Hannah's Miracle Read online

  Moments later, he clutched her head. "Wait!"

  She shook her head and continued.

  He gasped and a second later he pulsed in her hand.

  "Hannah!"

  Hot fluid filled her mouth and she knew the ecstasy this brought her beloved. She stroked him again with her fist and swallowed.

  He moaned, stiff and unmoving, still pulsing.

  She didn't release him until he relaxed.

  Alex drew her up and snuggled her in his arms. "My God, Hannah. That was ... I love you."

  Grinning, she nuzzled his neck. "I give my herd sire a very good rating."

  He laughed and patted her rump. "I'd forgotten about that. So, you approve of me as the papai of our future children?"

  She sighed, truly sleepy this time. "You'll do."

  He smacked her bottom. "I'll do?"

  "Don't want you to get a big head."

  Laughing softly, he whispered, "Love you, sleepy one."

  Yawning, she whispered back, "Love you, too."

  Chapter Three

  "Oh, crap!" Hannah's voice cut through the air.

  Alex jerked awake. It was still the middle of the night. "What's wrong, honey?" He rolled over to face her as she raised herself to her elbows.

  "Turn on the light. We've had all the sleep we're going to get."

  Huh? Reaching back, he flipped on the bedside lamp, his heart still pounding. Turning to her again, he asked, "What's happened?"

  Looking slightly disgusted, she pulled the covers back. "My water broke. I'm a mess. I've been having contractions for a while. They started shortly after we made love, but I wasn't sure if they were real or those stupid Braxton-Hicks things."

  Scrambling out of bed, he went to the bathroom to turn on the shower and get a towel. "Don't worry, we'll fix you up, meu amor. Stay right there."

  He returned to her. "Now stand up and let me clean you."

  "Ugh, it's awful."

  "No, it's not. It's natural."

  Hannah sighed. "There's no dignity in childbirth, is there?"

  He chuckled. "I don't think so."

  Helping her to her feet, he dried the birth waters from her and led her to the bathroom. "Get in and you'll feel much better. Do you want help?"

  "Nah. I can handle it."

  While Hannah showered, he stripped the bed and put the sheets into wash. Her hospital bag was already packed. It only took a moment for him to dress, and the shower turned off as he buckled his belt.

  Entering the bathroom, he handed Hannah a towel. "I didn't know what you wanted to wear, so you'll need to pick out your clothes."

  She smiled, seeming more herself. "It's finally time. We'll meet our baby in a few hours." She clutched her belly. "Oof!" Another contraction took her, and she bent over, eyes squeezed shut.

  Alex reached for her arm, supporting her through the pain as his thoughts turned to her comment. His heart filled with joy. She was right. Soon he'd be holding his beautiful boy. He'd tried before to imagine what the baby would look like but hadn't been able to settle on one vision. In some, he held a dark-headed image of himself. In others, the baby was a red-headed double of Hannah. Alex's excitement built as he anticipated the moment the doctor would lay the baby in his arms.

  Hannah’s spasm passed and he kissed her softly, looking into her eyes. "I love you. Don't forget that."

  Smiling up at him, she headed to the bedroom to dress, stopping periodically as a hard contraction hit her.

  Worried, he held her lest she fall as the labor pains took hold.

  At last she was ready, and he picked up her suitcase. The storm still howled outside. It wouldn't be an easy drive into town. "Grab your coat, honey. And a hat. I don't want you getting soaked. Let me get your bag in the truck, and I'll come back for you."

  The storm door blew from his grip as he unlatched it. The wind must be blowing fifty miles per hour. Leaning into it, he made for the truck, rain lashing his face under his black Stetson. This was going to make getting into town hell. The ranch's dry-gulch crossing sprung to mind. They had to make it over that to get to the county road. Surely it would be fine. Still, Todd had said he couldn't remember the last time they'd had this much rain in a week around here. Alex opened the back door of the truck and hoisted Hannah's bag to the floor. Slamming the door, he turned toward the house, the wind at his back pushing him into a jog. Damn, he hated getting Hannah out in this.

  She was bent double, hand clutching the narrow table by the door when he entered the house. He grabbed her shoulders. "Meu amor, is it bad?"

  Head down, she nodded, panting. "These are worse than I thought. I should have awakened you sooner. Oh, why did I wait?"

  The last word came out a wail as another contraction started on the heels of the previous one. Shit, they had to hurry. "Let's go!" Supporting at least half of her weight, he got her outside and wrangled the doors shut. Then he picked her up and carried her to the truck, fighting for each step against the wind.

  Momentarily setting her on her feet, he opened the back-seat passenger door, the wind almost tugging it from his grasp. He lifted her to the seat and helped her scoot further inside. "Lay down. It might feel better," he yelled over the sound of the gale and the rain pelting down on the metal roof.

  Wet, hurting, and looking scared, Hannah nodded, her bottom lip caught in her teeth.

  Alex slammed the door and strode around the truck. Once inside, he gunned the engine and pulled out of the drive. As he sped down the ranch road, he glanced in the mirror. She'd taken his advice. "Hang on, meu amor. I'll hurry."

  A soft, drawn-out moan was his answer.

  He pressed on the accelerator. Her contractions were so hard—so close. If she were a heifer, he'd say the delivery would be any minute.

  The drive seemed endless. His anxiety over the dry wash increased. The reason for the fairly extensive bridge over the small gorge was the danger of flash floods.

  The tires skidded over the muddy road, sinking into the water-filled holes, each bump bringing a gasp from Hannah. But he had to keep his speed up. She could deliver at any time. He must make it to the hospital. At last the dry-wash bridge came into view and he gasped, his hands clenching the steering wheel. Brush clung to the metal railing on the upstream side, wobbling and hanging by a thread as roiling water gushed over the bridge, covering the land 20 feet on either side. There was no way they were getting into town this way.

  He slowed and rolled to a stop, considering the only other option. It wasn't a good one. The back way to town took them on several long pasture roads to a county road that would eventually take them to the hospital. Unlike the ranch drive which had been covered with caliche to make it weather proof, the pasture roads were just tire tracks made from the ranch trucks.

  The loud swish, swish, swish of the wipers increased his anxiety. The roar of rain on the roof made it hard to think. Hannah might not be able to hold off the birth of the baby for the time it would take to make it to the hospital the back way. Yet they couldn't move forward. Was delivering a human baby anything like delivering a calf? Shit! He couldn't deliver their little boy! What if he made a mistake? What if something went wrong?

  Hannah moaned again, ending in a helpless wail. "Why are we stopping?"

  He took a deep breath. "The bridge is flooded. The roads may be bad the other way, but at least we can see what they're like. Just relax, meu amor. I'll take care of you."

  She sobbed, but quickly cut it off. "I know, honey."

  Carefully turning the truck around, he then headed in the opposite direction.

  Five minutes later, he arrived at the first pasture gate. The dirt track was deep in mud with large pools of water in the ruts. He closed his eyes in frustration. If he put the truck to that, they'd surely get stuck, and Hannah's contractions were coming so fast she had no rest between them.

  She cried out, and pleaded, "Honey, please hurry! I want to push so badly."

  That did it. "We're going back home. You'll be okay, I pr
omise."

  "Oh, my God," Hannah sobbed as he reversed and took the ranch drive toward the house. Rain lashed the windshield, too much for the speed of the wipers—the sound of it hitting the roof reverberating like the inside of a drum.

  His mind worked furiously as he sped toward home. His experience delivering calves should help. He groaned quietly. Who was he kidding? This was his bebê! Anything could go wrong!

  When the house came into view, he swung into the drive and across the yard, as close to the door as he could get. Racing around to Hannah's door with the rain pounding his hat and shoulders, he wrenched it open and reached for her.

  She struggled to a sitting position, pain making a mask of her face.

  Taking her legs, he pulled her close and took her in his arms. Kicking the truck door shut, he ran-walked to the front door and punched the handle of the storm door with his thumb, letting the wind snatch it from his grasp. Struggling with his keys, he got the door unlocked, Hannah still in his arms. He entered the house and shoved the door shut with his boot, heading for the couch. "Honey, I'll figure out what we need to do. You lay here for just a minute."

  Shucking his sopping wet coat, he set his hat on the end table and yanked his phone out of his shirt pocket, searching the internet for "delivering your baby in an emergency." Videos came up first and then an article. He opened that and raced through the directions, his fingers shaking as he scrolled. He took a deep breath. Maybe it wasn't so hard. Leaving the article open, he knelt by Hannah. "Hey, I just learned how to birth our boy. We'll be fine. You try to relax, and I'll find what we need."

  Eyes wide, yet trusting, she smiled shakily, then a contraction hit and she grimaced, groaning loudly. "I need to push. I have to!"

  "You can't, Hannah. Wait just a few minutes. Take deep breaths. Please try, meu amor." Stripping off his partially wet shirt, he dialed Hannah's doctor's office. When the receptionist answered, he told her the situation and that they couldn't make it into the hospital. In a calm voice she explained that the doctor was delivering a baby at the moment, but that she would have him call Alex just as soon as the baby was born. She suggested that he contact the hospital emergency room for help.

  While on the phone, Alex had collected pillows from the bed, a clean sheet and lots of towels. When he hung up, he gathered three receiving blankets and a bulb syringe from the nursery. Next, he found a pair of scissors and, after depositing his armload in the recliner in the living room, scrubbed the scissors with hot water and soap and left them to soak in a bowl of soapy water on the end table by the couch. He looked in Hannah's less-than-ample sewing box and discovered a roll of thin ribbon, cutting it into two sections with her sewing scissors. Finally, he picked out one of his old snap-up work shirts for Hannah to wear. It was worn out and soft and would be easy to breast feed in, leaving her bottom half free for delivery.

  Returning to the living room, he gave her the shirt. "Let's put this on."

  Her most recent contraction was easing, and she looked at it, frowning. Once he told her his reasoning, she nodded and attempted to sit up.

  "Let me help you." He raised her to a sitting position and within a couple of minutes had her stripped of her wet clothing and in his old shirt. "Lay here just a minute more while I set up your bed." Hands speeding through the task, he made a deep layer of towels for her pelvic area, covered it with the sheet, and laid out the pillows to keep her propped up. "Come on honey, I'll help you over there."

  Before he could move her, she gasped as another contraction hit and laid down flat again. He let it pass before picking her up.

  She clung to his neck, tears in her eyes, exhaustion clear on her pale face.

  He eased her down on the floor. "Try to relax, meu amor. I'll be right back." At the front door, he removed his boots, then strode to the bedroom where he stripped off his wet jeans and put on shorts. In the bathroom, he scrubbed his hands and arms up to the elbows with hot water and soap. The article had said that his bebê could get sick real easy if he wasn't careful.

  Returning to the living room again, he knelt in front of Hannah. "I need to look at you now." He took one of the pillows and covered it with a towel, then inserted it under her hips, elevating her from the floor. Gently, he raised her knees and spread them apart. Nothing yet.

  She bowed her back, her toes curling as she moaned with the newest contraction.

  "Honey, you can push now."

  "Thank God!" Her face scrunched and she clutched his hand, her grip like steel as she bore down for long seconds. She sucked in a deep breath and grunted with effort as she bore down once more.

  Suddenly the ring of her vagina opened and a tiny crown of wet hair appeared. He cried, "I see him!"

  Her contraction ebbed. Hannah laughed weakly. "I'm so ready for this to be over. This shit hurts!"

  Wincing, she tilted her head back, her eyes squeezed shut in pain as another contraction took her. They were nearly nonstop now. Tears streamed down her now swollen face.

  "Push hard, Hannah. You can do this!"

  She groaned, ending in a scream as she bore down and the head crowned again and revealed more of the top of the baby's head. Crying out in frustration, she sucked in a breath and pushed harder and more of the baby's head emerged. She breathed in deep and with another enormous push she tore, blood pouring down on the sheet as their boy's forehead appeared. Hannah screamed in pain but didn't stop pushing. More of his face emerged and his head slowly rotated to the side.

  "Hannah, push again. Give it all you've got!" he urged.

  Her legs tensed, she raised her head, grabbed her thighs, and screamed again with the tremendous effort. The head shot out.

  "Stop! Stop pushing, Hannah!"

  She fell back, motionless and sobbing quietly.

  Taking the bulb syringe, he suctioned out his son's mouth and nostrils, clearing them of amniotic fluid and mucous. "He's beautiful, Hannah. When you're rested and ready, push again.

  With a sob, she cried, "Here he comes!" and with a deep breath, she grabbed her thighs again and pushed, the sounds of her straining ringing off the walls.

  Alex helped ease the top shoulder through the opening and the other shoulder followed instantly." Again, Hannah!" Hands at the ready to catch his boy, he waited for her last mighty effort.

  She shrieked as she bore down, and the baby shot into his hands, slippery as hell and flailing.

  The baby began to fuss, taking deep breaths. His color turned a healthy pink as he continued to show his unhappiness at exiting his warm cocoon inside his momma.

  After cleaning him gently with a hand towel, Alex counted fingers and toes. "Hannah, he's fine. He's all good!" Leaving the umbilical cord attached for now, he lay the baby on her bare breast and covered him with a receiving blanket. "I'm going to clean myself up, honey. I'll be right back."

  Chapter Four

  HANNAH SMILED AND LOOKED for the first time at her little miracle, the baby she thought she'd never have after years of infertility in her marriage to her dead first husband, Ty. Euphoria swelled, moving through her with the speed of lightning, taking her breath away. Her dream was real. Her baby boy was here!

  She peered at his eyes. Though blue, they were dark. They'd probably be brown like his father's. Pushing the blanket back, she examined his hair. It was red! She and Alex had already decided on a name—Alejandro Oliveira Silva, Jr. after his daddy. Junior for short. He was absolutely adorable. A love so intense it was nearly unbearable filled her and she hugged him close. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined motherhood feeling so wonderful. There were no words for this—no way to describe this heavenly existence.

  Alex returned a moment later and lay next to her, gazing at the baby. "He looks like you."

  Still smiling, she said, "And like you."

  He traced his son's little jaw line with his finger tip. "Hannah, you need to push out the afterbirth. What I read said it takes about 15 minutes, and you'll have contractions. So, we have to keep watch for that, o
kay?"

  She nodded. "I'm proud of you, Alex. I felt so safe while you helped me. I wasn't worried at all once we got started."

  He grinned. "I worried enough for both of us!" Leaning over, he kissed her gently on the cheek. "You're strong, Hannah. You made it easy to do my job delivering our bebê." Touching the umbilical cord, he said, "It's quit pulsing. It's time to cut it." He stood and drew the scissors from the water then picked up the ribbon pieces. Kneeling beside her, he asked, "Can you unwrap Junior for a minute? I'll cut the cord, then we can make him warm again." It didn't take long for the procedure, and he added an extra receiving blanket for good measure when he covered him once more.

  Hannah frowned, grimacing in pain. "I think it's happening."

  "Okay. I'm not supposed to pull on it. Try to push it out with the contractions." He knelt in front of her raised knees. "You're right. Here it comes."

  She felt fluid leak out, and Alex placed a towel there. Moments later, after several hard contractions, she passed the placenta.

  Alex left again to dispose of it and returned with a bowl of soapy water and a couple of wash cloths.

  "Now, we can get you cleaned up and into bed, meu amor. It'll be a while before we can get into town."

  She bit her lip at the sting of the soap as he washed her, though he was careful of her torn skin.

  "I'll take Junior in and lay him in the cradle."

  Hannah smiled when he walked back in a moment later. "You're a great nurse, Alex Silva."

  "I wish I had known that before I started bull riding. I wouldn't be a broken-down cowboy now." Grinning, he lifted her gently and carried her to the bedroom where he stood her on her feet next to him. "Do you need help in the bathroom, you know, with your panties and ... stuff?"

  She laughed. "I can take care of the "stuff" myself. Just grab a pair of panties out of my drawer for me." He was so cute when he was flustered.

  Looking relieved, he handed them over and helped her into the bathroom.