Page 17 of The Preacher's Bride

“Your son is the oldest by two minutes,” Mia interjected, taking in the sight of the new family, amazed. Ella and Colton had entered the clinic as a couple, and they were going to leave as a family. God surely did work in mysterious ways.

Tears poured openly down Colton’s cheeks as he sobbed. “They’re beautiful!”

Ella placed a hand on her husband’s cheek. “Shh… it’s okay. I’m okay, and the babies are fine.”

When Colton calmed down a bit, the doctor interrupted. “Both of the babies are fine, but I must talk to you about the birth.” Both Colton and Ella nodded, waiting. “The boy was born first, but he was breach, so I had to turn him. Once he was in position, he was born just fine. But when the girl came, she was born blue.”

“What?” Colton demanded.

Doc Allaway nodded. “Yes. The cord was wrapped around her neck and had cut off the flow of oxygen to the brain. For how long? I’m not sure. But once I removed the cord, the baby could come naturally. Once she was born, I was able to work with her and then she regained consciousness and her color returned.”

Colton breathed a sigh of relief as tears streamed down Ella’s face. “Did it hurt her? Being without oxygen?”

“I’m not sure. It depends upon how long she was without it. It may have been only for a few seconds or a few minutes, at the most.” Doc Morgan swiped his hand across his forehead. “But I’m not going to lie to you. If it had been a few minutes more, we could have lost her.”

Ella cried openly now as she caressed the baby girl in her arms.

Colton kissed her tears away. “It’s okay, Ella. The babies are fine now. It’s really a miracle.”

Doc Allaway let out a deep breath. “Your wife really needs to rest now.” He reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Madame, you did well. You really are a brave woman.”

“Mrs. Hill. But please call me Ella.” Ella smiled as she handed the baby girl to Mia.

Doc Allaway nodded. Then he turned to Colton and offered him his hand. “You have a lot to be proud of, Mr. Hill.”

Colton shook his hand. “Thanks, Doc. I owe you everything.”

“We’ll settle up later.” Doc Allaway smiled. “But the only thing I want you to do right now is to take good care of your wife and those two little ones.”

Colton laughed, breathing a sigh of relief. “That goes without saying.”

“That’s good enough for me.” The doctor started putting things away.

“Oh, Doc?” Colton asked, claiming his attention.

The doctor lifted his eyebrows as he turned to look at him.

“I’m so sorry about yelling at you… and almost going after you….”

Doc Allaway laughed, peering at him over his spectacles. “Not to worry. Believe me, I’ve seen worse.”

Everyone in the room laughed.

Doc Allaway touched Ella’s leg on top of the sheet. “You can stay here until you’re fully recovered. Now, get some rest.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Ella nodded, her eyes growing heavy.

Mia followed the doctor into the waiting room, and he turned to shake her hand. “Congratulations, miss,” he praised in a low voice. “You did a great job, and you stayed calm during the crisis.”

Caleb walked up and placed his hand on the small of her back.

Doc Morgan turned to him. “Your wife did a good job in there.” Then he turned back to Mia. “If you’d like, you could train to be a midwife. Where do you live?”

Caleb smiled. “Whiskey River.”

The older doctor nodded. “Doc Morgan could train you.”

Mia’s eyes widened. “I would love that!”

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