A Family of Her Own (Dundee, Idaho #3)(48)
Author: Brenda Novak

“Are we going to Boise?” she asked.

“No. Hatcher’s only fifteen minutes from here.” He couldn’t risk taking her any farther. What if the baby came right away?

“We have to go—” she grabbed her middle but struggled to speak “—to Boise. It’s too soon for the baby. Getting to the hospital is probably—” she paused, gasped “—the baby’s…only chance.”

Booker scowled and shook his head. “No way. It’s too far. Anything could happen in two hours. You need a doctor now.”

“You don’t…gasp…even trust Hatcher.”

“He’s better equipped to handle this than I am. Somehow that goes quite far toward inspiring my trust.”

“But I’ve finally—” she clenched her jaw and groaned, her face so pale it seemed to shine in the semidarkness, which scared the hell out of him “—made a decision.”

“What decision?” He tried to distract her from her pain while he focused on driving so they didn’t wind up in a ditch.

“I’m keeping my baby…if she lives….”

This gained his full attention. “I didn’t know keeping the baby was ever in question.”

“It’s not…anymore,” she said. “Will you…take me to Boise?”

“Katie, with the mountains and the storm, I won’t be able to use my radio if we get into trouble. And there’s no cell coverage out here. I don’t even own a cell phone.”

“Please, Booker.” Tears slipped down her cheeks. “If you’ve ever—” she drew a ragged breath “—felt anything for me at all…do me this one favor.”

Too many things could go wrong. What if the baby’s lungs weren’t developed enough and it couldn’t breathe on its own? He suspected Katie was bleeding already. What if she lost too much blood? “You’re asking me to risk your life for the baby. I can’t do that.”

“It should be my—Oh God!” she cried. “My decision, right?”

Watching her suffer made him angry—angry at the pain, angry at Andy for getting her pregnant in the first place, and angry at himself for being so helpless. “Damn it, Katie! Do you really want to take a chance like that?”

She didn’t react to the edge in his voice. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the door. When the pain seemed to subside, she looked at him again. “This baby’s part of me, Booker,” she said fiercely. “It’s mine…to protect.”

“You have to be alive for that,” he spat.

“I’ll be fine. I can’t let my baby down. She’s all I have.”

What was he going to do? This was crazy, foolish. And yet he couldn’t ignore the determination in her voice and the desperation in her eyes.

The pictures from that baby book flashed through his mind.

Katie’s baby was helpless—a true innocent, like Delbert. Booker understood. The same feeling had come over him when he’d jumped into that fight with the Smalls.

But risking himself was one thing. Risking Katie was another…

“Please?” she whispered.

Cursing, he turned left at the highway. Fifteen minutes later, he passed Hatcher’s dark office and hoped to God he was making the right decision.

KATIE TRIED TO REST between contractions, but they were coming too hard and fast.

Work with me, baby. Come on, she pleaded and glanced over to see that Booker was as focused as he’d been from the moment he’d picked her up off the floor. Jaw set, he grasped the wheel with two hands—distinctly different from his usual careless pose—and he seemed to mark each of her contractions by tightening his grip.

Katie silently drew comfort from the fact that she was on her way to the hospital and that, barring an experienced doctor, Booker was the one person among her friends and acquaintances she wanted with her right now. He had good instincts, loads of common sense, and he could drive really fast. If anyone could get her to Boise in time, he could.

The weather, especially with the twisting, turning highway, was no help at all. Katie braced herself against the door as the truck swerved around one corner and then the next, listening to the wipers swish across the windshield. Sixty swishes between contractions…Fifty-eight swishes…

Thoughts of Andy and her missing computer threatened to creep in, but she willed away the desolation that loss inspired. She’d deal with the rest of her life later. One hour at a time….

“Did something happen tonight?” Booker asked, reaching out to support her so she wouldn’t slide off the seat as they took a particularly tight curve. “Why was your door standing open when I got there and that chair overturned?”

Katie couldn’t answer right away. She felt another contraction coming on. Gritting her teeth, she focused on breathing through it as best she could. Her baby would face enough difficulties even with a normal delivery. She had to pray she didn’t deliver in Booker’s truck.

The pain finally released her, and she sagged against the door.

“Katie?” Booker prompted.

She forced her eyelids open but didn’t have the energy to lift her head.

“What happened before I arrived?”

“Andy stopped by,” she said.

“Did he want you to come back to him?”

She chuckled bitterly. “No, he wanted me to give him money.”

“Did you do it?”

“I didn’t have any to give him.” She seemed to make an effort to calm down. “I’ve landed a couple of Web site jobs, but I haven’t got far enough to warrant a progress payment.”

“So…what happened?”

She shook her head, staring at the glowing instrument panel as thunder cracked overhead and the rain fell harder. She couldn’t talk about Andy, couldn’t let dark thoughts steal her resolve. “Nothing.”

“He didn’t hit you, did he?”

“No.” The pain swelled suddenly with another contraction—only this time it was much worse because she wanted to push. Panicking, she fought the urge, knowing it would be at least an hour before they reached Boise.

Stall. Refuse to let go of the baby. Hang on…

But it was no use. Her body no longer seemed to be taking orders from her brain. Another contraction ripped through her, and another, just seconds apart. Soon she was sweating and shaking so badly, she knew that in a few minutes she’d run out of strength.