Finally, she slid across the cedar plank porch like a giant slug and reached for the handle on the sliding glass door. Too high. Biting her bottom lip until she tasted the copper taste of blood, she strained to grab the elusive knob. She couldn’t do it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t quite grab it. With a sob, she fell on the deck in a heap. Where was the father? Why had he left her to do this alone?
A warm gush between her thighs alerted her that her water had broken. Oh, God. What to do? She cried out as a pain twisted her insides. How could a baby survive this? How could she? No time to think.
Stay calm. Just breathe.
• • •
Sometime during mid-morning Gato threw a shoe. Castaña stepped down and lifted his left front leg. Already his hoof was breaking off. She placed his foot on the ground and looked up into Patty and Eagle’s concerned faces. “I need to go home and find a farrier before I go any farther. I don’t want to risk laming Gato.”
“We’ll keep searching,” Eagle said. “Unless you want us to go with you.”
Castaña looked back down the trail. “No. It’s not that far back to the road. I’ll lead him there, put him in the horse trailer and go home. You guys keep searching. I’ll meet you at Eagle’s place in the morning.”
The other women nodded. They all knew time was growing short for Martin.
Castaña waited until they rode out of sight, then turned and led Gato back down the trail they’d come up a short time before. A bird called from a nearby tree and she glanced around until she located a red-tailed hawk. She watched it for a minute, admiring its majestic plumage and chestnut tail feathers, then hurried down the trail. Her heart beat heavy in her chest. There was so much land out here and so few people helping her. To leave the search was a devastating blow.
She had grown to depend on Jake more than she realized. He had really fooled her into thinking he cared about her. But he was just like most men. Certainly her father and her brother. All they cared about was themselves. Never mind the women who loved them. Anger she thought she’d put aside a long time before rose up in her, threatening to choke her. She hurried her steps, dragging Gato along until they were both nearly jogging.
• • •
Jake turned into the Castillo ranch after lunch. Eagle’s truck and horse trailer was parked at a haphazard angle and Gato grazed on a patch of grass near the barn. He wore a halter and lead. Where was Castaña? Jake’s heart jumped into high gear. If something had happened to her …
He parked under a ponderosa pine and opened the pickup door. A terrible keening reached his ears. What the hell? Was Castaña hurt? He rushed for the far side of the house, and what he found brought him to a skidding halt. Briar Rose lay on her left side, doubled over and making a noise unlike any he’d ever heard before. Castaña knelt beside the pregnant girl with a frightened look on her face.
The baby!
Christ, Briar Rose was having the kid.
Nothing in his training had prepared him for this, but it looked like he was about to get a lesson. He raced to the two women and fell to his knees beside them. He touched Briar Rose’s shoulder. “We’re here. Just try to relax.”
She jerked away from him. “Don’t touch me.”
Castaña looked almost as helpless as he felt. “I just got here and found her like this.”
“Okay.” He reached for his cell phone.
A bored-sounding operator answered. “911. What is your emergency?”
“I’m with a woman who is in labor. We’re on a ranch outside of Payson. I don’t think she’s going to make it to the hospital.” Briar Rose cried out again and Castaña looked like she might cry along with her.
“Stay on the line, sir, while I connect to the sheriff’s office and the ambulance.”
Briar Rose shrieked again and Jake shouted, “I don’t have time to wait. We’re at the Castillo Ranch. I don’t know the address, but it’s at the end of Fox Run road.” He looked at Castaña and she rattled off the numbers that he repeated into the phone. “Hurry.”
“Sir — ”
Jake hung up and swooped up Briar Rose in his arms. “Open the door.”
Castaña stood, jerked the door open and raced ahead of him to Briar Rose’s bedroom. Carrying her as carefully as possible, he moved through the living room and deposited her on the bed.
What now?
In the movies, they always boiled water and tore up sheets for rags. But why? He looked at Castaña for help.
“Her pants have to come off,” she said. “And her underwear.” But she didn’t move to do it. She had a deer in the headlights look. Weren’t women supposed to know instinctively what to do? Neither of these two seemed to have a clue.
Christ, he wasn’t in the habit of undressing pregnant women. Nevertheless it had to be done. As gently as he could, while averting his eyes, he pulled the jeans and underwear off Briar Rose’s slim hips. Castaña took the girl’s hand and held it between her own.
Briar Rose’s breath came in short, fast open-mouthed gasps. “The … ba … aaa … by … is … coooo … mm … ing.”
“Try to breathe,” Castaña advised as Briar Rose moaned.
“Ooooohhhhh.” Briar Rose lifted her hips off the bed.
“Not yet! Hold on! Where’s that damn ambulance?” Jake didn’t know what to do. Sometimes the TV showed the loving husband supporting the wife’s back. He sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around Briar Rose’s shoulders. Her body felt like a drawn bowstring, vibrating with tension. Her screams faded and she seemed almost in some other place as she focused on her own body, her own thoughts.
The sound of her pain filled panting filled the room. Castaña timed her breaths along with Briar Rose’s agonized gasps. Jake’s own breathing was ragged. He held Briar Rose as she struggled to bring her baby into the world. He prayed for the ambulance to hurry.
“Catch the baby,” he told Castaña.
With a panicked look, she moved between Briar Rose’s legs.
With a final gasp, Briar Rose arched and pushed.
Castaña let out a half-sob as she caught the infant. “A girl”
Gently, she handed the baby to her Jake.
All the breath rushed out of him. Carefully slipping out from under Briar Rose, he found a piece of string and tied off the umbilical cord. With gentle fingers, he cleaned the infant’s mouth and made sure she was breathing. Lastly, he looked around for something to wrap the child in. There didn’t seem to be any baby clothes or blankets available. A white T-shirt hung over the back of a rocking chair and he grabbed it and wrapped the newborn.
“Is my baby okay?” Briar Rose asked anxiously.
“Perfect.” Jake gently placed the infant in her arms.
Castaña gave him a weak smile, and he returned one filled with relief.
For a minute, they both gazed at the mother and baby.
A siren rent the air, alerting him to the arrival of the emergency people.
Someone rushed in and grabbed the baby, someone else bent over Briar Rose. Yet another person ushered Jake and Castaña into the living room. She collapsed onto the couch with a dazed look on her face. A young redheaded girl handed him a clean T-shirt. He jerked the soiled one over his head and replaced it. “Is the baby okay?”
She nodded. “I think so. I’ll go find out in a minute.” A grin split her freckled face. “Congratulations, Daddy. Do you have a name picked out?”
“I’m not sure what Briar Rose plans to name the baby.” He didn’t deny paternity. There was no need to explain right now.
“What a darling,” the EMT said. “You two did a great job.”
Castaña didn’t answer.
“Thanks.” A shudder racked him when he thought what might have happened if he and Castaña hadn’t come along when they did. The thought of Briar Rose lying out there on the deck alone gave him the chills. A woman should have a hospital, a slew of trained personnel, a loving husband by her side. His knees shook now that it was over and he fell onto the couch next to Castaña. He didn’t know if she’d welcome his touch, but he placed his arm around her shoulders. She shook like a leaf and she didn’t pull away, although she tensed at his touch.
“You okay?” The kind EMT handed them each an orange juice. “Drink this.”
Although Castaña took the juice pack, she just sat holding it as though she didn’t really see it. When she looked at him her eyes were damp. He imagined the last couple of weeks had overwhelmed her. His emotions were in a mixed up jumble. He took the juice gratefully. “I’m fine. Just never delivered a baby before.”
The EMT chuckled. “Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”
He nodded with his mouth full of OJ. It had been incredible. Messy and kind of dirty business, but still awesome. When he’d scooped the baby up in his arms he’d felt a rush of protectiveness like he’d never experienced before. The thought that he’d helped bring the tiny being into the world awed him. He’d never thought much about kids before, but suddenly the idea intrigued him. If the right woman came along, why not?
Castaña could be that woman.
He couldn’t even consider it.
Several attendants wheeled a gurney into the living room. The EMTs had Briar Rose bundled up with the baby in her arms. Jake and Castaña stood and went to Briar Rose’s side. Castaña stared at the baby with a look of longing, but addressed Briar Rose. “How you doing, sweetie?”
“Okay. Thanks to you two.”
“No thanks necessary,” Jake managed around a suddenly thick throat. “Is the baby okay?”
One of the EMTs answered. “Looks good, but we need to get them to the hospital. Do you want to meet us there?”
“Is there anyone I can call for you?” Jake asked her. Wouldn’t her family in California want to know they had a grandchild, a niece, to someone?
Briar Rose closed her eyes and gave her head a quick shake. “No.”
“What about baby stuff? Do you have anything?” Castaña asked. “In my bedroom, in the back of the closet, there’s a bag with a few things.”
The helpful redhead began moving the gurney. “They’ll be in the Payson Women and Infants’ Center.”
“Thanks.” He watched the crew lift Briar Rose and the infant into the waiting ambulance. “Is the baby really okay?”
“We’ll know more when we get her to the hospital.”
A soft sigh slipped out of Castaña. “Martin’s girl.”
Jake staggered a little. A baby girl he’d helped bring into the world. Pride warred with overwhelming concern for her future. “We’ll be there shortly.”
Chapter Thirteen
Castaña didn’t know which one of them looked more stunned, her or Jake. She certainly hadn’t expected to find Briar Rose giving birth when she returned. Halfway to the barn with Gato, she’d seem the young woman lying on the porch in obvious distress. Dropping the horse’s lead rope, she rushed to help.
If she’d had doubts about Jake’s character, they all faded in the moments after Briar Rose delivered the baby. No way could a killer be so gentle, so kind.
Suddenly remembering her horse still loose, she hoped he hadn’t wandered off somewhere. Striding toward the barn, she held back a sudden rush of tears. Martin had missed the birth of his daughter. Such a shame. It had been miraculous and amazing and a million other things she couldn’t put words to. Even so, he would be disappointed with a girl. Just as Castaña’s father had been. How anyone could be less than thrilled with a new baby to love was beyond her.
She found the dun grazing near the fence and caught him with no trouble. “Come on, boy. Let’s get you in the barn so I can find a farrier. Like that’s going to happen. Looks like I’m going to have to ride Rojo for a few days.” She loved the sorrel gelding dearly, but he was better in an arena than on the trails.
Just as she closed the stall door Jake appeared. “What’s wrong with Gato?”
“He threw a shoe.” Moving past him, she gathered a flake of hay and a bucket from the feed room. After placing both in the stall, she filled the bucket with a hose.
“Is he okay?” Jake asked.
“Yeah. His foot’s a little sore, but as soon as he gets a new one he’ll be fine.” She studied the water swirling in the horse’s bucket until it topped off then took extra care coiling the hose and storing it on a hook on the wall. All the while, she could feel Jake studying her. Finally, she looked at him. “What are you doing here, Jake? I thought you left for good.”
He had the grace to flinch. “I had second thoughts.”
“Why?”
He wrapped his hands around the bars of the stall. “I don’t like to leave things unfinished.”
Not quite sure what to make of that, she didn’t answer. Did he mean her? Or finding Martin? Before she could ask, he turned toward her. “I’d like to see where we could go from here. And I’d like to help you find your brother.”
Her throat closed and she nodded. “Okay.”
“Good.” He smiled and her heart jumped. “But first, I promised to take some baby things to Briar Rose if you want to go with me.”
“I do. Wasn’t that something?” she asked. “Helping her like that? You were so calm. I just froze up.”
“You were just what Briar Rose needed.” He touched her cheek. “Perfect.”
She was so very tempted to rest her cheek in his palm, but caution overruled her instincts this time. It had been a mistake to sleep with him. One she didn’t intend to repeat again soon. Backing away a step she said, “I need to call a farrier. Then I can go to the hospital.”
“Okay. I’ll look in the closet for the stuff Briar Rose said she had there,” Jake said.
They walked to the house together and Jake left Castaña looking up phone numbers in the living room. Someone had mercifully cleaned up the bedroom where Briar Rose had given birth. He went to the closet and looked for the baby things Briar Rose had said were there. Nothing looked like baby stuff to him. A ragged duffle bag leaned haphazardly against the furthest wall. Dragging it out, Jake knelt and opened it. A few tops and shorts fell out. Clothes that had grown too small for Briar Rose as her belly expanded?
His fingers brushed something hard and he pulled the item out into the light. A small, cheap photo album. Curious, he opened it. The first picture, with ragged edges, depicted a man, woman and three little blonde girls. Briar Rose sat in the middle, her two front teeth missing. Cute family. Several more photos showed her family doing ordinary things — camping, eating a holiday dinner, posing with a pony.