Having His Baby (10 page)

"So, what did he say?" Sheila asked when Donna emerged from the OB-GYN's office into the waiting area. "Did he give you the green light for a real honeymoon?"

Donna forced a smile. Neither she nor Jake had told his family that their marriage was a short-term deal. They all seemed so happy that Donna had joined the Bishop clan that she and Jake had decided to wait awhile before explaining the situation.

"Clean bill of health," Donna said. "I'm in amazing physical shape for a woman who just had a baby. As a matter of fact, Dr. Farr said that he'd never seen a woman recover so quickly from childbirth."

"It's those birthing hips of yours," Sheila teased. "I've got them, too."

Donna checked her watch. "I can't believe I didn't have to wait an hour or two to get in today."

"We're lucky that Dr. Farr wasn't backed up this morning," Sheila said as she and Donna left the doctor's office. "Since we got out so early, why don't we take advantage of the extra time and go out for lunch?"

"I don't know. This is the first time I've left Louisa with someone other than Jake or Mrs. Winthrop."

"Give Lindsay a call and check on Louisa, then let's head over to the Box Lunch and devour something fattening and delicious."

"Okay," Donna agreed. "I'll call Lindsay, then meet you at the restaurant."

Donna slid behind the wheel of her Corvette, retrieved her cellular phone from her purse and tossed the leather bag on the passenger seat. She punched the call button and waited for the ring.

"Hello. Bishop residence," Lindsay said.

"Hi, Lindsay. I finished up at Dr. Farr's early and I thought I'd join my sister-in-law for lunch. How is Louisa? Do you need me to come home?"

"Take as long as you want, Ms. Fields … er, I mean, Mrs. Bishop. Louisa's been a perfect angel."

"All right. I should be home in an hour. You've got my cell number, if you need me."

"Yes, ma'am."

When Donna arrived at the Box Lunch, Sheila waved at her from the back of the crowded restaurant, where she had secured them a booth by the windows.

After Donna slid into the booth, Sheila handed her a menu. "The special today is Rubens, with curly fries. And they have strawberry shortcake for dessert."

"You can afford to eat anything you want this early in your pregnancy," Donna said. "But I'm trying to get rid of fifteen extra pounds that have settled around my bottom."

Sheila glanced at Donna's bosom. "I don't think it all settled around your bottom."

"That's what Jake said." Donna realized, too late, that her comment had implied an intimacy in her relationship with Jake. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded. Jake and I were discussing my weight gain and—"

"Honey, you don't need to feel embarrassed. After all, Jake is your husband."

"I suppose I'm not used to the idea, yet."

"You'll get used to it. By the time you celebrate your first anniversary, you'll wonder how you ever lived without him."

"That's the way you feel about Caleb, isn't it?"

"Yes, of course." Sheila blushed. "Being Caleb's wife and having his children is all I've ever wanted."

Donna envied her friend—her sister-in-law. Donna had loved Edward with all her heart and when he'd died, she had longed to die, too. It had taken a year of therapy for her to overcome the unhealthy grief that put suicidal thoughts in her mind. Edward's death had robbed her not only of the love of her life, but it had also almost taken away her sanity. She would not allow herself to be in that position again. No man would ever mean that much to her.

"Let's order." Donna lifted the menu. "I'm going to get the Ruben and the fries, but I'll leave the shortcake alone."

Thirty-five minutes later, the waitress handed each of them a fork, then set the huge strawberry shortcake between them.

"Enjoy, ladies," the waitress said.

"I'll regret this when I weigh myself again." Donna sliced into the delectable dessert. "But right now, I just don't care."

Sheila joined her and the two of them moaned with pleasure as they shared the sinfully rich delight. Just as Donna wiped her mouth and reached for her coffee cup, her cellular phone rang.

Her heart caught in her throat. Louisa. Something was wrong with Louisa. She knew instinctively.

She grabbled in her purse, pulled out the phone and answered the ring. "Hello?"

"Oh, Mrs. Bishop, you've got to come home right now."

"What's wrong, Lindsay?" Donna's heartbeat drummed
in her ears.

"I don't know. I gave Louisa her bottle and she went to sleep, but she woke up a few minutes ago and started vomiting."

"I'll be right home," Donna said. "Call Dr. Nelson and tell him that I'll bring Louisa straight to his office."

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Bishop. I don't know what happened. She was fine and then suddenly she was sick."

"Try to stay calm. Call Dr. Nelson. Tell him Louisa's symptoms. I'll be home immediately." Donna tossed the phone into her purse, scooted out of the booth and stood.

"I'll follow you in my car," Sheila said.

"First, please, get in touch with Jake and tell him to meet me at Dr. Nelson's office. I think Jake said something about going to the sale barn today. He may be over in Colville."

"If he isn't at the ranch, I'll have Caleb run over to Colville. You go on home and get Louisa to the doctor. We'll find Jake and let him know you need him."

Donna rushed out of the restaurant, raced home at record speed and dashed into her house. All the while, she kept considering the worst possibilities—every horrible thing conceivable. What if Louisa was dying? Oh, God! She wanted Jake. She needed him desperately.

Lindsay met Donna at the front door, a screaming Louisa in her arms. Tears streamed down the young woman's face. "She's so sick. She's been throwing up for the past fifteen minutes."

"Did you call Dr. Nelson?"

"Yes, and he said bring her right in to the office."

Donna broke every speed record on the way to the pediatric clinic. The nurse met them the moment they arrived and showed them straight into an examining room. No sooner had Donna entered the room with Louisa in her arms, than Dr. Nelson walked in.

"Now, let's see what's wrong with little Miss Bishop," he said.

Jake couldn't keep his mind on the horseflesh being paraded in front of him. Good thing he hadn't come to buy or sell today. He'd driven over to Colville to the sale barn in hopes of running away from his anger. He had planned the morning as an outing for himself and Louisa—his daughter's first trip to his ranch. But Donna had made other plans. He supposed he'd better get used to the idea that Donna would be the one making most of the plans for Louisa's life, and that she probably wasn't going to consult him before she made the decisions.

He and his soon-to-be ex-wife would have to come to an understanding about their child. He hadn't planned on fatherhood, but now that it had been thrust on him, he wasn't about to turn his back on Sugar Baby and become an absentee father. He wanted to be a full-time dad, but Donna wasn't willing to try to make their marriage work.

Jake wanted his daughter to know him, to spend part of her time at the ranch, learning about horses. He'd get her a pony when she was a little older and he'd teach her to ride. He could picture her now, her black hair flying in the wind, as they rode together out over the ranch. He wanted their times together to be perfect. Fun times. Moments his little girl would remember all her life.

The auctioneer rattled off a description of the roan mare being led out to the front. Jake looked her over, dismissed her and glanced around the sale barn. The guy entering the building looked like Caleb. Hell, it was Caleb. What was his brother doing here?

Jake noticed Caleb searching the crowd. His baby brother must be looking for him. An odd sensation hit him in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. Something had happened to Louisa! He knew it in his gut.

Jake made his way toward the entrance and met Caleb. "What's wrong?"

"Dammit, man, you've got to get yourself a cell phone!" Caleb grabbed Jake's arm. "It's Louisa. Donna has rushed her to the doctor. She's sick. Vomiting and diarrhea. Donna's in a panic. Sheila sent me to get you and she drove on over to Dr. Nelson's office."

A cold, sick feeling spread from Jake's belly through his whole body. If anything happened to his sugar baby, he— None of that! Don't even consider the worst. Babies get sick all the time. It's usually nothing! But his baby girl didn't get sick every day. She'd been extremely healthy since the moment she was born.

"Where's this doctor's office?" Jake asked as he and Caleb headed for the parking area.

"The pediatric clinic in Marshallton, down on State Street. You can follow me. I'll take you straight to it."

"Thanks."

Jake was surprised that neither he nor Caleb were stopped for speeding. They'd driven like madmen to reach the clinic. Jake didn't wait for Caleb to park and get out before he leaped out of his Jeep and stormed into the doctor's office. The waiting area was filled with mothers and children of various ages, sizes and colors.

"Where's my daughter?" Jake demanded as he shoved open the only door leading to the examining rooms.

The receptionist called out to him. "Sir, you can't go back there!"

Jake paused, glanced over his shoulder and said, "I'm Jake Bishop. My wife rushed my daughter in here about thirty minutes ago. Where are they?"

"In Room Three, Mr. Bishop," she replied. "Go right on back."

Jake marched down the hallway, flung open the door to Room Three and saw a short, slender young man in a white coat holding a very pale Louisa. His heart stopped for a split second.

"Oh, Jake!" Donna cried and ran toward him.

Her eyes were red and swollen. He opened his arms and took her into his embrace. "I'm here, sugar. I'm here." As he stroked her back, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, then grasped her chin between his thumb and index finger. Lifting her face, he asked, "What's wrong with Louisa?"

Donna clung to him, gulping, sobbing. After clearing her throat, she tried to speak. "She was … so sick. I was scared to death. Oh, Jake … she's …" She choked on another sob.

"Your daughter will be fine, Mr. Bishop," Dr. Nelson said. "You and your wife can take her home now."

"Sugar Baby's fine?" Keeping one arm secured around Donna's waist, he turned to the pediatrician. "What happened? What was wrong with her? Caleb said she was vomiting and had diarrhea."

Dr. Nelson laid Louisa in Donna's arms. "Here, Mommy, I know you want to hold her."

Donna spread kisses all over her baby's tiny head. "You mustn't ever get sick again and scare your mama like that. Do you hear me?"

The doctor chuckled. "Mr. Bishop, the baby-sitter gave your little Louisa a bottle of formula, after Louisa had taken all the breast milk your wife had left for her. And it just so happened that that particular formula didn't agree with Louisa. Sometimes we have to try infants on several different brands of formulas, until we find the right one."

Jake looked down at his daughter lying in her mother's arms. "She looks so pale and she seems lifeless."

"Think about how you'd feel if you had just emptied your stomach through vomiting and diarrhea, Mr. Bishop," Dr. Nelson said. "Louisa's weak and not feeling very well right now, but all she needs is breast milk and a lot of TLC from her mommy and daddy. I'd say by tomorrow, she'll be her happy, energetic self again."

Jake let out a deep breath that he hadn't even been aware he'd been holding. He suddenly realized just how frightened he'd been. Damn, what a bitch to care about somebody so much that the thought of losing them could drive you crazy! And he wasn't the only one who had suffered the fear of the damned. Donna's body trembled against his.

"It's all right, sugar," he said. "Louisa's going to be just fine. And we're going to give her all that tender loving care the doctor prescribed."

As Jake led Donna out of the examining room, Dr. Nelson followed them into the hall. "If you need me for anything, just call the office or my answering service."

"Thanks, Doc," Jake said.

"Yes, thank you." Donna held her baby close to her body.

Sheila and Caleb were in the waiting area when Donna and Jake emerged. They rushed toward them.

"She's fine," Jake said. "The baby-sitter gave Louisa some formula that didn't agree with her."

Lindsay Crabtree cringed as she came forward and reached out to caress Louisa's cheek. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea Louisa shouldn't have the formula. She'd finished off the two bottles of breast milk Mrs. Bishop left and she still seemed hungry. I—I thought I was doing the right thing."

"It wasn't your fault," Donna assured her. "It was my fault for not leaving more breast milk and for going out for lunch with Sheila when I should have come home immediately."

"It wasn't anybody's fault," Jake said. "What happened would have happened whenever we tried Louisa on that formula for the first time. According to Dr. Nelson, she's going to be just fine. So, Lindsay, you go on home and when we need a baby-sitter again, we'll give you a call."

"Gee, thanks, Mr. Bishop." Lindsay's lips curved into a frail smile. "I wouldn't let anything bad happen to Louisa. Not for the world."

"We know that," Donna said.

"Come on. Let me get my two girls home." Jake escorted them out to his Jeep, secured Louisa's carrier into place in the car seat, then strapped Donna's safety belt before he got in up front, on the driver's side. He stuck his head out the window. "Hey, Sheila, get somebody down at the garage to bring Donna's car home sometime later today."

Sheila nodded and waved. Jake glanced into the back seat at his wife. Tears trickled down her face.

"It's all right," he said. "Louisa is going to be fine."

Donna reached over into the front seat, grabbed Jake's shoulder and squeezed. "I'm so glad we have you. All I could think about was that I wanted you and needed you. Then I looked up … and there you were."