Donovan's Daughter (The Californians, Book 4) (36 page)

Frank breathlessly insisted that his wife was dying.
Alex had swiftly tied Kelsey's reins to the back of the
buckboard and climbed aboard. He held on while Frank
drove to his farm, shouting the events of the past hours
as they went.

It seemed his wife's stomach had started to hurt some
six hours ago and had slowly worsened. Frank was not
too keen on doctors, and since the pains came and went,
he had held off coming into town. But about 30 minutes
ago, his wife had started to bellow.

Frank shouted to Alex over the sound of the horse's
hooves, telling him about the time he'd accidently driven a pickax right through her foot without her so much as
making a sound. But after five minutes of her bellowing,
he could take it no longer, certain that she was about to
die.

It was fully light by the time they reached the house,
but Alex would have had no trouble finding it in the
dark. He'd have been led by the horrendous cries of the
woman within.

Alex entered the house alone and followed the noise to
the bedroom. On the bed he found an extremely overweight woman. She gasped for breath as he entered the
room and tried to speak.

"I'm Dr. Montgomery, Mrs. Nelson. Can you tell me
exactly what's wrong?"

Mrs. Nelson began to do so, crying about her stomach
and the fact that she was dying-but before she could
finish, she was suddenly gripped with another pain.
Alex stood by the bed and watched as she cried out and
writhed in agony. He then bent and placed his hand on
her enormous stomach.

"Mrs. Nelson," Alex spoke when the worst of the pain
had passed. "The pains you're having are not going to
kill you. They're perfectly normal; you're having a baby."

A loud crash sounded behind Alex, and he turned to
see that Mr. Nelson had come into the room behind him.
The big man had hit the floor with an awful thud, but
from a distance seemed unhurt. Alex would have checked
on him, but Mrs. Nelson's next contraction hit.

"Would you like my assistance?" Alex shouted above
her wailing. He went to work after witnessing the frenzied nodding of her head.

Ten minutes later he held a healthy baby boy up for his
mother's inspection. Her cries this time were cries of joy,
and after Alex had wrapped the baby in a shirt he found on a chair, he placed the tiny scrap of life into its mother's
arms.

Mr. Nelson was coming around, and after Alex had a
quick wash in the basin, he helped him onto a chair. The
man seemed stunned, and Alex knew just how he felt.
Some minutes passed before Mr. Nelson moved from his
chair to sit on the edge of the bed. It became evident in
the next few seconds that there was real love between
this hardworking couple as they first stared at their tiny
son and then at one another.

"Twenty-three years," Alex heard him say, his voice
full of wonder. "Twenty-three years we go childless, and
now in the space of a few minutes-" Frank suddenly
chuckled. "I thought you were dying, Emmaline."

His wife laughed along. "I thought so too."

Mr. Nelson sobered suddenly. "Even if there hadn't
been a baby, Em, I'm still glad you're here."

Alex exited the bedroom on this tender note. He
waited in the kitchen for about five minutes, and then
Frank called him back in. Alex was profoundly moved at
the humble way they thanked him for the life of their son
and then asked his fee for the delivery.

He left with the $5.00 in his pocket and a promise from
them that they would bring the baby to his office in a
week's time. Alex went back home to clean up and head
to the office. Marcail was due in that very afternoon.
Alex, anticipating her return, had believed the time
would drag, but if it continued as it had begun, he had a
feeling the day would fly.

Marcail stepped off the train and found a fair crowd of
people milling about the platform. She stood still and
waited for the throng to clear, and then spotted Alex leaning against the side of the ticket office. His stance
was nonchalant, belying the thunderous beating of his
heart at the mere sight of his wife. She had an extra
suitcase with her, and Alex was pleased that she'd brought
some extra dresses back as he'd asked.

Alex pushed away from the side of the building and
met her halfway. Wanting to crush her in his arms, he
immediately reached for her bags, thankful for something to do with his hands.

"Welcome home," he spoke sincerely.

"Thank you." Marcail smiled at him and bit her lip. He
looked wonderful, and as she took in his white shirt,
dark hair, and gorgeous blue eyes, Marcail wanted to
hug and kiss him for the first-time.

Alex led the way as they walked from the train station
platform. Marcail looked for Kelsey as they moved, but
didn't immediately spot him. She also missed the way
Alex turned to watch her once she sighted the horse.

"Where did you get this?" Marcail questioned Alex
when her surprised visage took in the small black buggy
to which Kelsey was hitched.

"A patient who hasn't paid me in the last year gave it to
us. When he saw me at church alone for two Sundays, he
thought you'd grown tired of riding on the back of a
horse and left me."

Marcail laughed with a mixture of astonishment and
pleasure. "Maybe I should go away more often," she
teased with exaggerated innocence, as Alex's hands took
possession of her waist to swing her aboard the buggy.

"You're not going anywhere for a long time," he
growled good-naturedly, with a hint of ownership.

Hearing that tone, Marcail's smile was one of pure
contentment as she settled back against the well-padded
buggy seat.

Marcail took the next few days to resettle. She cleaned
the entire house and spent one day baking, all the while
thoroughly loving the feel of being home.

Seth and Allie had eloped while Marcail was away, and
this news was all over town. The newlyweds were living
in a place near the train station, and Marcail went to see
them on her fifth day home. Since her own marriage was
becoming more precious every day, Marcail was no
longer envious of the happiness she saw in her friend's
eyes.

Alex had not pressed her to move from her sofa bed
into the bedroom, but even though she'd only been
home a few days, he was more attentive and their communication was stronger than it had ever been.

They fell easily back into their routine. Some mornings she was asleep when Alex left for work; others she
was up and preparing breakfast. The Monday morning
of her second week back was just such a morning. Marcail was up early and had breakfast started, but her face
was pensive when Alex entered the kitchen.

Alex showed his pleasure at seeing her by planting a
kiss on her cheek. She never stiffened at his touch now,
and Alex always felt a bit lightheaded at the lovely smiles
she gave him. This morning, however, her smile was
somewhat preoccupied.

"I'd like to go see Cordelia Duckworth this morning. Is
today good for you?"

"What were you thinking of, midmorning?"

Marcail nodded.

"That's fine. I'll head out pretty soon and then come
back for you about 10:00."

"Thank you, Alex," Marcail was deeply moved by his
willingness to accompany her.

Knowing that Mrs. Duckworth might refuse even to
see her, Marcail spent the morning in prayer. If she refused to see her today, then Marcail would schedule
another time. What Marcail had on her mind had to be
said.

Cordelia Duckworth dismissed her maid with an
angry word and turned back to the mirror. Her dress was
so tight she could hardly breathe, and she blamed her
son Richard for this fact. Richard and a few people from
town. They were actually trying to gain control of matters that were lawfully hers to manage. It wasn't the first
time the townspeople had tried something like this, and
when they did, Cordelia ate.

She was a very big eater on a regular basis, but when
upset, her appetite became enormous. Since Richard
had been acting so strangely, she had been very upset
indeed. Her eyes slid shut on her image as she remembered the argument they'd had -a week ago.

"I'm thinking about moving back, Mother."

"Back where?" Cordelia had almost been afraid to ask.

"To Willits, of course. You could keep the west wing,"
he went on conversationally, "and Beverly, Sydney, and I
would take the east wing."

"I will not live with that woman, Richard," Cordelia
told him, her voice turning shrill.

"You forget whose house this is, Mother," Richard
said coolly. It had taken years of living apart from his
mother to finally put his own life together. He now saw Cordelia with new eyes. "I've let you run things for a
long time, but lately I've been observing the situation a
little more carefully. You've set yourself up as a queen in
this town." His voice had turned scornful.

"Father would never have wanted that. Sydney has not
been able to speak of it until lately, so I had no idea. What
you're doing here is criminal, and it had better stop."

"I will not be talked to this way by my own son. How
dare you come here and threaten me-"

Richard's laughter had cut her off. "Threats, Mother?
No. Promises. Where Willits and Sydney are concerned,
I will be more involved in the very near future."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if you want to see your grandson, you'll
watch your step in this town."

He had never threatened her before, and she was so
taken aback she was speechless. It was unfortunate that
she chose to remember that scene on this particular
morning, since it put her in a horrid mood. She nearly
shouted when someone knocked on her bedroom door.

"What is it?"

"The door opened cautiously, and her personal maid
tentatively stuck her head in. "Dr. and Mrs. Montgomery are here to see you, ma'am."

Cordelia's brow furrowed, and the maid steeled herself for a hairbrush or some other handy object to fly at
the door.

"Tell them I'll be down shortly" was all the older
woman said, and the maid, from years of experience,
knew enough to close the door without a sound.