Carey’s first grandchild.”
Alana couldn’t take her eyes off the tiny blob on the screen. “That can’t be a baby. It looks like one of those goldfish crackers. Are you sure it’s not the beginning of a tumor?”
“Shhh…” Doc Wilson said and turned up the volume on the machine. “Must be because you are both good-size people. The baby is already pretty big for only two weeks.”
“That’s a good sign, right, Doc?” Pax’s expression changed from happy to worried.
“Shhh…” he said again. “Listen carefully.”
“All I hear is a whooshing noise,” Pax said.
“Is that…” Alana covered her mouth with her hand.
“It’s a heartbeat.” Doc nodded. “It’s early to detect one, but bigger babies do sound out earlier than the smaller ones. Since you know the day you got pregnant, I’d say you’re two weeks right now, and right there”—he pointed to numbers on the bottom of the screen—“is your due date. Looks like you might have a Valentine’s baby.”
The doctor removed the apparatus, and the screen went dark.
“Put it back,” Alana said. “I’m not finished looking at it. I’m really going to have a baby?”
“We’re really going to have a baby,” Pax corrected.
“Congratulations, again,” Doc said. “And in a few seconds we’ll have you some paper copies of your ultrasound. That should put your mind at ease about the idea of cancer.”
Doc took a slip of paper on which were three copies of black-and-white pictures from a printer on the bottom shelf of the rolling cart and handed them to Alana. “Proof that you do not have cancer. I never knew a tumor to have a heartbeat,” he chuckled. “I’ll be going now. You can get dressed and go celebrate the good news. Make an appointment with Mary Beth to come back in a month. After the sixth month, I’ll see you every two weeks, and after the eighth, it will be every week.”
“We’ll take care of that, Doc,” Pax replied. “And I’ll be here with her for every appointment.”
Alana was staring so hard at what was in her hands that she didn’t even know when the doctor left the room. “I thought things couldn’t get any more complicated, but I was wrong,” she whispered.
Pax leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Grandpa used to say when obstacles came along how you got over them or around them all depended on how you looked at them. Ten years from now, we might look back on this and see it as a blessing. I’m going to be right here with you to help raise this child, Alana. Boy or girl, I want to be a part of its life.”
“A baby is a long-term commitment.” She still couldn’t believe something so small could have a heartbeat.
“I’m ready for that,” he said.
“Are you sure?” She sat up and turned her head so that she could look right into his eyes.
He nodded without hesitation. “I’m very sure. I told you before I will always be a part of the life of any child I father, and I meant it. I’ll be there for this baby. I’ll pay for the little one’s food, clothing, shelter—whatever he or she needs. No matter what, I’ll be right across the fence from you, and I’ll be there in five minutes anytime you call.”
“Do you realize that less than three weeks ago…” Her voice cracked.
“Yes, I do.” He hugged her tightly. “And I also know that in only eleven days we’re getting married. You got your vows written?”
“No, I have not,” she declared. “Pax, what am I going to do? It would kill Daddy’s soul to know that he was leaving me behind—pregnant…” She paused to wipe her eyes. “Dammit! All this is making me emotional.”
Pax reached across her lap, pulled a tissue from a box on a nearby table, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Don’t cry, darlin’. We started this baby together, and we’ll raise it together.”
“Here’s a scenario for you. We’ve decided to be only friends. You live over at Callahan Ranch, and I’m living on the Bar C. It’s Saturday night, and you’re about to head out to go to the Wild Cowboy for some fun. I call and tell you that the baby has a fever, and we need to rush to the emergency room. Or I call and tell you that our toddler got away from me out in the pasture and a bull trampled him. What do you do?” She had no control over the damn tears that kept rolling down her