Page 57 of Christmas Kisses

“It was a hell of a lot different with Mom as my partner,” Maya said, but she did lean back.

She reclined against Caleb’s chest, and her hair was under his chin, and the scent of it reached up to tickle his nose and his memory. It smelled the same as it had that night, all those months ago. But wait a minute, he wasn’t supposed to be thinking thoughts like that. Certainly not at a time like this.

“Put your hands on her belly, Caleb. No, no, like this.” Nurse Nancy bent to take his hands and place them strategically on the lower part of Maya’s swollen middle.

Then she paused and looked up. “My goodness, Maya, the babies certainly are riding low today.”

“I thought something felt different. Does that mean anything?”

Nancy smiled. “It might mean you’re getting ready to deliver.”

“You think?” she asked, eyes widening.

“Well, if I were a betting woman,” Nancy said, “I’d lay odds you’ll go within forty-eight hours.” She shrugged. “Of course, I could be wrong.”

Maya looked up at Caleb, her eyes shining with a combination of nerves and excitement. Nancy replaced her hands on Caleb’s, moved them slowly. “Now rub very gently, in soft, slow circles. It’s going to soothe her through the contractions. See?”

He moved his hands over her. It was intimate. Almost sensual. When he glanced down at Maya, he saw that she had closed her eyes. This was the most relaxed he’d seen her since he’d been back here. “Am I doing it right?” he asked softly.

Her lips curved into a smile. “You’re a whole lot better at this than Mom was.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not doing the breathing, Maya.”

“I’ll hyperventilate and pass out.”

“Then you’re in the perfect place for it,” Nancy said. “Now breathe. Hee hee hee, who. Come on.”

“Hee-hee-hee-who,” she breathed, only she managed to do it to the tune of Beethoven’s Fifth, and Caleb burst out laughing.

“Oh, sure, encourage her!” Nancy said in exasperation.

Maya opened her eyes to grin up at him, her head moving up and down with his laughter. He looked back at her, and for just a moment their eyes locked. He stopped laughing. Her smile faded. And something inside her reached out to touch something inside him. At least, that was what it felt like.

“Now, Caleb,” Nancy said, “I’m going to explain to you what happens when we get to the actual pushing.”

He almost grimaced in pain at that thought.

Maya said, “Don’t worry. As my mamma used to say before a spanking, ‘Darlin’, this is gonna hurt me a whole lot more than it’s gonna hurt you.’”

“I wish it wasn’t.”

“My mamma also used to say to stop whining and be a Brand. Don’t you worry, Caleb. I’ll be fine.”

He hated the black fear that crept up inside him when he thought of the ordeal ahead. His mother had died, hemorrhaged to death with the doctors right there, helpless to save her no matter how they tried. And one of her children stillborn. The day of his birth had been a black day of despair and grief, rather than one of joy and celebration. He damn well didn’t want the Montgomery family curse visiting itself on this woman…on these babies. But he didn’t know what to do about it.

He noticed the nurse looking at him oddly, tried to shake the dread out of his expression, and forced a smile as he continued with his lesson in how to coach the woman who would be his wife through labor and delivery.

But later, when they’d finished and Maya had gone to visit the rest room before they left for home, the woman handed him a pamphlet. “Everything we’ve been over is on here. So you can review things before the big day.”

“Great, I was beginning to regret not taking notes.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “So what is it you’re worried about Mr. Montgomery?”

“Caleb. Please, after the things we’ve discussed today, I think we ought to at least be on a first-name basis.”

She lifted her brows, gave a nod and waited. “You looked scared to death once or twice.”

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