The Hero of Hope Springs - Maisey Yates Page 0,102
a black T-shirt, jeans and a cowboy hat. Like some deeply rooted relic of the past in the middle of...well, some relics that were deeply rooted in the past, sure, but one that felt pretty damned alternative to him.
“I might want crystals,” Sammy replied.
Ryder rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Okay. So crystals aside. How exactly does this work?”
Sequoia went about explaining the process, and how some women opted for a water birth, and that she could provide the tub for a rental fee.
“So you put a tub in the bedroom?”
“Wherever you want it,” she said, “but I think it’s best if it’s next to a bed in case Sammy wants to move around.”
“Okay,” he said. “But what about...it being sterile and everything.”
“You know, hospitals are sterile, but there are a lot of illnesses and infections in them, as well.”
“Yeah, I get that. It’s not like you can clear the air.” He sighed. “But what if there’s an emergency?”
“I have a hemorrhage kit. I have a whole kit for the baby. I used to be an RN,” she said. “So I’ve dealt with emergencies in hospital situations, and I’ve been a midwife for twenty years. I’ve seen almost every scenario, and I’m fairly prepared for it. I also won’t hesitate to send mother and baby to the hospital if it comes to that. So don’t think that I’m going to try to make it all happen at home on principle. First and foremost the important thing is that Sammy and baby come through it all healthy. When and where that happens is secondary. It’s wonderful when everything goes according to plan, but often babies have their own whims and schedules. You can’t get too married to a plan anyway.”
That was like his nightmare. But then, everything about the past few months hadn’t gone according to his plan, and if he was honest with himself in general he was much happier than he would have ever thought something like this could make him.
Because it wasn’t just a random woman and a random baby. It was Sammy. And it was their baby.
“All right, I take your point there.”
“Well, no decisions have to be made yet. My schedule does fill up, so give me a call in about four weeks and let me know if you’d like to have me. I can help with prenatal exams. And I can come to the house. I have a Doppler to check the heartbeat and all of that.”
“Right,” he said.
After the meeting with the midwife, they drove back into town.
It was teeming with people, which was pretty typical in summer. The influx of tourists who enjoyed getting out and seeing a historic town was necessary for the businesses that were in Gold Valley, but he always found them slightly annoying. It was his town, and he liked that it was small. Liked that he didn’t typically have to fight to get a table at the Mustard Seed. Though he did have to do a little bit of fighting today. It was a small building, and it took time for a patio table to open up for him and Sammy. It was later in the day, so she could eat more than fruit, and he was relieved when she ordered a hamburger, french fries and a milkshake. It was a lot more typical of her, and that made him feel better about things in general.
Her eyes lit up as soon as the french fry basket hit the table, and she dove right into them, chewing happily.
And it was like the world turned on its head and suddenly from that angle he could see.
He could really see.
That it didn’t matter how his parents had loved each other. It had nothing to do with him. He’d lived through loss. And he’d carried a weight for so many years that everything he felt had teeth and claws.
That he was so aware of the cost of caring it felt like dying sometimes.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t love.
No.
It might even be deeper because he was so very, very aware of what it felt like to lose people.
And Sammy... He didn’t know what to call that feeling he had for her because it felt like it was as intrinsic to him as the blood in his veins. It was natural, like the beating of his heart, like every breath he took.