Tom's Angel (6 page)

“
How long since the last one?”

“
About half an hour. But not this strong. They've been coming and going for a month now. This is different, though.” Her eyes widened as water accumulated around her feet in a puddle. “My water just broke.”

“
Let's get her into the bedroom. I'll need hot water and clean rags, and some extra pillows if you have them. And a bucket.”

Gabriel
, worried and skeptical, hadn't moved an inch to comply with her requests.

“
Gabriel, she's done this before. Trina's in good hands, believe me.”

“
Rosalie has birthed babies?” Gabriel's brow wrinkled in concern.

“
Dozens,” Rosalie told him. They didn't have time for a debate. She had to get Trina away from the men. “Take her to the bedroom”

Gabriel picked
Trina up and carried her down the hall. Rosalie followed, calling over her shoulder to Tom, “Get that water boiling and find me some rags and a bucket! Hurry!” They'd have hours yet, but she needed him and Gabriel to do as she asked without a lot of discussion. There could be problems later on. Their immediate compliance could be crucial to Trina and the baby.

In the bedroom, Gabriel laid
Trina gently on the bed, then went back to the kitchen where Tom had set a kettle of water on the flame to boil.

“
Are you sure she knows what she's doing?” Gabriel's lips pressed tightly together, causing a pinched expression. His fingers coiled into fists at his sides.

“
She's been midwife to a lot of women. And, without the doctor, she's the best we've got. I suggest we help her all we can.”

Gabriel sighed
acquiescence. “I guess we have no choice. If anything goes wrong…”

“
Nothing will go wrong.”

Rosalie called from the bedroom.
“Where are those rags?”

“
Coming.” Grabbing a stack of clean dish towels from the cabinet, Gabriel headed for the bedroom.

Tom hurried to the barn for a feed bucket.

Rosalie piled pillows behind Trina's back to elevate her to a position where she could push with more efficiency.

“
Rosalie, I'm scared.” Trina's eyes had filled with tears. “No need to be. Women have babies every day.”

“
I don't have babies every day, though.” Her face contorted with another contraction.

Rosalie counted silently to see how long the contraction lasted, and how long before the next one started.
Labor had progressed farther than she expected. It should be hours.              

Trina
screamed.

“
Don't hold back. Sometimes, screaming helps.”

Gabriel bolted into the room, his face pale, trembling like a rabbit caught in a snare.
“Oh, God! Trina, are you all right?”

“
She's fine. Having babies hurts, Mr. Hart. She's going to do a lot more screaming, so just get used to it. You have to have something in this house for pain or bleeding. Monthly cramps.”

Trina
nodded. “There's Lady's Mantle in the cabinet. Behind the sugar.”

Gabriel didn't wait for more instructions.
Before long, he returned with a small jar in one hand.

Rosalie nodded.
“Good. Use some of that hot water and make tea. One heaping teaspoon in a cup of water. And keep making it.”

He left.
Trina screamed. He came back.

“
Go!” Rosalie regretted her sharp words to a man she barely knew, but Trina needed that tea more than she needed him to be close by.

“
Rosalie, are you sure...that is—” Trina stammered, breathing hard. Her brow glistened with sweat.

“
I know what to do. Everything you're feeling is normal. If you can relax completely during the contractions, they won't hurt as bad. I'll massage your feet. That helps, too.”

Trina
collapsed onto the pillows, panting, holding her distended abdomen with both hands. “Thank God you're here, Rosalie.”

“
You're going to have a fine, healthy baby in only a few more hours. Try not to wear yourself out too soon.”

“
A few more hours? Why can't I just push now and get it over with?”

“
Because babies have to make up their minds to be born, and they don't listen to anyone about when that should be. Try to think back to how happy you were when you learned you were pregnant. Don't dwell on the pain. Think about happy times.”

Tom came in.
“What else we can do?”

“
Keep the water hot and the tea coming. And keep Gabriel out of here.”

“
No problem.”

Trina
's face and body went rigid with pain. Rosalie massaged her feet until the contraction passed, then lifted her skirt. Remembering who this woman was, and wasn't, she felt she owed Trina an explanation of what she had to do next.

“
I have to see how the baby is positioned. I'll have to touch you in intimate ways.”

“
Go ahead. I don't care what you do. Just get this baby into the world quick!”

Rosalie smiled.
Tom had intimated his sister was quite a woman. Evidently, he knew her well.

<><><><>

“Five hours!” Gabriel paced across the front room again, then turned toward the bedroom.

“
Not yet, Gabriel. They don't need us, remember?”

“
But why is it taking so damn long?”

“
From what I've heard, five hours is just getting started good.” In truth, Tom had no idea how long birthing a baby took but he had to keep Gabriel from storming in, getting in Rosalie's way. Tom had been tempted to knock Gabriel clean off his feet and let him sleep off the waiting. All the pacing he'd done grated on Tom's nerves until he wanted to smash something!

“
You mean we may have to wait even longer?”

The sharpest, most painful scream they'd heard yet came from the bedroom, followed by the lusty cry of a newborn baby.

Gabriel staggered back against a chair and dropped heavily into it. “Oh, God. Tom, was that—”

“
Yep, I think so.”

Gabriel started toward the bedroom again.

“Just another minute. I figure Rosalie will let us know when it's time to come in.”

“
Yeah. I guess.” Gabriel swung around and thrust his hand toward Tom. “Thanks, Tom. Waiting would've been hell without you.” He pumped Tom's hand vigorously.

“
It was hell anyway, but you're welcome.”

The bedroom door opened and Rosalie came out.

“Your wife and daughter are doing fine, Mr. Hart. Would you like to see them now?”

Gabriel's face
paled until Tom wondered if he might faint. But the color came back in a rush, along with a wide grin. “My daughter? And Trina's all right?”

“
She's better than all right. She's the happiest mother I've ever seen. They're waiting to see you.”

Gabriel stumbled across the room, to the bedroom door, kissed Rosalie on the cheek, then went inside.

She blushed. “You, too, Uncle Tom. She wants you to see the baby.”

Tom had a Denver-sized lump in his throat, seeing Rosalie with her hair mussed, falling across her shoulders, face flushed with exertion and
exhilaration. He knew he should say thanks or something, but emotion swelled inside him until it cut off all possible speech. He took a couple of steps toward her.

She smiled and pushed her hair back from her face, behind her shoulders.
“I'm a mess,” she whispered.

Tom found his voice.
“You're beautiful.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, needing to express more than simple thanks. She hesitated only a moment before placing her arms around him. He felt her relax into his embrace and marveled at how right it felt to hold her this way. Reluctantly, he let go, hoping he hadn't embarrassed her too much.

Cheeks flaming, she smiled.
“Come see your niece.”

They went into the bedroom together, quietly, so they wouldn't intrude on Gabriel holding his daughter for the first time.

Trina smiled at her brother. “Isn't she beautiful?”

“
Just like her mother,” Tom said quietly.

She beamed at that.
No, she glowed. With satisfaction and happiness and fulfillment.

Obviously having decided it was time for supper, the baby
opened her tiny mouth and let out a woman-sized yell. Gabriel handed her to Trina, who eased her beneath the covers to one breast. Complete contentment came over her features when the baby began to nurse.

“
Gabriel, I want to name her Hannah.”

Gabriel's lips parted as though he might speak, but he pressed them tightly together and squeezed his eyes shut instead.
Tears streamed from his eyes and his shoulders shook as he bowed over the bed and cried. Trina patted his back affectionately.

Rosalie couldn't imagine such a reaction to a baby's name.

Tom nudged her elbow and motioned toward the front room. “Let's give them a minute.”

Back in the front room, Rosalie had to ask.

“
Tom, I know first babies are special, but I've never seen a man cry like that.”

“
The baby is special, but so is the name. Hannah was Gabriel's first wife. A couple of years back, Gabriel came home and found an outlaw he'd sent to prison years before. Otis Blackburn shot Gabriel, then slit Hannah's throat. She died at his feet, with no way for him to save her.”

“
Horrible.” She'd seen a lot of terrible things in the Acre, but never anything like that.

“
After Gabriel mended, he tracked Blackburn to a mining town called Silver Springs. He met Trina on the train. Blackburn took Trina hostage and hauled her off into the mountains. Eventually, she got away.”

“
Did he ever find Blackburn?”

“
He found him at our ranch and set off after him again. Blackburn died, leaving Gabriel free to get on with his life.”

“
With Trina.”

“
And now, with little Hannah.”

Rosalie couldn't imagine a woman wanting to name her daughter after her husband's dead wife.
Truly, Trina was an extraordinary woman.

Gabriel came back to the front room, drying his eyes on one sleeve.
“I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry.”

“
Me, too. Are there any of those dumplings left?”

“
Probably. As I recall, dinner was interrupted, and we never quite got around to supper.”

They found the pot of chicken and dumplings still on the stove, cold and congealed, but Rosalie knew she could revive the leftovers.
It would be plenty for them to have for supper.

In less than an hour, she and Tom had eaten
. He persuaded Gabriel to let Rosalie take supper to Trina. She emptied the bowl and asked for more. Hannah, full of milk, nestled in the crook of her mother's arm.

“
I'll bring you another bowl in a little while. You don't want to get too full and make yourself sick. How are you feeling?”

“
I could lift a mountain! There's no way I'll ever be able to thank you enough, Rosalie. If you hadn't been here—”

“
I suspect Gabriel would've figured out what to do.”

“
He would've been about as useful as tits on a stallion.”

They laughed together and it felt so good, Rosalie wanted to shout.

“That's about how useful he was, all right.” Rosalie wiped away tears of joy. “Tom, too.”

Trina
squinted a bit.

“
What is it?”

“
I've been wondering about you and Tom.”

“
There's nothing to wonder. He's going to escort me to Denver. When he said he planned to visit his sister, I asked to come along. It's been a month of Sundays since I've been out of Fort Worth. And at least that long since I've had the chance to visit...a real lady.”

“
I'm glad you came. We both are!” She stoked Hannah's velvety cheek with one finger.

“
So am I.”

“
Why are you going to Denver?”

Rosalie averted her eyes.
Should she tell Trina the truth? She might not take kindly to knowing her baby had been midwifed by a resident of the Acre. Trina's soft gaze convinced Rosalie she'd understand.

“
I live in Hell's Half Acre.”