The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek Book 8) Read online

“I don’t know!” Mia was close to losing control. Her hands shook as she tried to figure out what to do next. Autumn had flipped herself over and was crouched on all fours on the bed. Shouldn’t she be lying down?

  Luke left to find towels, probably terrified to find himself with a birthing mother and a screaming idiot.

  “Autumn, honey? Don’t you want to lie down?” Mia touched her back and Autumn reared up.

  “Don’t touch me! Aaaaannnngh!” She fell back on all fours and bore down again, this time for so long that Mia thought she’d never stop. One thing was for certain—she had to get those pants off of her. But how?

  She waited until Autumn stopped pushing. “Sweetie, you have to take off your pants. I’m just going to help and then I won’t touch you anymore. I promise.”

  “Oh…kay,” Autumn panted, but when Mia took hold of her waistband she writhed like a wild thing. Mia hurried to strip her before the next contraction hit. When the pants were puddled around Autumn’s ankles, a knock on the door told her Luke was back.

  “Hang in there, honey. It’s all right.” Mia hurried to the door. She blocked Luke’s view as best she could in an attempt to preserve Autumn’s modesty but she had a feeling her friend was beyond caring. As Autumn’s voice rose again in a wordless bellow of pain, Mia met Luke’s gaze.

  “I called the ambulance,” he said, his calm voice welcome in all the chaos. “It might be a few minutes, though. There’s been an accident south of town.”

  “How many minutes?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for Autumn, Mia hesitated, wishing more than anything Luke would join her in the bedroom. She remembered all the times in the past two months he’d stuck close when he thought she might need help, the way he touched her lightly when he passed by, to let her know he was there. She wanted him beside her, wanted to lean on him, but this was the holiest of holy times for a woman, and Autumn needed privacy.

  “I’ll be right here,” Luke said as if he’d read her mind, then bent down and kissed her softly on the forehead. “Right outside this door. I’m not going anywhere. Call me when you need me.”

  Mia nodded, blinking back tears. Right. She could do this. Autumn was depending on her.

  She took the towels he handed her and layered some on the bed around and underneath Autumn. She kept the rest in a stack close by. She didn’t know what else to do besides wait.

  Luke had seen many a cow give birth to a calf and many a mare give birth to a foal. Barring unforeseen complications, he figured he’d only have to stand in this hallway for ten minutes at most before Autumn’s baby arrived. It unnerved him that a birthing mother made a sound as earthy and animal as any of the critters outside in his barns, but when he thought it through it made sense. What were people but a complicated type of animal?

  He’d never thought much about the birthing process in women, though. When it came to cows and horses, he viewed it in as practical terms as any rancher. Even so, he wasn’t too practical to have noticed that even in a barn every birth was attended by a hush—a holy quiet amidst the clamor of the mother’s groans and the other sounds of the world around it. The hush was almost more tangible than audible—a sacredness of space around the entry of a newborn into this old, old world. It touched him like little else did, as did the sight of a newborn animal’s first moments, and afterward he always found himself stepping more quietly, becoming more observant—more aware of the beauty and mystery of life itself. At least for a little while.

  He hadn’t expected to find that same hush here in Autumn and Ethan’s bunkhouse, but he did. And to his surprise, standing outside Autumn’s door, guarding that sacred space for the women inside made him feel more like a man than just about anything he’d ever done before. To lend his strength, his watchfulness—his protection to the miracle happening inside made him part of something far bigger than himself—something that linked him to countless generations of other men watching over other women. For an instant, his daily life fell away and he wondered what it would feel like to be a father himself—to know the baby coming was his.

  He shifted his stance, a little uncomfortable with the depth of his thoughts, and moved on to more practical matters. How soon would the ambulance arrive? Before or after the birth?

  What was the sex of the baby Autumn was bringing into the world? Boy or girl?

  How would Ethan feel when he knew—

  Luke slapped his hand to his head. In all the commotion, he hadn’t thought to call Ethan—and Ethan was just up the road.

  Luke scrambled for the phone he’d dropped and found it in the bathroom. He dialed Ethan’s number, but no one answered and it went to voice mail.

  “Ethan, it’s Luke. Call me! Autumn’s—”

  He broke off when Mia shrieked, “Luke!”

  “Autumn’s having your baby. The ambulance is on its way.” He dropped the phone and ran into the bedroom where Autumn was on her hands and knees straining and groaning, and Mia was crouched behind her. All thought of guarding the miracle forgotten, he scanned the room.

  “I don’t know what to do!” Mia cried.

  Luke took the situation in at a glance. “You’re doing great. Both of you are doing great.” Autumn needed something to lean on, though. “Mia, stay there. Get ready to catch that baby. Autumn, honey, I’m going to climb up on the bed with you.”

  “Ahhhnnnggg!” Autumn cried as another contraction hit. Luke batted the pillows away that rested against the headboard, climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged, his back to Autumn.

  “Go ahead and brace your hands on my shoulders.” A moment later Autumn grabbed hold and another moment later, her fingers gripped him hard as she bore down again. Gravity was the trick with birth, Luke knew. Stick a woman on her back and she had to work twice as hard to push out a baby. In this position Autumn could work with the forces of nature. He grit his teeth as her fingernails cut into his skin.

  “The baby’s crowning. She’s coming,” Mia cried. “Autumn, another push just like that one.”

  “Aaahhhng!” Autumn groaned again as she bore down and Luke braced his hands on his knees to keep from folding underneath her.

  “You can do it, honey. You can do it,” he chanted, hardly knowing what he said.

  “The baby’s head is out. Oh, my God, Autumn. One more push! One more push!”

  With her last push Autumn nearly bowled Luke over, but he kept himself in place and from the sounds Mia was making all was going well. Autumn ended with a wail that was quickly echoed by one that was quieter, but no less strong. A girly wail, Luke thought, barely daring to breathe as Autumn collapsed against him.

  “You did it! Autumn, you did it!” Mia cried. “It’s a girl! Oh, she’s beautiful!” Luke sensed Mia moving behind them. Autumn slid down to lie on her side on the bed and Mia handed her the baby. Luke carefully climbed off, checked to make sure mother and child were safe before he ran to get the phone again. When Ethan answered this time, Luke’s voice was rough with emotion. “Ethan?”

  “I’m on my way. How’s Autumn doing?”

  “She just had your baby!” He strode back to the bedroom. Mia had smoothed a blanket over Autumn. A thatch of dark hair graced the baby’s head and its eyes were shut tight, but its little rosebud mouth opened and emitted another wail. Luke held out the phone.

  “Did you hear that? That’s your baby girl! Get on over here, Daddy! Hurry up!”

  Ethan arrived just after the ambulance and paramedics.

  “Let me in! Let me through!”

  Mia turned to Autumn and saw her friend light up when she heard her husband approaching. The paramedics had clamped and cut the cord and delivered the afterbirth. They’d quickly cleaned mother and baby and helped Mia get them comfortable again.

  As Ethan rushed into the room to crouch by the bedside, Mia followed the others out to the living room where Luke waited.

  “We’ll give them a moment before we take them to the hospital,�
� one of the paramedics said. In her thirties, with no-nonsense mannerisms and blond hair pulled back into a severe bun, she was everything Mia would hope a paramedic to be. “It’s really just a formality now. We’ll give Mom and baby a quick look over before we send them back home. You did a fine job.”

  “I didn’t do a thing. Autumn did all the work.”

  “That’s the way of it when things go right,” the paramedic said. “Still, I’m sure it helped a lot just knowing you were there.”

  Autumn affirmed those words when Mia got to see her for a minute before she was loaded into the ambulance. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you and Luke. It all happened so fast. I was totally unprepared!”

  “I’m glad I was here. That was amazing, Autumn. You were amazing!”

  “No, I wasn’t—I yelled at you.” But Autumn didn’t look too concerned. She was too busy kissing her baby’s head.

  Mia didn’t blame her. The baby was beautiful. Delicate and sweet. Perfectly formed. “What will you name her?”

  “Arianna. In honor of Ethan’s mother.”

  Mia nodded. From what she’d heard, Aria Cruz had been an interesting woman. “That’s a beautiful name.”

  She watched the paramedics wheel Autumn through the house and lift her into the waiting ambulance. Ethan followed, saying, “Tell Ned and Fila we wish we could be there for the wedding.”

  “We will!” she assured him.

  When they were gone, she turned to Luke. “Can you believe that? I thought I was going to faint when I found Autumn bearing down already. Thank God everything went okay. Luke? What’s wrong?” The cowboy had the strangest look on his face.

  “I want one,” he said. “I want one, and I want it with you.”

  “I want a baby with you, Mia. I want to marry you.” Luke knew this wasn’t the right moment for a proposal but here he was, jumping the gun, proposing anyway. He didn’t know what else to do. He’d tried to convince Mia to date him. He’d done everything he could to let her know how he felt. He’d wanted to make love to her for months. She’d been living right under his nose, tempting him with every sway of her hips as she moved about the house straightening up, every bounce of her breasts when she dashed up and down the stairs getting ready for a day’s work. But he wanted more than that, too. He wanted his ring on her finger, his name on her debit card and his baby in her arms. He wanted it all—everything that Ethan had with Autumn, that Ned was about to have with Fila. He wanted it all and he wanted it right now.

  “Mia? Did you hear me? I want to marry you.”

  She had gone as pale as the paint on the wall behind her. Her eyes were huge in her face and he wanted to kiss away the fear in them. What was she afraid of? Him?

  “Say yes.” He took her hand in his. Tugged her closer. “Damn it, say yes, Mia.”

  “I…” She couldn’t seem to answer.

  “Stop thinking. Just say yes.” He bent down to kiss her, but she gasped and pulled back.

  “I’m sorry.” Tears sparkled in her eyes. “I’m sorry! I tried to tell you!”

  “Tell me what?” He refused to let her go. His arms tightened around her waist until they formed a cage she couldn’t break out of. Strength had its advantages. This time she wouldn’t get away. “What do you have to tell me?”

  “I’m pregnant already.”

  ‡

  Chapter Four

  Mia hunched miserably in the corner of the front seat, as far away from the furious man at the wheel as she could get. She’d never seen anyone as angry as Luke was now. She wished he would scream at her, rage at her, even throw things at her—anything but the grim silence that filled the cab like a living thing.

  When they reached the Double-Bar-K, she dashed from the truck nearly before it stopped moving. She ran up the steps, barreled inside Luke’s parents’ house and almost knocked Hannah over.

  “What’s wrong?” Hannah raced up the stairs after her to the bedroom that had been allocated for the bridesmaids on the second floor. As Mia slammed the door shut behind them and threw herself on the bed, Hannah rushed to her side. “Was it Autumn? The birth? Did something go wrong after all?”

  Mia shook her head, her tears making it impossible to speak. “She’s… fine. The baby is… beautiful.”

  “Then what’s wrong? Are you in shock?”

  “It’s…Luke. He knows.” Mia’s sobs stormed out again. Hannah sat down hard on the bed beside her, understanding perfectly. She was the only one besides Fila who knew about Mia’s pregnancy. She’d urged Mia to tell Luke long ago.

  “And he isn’t happy.” It wasn’t a question.

  Mia only cried harder. “He hates me. He couldn’t even speak to me. I knew this would happen.”

  To her credit, Hannah didn’t say she told her so. She only sighed and patted her on the back. “I’m sorry. I think you and Luke would make a great couple. Maybe you still will. Give him time—the news has to have come as a huge shock. Don’t you think?”

  Mia nodded, knowing Hannah was trying to help. But it was easy for Hannah. She was so beautiful with her white-blond hair and competent ways. Everyone admired her for going back to school to become a veterinarian, and her new husband, Jake, was head over heels in love with her—enough to change the whole course of his life and go back to school, too. If only Luke loved her like that.

  But why should he when she was carrying another man’s child?

  She turned on her side, curled into a ball and placed a hand on her belly. Poor little bean. There would be no happy, celebrating crowd when she gave birth. She was just an unwed mother who’d had sex with a married man.

  She could almost hear her mother’s voice. What did you expect, Mia? You reap what you sow.

  Well, she was definitely reaping. But it was Fila’s day, not hers, so it was time to end her pity party and get her act together.

  “It’s better this way,” she said to Hannah. “He knows, and I’ve seen how he feels. Now I can move on and start my life without him.” Her voice wobbled.

  “Mia.”

  She shook off Hannah’s soothing tone. “No, it’s better to accept things as they are and stop hoping for the impossible. I’m not going to end up with Luke. I’m going to raise this child alone. And that’s okay.” She had Ellis’s money now. She could make her way.

  “Whatever happens, you aren’t alone,” Hannah assured her. “You’re surrounded by friends, Mia. And every last one of us is going to help.”

  Later that afternoon, Luke paced the tight confines of the room his mother had designated for him to change into his wedding clothes. The chairs were set in lines for the ceremony and everything else that needed to be lifted and moved was in place. All that remained was for him to change and wait for the guests to arrive so he could usher them to their seats. But he wasn’t fit for company now. Not after Mia’s bombshell.

  Pregnant.

  About four months pregnant, if his calculations were right.

  By Ellis Scranton, a forty-two-year-old businessman who’d probably be bald in another couple of years. Luke ignored for the moment that he was thirty-one. The idea of Ellis with twenty-one-year-old Mia was sickening.

  The idea of anyone with Mia was sickening.

  Now he understood why his talkative Mia had become increasingly silent as the weeks had passed. Now he understood why she held back every time he tried to take things further—even though he’d seen the desire in her eyes many times. The one time they’d kissed—way back when she’d first moved in—the sparks between them could have started a blaze. Since then she’d refused to acknowledge she was interested.

  Now he knew why. Mia was being noble. She refused to tangle him up in a relationship because she’d already tangled with another man and gotten pregnant.

  Other women would have done their best to steal his heart so when their pregnancy showed he’d stick around. Some women might even have tried to pass the baby off as his. Not Mia. She’d done her best to keep him free and clear. She
hadn’t wanted him to pay for her mistakes.

  Maybe she’d been afraid he’d cast her aside. His fingers clenched into fists. He couldn’t stand to think she’d been afraid of that. He wasn’t the kind of man who ran from trouble. He was the type who stuck around and sorted it out. How could she not know that about him?

  He stifled the urge to punch a hole in his parents’ wall at the thought of how lonely and scared she must’ve been these past few months. For one second—one second—he’d just about punched a hole in Ethan’s living room wall. He’d wanted to find Ellis and beat the living daylights out of him. Mia had seen it in his eyes and flinched away. That had stopped him mighty quick. Shame had flooded him—that he’d bring violence anywhere near a pregnant woman. Then he’d remembered which woman was pregnant and how she’d gotten that way and he’d stumbled right out of Ethan’s bunkhouse.

  He’d wanted to get in his truck, start driving, find the bastard and mete out a little frontier justice—but there was the damn wedding to get through, so he’d sat there like a beaten dog and driven the woman he loved—the woman Ellis had knocked up—back home and watched her flee inside like the devil himself was after her.

  He figured the devil had already found her. The devil in the form of a cocky businessman who couldn’t keep it in his pants. Ellis had power, authority and money. How simple it must’ve been for him to turn Mia’s head. What had he told her—that he’d fallen hopelessly in love? That he’d leave his wife and children for her? That he’d show her the world? To a small town girl like Mia—just starting out in life—it must have been too tempting to resist.

  “Forty-five minutes to show time. Here are your boots. I don’t know when Mom found the time to shine them all.” Ned stood in the doorway holding Luke’s dress boots. Luke hadn’t even heard him open the door. Ned frowned as he entered the room. His stride was still unsteady from breaking his leg the previous month, but it was healing well and shouldn’t have any lasting effects. “Something’s got you fired up.”

  Luke tried to get a hold of himself, but by the look on his brother’s face he hadn’t succeeded.