The Rancher's Baby Surprise. Kat Brookes

       Chapter Two

      Garrett glanced up from where he sat at the edge of the sofa, waiting on Hannah’s return, when his brother came back into the room carrying a steaming ceramic mug.

      Jackson glanced around. “Not back yet?”

      “No,” he muttered with a frown, his gaze moving past his brother to the entryway.

      He followed the line of Garrett’s gaze with a deepening frown. “Maybe you should go check on her.”

      He wanted to. Would feel a whole lot better if he did. But Hannah had assured him that she was fine. He had to take her word for it. “Best give her a little time,” he told his brother. “She’s been through quite an ordeal. I’m sure she just needs a little extra privacy to sort through all of her emotions.”

      “You’re probably right,” Jackson agreed with a nod as he placed the mug onto the coffee table and then settled into a nearby recliner.

      Garrett sat staring at the paper tag that dangled over the rim of the stoneware cup as the tea steeped. Rain pinged against the windowpane as the storm continued on outside. Beside him, the clock over the fireplace mantel ticked away the minutes. Too many minutes. What if Hannah’s legs had given out on her again? What if she’d fainted from all the stress she’d been under? Losing her sister and brother-in-law, suddenly finding herself in the role of mother-to-be, nearly dying in a flash flood.

      “Maybe I will go check on her,” he announced and was just about to shove to his feet when Hannah, face alarmingly pale, stepped into the doorway.

      The sight of her wan complexion and fearful eyes had both men shooting to their feet.

      “Hannah?” Garrett inquired as he moved toward her.

      She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “I think my water just broke.”

      It took a moment for her words to sink in. Dear Lord. “You think?” Maybe she was mistaken.

      “I’m pretty sure it did,” she said shakily.

      He crossed the room to where she stood trembling. “Everything’s going to be okay.” He prayed he sounded more confident than he felt at that moment.

      “I’ll call 911,” his brother said as he pulled his cell phone from his jeans pocket.

      “I’ll take her to the guest room,” Garrett replied with a worried frown as he scooped Hannah up into his arms, using the utmost of care. Since her water had broken, he thought it best she not walk around.

      She trembled against him as he carried her back down the hall to one of the guest rooms.

      “I’m so sorry,” she said against his shirtfront with a hiccupping sob.

      “There’s nothing to be sorry about,” he assured her as he lowered her quaking form onto one of the twin beds lining the walls. “Are you in pain?”

      “Not at the moment,” she choked out as she curled up on her side.

      “But you’re still having contractions?” he deduced.

      “Yes,” she confirmed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “And they’re coming closer together.”

      He didn’t have the means to stop, or even slow her contractions. And with her water having broken, there was no turning back. Hannah was having her baby whether she was ready for it or not. “Looks like you’re about to bring that little one into the world. We’ll need to start timing them.”

      Her hand shot out, grasping at the sleeve of his shirt. “He can’t come yet. It’s too soon.”

      “Babies come early sometimes,” he said calmly when he was anything but. Still, he felt the need to say something, anything, to ease the fear he saw in those large, green eyes of hers. “They just need a little extra seeing to. As soon as the ambulance gets here...” he began, the words drifting off as her troubled gaze left his. Garrett turned to see his brother standing in the open doorway, looking nearly as pale as Hannah had only moments before.

      “There’s a tree down across Miller Road,” his brother said evenly. “No through traffic.”

      “We’ve got chainsaws,” Garrett said determinedly. “We can see to it.”

      “Please don’t leave me,” Hannah blurted out, her grasp on his shirtsleeve tightening.

      Jackson stepped farther into the room, shaking his head. “We won’t.” He looked to his brother. “Can’t actually. The tree brought several wires down with it, some of which are hot. The electric company is sending out an emergency crew. Once that’s been taken care of, the tree can be safely cleared away and the ambulance can get through. Until then...” He let the words trail off.

      “We’re on our own,” Garrett muttered in understanding.

      Another gasp pushed through Hannah’s pinched lips, drawing both men’s gazes her way.

      “Aren’t you going to do something?” Jackson demanded of his brother.

      Garrett forced his gaze to his brother. “Me?”

      Jackson glanced over at Hannah, his expression one of concern. “You’re a doctor. Help her.”

      “You’re a doctor?” Hannah repeated, sounding so hopeful.

      He shot his brother a chastising look before turning back to Hannah. “I’m a veterinarian. The only babies I have ever delivered are the four-legged kind.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Jackson, head on over to Mom and Dad’s and let them know what’s going on. Bring Mom back with you. If anyone knows about birthing babies, it’s her.” She had chosen to deliver her two youngest sons at home with only the help of Mrs. Wilton, a friend of his mother’s who was a midwife.

      “Garrett, I would never forgive myself if they got caught up in a flash flood on their way back here to help me.”

      “They’ll be fine,” he assured her. “Go,” he said to Jackson. As soon as his brother took his leave, Garrett turned back to Hannah. “Our parents live just a short distance up the road in the direction opposite from the rising creek.”

      “Jackson will have Mom back here in no time. In the meantime, we’ll need to give your ob-gyn a call to let him know what’s going on.”

      “Her,” she said with a soft sniffle. Releasing the hold she probably hadn’t realized she still had on his sleeve, she reached into her purse to retrieve her phone. Her hands were trembling so hard, it appeared to be all Hannah could do to hold on to it as she brought up her contact list. She lifted her gaze to his. “Would you mind calling for me?”

      He reached for the phone and glanced down at the names on the screen. “Dr. Farland?”

      “Yes. That’s her,” she said.

      As he made the call, Garrett prayed the Lord would continue to keep her and her unborn child safe. He had told her everything would be all right, but that decision lay in far greater hands than his own.

      “Garrett?” he heard his mother call out as Jackson’s front door banged open. Scurrying footsteps followed.

      He looked up from where he sat in a chair next to Hannah’s prone form to see his mother, followed by Jackson, spill into the room, twenty minutes after his brother had gone to get her.

      Hannah, whose long, dark russet hair now hung in sweat-dampened ringlets around her face, accentuating her large, pain-filled eyes, attempted to sit up.

      “Don’t