woman’s baby. So there was no reason for her to hang out once they arrived.

But then again, someone was going to have to watch the children and figure out a way to get them to grandma’s house. And she wasn’t sure if Alex would be up for a task like that.

Once they were in the car and on the road, they exchanged names. “I’m Shannon Bedford, and these are my kids, Tommy and Kimberly.”

“I’m Selena Ramirez. I’m going to need your mother’s name and number.”

“Speaking of my mom, I’d better call her. Then I’ll give you her contact information.”

Eight minutes and three painful contractions later, Selena drove the old Ford sedan up to the E.R. entrance and honked her horn to let the staff know she was going to need some help. Within seconds, an orderly had come out to assess the situation.

“This is Shannon Bedford,” Selena told the man. “She’s going to need a ride up to Obstetrics.”

“Is she your patient, Dr. Ramirez?” the orderly asked.

“No, her doctor is in Houston. But she’ll need to be admitted. Her water broke, and she’s in active labor.”

He nodded, then headed back inside for a wheelchair.

Selena placed her hand on Shannon’s shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Brighton Valley Medical Center has a top-notch obstetrics ward. You’ll be in great hands, so relax.”

When the orderly returned with the wheelchair, Shannon took a seat as another pain gripped her.

They’d explained to the children what was happening while they’d been in the car, but little Kimberly was still worried. “Where’s he going to take my mommy?”

“Upstairs to have the new baby,” Selena said. “But don’t worry, honey. I’ll stay with you and Tommy until the baby is born. And then I’ll make sure you get to your grandma’s house.”

Selena and the children followed Shannon through the E.R., into an elevator and on to the O.B. floor. They stopped when they reached the waiting room.

“I’m sure my friend Alex will be arriving with your dinner soon,” Selena said.

They’d no more than settled into chairs near the television when Alex—thank goodness for reinforcements!—popped his head into the room. “I hope you guys like grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken tenders.”

“We do,” Tommy said, getting up from his chair. “Thanks.”

“I also brought milk to drink and cookies for dessert,” Alex added, as he placed the bags on a nearby coffee table.

Selena couldn’t help but grin. The cowboy was proving to be both thoughtful and generous.

After setting out the food and watching the children take seats on the floor around the coffee table, Alex nodded for Selena to step off to the side. As she did so, he lowered his voice. “How’s their mother doing?”

“She’s already been admitted and is being examined now.”

“Is everything going to be okay?”

“I called her doctor in Houston and let him know what was happening. He said the baby was breech at her last appointment. Unless it’s turned, the delivery will be more complicated. She’s also nearly six weeks early, but Dr. Chin, the resident in charge, is competent. So I’m sure everything will be okay.”

“What about the kids?” he asked. “What are you going to do with them?”

“I’ll wait here until Shannon is out of delivery. Then I’ll drive them to Oakville to stay with their grandmother.”

“Are you taking her car?”

“No, it was making some weird noises on the way here, so I’d rather take my own. I’ll have to transfer the car seat, though.” The minutes the words were out of her mouth, she realized she’d have to ask Alex to give her a ride back to the wellness center.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll just hang out here until you’re ready to go back.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” His gaze locked on hers, and for a moment, she felt as though they were a team.

Selena couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like she had someone on her side—a friend, a lover...

Oh, for Pete’s sake. They might be developing a friendship, but they’d never become lovers.

Before she could tear her gaze from his and get her mind back on track, Ella Wilkins poked her head into the doorway. “Dr. Ramirez?”

Selena’s gaze moved from the handsome cowboy who was proving to have a protective streak to the obstetrics nurse who’d just arrived. “Yes, Ella?”

“Dr. Chin has decided on a C-section and wanted to know if you’d assist.”

Selena stiffened. “Of course. I’ll be right there.”

“He’s also put out a call for Dr. Parnell,” Ella added.

Roger Parnell was a neonatologist, who’d be in charge of the baby when it was born. It was standard procedure in a C-section, but had something unexpected happened?

Why was Darren Chin asking her to assist?

Selena turned to Alex, who was no longer smiling.

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

“Watch the kids. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She just hoped she wouldn’t have to bear bad news to Shannon’s children when she returned.