Cart Before The Horse Page 24

  “Mom, where’s Holly? The baby. The baby!”

  His mother put a gentle hand on him. “Listen, you hit your head awfully hard. Don’t go jumping around.”

  “Where are they? God, don’t tell me they died. Don’t you dare tell me they died.” Tears stung his throat and his eyes. The monitor to his side began to chirp faster as his heart rate kicked up. How long had he been out of it if his mother was sitting next to him?

  His parents exchanged glances, and anger brewed in him. Not again. He wouldn’t live if it happened again.

  The door to the room opened, and a doctor walked through. “Well, look who finally woke up.”

  The lightness in the man’s voice irritated him. He wanted to jump from the bed and strangle the next person he saw. There was no reason to live if he had nothing to live for.

  The door opened again. Dear Lord, he wanted out of the bed. He wanted to throw himself…

  A nurse pushed Holly through the door in a wheelchair. An IV bag dangled above her and the cord went to her arm. Her eyes were black, and raw-looking cuts covered her face. But she was alive. She was there, and her belly still looked like a beach ball in her lap. But that was no guarantee. Was it?

  “You look like crap,” she said, and she smiled at him. God, she smiled at him. What pain must she be in? She looked at the doctor. “Can he get up yet?”

  “We need to give him a few minutes to get his bearings. Once the drugs wear off, he’s going to be in some pain, but as

  soon as he gets his…” The doctor stopped talking and they all looked down at Holly, who’d blown out a deep breath.

  “What’s going on? Holly, are you okay?”

  “Um.” She sucked in another breath. “Can you get up?”

  He shifted against the bandages. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, listen. I’ve been holding onto this baby for the past twelve hours, waiting for you and that bump on your head to”—she winced—“go down. You’re not a lot of use to me with your broken arm and bruised leg, but this baby isn’t going to wait any longer.”

  “Baby. The baby is okay?”

  The doctor stepped closer to the bed. His face was serious. “The baby is going to be early. He’ll need to stay here for a few weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, but your wife’s doctor said the ultrasound looks good.”

  “I can’t do this without you,” Holly said, and the doctor moved. She clenched her teeth. “But I need to do this now.”

  Gabe nodded. He’d do anything to see the baby. He needed to be with them.

  The nurse who had wheeled Holly into his room rushed her back out while another brought in a wheelchair for him. His mother fussed over him while the nurse gathered lines to the IV bags attached to his arm and his father helped adjust the cords attached to the set of monitors that would travel with him.

  If it was only a bump on the head and a broken arm, why did he need all the crap to go with him? But he didn’t ask. He’d have stayed on the bed if they’d just have wheeled it to

  Holly’s side.

  By the time he was pushed into the room, Holly was already screaming. The room was hot, and the smell of blood made him queasy. There were three nurses and a doctor, who stood between her legs. “The baby’s head is right here, Holly. Give me one good push, then relax.”

  Gabe reached for her hand and looked her in the eye. “I love you. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

  “Apologize later. Just be with me.” She screamed again and clasped her fingers around his hand so hard he thought she might break his bones.

  “Okay, the head is out. Don’t push.”

  She turned to Gabe. Her face had lost color almost

  immediately, and he could see the sweat build on her forehead. Her eyes pierced him with her desperation. “I have to push.”

  “Holly.” Her mother’s voice came from the door. “Relax, sweetheart. You’re doing great.”

  Holly nodded, and Gabe looked around the room. His parents and her parents stood on the sides of the room watching the miracle that he’d come so close to missing. He closed his eyes, and something told him not to worry. Everything was going to be okay. The baby was fine, even if she was early. They’d survived.

  He looked back at Holly. “You’re strong. You can do this.”

  “Don’t leave me.”

  “I’ll always be here. If that cart and that stupid horse didn’t run me over yet, it’s not going to happen now.”

  Holly let out another shriek and squeezed his hand.

  “Okay, Holly. One big push and the baby will be here.”

  Holly’s face turned red as she gave the last push. The room filled with the shrill of a baby’s cry.

  “Congratulations, it’s a girl.”

  Gabe’s face hurt from the smile. He didn’t know if he could walk or even stand, but he pulled himself up to be next to his wife as they gazed down on the tiny, squalling bundle the doctor laid in Holly’s arms. She was covered in something Gabe would think later looked like oatmeal. When she wailed, her tiny mouth opened wide and her little lip would quiver. She had a full head of black hair, and he wondered just how much more she would have gotten in the following six weeks.

  “Hello, Madison.” He reached his free hand out to his daughter. “I love you.”

  The house was quiet for a moment, and Gabe relaxed in his recliner. Holly had put Madison down in her crib, and when he looked up to see her standing next to him, he pulled her down onto his lap.

  “I love you, Mrs. Maguire.”

  “Well, I love you too, Mr. Maguire.” She kissed him on the forehead. “I’m exhausted.”

  “You should have slept for those four weeks while Maddie was in the hospital like they told you to do.”

  “I wanted to be with her every moment. I didn’t know I could love someone so much.”

  Gabe gave her a squeeze. “I did.”

  Holly reached to the end table next to them and picked up a pamphlet. She handed it to him.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s an elite preschool I was thinking about putting Madison in. The waiting list is long, so I thought…”

  “She’s four weeks old. Don’t you think this is putting the cart before the horse?”

  “Of course it is. That seems to work for me.”

  He took the pamphlet and threw it across the room. Then he pulled his wife close to him, dragging her under with a deep kiss. “You’re right. It does work for you.”

  About the Author

  Bernadette Marie grew up obsessed with pens and notebooks, each one filled with lists and ideas for stories. Not much has changed. This wife and mother of five sons has a passion for writing stories about falling in love, finding love where you left it, and strong families.

  Bernadette Marie is an accomplished martial artist who holds a Black Belt in Tang Soo Do and she is a chronic entrepreneur. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Colorado Romance Writers.

  Visit her website at www.bernadettemarie.com for news on upcoming releases, signings, appearances, and contests.

  Photo: © 2009 Damon Kappell/Studio 16