The Outlaws: Sam (41 page)

Meg was sitting on the edge of the bed, her
face pale, her pupils dilated. Jess knew immediately that she was
in pain. "How long have you been like this?"

"The pains started last night," Meg
whispered. "I didn't want to say anything until I was certain." She
offered him a wobbly smile. "Jess...I'm...certain."

Jess bit out a curse and ran to the door.
"Bessie! More hot water, soap and towels!"

Lacey opened the door to her room and peered
out. "Jess, is it Meg?"

"She's ready to deliver," Jess said. "I won't
know how far along she is until I examine her."

"I'll be right there."

"I don't know if Bessie heard me," Jess
answered. "I need more water, soap and towels."

"I'll take care of it," Lacey said.

Sam appeared in the doorway. "What can I
do?"

"Keep Andy occupied," Lacey said. "He's
feeling somewhat abandoned right now. Take him out to look at the
horses."

Jess waited impatiently for the hot water so
he could scrub and examine Meg. When it arrived, he washed his
hands thoroughly and began the examination.

"My God, Meg, you're almost there!"

"I knew it was going fast," Meg said,
panting.

"Let me help you undress," Lacey offered,
moving to assist Jess.

Lacey had no sooner gotten Meg into a
nightgown when she announced in a strangled voice, "The babe's
coming!"

"Push, sweetheart," Jess urged. "You're doing
magnificently. I wish all women delivered as easily as you."

"It's...not...so easy," Meg contradicted as
she bore down.

"I have it!" Jess crowed. "It's a boy, love.
We have a son."

For the second time that day the wail of a
newborn filled the air. It was music to Jess's ears. Two new
Gentry's in the same day! He glanced at Lacey, a smile hovering
over his lips as he gazed pointedly at her bulging middle.

"I hope you're not thinking of making it
three in one day."

"Not on your life," Lacey laughed.

All the Gentrys, except for Angel and Meg,
gathered in the parlor after supper that evening. Exhausted but
jubilant, they toasted the new mothers and their babes.

"I reckon you're going to have me and Meg on
your hands longer than you expected, Rafe," Jess ventured. "Meg and
our son won't be ready to travel for a month or two."

"That couldn't please me more," Rafe
acknowledged. "What have you named your son?"

"We're going to call him Justin. What about
your boy? Have you and Angel settled on a name yet?"

"Angel picked out Gabriel, and that suits me
just fine. We'll probably call him Gabe."

"I'm going to have a girl," Lacey announced
with utter confidence. "And I'm naming her Emily Ann."

'I've got two months to change her mind," Sam
laughed, "but all joking aside, if we have a girl, I think Emily
Ann is a fine name for our daughter. We'd planned to be back in
Texas for the delivery, but we can stick around a couple weeks
longer, if it's all right with you, Rafe."

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like,"
Rafe beamed. "This is going to be a family reunion none of us will
ever forget."

"I knew we should have returned home two
weeks ago," Sam lamented as he watched his wife struggling through
the last stages of labor.

"I'm sorry, Sam, Emily Ann just wouldn't
wait," Lacey panted.

"It won't be long now," Jess encouraged.
"Support her back, Sam."

Meg and Angel stood beside the bed, offering
encouragement, but Lacey was concentrating too hard to pay heed to
what was going on in the room as she bore down with the each
consecutive contraction.

"Now, Lacey," Jess cried. "Bear down with the
next contraction."

Lacey felt a tremendous pressure, then relief
as the babe slid in Jess's capable hands.

"She's small," Jess said as he cleared the
babe's air passages. Suddenly the tiny mite gave out outraged wail.
Sam smiled hugely. "Her lungs certainly are healthy."

"Emily Ann," Sam said, awed by the miracle of
birth. "Our daughter is beautiful, Lacey. Nearly as beautiful as
her mother."

Meg took the babe and wrapped her in a
blanket. "There's a little boy outside the door who can't wait to
greet his new sibling."

"Let Andy see his sister, Sam," Jess said.
"I'm still busy with Lacey so he can't come in yet." Meg handed the
babe to Sam.

Holding Emily Ann gingerly in his arms, Sam's
opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Andy and Rafe were
waiting just outside the door.

"Do I have a sister or brother?" Andy asked,
jumping up and down.

"A sister," Sam said, holding the babe out
for Andy's inspection. "Meet Emily Ann."

Andy gave a squeal of delight. "She has dark
hair. But she's all wrinkled. That's all right, Papa, I'll love her
anyway. Can I see Mama now?"

"Not yet, son, but soon. I'm going to put
Emily Ann in her bed now. We'll call you in to see Mama as soon as
she's ready for visitors."

Sam reentered the bedroom. Angel took the
babe from his arms and carried her to her cradle. Then she and Meg
tiptoed from the room.

"She's beautiful," Angel said as she joined
Rafe and Andy in the hallway. "I hope we have a daughter next."

"There won't be a next time," Rafe assured
her. "I couldn't bear to see you suffer like that again."

"Famous last words," Meg said, grinning.
"Besides, look at the easy time Lacey and I had. Each time is
different, and Angel isn't likely to have a difficult time next
time."

"I said..." Rafe began.

"I know what you said, darling," Angel said
archly, "but let's wait and see what happens in a year or two."

The bedroom door opened and Sam and Jess
walked out into the hall. "They're both sleeping," Sam said. "How
about a toast to the newest Gentry?"

They all trooped down to the parlor. Rafe dug
out a bottle of vintage wine and they toasted Emily Ann and
Lacey.

A month later, the entire family gathered in
the dining room for a celebratory dinner before Sam, Lacey, Andy,
Jess, Meg and the babies departed for their separate homes.

"Sam raised his glass in a toast. "Lacey and
I expect you all at the B&G ranch one year from today."

"And the year after that, you're all invited
to Deadwood. But, please, if any more babies are expected," Jess
said with a long suffering sigh, "plan them so that I won't have to
deliver two in one day."

A round of laughter followed as they toasted
the next gathering of the clan.

Connie Mason is the bestselling author of 60
books and novellas and counting. Her tales of passion and adventure
are set in exotic as well as in American locales. Connie has won
awards from Romantic Times and has been listed in Who's Who of
American Women for several years. Connie makes her home in Tarpon
Springs, Florida.

Connie is a world traveler. She has visited
every country in Western and Eastern Europe, Greece, Asia and
Northern Africa. Also, countless islands in the Mediterranean and
Caribbean Seas. Connie enjoys spending time with her three
children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.