His Special Delivery. Belinda Barnes
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nothing this small or fragile. Why did holding this child make it difficult to breathe? He shook his head, trying to clear his befuddled mind.
The newborn’s eyes opened like a baby bird’s, and she stared up at him. Cal felt as though he’d been bucked off a bronc.
He’d brought a new human life into the world.
He’d delivered Sara’s baby.
“What is it, Cal? What’s wrong?” Even without seeing Sara’s face, he could hear the fear in her voice.
Doing his best to hold the slippery infant against his chest, he grabbed his jacket from the front seat and wrapped the baby in it. “Nothing. It’s a girl.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s perfect,” he said, his voice a hoarse whisper.
When he caught the infant’s fist, her hand closed partway around his index finger. He stared at the tiny fingernails, so perfect in miniature. A tremor snaked up his spine.
After handing the infant to Sara, Cal tugged the lace from one of his patent-leather shoes and used it to tie off the umbilical cord. He’d wait until they reached the hospital and let them sever the remaining tie between mother and child.
Cal caught a glimpse of Sara as she held her daughter. He knew then he’d never forget delivering this child or the undeniable love shining on Sara’s face. Maybe love did exist—at least between mother and child.
This mother and this child.
A smile spread across Sara’s face as she touched her daughter’s cheek. “Cal, what’s your full name?”
“Calvin Lee Tucker,” he said, wondering why she’d asked.
“I’ll call her Jessica Lee.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Cal said, a strange weight settling in his chest.
“I know, but I want to.” She turned back to her daughter.
“That’s a hell of a big name for such a little thing.” Cal tried to swallow past the tightening in his throat. “She looks like a Jessie to me.”
Sara glanced at the baby, then back at him. “You need glasses. She’s definitely a Jessica.”
Cal shrugged. The baby was fine. Sara was fine. That’s all that mattered.
Finally ready to get underway, he leaned inside the car as Sara brushed her full lips against the baby’s head. A sudden protectiveness toward Sara and Jessie filled him. It wasn’t something he was accustomed to. He didn’t want to feel it. But he did.
“I’d better get you two to the hospital.”
Their gazes met and held. A smile lifted Sara’s lips. “Thanks, Cal, for everything.”
Warmth stampeded through him as he gazed at Sara and her child. Rattled by his reaction, he closed the door and raced around the car. His mind spun with bits and pieces of what had happened. The weight in his chest grew heavier.
Cal sucked cold air into his lungs. He dismissed what had happened, chalking the odd feelings up to stress. After all, it had been a lousy day. He started the car and, with a crunch of gravel, headed to the hospital. In the back seat Sara cooed to her daughter. The sound touched a chord deep inside him that reverberated to his soul, feeding a hunger he never knew existed, a hunger he refused to acknowledge. He focused on the road ahead and pressed on the gas pedal. His job would be done when he delivered Sara and her baby to the hospital.
Then he’d head home. Alone.
Chapter Two
The familiar smell of antiseptic enveloped Cal as he paced the hospital corridor. He wished the doctors would hurry and pronounce Sara and her child fit, so he could head out.
A young clerk walked toward him. Her gaze skittered from Cal’s unruly hair to the tips of his toes. She gave him a smile that ordinarily would have charmed Cal clean down to the soles of his rented shoes. Only his mind was occupied with thoughts of a courageous green-eyed woman.
The hospital worker pointed to an office across the hall. “Sir, we need to get some information. If you’ll come with me.”
He started to protest, but followed her for lack of anything better to do. “I don’t know much that will help.”
“This is my first day on the job, so I appreciate your cooperation.” She directed him to a chair and took a seat in front of a computer. “What’s your name?”
“Calvin Lee Tucker.”
A nurse hurried past with Sara’s baby. Cal jumped to his feet to follow, but the clerk motioned for him to stay.
“Where are they taking Jessie?” he asked.
“Probably to the nursery to get her vitals.”
Cal slumped in the chair beside the desk.
“Have you ever been here before?” she asked.
“Hmm? Yeah. A horse kicked me and broke a couple of ribs a year or so back.” He ran the pad of his thumb along the jagged scar on his chin, a souvenir of his rebellious days when he’d thought riding broncs would get his parents’ attention. “And I had to get stitches about ten years ago.”
The woman tapped the keys of the computer. “Is your address still Route One, Willow Grove, Texas?”
“Uh-huh.”
“The mother’s name?”
“Sara Jamison.” Cal tried to remember anything else Sara might have mentioned, but couldn’t. “Look, I don’t—”
“Wait a minute.” When her computer screen went blank, the clerk sent him a sheepish grin. “Guess I pushed the wrong button. I’ll have to start over.”
Cal left his chair to pace in the confined area. Finally, he pulled a business card from his billfold and handed it to the young woman. “Here’s my address and phone number. Take down what you need. I’m going to check on Sara.”
She stared at the card a moment. “Sara is the mom and Jessie is the baby?”
“Jessie Lee,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.
The nurse who’d taken Sara away earlier paused in the door. A grin split her face. “You can go to room 324.”
“Thanks.” He needed to see Sara and the baby. Just to make sure they were both all right before he left. That’s all. Then his obligation would end, and he could change and meet James.
Cal hurried down the hall, following the numbers around the corner. He paused a moment outside the room, then knocked.
“Come in.”
He opened the door and moved to stand at the end of the bed. His gaze roamed the contours of Sara’s face, taking in the way she smiled at him as she reclined on a pillow. Cal drew an easy breath for the first time since the delivery. Sara looked great. No, he grudgingly admitted. She looked better than great. He wondered if it was her special radiance that made it difficult to look anywhere but at her.
Irritated by his response to Sara, Cal told himself to leave, but instead stood surveying the hospital room which was puke-green with gadgets stuck in every conceivable place. It was certainly different from his veterinary clinic, where he cared for horses.
“Have you seen Jessica?” Sara asked, her happiness shining from the inside out. The bloom of motherhood colored her freckled cheeks.
Cal had an inexplicable urge to sit and stay awhile. “Only when they rushed past headed to the nursery.”
She plucked at the blanket. “When will they bring Jessica?”
He shrugged, reminding himself again