Page 559 of Conveniently Wed
Before she could ask how close the pains were, Miriam gave a convulsive movement and clutched her swollen belly. She gulped, then stopped breathing.
“It’ll hurt less if you’ll breathe out slowly during the pain.” She continued to hold the woman until she relaxed. “I need to go get some help. I’ll be back before the next pain arrives.”
Lorinda didn’t like leaving her alone, but she knew she’d need to have help delivering the baby. She checked on Michael. He still slept, so Lorinda hurried up the stairs and knocked on Mrs. Oleson’s door.
Their housekeeper must’ve heard the moans and cries, because when the door opened, she was fully dressed. “Has Miriam’s time arrived?”
“I believe so.” Lorinda started down the stairs. “We must send someone to get the doctor. She may need more help than we can give her.”
“I agree.” Mrs. Oleson headed toward the open doorway to the room where Miriam was waiting.
Lorinda went through her bedroom and into the dressing room. She’d never been in there when her husband was sleeping. She felt strange...as if she were going somewhere she didn’t belong. She never felt that way when she put his clean clothes in his bureau. It had to be because he was lying in the bed. The sound of his even breathing wove its way around her, and his very presence heated the room. With him in bed, a strong desire for everything marriage should mean clutched at her heart. Her body ached in places it hadn’t for over a year.
She didn’t know what she should do to wake him up. Evidently, the noise Miriam had made didn’t affect his sleep. Finally, she reached out and touched his shoulder, shaking him gently.
“Franklin...please wake up. We need you.”
He leapt from the bed and stood staring at her, his hair mussed and the shadow of dark whiskers on his cheeks and chin, his union suit clinging to his body. “What’s wrong?” His voice was extra husky.
Here she stood in her nightshift and just a thin dressing gown. She felt almost naked in front of him. While she wanted to cover her private parts, heat rushed to her cheeks. She was sure they must be flaming red.
Oh, my goodness.The man was a handsome specimen when fully clothed, but standing here in his unmentionables? Every muscle and sinew outlined and defined in a way she’d never seen. No words came from her mouth. Her hand tingled from where she touched him, and the rest of her body burst alive in anew way she didn’t have time to explore. What was she going to do? She didn’t have room to breathe.
A loud cry sliced through the silence.Miriam!
“You need to go to town and get the doctor. We’re going to need him soon. I’m so afraid Miriam isn’t strong enough to deliver this baby.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn’t know if she could stand to watch the woman or the baby die...or both.
He reached toward the clothes he’d hung on the back of the straight chair beside his bureau, and she rushed out of the room. She was careful not to make any noise as she went through the bedroom where the baby still slept soundly.
Mrs. Oleson sat in the rocking chair where Lorinda had been only a few minutes before. Miriam’s pain must have been over, because she lay still.
“I sent Franklin to get the doctor.” Lorinda trembled from head to toe. Too much had happened in such a short time. “If it’s all right with you, I’ll go get dressed.”
The long night stretched into an eternity. Miriam’s labor continued, gradually increasing in frequency and intensity. With each new pain, Miriam looked as if more and more of her strength leached from her. Lorinda sat beside her, holding her hand. After a while, her fingers were numb from the pressure, but she wasn’t about to complain. Miriam needed her, so here she’d stay.
Mrs. Oleson took care of Miriam in other ways. Bathing her face with a cool wet washcloth, giving her sips of water, and trying to keep the bed linens fresh. At one lull in the pains, the housekeeper went to the kitchen to put pots of water on the stove to heat.
Between pains, Lorinda bowed her head and prayed for their patient. Why hadn’t Miriam come to them before she was so weak? If that scoundrel, Marvin Pratt, was here, Lorinda wouldbe tempted to scratch his eyes out. What a sorry piece of humanity!
Franklin was thankful the doctor was home. The man dressed with amazing speed, and they headed out into the cold night. With the bright moon casting a silver sheen over the countryside, they made good time getting back to the ranch.
“You go on in. You know where she is.” Franklin held the reins from the doctor’s carriage. “I’ll take care of the horses and put them in the barn out of the cold.”
When he finished that task and headed inside, his wife sat in the parlor in front of a blazing fire.
“Lorinda, are you okay?” He moved to stand beside one end of the hearth, soaking up part of the heat.
Her gaze lifted from the flames to his face. “I’m so afraid for Miriam.”
He hunkered down beside her. “Why?”
“She’s not strong enough to deliver the baby.” She rubbed her knuckles while she talked. “She’s getting weaker all the time.”
He glanced at her hands. They didn’t look right. He took one into his palm. Bruises were beginning to form. “What happened?”
Her eyes met his. “You’ve never seen what a woman goes through having a baby. It hurts...a lot. I’ve been holding her hand while she’s going through her labor pains.”
Franklin lifted her fingers to his lips and gently kissed them. “I never wanted my past to hurt you, Lorinda.”
