The Cowboy's Family Plan

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.