OnlyYou (24 page)

A wave of guilt washed over her as she gazed into their
empty, desolate eyes. She had certainly lucked out. If Gabriel hadn’t found her
and taken it upon himself to make certain that she was cared for, it could very
easily have been her walking along this dirt road on blistered feet and with a
rumbling belly.

Kaitlyn’s stomach began hardening again. Throughout their
ride yesterday, she had experienced many painless contractions but today was
different. With each intermittent tightening of her abdomen, the pain gradually
increased. It was nothing she couldn’t handle but just the thought that her
child might be choosing to make its entrance while they were on the run was
enough to send her into a panic.

“Mama!” shrieked a child’s voice from somewhere behind her.
“Mama!”

Startled, Kaitlyn jumped in her seat and turned around, her
eyes landing upon a little girl with tears streaming down her dirt-smeared
cheeks. Instinctively, Kaitlyn drew George around and trotted over to where the
child was shivering against an old, gnarled maple tree.

“Mama!” she screamed again, her chest heaving with sobs.

Kaitlyn reached down toward the child, offering her hand.
“Are you lost?”

The little girl swiped at her nose with the back of her hand
and nodded pitifully before grabbing onto Kaitlyn.

“What’s your name?” Kaitlyn asked as she lifted the
surprisingly light child up onto her lap.

“Anna,” she shyly whispered as she attempted to snuggle
against Kaitlyn’s protruding belly.

“Will you let me know if you see your mother?”

The little girl nodded and wrapped one skinny arm around
Kaitlyn’s stomach as she settled her head against Kaitlyn’s chest.

Kaitlyn smiled down at her and guided George back toward
Mary and Eileen.

“I had wondered where you went off to, Katie,” Mary said as
she reached out to give Anna’s leg a pat. “Lost are we?”

“Do you want me to take her?” Eileen offered.

Anna started to frantically shake her head. “I want to stay
with you,” she whispered as she looked up at Kaitlyn with watery blue eyes.

Kaitlyn brushed the girl’s brown hair away from her face in
a motherly gesture, wondering if she would soon be able to hold her own child
in this manner. Almost as if in answer to her musings, her abdomen contracted
again. The tension in her belly caught her by surprise and she gasped quietly,
her whole body tensing in reaction.

“Is it becoming worse?” Mary eyed her worriedly, glancing
back and forth between Kaitlyn’s face and her stomach.

Kaitlyn smiled and forced herself to relax, determined to
not scare the child sitting so trustingly in her lap. As the contraction
finally subsided, Anna reached up and ran her fingers through Kaitlyn’s hair.
When Kaitlyn flashed her a smile, Anna giggled and snuggled into the crook of
Kaitlyn’s arm.

“Are you certain you are all right with the girl on your
lap?” Mary asked, her brow crinkled in concern.

“I’ll let you know if you need to take her,” Kaitlyn
replied, reluctant to hand Anna over when the girl had already refused to be
moved once.

Within minutes people in the front of the pack began
shouting that Philadelphia was within sight. Kaitlyn’s eyes peered into the
distance, half expecting to see skyscrapers and freeways laid out before her.
She nearly laughed at herself when her eyes met an expanse of houses clustered
together and dotting the horizon.

It didn’t take long for the flock of refugees to reach the
center of the small city. Most were so relieved to see their destination that
they caught a second wind and began rushing forward into the city and packing
its main street from one side to the other.

Kaitlyn’s senses became overloaded. People were swarming all
around her, shouting and shoving. Babies screamed and cried inconsolably.
Little Anna’s blue eyes widened in apprehension and she buried her face in
Kaitlyn’s chest, her whole body shaking like a leaf.

Kaitlyn felt someone tug on her arm and she turned. Mary
motioned toward one end of town, not bothering to speak over the clamor.
Kaitlyn nodded her understanding as she attempted to ignore yet another
contraction vying for her attention.

She began to guide George through the crowd behind Mary’s
horse when a woman began screaming Anna’s name. The little girl’s head perked
up and she anxiously began looking all around her.

Kaitlyn brought George to a halt and joined Anna in her
search of the crowd. The screams kept coming and finally Kaitlyn spotted a
woman several yards away with five other small children in tow. When she saw
the woman scream for Anna once again, Kaitlyn looked down at the child in her
lap and pointed out the woman in the crowd.

“Is that your mother?”

Anna nodded, tears filling her wide, blue eyes. “Mama!” she
shouted, gripping Kaitlyn’s forearm with surprising strength.

Kaitlyn guided George toward the woman, waving at her frantically.
The woman finally turned and spotted them as Anna shouted once more. Tears
began streaming down her cheeks as she rushed forward and held her arms up to
Anna.

Mother and daughter sobbed against one another, both elated
and relieved. The woman thanked Kaitlyn profusely and Anna turned long enough
to shyly wave at Kaitlyn before burying her face in her mother’s neck once
again. Kaitlyn smiled down at them as a wave of warmth permeated her heart.

She turned George back around and froze, unsure of which
direction Mary and Eileen were headed. She scanned the crowd hysterically as
her throat began closing in panic. They had practically disappeared into thin
air.

Kaitlyn doubled over as her stomach tightened painfully,
nearly knocking the wind out of her. She fell forward onto her palms, leaning
against George’s neck as she attempted to breathe through the long contraction.
The reins fell from her hands and her horse snorted as he began to move through
the crowd without any direction from her. When the contraction finally
subsided, tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision.

She sat up, wiped away the tears that had fallen onto her
cheek and began looking around once again. Depression settled into her stomach
and her shoulders slumped wearily. Mary and Eileen were still nowhere to be
seen. The horse’s gait gently rocked her back and forth and she mentally
capitulated, allowing George to carry her along to wherever he chose. She felt
as though her strength had suddenly vanished and she became acutely aware of
the ache in her lower back and groin.

Slowly, George pushed his way through the throng of refugees
and citizens of the city. Kaitlyn wasn’t certain how much time had passed
before they reached the edge of the crowd and her horse began quickly trotting
along a much quieter side street. Several contractions took over her body as
she rode along, causing her to groan. Every muscle in her body seemed to be
aching at once and she didn’t know how much more of this she was going to be
able to endure alone without bursting into hysterical sobbing.

“Kaitlyn, is that you?”

Her head darted up in the direction of a voice, which seemed
more than familiar to her. As she recognized James Clark, the sobs that had
been building up within her chest spilled forth. Her face fell into her hands
as she wept, her hot tears spilling forth into her palms.

George began moving again and Kaitlyn calmed herself enough
to look up and see that James had taken the reins and was guiding her down the
driveway of a grand, brick home. Relief swept through her at the thought of
shelter and a familiar face, bringing on another fit of sobs.

After several moments, her horse came to a stop and she felt
gentle hands spanning her waist. She swung her leg over the top of George’s
back and allowed James to help her down.

“My dear girl, whatever is the matter?” James anxiously
asked as he grasped her arms to steady her.

Kaitlyn groaned as her belly began tightening once more. She
wrapped her arms around her stomach and bent over, her forehead hitting James’
chest. She felt him stiffen.

“Kaitlyn, are you…”

As the contraction began to ease, she straightened her back
and nodded.

His face paled as he stared at her, his brow creasing with
worry. “Did you come in with the refugees from the country?”

She nodded again, biting her tongue as a surge of anger
coursed through her at his inaction. Her baby was coming and all he could do
was stand around and talk about why she was in town?

His eyes widened nervously and she could only guess that the
look on her face had given her sudden outrage away. He brushed her straggled
hair behind her ears and wrapped a tentative arm around her shoulders. “Come,
let us get you inside.”

Chapter Seventeen

Prudence Ross put a finger to her mouth to signal for quiet
as she gingerly closed the door behind her.

“How is she?” James asked, wearily running his hand through
his hair.

Prudence smiled gently. “She is tired but well.” Turning to
her husband, she asked, “Did you send the Captain a message?”

“I sent it yesterday. Just as soon as you asked, my love,”
Alexander Ross replied. “You look weary as well.”

They stood to the side as the midwife and her apprentice
exited Kaitlyn’s room. Alexander pressed a few coins into the pudgy hand of the
older woman and thanked her for her services.

“I believe I shall check on my little Andrew and then lie
down for a while,” Prudence remarked as she stood up on her tiptoes to place a
quick kiss upon Alexander’s cheek.

Prudence’s skirts swished down the hallway as both men
silently watched her until she disappeared.

James whispered, “You sent him a letter?”

His irritated tone was not lost on Alexander. “He is her
husband. Just what, pray tell, did you expect me to do?”

James sighed and shook his head. “I never would have left
her alone in that condition.”

“She was not alone.”

“The presence of other women cannot take the place of that
of a man,” James spat, raising his voice slightly. “If she had been carrying my
child I never would have left her side.”

“You are forgetting, my friend, that O’Connor is serving
under the General in order to defend us and our homes. I doubt he left her
because he wanted to.” Alexander shook his head in sympathy and clasped his
friend’s shoulder. “She is married. And she is in love with Captain O’Connor.
There is nothing you can do. You need to forget about her.”

James’ shoulders sank in defeat and he nodded.

“Is that you, Mr. Ross and Mr. Clark?” Kaitlyn’s voice
called from behind the closed door.

James’ eyes widened apprehensively and he shook his head at
Alexander. “I cannot go in there. Not yet.”

Alexander nodded and watched James dash down the stairs
before opening the door and entering the bedroom. He gave Kaitlyn a gentle
smile as he pulled a chair up to the side of the bed.

“I want to thank you—” she began, tears welling up in her
blue eyes.

With a wave of his hand, he cut her off. “You have no need
to thank me for anything. I am more than happy to be of service to you.”

She smiled and glanced down at the sleeping bundle cradled
tenderly in the crook of her arm. “Prudence is wonderful.”

Alexander briefly glanced down at his hands. “Thank you.”

Kaitlyn exhaled audibly and shook her head. She wasn’t sure
what she had expected when she met Prudence but Alexander’s wife had turned out
to be one of the most beautiful and well-spoken women she had met in her life.
Why would Alexander want to cheat on her?

“Why then? And don’t tell me that you’re simply thinking
with another part of your anatomy.”

He shrugged, flashing her one of his boyish grins as he sat
back in the chair. He obviously knew exactly what she meant. “What is it that
you wish me to say, Kaitlyn? I am a weak man, especially when it comes to
beautiful, intelligent women.”

She laughed nervously, keeping one ear open for a sign that
someone might be coming up the stairs. “Beautiful? Yeah, right.”

The baby squirmed slightly in her arms and she looked down
into the sweetly sleeping face. All thoughts of Alexander floated from her head
as her lips curled into a dreamy smile.

“I will leave you to caring for your child,” Alexander
whispered, patting her leg affectionately as he arose. “I will let you know as
soon as I have heard anything about your husband.”

Kaitlyn’s eyes filled with tears and her chest ached as the
thought of Gabriel not coming home filtered back into her mind. She took a deep
breath and nodded, quickly attempting to push the worry aside. He was coming
home. She knew that. All she had to do was to keep reminding herself.

“As his friend, I would only ask that you consider him a
suitable candidate should you find yourself without a husband. He nearly wore a
hole through the floor of the hallway downstairs as he paced back and forth
during the birth, without taking a moment out for one wink of sleep. He would
take good care of both you and your child.”

Kaitlyn nodded, hoping that small action would suffice as an
answer. Even if Gabriel didn’t come back, she knew she could never marry
James—it wouldn’t be fair to either of them. But she couldn’t say that to
Alexander.

And hopefully she would never have to.

Chapter Eighteen

Shaking hands were not something Gabriel had experienced
before but, as he raised his fist to pound upon the door in front of him, he
could not help but quiver over what—or more importantly, whom—he was to be
confronted with.

To have received a message from Alexander Ross was enough to
cause apprehension. However, when he read that his Kaitlyn was, at that moment,
giving birth to his child in Ross’ home after having been forced to flee his,
Gabriel was certain that his heart had ceased to beat. Learning that it was
Clark who had rescued her and was now at her side was enough to drive him over
the edge.