Texas Bride

Besides, he owed Dani Caldwell his life. And even if he didn’t, no man worth the name turned away from a woman in need.

Josh grabbed a wad of paper towels and dried his hands as he hurried back to the examining room.

Dani gave him a smile, but—Yes, some fear lurked in those luminous green eyes. So Josh wrapped his fingers around hers. Squeezed gently. Tried to act reassuring. Probably failed. Complications worthy of a soap opera kept flashing through his head.

After Ravjani examined Dani—while Josh examined his impressive medical credentials on the wall—he assured them everything was proceeding normally. “Rest between contractions,” he advised, patting Dani’s hand. “This will be taking some time. Do not become anxious,” he added, spearing Josh with a significant look. Then he wandered off to catch up on paperwork.

A tear slid down Dani’s cheek and lingered on the edge of her full lower lip. He remembered how soft her mouth felt under his, how sweet she tasted....

“Dammit. Please, Dani—don’t cry!”

Thank heavens. A distraction. Through her own anxiety, Dani recognized the discomfort beneath Josh’s gruffness. She knew men weren’t very good with the messy parts of life; Jimmy had especially hated her tears.

And what good were they, after all? They didn’t change reality.

“You don’t need to stay,” she said, feigning nonchalance. “My husband would have been long gone by now.”

“No man would miss his kid’s birth,” Josh declared in a voice like hammered steel.

“Do you and your wife—” She gasped as a contraction hit.

“I’m not married.”

Did he think biting off the words could hide the raw anguish and grief echoing through them? Despite herself, Dani wondered at their cause.

“Quit wasting your energy,” he commanded. “I’m not leaving you.”

His deep, quiet voice offered support, like a strong pair of hands. Okay, she’d admit it: she didn’t want to face this alone. But did she dare accept this stranger’s help?

As the contraction eased, Dani gazed up into Josh’s beautiful azure eyes. She saw apprehension in their depths, but determination was there, too. This was a man, not a boy. He carried scars—that still hurt, apparently—but maybe they’d made him strong. The way disappointment had weaned her from dreams and toughened her.

Another wave of pain pulled at her. “Then make yourself useful,” she gasped. “Talk. About anything. Just—talk.”

And so, through long, draining hours and slowly escalating waves of pain, she clung to Josh’s strong, hard hand and his deep, smooth voice as he talked of his boyhood in Montana and asked about life in Lufkin.

Late in the afternoon, the contractions changed. Dani groaned, fighting the urge to push.

Josh leaped to his feet. “I’ll get Ravjani!”

“No need,” the doctor proclaimed as he bustled into the room to stand between Dani’s legs. “Ravjani is here and, ah, just in time.”

His bubbly confidence was reassuring, Dani thought hazily, even if his English was slightly fractured.

“Look, Mr. Walker,” Dr. Ravjani ordered. “Your child is arriving.”

As Dani lay panting for the few seconds she sensed were all she’d have, she watched Josh reluctantly peek over the doctor’s shoulder.

Beneath his tan, Josh’s color faded; his expression wavered between dismay and disgust. Alarmed, Dani cried, “Josh! What’s wrong?”

“Your baby is crowning, that’s all,” said Ravjani. He smirked at Dani. “Perhaps your husband is one of those large, macho men who faints at the sight of one of nature’s miracles.”

The greenish undertones to Josh’s skin turned greener. “I... It’s too—You can’t—Do something, dammit!” Had Carrie known about this...this whole appalling birth process? Was that why—

Dr. Ravjani chuckled. “I am not the one who must be doing now. Your wife must begin pushing your creation out of his comfortable home. And you are still the cheerleader, Mr. Walker.”

Begin pushing? What the hell did the idiot think she’d been doing? For hours and hours already. And there was more?

“Mr. Walker. If I ask for the tray, I am meaning that,” Ravjani barked, pointing to a shallow metal dish filled with gleaming surgical instruments. “And I am needing it quickly.”

The floor tilted. Blackness crowded the edges of Josh’s vision.

Then, like yesterday, Dani’s voice, somehow urgent and calm at the same time, cut through the darkness. “Josh. I’ll be fine. Women have been having babies for thousands of years. Just come hold my hand.”

Like yesterday, he obeyed that voice. Then following Ravjani’s instructions, Josh moved around to the head of the exam table so he could brace Dani’s back with his chest.

As he touched her, moved her braid to the side, clasped her hands, the black mist cleared. Once again, Dani had rescued him—this time from embarrassing himself.

“Push when you are ready,” the doctor told Dani.

“Aauunnh!” She bowed forward, rigid with effort.

Nothing happened. Eventually, she went limp.

“Again.”

She made another magnificent, shaking effort—her chin on her chest, her teeth gritted.

Still nothing happened, except Ravjani in that damned calm voice said, “Once more.”

Dani shook and pushed, her face white with the strain.

“Another time, please.”

“Uuhn—nah!”

“It’s a boy,” Ravjani announced happily as he lifted a red and white streaked...thing and laid it on Dani’s stomach. It scrunched up its wrinkled face and gave a little cry of protest.

“Oh, isn’t he beautiful?” Dani breathed. Beneath her fatigue radiated wonder and joy and exultation.

Disappointment closed Josh’s throat. All that agony, all that valiant effort—and this was the result? He’d never seen an uglier being. “Oh, Dani, I’m so sorry.”

Ravjani whisked the thing away. Josh cradled Dani’s head against his chest. Tried to think of something comforting to say. Got distracted by her satiny skin and the damp, silky curls that coiled around her face and over his fingers.

“There. All presentable.” Ravjani dumped a neatly wrapped bundle in his arms. “Mr. Walker, say hello to your son.”

Hesitantly, Josh looked down at the newborn infant in his arms. “Oh, Dani, you’re right,” he breathed, barely able to form the words. Well, he was busy—falling hopelessly, ecstatically, deliriously in love. “He is beautiful.” And talented. Just lying there, this tiny baby filled a man’s empty heart. Amazing.

No, a miracle. “Thank you.” Overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through him, Josh wanted to ravage Dani’s lush mouth. He settled for a light kiss on her forehead. “Oh, Dani—thank you.”