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  “Ryan? How’s everything?” Tagg asked over the radio.

  “The baby’s out. What’s next?” He paced back and forth as adrenaline continued to surge through him.

  “The placenta, for one.”

  “The what?” What else would the Lord have him learn tonight in this trial by fire?

  Tagg laughed. “Don’t worry, chief, I’ll take care of it. ETA two minutes.”

  “Thanks. See that you do that.” Placenta or not, Ryan could run a marathon right now. He could do anything. He’d brought a life into the world. We did it. Thank You, Lord.

  

  The paramedics arrived.

  Vera relaxed.

  The baby appeared small, though he sounded healthy enough, but a premature baby born in a hospital needed immediate care. This child, born before its time, wasn’t receiving that care.

  Vera lowered her head to collect her thoughts. She’d experienced a talk with God for the first time in years. In that car with Maggie’s pain and the memories it stirred up, she’d almost lost hope. In the midst of it, she’d closed her eyes and prayed to the God of her youth. And He’d come through for all of them.

  The medics said the baby would have to be placed in an incubator immediately. The men put mother and baby into the ambulance for the drive to the hospital.

  Vera stood with Ryan in the middle of the road as the paramedics drove away carrying its precious cargo. She couldn’t take her gaze off Ryan.

  He shook his head and smiled. “What are you looking at?”

  Without a second thought, she walked to him, wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and held him tight. She brushed up against his cheek, kissed him softly on the lips, and then pulled away before he could kiss her back.

  “Wow. I should deliver a baby more often.” His brown eyes held hers. “Do you want to leave your car and follow them in the cruiser? I can put the sirens on.”

  Thank the Lord he realized she didn’t want to go home without making sure Maggie and the baby were pronounced healthy. “Cruiser. Sirens.”

  “OK. Get in.” Ryan opened the passenger door and then got in on his own side.

  “Thank you for doing what you did back there. If it had been only me, I don’t know what would have happened.”

  He put on his seatbelt. “You would have done it if you had to.”

  “No, I don’t think so. I froze back there. I’m sorry I wasn’t more help to you.”

  “Are you kidding? I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “What did I do? Bring you a granola bar?” She laughed.

  “You brought everything you found in my trunk, which was helpful.” He grinned and bit his lower lip.

  “I was so scared, but you seemed calm. How did you find the courage and the peace?”

  “I can’t say that some of my training didn’t help. We’re taught not to panic since it doesn’t help anything. But I wasn’t alone. None of us were. God was with me and I prayed.”

  “For the first time in a long time, I did, too.” The moments of intense prayer for the baby made every cell in her body tingle.

  “Jack. One of us should call him,” Ryan said.

  He’d missed the birth of his first child. “He’ll be so disappointed.”

  “He will be, but knowing Jack his first concern will be for their health and safety.”

  “The baby looked so small. I’m a little worried about that.” Painful memories flooded back. She couldn’t stop thinking of what Maggie would do if—no, she couldn’t even let the thought enter her mind.

  He took her hand in his and her heart skipped a beat. “He’ll be fine. Did you hear the set of lungs he has on him?”

  They arrived just behind the ambulance.

  “They’ll take them up to the labor and delivery floor. We can meet them up there.” Ryan parked the cruiser and glanced at his watch. “I’ll call Lonnie and see if he can come in early since I’m still on duty. I’ll meet you inside.”

  Inside the well-lit and warm hospital, Vera asked for the way up to the L&D floor. Panic simmered and rose to the surface despite her best attempts to squash it. She sat in the waiting room.

  Maggie was brought up via the elevator and came out the doors on a stretcher, her baby nowhere to be seen.

  Vera’s stomach dropped.

  “Maggie!” she called out as the stretcher passed by. She followed it.

  “Visiting hours are over now. Family only.” A nurse stopped her.

  “Vera, the baby’s in intensive care,” Maggie said and burst into tears.

  “He’s getting warm,” a paramedic assured Maggie.

  “I want my husband.” Maggie sobbed.

  “Excuse me.” Vera tried to get past the hefty looking nurse. If she had to, she would push, but she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She fixed the woman with her best glare. “You should get out of my way.”

  “Ma’am—” The nurse began.

  “She needs me,” Vera interrupted.

  Ryan appeared behind her. “Hi, Sally.”

  “Hey, Ryan. Are you on duty?”

  “Just got off. Hey, the patient’s husband is out of town, and we’re all good friends. She delivered in the car with Vera’s help, and she’s pretty scared.” He indicated Vera to the nurse. “The baby’s premature.”

  The nurse’s lips formed a thin line. “Let me see what I can do.” She walked away with a sidelong and somewhat disapproving glance in Vera’s direction.

  Vera folded her arms and sat down. “I am getting in there one way or another.”

  Ryan sat next to her. “I don’t doubt it.”

  She glanced in his direction.

  He smiled.

  The look unsettled her, and she squirmed.

  “I called Jack, and they’re trying to get a flight out tonight. He won’t be here ‘til tomorrow morning at the earliest.”

  “Is he upset?”

  “He wanted to know if they were OK.”

  “Ryan, the baby wasn’t with Maggie. Do you think he’s all right?”

  “They had to warm him up, remember?”

  She prayed that was all there was to it, but he was so tiny. So helpless.

  The silence stretched between them.

  The day had been a long one. She’d love to go home and climb into—oh, no. She bounded to her feet. “Stin!”

  Ryan stood. “What’s wrong?”

  “She’s been alone all day since I was at the baby shower. I want to stay with Maggie, but I need to feed Stin and let her out.” She’d been so busy it had slipped her mind.

  Poor Stin was probably waiting at the door by now. With her bowl.

  “That’s OK, I’ll go. Give me your keys, and tell me where the food is.” He looked so sincere. This man had to be some kind of cosmic joke.

  “But Stin doesn’t really like men.” That was silly. Stin liked food enough that she might overlook a man feeding her.

  “I don’t mind if she doesn’t.” Ryan stared with an intensity that shook her.

  “Um, sure. Maybe if you speak softly.” It wasn’t like she had much choice in the matter. Stin would have to get over herself. Vera handed over the house keys and explained where he could find the dog food.

  “And about your car—I took care of that, too.”

  She had almost forgotten about her abandoned car. “How did you do that?”

  “I called in a favor.” He grinned. “And obviously it will need to be cleaned, too. I know someone who does great work.”

  She thanked God for Ryan. Even when she didn’t seem to be able to string two thoughts together, his mind fired on all cylinders. She was about to kiss him again, but the nurse returned.

  “All right, she’s settled in. You can see her now.”

  When they reached Maggie’s room, they found the new mother a bit calmer than before.

  Vera didn’t see a crib anywhere. She hugged Maggie, and then moved aside so that Ryan could do the same.

  “My heroes.” Instea
d of exhaustion, Maggie’s eyes were as alert as if she’d had a cup of espresso.

  “Where’s the baby?” Vera asked.

  “He’s still getting warm,” Maggie said.

  “Is he OK?” Vera managed to squeak out.

  “Yes, he’s fine. I’m sorry if I scared you.” Maggie smiled. “I guess I was kind of out of it for a little bit.”

  “No one blames you,” Ryan said.

  “How do you know he’s going to be OK if you haven’t seen him?” Guilt pressed the issue.

  Babies needed time to grow in the womb. Vera remembered facts she hadn’t thought about in years but didn’t want to dwell on them now.

  “She said he’s fine.” Ryan touched her elbow and gave it a slight squeeze.

  They were both being optimistic, which she could appreciate, but probably neither one of them had any experience with premature babies. Yet there was a peace about both of them.

  She wished she could have some of it right now.

  “They put him in a warmer to get his temperature up.” Maggie had a soft smile on her face. “I held him for a few minutes. Now they’re putting him through some tests. The nurse tells me he’s already been weighed, and he’s five pounds and seven ounces. Imagine how big he would have been full term.”

  “A linebacker.” Ryan grinned. “I got a hold of Jack. He and Lexi are doing their best to get a flight out tonight. You may not be able to reach him now if he’s in the air.”

  “That explains why he didn’t answer his phone. I just tried calling him.”

  Ryan stepped back. “I need to run some errands. I think you should be able to stay here, Vera, if you want.”

  “Yes, please stay. I want you to see my baby again. This time all cleaned up,” Maggie said.

  “Of course I will. Until Jack gets here,” she said, despite the antiseptic smells of the hospital and the too-white walls that begged her to flee.

  Ryan had done the hard part.

  Now it was time for Vera to be the best friend.

  Ryan walked out the door, and Vera sat in the chair next to Maggie.

  “I don’t need you to stay here all night. You need to go home and sleep in a bed. These chairs are for tired husbands and mine isn’t here,” Maggie said.

  “You’re talking to someone who used to travel a lot. I’ve slept in my share of airports waiting for delayed flights.” Vera touched Maggie’s hand. “I’m staying.”

  “You poor thing. Your hand is shaking. I’m sorry I scared you,” Maggie said. “This didn’t exactly go according to plan.”

  “No it didn’t.”

  Births didn’t always go according to expectations. Nor did a young woman’s dreams.

  “I’m thanking God that you were with me. I’d probably been in labor most of the baby shower, but I tried to ignore it. Bad idea.” No wonder she’d looked so uncomfortable.

  “Yeah, don’t you do that again. Ever.” Vera smiled. “I’m thankful, too, for Ryan. I panicked. But I almost got you to the hospital on time. Maybe if Ryan hadn’t pulled me over.”

  Maggie laughed. “Ryan is something else, isn’t he? I’ll never be able to thank him enough.”

  Vera nodded. He was something all right. Something that took her breath away.

  “I was so mad at him at the baby shower this afternoon and now I can’t even muster it back up.”

  “You were? Why?”

  Vera frowned. “He put me on the list for the foundation, and today, at the shower, they called me. We’ve talked about this for weeks, and he knows my feelings about it. I told him that I didn’t want to do that, and he ignored me.”

  “But when we had lunch together, you told me you’d find out more about it.”

  “That was before I heard about the race. Both Ryan and I are in this tournament. If neither of us wins and, of course, there’s a good chance I won’t, maybe then.”

  “Ryan’s in the tournament, too?”

  “He offered to increase my odds of winning. If he wins he’ll give me the purse.”

  “He will?” Maggie’s eyes widened. “That’s amazing.”

  “I agree.”

  “I always suspected Ryan had a secret crush on you. Now I’m convinced.”

  “Crush? On me and every other eligible woman in town.”

  Surely, Maggie hadn’t forgotten that he’d even asked her out before she’d met Jack.

  “No, it’s different with you. I think it always was. Tell me, how many other women has he offered to win tournaments for? None that I’m aware of.” She crossed her arms.

  Vera wasn’t going there. Not to a place where she could see herself with a man like Ryan. A place where she didn’t belong. “Me either.”

  “And what if neither of you win? If you wait too long to ask for the foundation’s help, it may be too late. There are so many who need help and only so much money to go around,” Maggie said.

  “All the more reason to leave it to someone more deserving.”

  Maggie shut her eyes and bit her lower lip. “OK. But, Vera, please don’t be mad at Ryan. I was the one who called the foundation.”

  9

  Ryan pulled up to Vera’s house. Her car was parked in the driveway as expected. He’d thank his new friend, Bible study partner, and towing business owner, Alan, later.

  Stin ran from the front door when she saw him enter, but as soon as he got out the dog food she emerged tentatively from Vera’s bedroom and followed him into the kitchen. He placed her bowl on the floor and watched as she studied it, sniffed it, then eyed him again.

  “Where’s the trust?”

  With a wag of her tail, she began to eat.

  “Smart girl.”

  Being alone in Vera’s home seemed a bit like intruding on her privacy.

  But something memorable had happened to both of them tonight. He couldn’t deny it. Vera had locked eyes with him, an unspoken message between them. He only wished he had a clue about her thoughts.

  More amazing, Vera had prayed. He was sure of it. He’d glanced at her before the baby was born and caught a glimpse of her eyes closed peacefully as though in a private moment.

  After everything she’d told him about her past with her ex-husband, it made sense that Vera had become estranged from the church. In her position, he might have done the same. But in his case, neither one of his parents had ever taken him to church. His best friend had led him in the right direction. He wished he could do the same for Vera.

  A car door slammed outside and Ryan glanced out the window.

  Vera’s ex marched to the front door. This guy doesn’t know when to quit.

  But it was good he came now, while Ryan was here. Vera might have been vulnerable alone in the house. Stin was no guard dog. Ryan waited a few seconds after Kevin rang the doorbell before opening the door.

  Stin followed him to the door, but took one look at the man standing on the threshold and scurried back into Vera’s bedroom.

  “Yeah, I don’t blame you,” Ryan muttered under his breath. “Can I help you?” He stared at Kevin.

  If Kevin was surprised to see Ryan at the door, it hardly registered in his empty eyes. “I’d like to see Vera.”

  “Sorry. She’s not here.”

  Kevin looked toward the driveway. “Her car is here.”

  “Yes it is.”

  Kevin cocked his head to the side. “When will she be back?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe I can help you.”

  Kevin smiled widely. “I doubt that.”

  “Why not try?”

  “I see what’s happening here.”

  “Do you?” He somehow doubted that.

  “Has Vera hired you as security? Is she that paranoid?”

  Of course, he would think that. No way would he consider a small-town deputy sheriff to be any kind of competition for him. “More to the point, does she have reason to be?”

  “Absolutely not. But spending money to hire security when she’s in the mess she’s in, well that’s going ove
rboard.” Kevin locked a hostile gaze with Ryan.

  “If you say so.” Ryan wasn’t going to correct him. Let him think he was security. In a way he was.

  “But it must be an easy gig for you—security for a beautiful woman, a former fashion model. Probably don’t see women like her around here much.”

  Ryan stared without speaking.

  “No, I can’t blame you. Vera has always spent more than she has. Why should it stop now?”

  “How’s that again?” That caught his attention. He’d always seen Vera as someone with expensive taste, but he’d assumed she could afford it and that this financial problem was unusual.

  “She’s high maintenance. While we were married, I spent most of my money buying her whatever she wanted trying to keep her happy.”

  “What is it you want? Why are you here?” Ryan changed the subject.

  Kevin took a step back. Good.

  Ryan had rattled him.

  “Simple. I want to help.”

  “You don’t want to help. What you want is to take away the one thing Vera has left. The café is not for sale.” He took a step toward Kevin.

  “And on whose authority do you speak?” Kevin frowned.

  “On my friend’s authority. She’s not selling.”

  “Now she’s a friend. If Vera gets desperate enough, she’ll sell the café.”

  “She’ll never be that desperate.”

  “That’s what you think.”

  “It’s what I know.”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve encouraged this crazy half-baked idea of winning that ski tournament?”

  Ryan ignored that remark and glanced at the Rolls. “I’ve been meaning to tell you. A red curb means no parking. I’ve seen your car parked around town and never in the right place.”

  “Did you ever stop to think you need more parking spaces in this two bit town?”

  “Next time I see it in a red zone, I’m having it towed. I’ll tell Vera you came by.” He shut the door.

  Stin peered out from the bedroom to assess whether it was safe to come out again. Pretty smart dog.

  Ryan turned off the lights and locked the door.

  Kevin had painted a picture of a selfish and materialistic woman, one who didn’t sound at all like the woman he’d come to know.