A Hero to Dance With Me (8 page)

“Baby, it’ll be okay. I swear to you, everything will be fine. Just do what the doctor tells you and get the baby here. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Instantly, her demeanor and expression changed. “I said get the goddamned minister!
Now!
”

“Yes, dear,” he replied, glancing at the doc. “I’ll be right--”

“Don’t you dare leave me!” she yelled.

“But how am I supposed--”

“I don’t care! Just get him! But if you let go of my hand--”

“There, there, dear.” Thankfully, Vivian entered the room, chaplain in tow. Steve had never been so glad to see his mother. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was trying to compensate for his own anxiety with humor, but seeing Elle so out of sorts was starting to affect him. The last thing he needed to happen was to get kicked out of the delivery room for yelling at someone. Jezelle would never forgive him, and his brothers would never let him live it down.

“I can honestly say I’ve never performed a marriage at a delivery before.” The minister chuckled. “First time for everything.”

“Whatever you intend to do, you’d better hurry,” Dr. Watson commented. “This baby will be here in a matter of minutes.”

The minister turned to Steve. “Do you have a ring?”

Steve smiled and pulled a small red box from his pants pocket. Thank goodness he’d remembered to bring it when he’d snagged the marriage license. Jezelle hadn’t let go of his hand. Hadn’t even loosened her grip.

“License?”

“Right breast pocket,” Steve said. Since Jezelle had a death grip on his left hand, Vivian had to extract the marriage license for him. Steve looked down at Jezelle’s anxious face and couldn’t stop himself from leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Just hold on a couple more minutes, baby.”

She nodded tightly, her face pinched as the pain began to build again. Steve just wanted this over with. He hated seeing her suffer, even if it was to bring their child into the world.

“Are there any vows you’d like to make to each other?” The chaplain was courteous, but Steve nearly snapped, “Get on with it!” Thankfully, Vivian answered for them.

“We can do all that later. Right now, I think they’d just like to make it official. The baby is almost here.”

“Very well,” he said. “Do you, Steve, take Jezelle as your wife?”

Swallowing a sudden lump in his throat, Steve coughed into his hand once before answering, “I do.”

“And Jezelle, do yo --”

“Yes! I do! Could you please--”

“Then by the power vested in me…”

Before he could get the words out, Steve kissed Jezelle softly on the lips while he placed his ring on her finger. The fit was snug, but he could fix that later. Right now, he just needed Jezelle at ease enough to have the baby.

“It’s done, baby,” Steve whispered next to her ear. “Now let’s see my boy.”

With a scream of determination through clenched teeth, Jezelle halfway sat up in the bed and pushed with all her might. Several seconds later, Dr. Watson grinned. “That’s it, Elle. You’re doing great. I’ve cleaned out the mouth and nose. One more big push oughta do it. Push!”

She did. Steve was pretty sure the bones in his hand would be pulverized, but he didn’t care. If she needed, he provided. The nurse counted the seconds as Jezelle pushed. Ten seconds seemed like forever, but finally the doctor patted her knee.

“All done. Give me a minute here.” There was movement below Jezelle as the doctor did, well, doctor stuff to the baby. Steve wanted to be there to see the baby, but Jezelle still had a death grip on his hand.

“Is she all right? Is she breathing?”

Just as she asked the question, the shrill cry of a baby split the air followed by Dr. Watson’s chuckle. “Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Carver.” He smiled as he handed Jezelle her child. “It’s a girl.”

Jezelle laughed. And cried. Steve didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The doc pronounced the child healthy and in possession of all her fingers and toes. Vivian just smiled as she patted the minister on the shoulder, thanking him for his services as she had him sign the marriage license before escorting him out.

When Jezelle finally let Steve’s hand go, he collapsed into a nearby chair, feeling as shell-shocked as he’d ever felt in his life. A girl. He had a daughter. And she was absolutely gorgeous. Just like her mother.

Jezelle smiled at him as she held their daughter. “I love you so much, Steve! Thank you for everything.”

“Thank you for that dance,” he said softly.

Then they both let themselves be absorbed in their new daughter. Life just didn’t get much better than this.