Page 43 of Waiting for Devon
Devon tried to eat, but she couldn’t keep any food in her stomach. She spent the remainder of the day sleeping while she grew feverish. Rain pounding on the roof and the buzzing of her cell phone jarred Devon out of a restless sleep sometime after dark. “Dr. Brooks,” she answered in a raspy voice.
“Dr. Brooks? It’s Tony. Inez just went into labor.”
“I’ll meet you at the clinic as soon as I can.” Devon groaned. She never expected to deliver a baby tonight.
Somehow she managed to get dressed and make her way downstairs. When she reached the front door, Reed’s deep voice startled her.
“Where are you going, Doc?”
Devon took a long, steady breath and tried to sound normal. “Inez Rodriguez went into labor. I’m on my way to the clinic.”
“I’ll drive. We’re in the middle of a heavy downpour, and I know the roads better than you do.”
“Thank you,” she replied, gratitude sweeping through her.
By the time they reached Reed’s truck, rain drenched them. Their umbrellas weren’t much protection against the storm’s fury. Devon’s shivers drew Reed’s attention as they headed toward Dallas.
“You’re not well.”
“I’m fine.” Her teeth chattered.
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m merely wet, nothing more.”
“If you say so.” Reed shrugged.
What did it matter to him if she were sick or not, Devon surmised from his ambivalence. Especially when he dropped her off and sped away. She supposed she would have to find another way back to the ranch.
Devon realized she shouldn’t deliver a baby when she knew she had a temperature and chills and had decided to contact another doctor when Inez, Tony and Téa arrived at the clinic, but there wasn’t time. Inez’s contractions were less than two minutes apart. Whether she liked it or not, Devon was going to have to deliver the infant. She took all the proper precautions, and fortunately, the birth was an easy one.
She held the squalling baby in her arms as she declared, “It’s a boy, Inez. You have a healthy baby boy.”
Téa and Tony hugged as Devon placed the infant in his mother’s arms. “Thank you, Dr. Brooks!” Inez exclaimed, her face sweaty. “If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know what we would have done.”
“I, too, owe you my thanks,” Tony added. “And an apology. You have done a wonderful thing here. I’m sorry for doubting your commitment.”
Devon brushed aside his compliment as she fought against a wave of dizziness. “You don’t need to apologize, Tony.” Turning to Inez, she continued, “I’m going to call an ambulance and have you transported to the hospital. I don’t have the proper facilities to make sure you and the baby are all right.”
“Is that necessary?” Inez asked.
“Yes, it is.”
Fifteen minutes later, Téa, Tony, Inez, and the infant left for the hospital. The silence roared in Devon’s ears as she stared unseeing at the bed where Inez delivered her baby. The room began to spin and her world went black as she crumpled unconscious to the floor.
Chapter Thirteen
“Shit! Is shedead?” one kidnapper clad all in black asked his similarly attired accomplice, who nudged Devon with his boot. She groaned.
“Nah, man. She’s drunk as a skunk.”
“I ain’t smelled no liquor.”
“Don’t matter. Let’s grab her and get the hell outta here.”
His partner cackled. “We’ll be rolling in dough. The Barringtons will pay a shitload of money to get her back.” He slung Devon over his shoulder.
Both men froze when headlights swept the front of the clinic.
