Page 72 of Irish Rose
Erin laid a hand on her stomach. “Was she this way when she had the first one? I mean, the first one would be the scariest. It’s like taking everything on faith that nothing’s going to go wrong.”
“Dee’s a trouper.”
“Aye.” She prayed she would be as well when her time came. “It must make a difference, having Travis with her through it all.” She’d seen the way he’d been with Dee, standing beside the bed, holding her hand, talking, making her laugh, timing her contractions. Total support, total commitment. “I wonder, Paddy, do you think most men would do that?” Would Burke?
“I’d say when a man loves a woman the way Travis loves Dee he wouldn’t be anywhere else right now. Lass, you’re going to wear a rut in the floor.”
“I can’t sit still,” she muttered. “I’m going to go downstairs and see if I can buy some flowers. Have them waiting for her.”
“That’s a fine idea.”
“I could bring you some tea.”
“You do that. Won’t be long now.”
He waited until she was out of sight to get up and pace himself.
Downstairs, Burke burst into the hospital like a man possessed. In seconds he had pounced on the admissions clerk. “Where’s my wife?”
The clerk swiveled her chair over to her computer. “Name?”
“Logan, Erin Logan.”
“When was she admitted?”
“I don’t know. A couple of hours ago.”
The clerk began to punch buttons. “For what purpose?”
“I—” He wasn’t sure he could deal with the purpose. “She’s pregnant.”
“Maternity?” The clerk continued to punch. “I’m sorry, Mr. Logan. We don’t have your wife.”
“I know she’s here, damn it. Where—” Continuing to swear, he pulled the paper out of his pocket. “Dr. Morgan. I want to see Dr. Morgan.”
“Dr. Morgan’s in delivery with another patient. You can check at the nurse’s station on the fifth floor, but—”
She shrugged when Burke raced away. Expectant fathers, she thought. They were always crazy.
Burke jammed a fist against the elevator button. He hated hospitals. He’d lost his mother in one. Only days before, he’d watched Erin lie in one, and now...
“Burke, I didn’t expect you.”
He turned to see Erin walking toward him with a huge arrangement of rosebuds and baby’s breath. Her hair was pulled back and her cheeks were glowing. The flowers nearly tipped to the floor when he grabbed her shoulders.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.
“Burke, you’re crushing them.”
“I’ll crush more than a bunch of flowers. I want you to tell me what you’re doing.”
“I’m taking them upstairs. If they survive. I think Dee will appreciate them more if they’re not mangled.”
“Dee?” He shook his head but didn’t manage to clear it. “What are you talking about?”
“What areyoutalking about?” she countered. “It doesn’t seem so strange to me to buy flowers for someone who’s having babies.”
“Dee? You came here because Dee’s delivering?”
