33 The Return of Bowie Bravo Read Free Page B

now.”
    “You’re not serious.”
    “Oh, yes, I am. This baby is coming. And coming fast.”

Chapter Two
    “N ow?” Bowie cast a desperate glance toward the windows. Outside, the wind gusted and the snow came down harder than ever.
    “Yeah, Bowie. Now.” She could almost feel sorry for him. This had to be the last thing he’d expected when he came knocking on her door.
    He gulped. “The hospital. I’ve got to get you to the hospital.”
    She shook her head. “In this storm, on the mountain roads? It would take forever to get there. And this baby is just like Johnny. This baby is not going to wait.”
    He remembered. She could see it in his eyes. He’d been there when Johnny was born—or at least, he’d tried to be there. She’d had Johnny in her mom’s house down the street, upstairs, in the big front bedroom. Bowie had begged her to marry him as she sweated and screamed through one grueling contraction after another. He’d pleaded and he’d coaxed. He’d been drunk, as he usually was back then. His brother Brett, who was the town doctor, had finally gotten him to go away.
    But he wasn’t drunk now. He said, “The emergency helicopter. We can have you airlifted.”
    “Come on, Bowie, nobody’s flying a helicopter in this.” She flicked a hand toward the storm outside.
    “Brett…” He said his brother’s name desperately. She understood that, the desperation. She wanted cool, calm, competent Brett there, with her, and she wanted him now. And when Brett came, so would her sister Angie. Angie was not only Brett’s wife, she was also his nurse. And of her six sisters, Glory had always felt closest to Angie. She could tell Angie anything. They were not only siblings, they were also best friends.
    The phone was a few feet away down the counter. Going for it gave her an excuse to escape the scarily comforting circle of Bowie’s arms. She had the number of Brett’s clinic on auto dial, so she punched it up fast.
    The receptionist answered on the second ring. “New Bethlehem Flat Clinic. This is Mina.”
    “It’s Glory, Mina. I’m in labor. The baby’s coming and coming fast.”
    “No kidding? Wow. Right now? Isn’t that a little early?”
    Glory gritted her teeth. “Yeah, Mina. It’s two weeks early, but it’s happening. I need Brett and Angie over here at my place, now.”
    “They’re out on a call.” A call. Sweet Lord. They were out on a call. Mina chattered on. “Scary, huh, in this weather? But evidently, Redonda Beals and Emmy Ralen just had to go out for their morning walk today of all days. The storm started. Redonda took a fall. Broke her arm in two places. It’s pretty bad, evidently. Dr. Brett is seeing what he can do about it until the weather clears and she can be airlifted to Grass Valley.”
    “Can you reach them, tell them I’m going to need them over here, and fast?”
    “They should be back soon—I mean, unless the snow keeps up like this.”
    “Mina, hello. I asked if you would call them.”
    Bowie moved closer, frowning. “Let me talk to her.”
    Glory put her palm over the mouthpiece and told him drily, “Thanks, I can handle this.”
    He stopped coming toward her, but he kept on frowning.
    Mina was gabbing away again. “Now, Glory, I have kids of my own. I know how long labor takes. And I know sometimes you feel it’s urgent when really it’s going to be quite a while.”
    Oh, great. Just what she needed. Lectures on childbirth from Mina Scruggs. “Mina, forget it. Are they at Redonda’s? I’ll look up the number and call them myself.”
    “Glory, there is no reason to get snippy.”
    “I am having my baby, Mina. I am having my baby now. ”
    Mina made a humphing sound. “How far apart are your contractions?”
    As Mina said the operative word, another one hit—worse than the first one. It started at the top of Glory’s stomach and it moved downward, a deep, clutching, hard pain, gathering and pressing as it moved. She groaned and almost hit her