Chapter 1 – Gemma
“Gemma?”
I looked over at Callie and asked her what it was she wanted. When I did, she had this strange look on her face and pointed towards the doorway. My brother Marcel was standing there and he did not look very happy about something. I went to him and asked him what the matter was.
“Has Scott not called you?”
“No, why, what happened?”
My mind instantly went to our ailing mother. “It’s not mom, but Leanna is having the baby.”
I took my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was turned off. “I wanted to be there. I can’t believe I had my phone turned off.”
“Well if you are going, come on.”
“Callie, will you tell Mr. Ledder that I will be taking the rest of the day off?”
“Sure, Gemma.”
In most jobs that wouldn’t be possible, but it wasn’t like he could fire me. While I didn’t work on the ranch, everyone knew the Callahans and my boss did a lot of business with my brothers. Everyone in town did business with us and that left me open to do what I pleased. It helped that I didn’t really need the money either. There was nothing left to hold over my head.
I grabbed my purse and turned my phone back on as I walked outside with Marcel. “So how is Davina?”
My brother’s face lit up and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to smile or groan. He was far too happy looking and now that two of my brothers were married off, I was starting to think about dating again myself. It hadn’t helped that our mother, Elna, wanted us all to get married and start having kids before she died. It was a deathbed request and though she was doing better now, mother reminded me many times that I needed to find a man to marry.
Mind you I don’t need to be married. Most women married because they needed a man, but like my job at Cross Law, I didn’t need it. I made enough money on my own and though I saw my brother’s running around smitten all the time anymore, I had never felt that way about a man before. I was dating a couple of guys off and on, but once they started talking about the ‘next stage’ and such, I was going to be long gone. Ever-after made me nervous. It was too much commitment.
Marcel was telling me how his wife just found out that she was pregnant too. I sighed to myself, it was like baby fever in the Callahans and I was trying hard not to be one of the casualties. There was a part of me deep down that maybe wished for the love I saw present in Marcel’s eyes when he talked about his wife, but then again, forever seemed like a really long time.
We got out to his car and he asked me if I wanted to ride with him. “No I think I am going to take my car and go home when this is done.”
“Okay sis. I will see you at the hospital.”
Marcel got in his car and then I got in my own. It was only a few miles down to the medical center and by the time I got there, my phone was chirping with all of the messages and missed calls that had come through while the phone was off.
I parked and went up to the third floor for the delivery wing and by the time I got there, Paul, Scott and Marcel were there. Leanna’s husband was still out on the oil rig and though he was trying to get off the platform, it was not necessarily clear if he was going to be there for the birth or not. I hoped he would be, but at least Leanna was surrounded by extended family and her own parents. Our family was pretty close knit, so even though she couldn’t have everyone there, not even the father of her child, I felt like at least she had support. My brother was going to kick himself for not being there and I really hoped he found a way to get there in time.
Moving into the room, I gave her a kiss on her cheek. Her face was whiter than usual and I could tell she was uncomfortable. The machine that was attached to her stomach was going crazy, spiking up and as she closed her eyes, I figured that she was going through a contraction. When she opened them back up, I smiled at her. “It’s going to be okay Leanna. Soon you are going to have a beautiful baby and you will forget about all of it.”
She didn’t seem to believe me and I don’t know if I believed myself, but she smiled after a time. “Is your brother coming?”
I looked over at Marcel and he shook his head that he hadn’t found transport off the platform yet. With the oil rig about fifty miles offshore in the Gulf, there was going to have to be a helicopter to come get him because the normal boats that came to and fro were not scheduled back for a couple of days.
“He is trying to make it Leanna. I know you want him here, but don’t hold back. We are all here for you and Elna is here, as well as your parents. I know we aren’t the father, but we are all here for you love. It’s going to be okay.”
Another spike on the monitor and she closed her eyes tightly. I felt so bad for her in that moment and I wondered why anyone would want to go through with it. I had never seen Leanna in so much pain before and though she was usually the type to always be smiling, it didn’t look like she was going to be smiling for a while.
The doctors started to move into the room and I was told that I had to go. I didn’t want to leave her, but her parents were already there and they needed more room for them to work as the time drew near. The contractions were coming closer and closer together and it was time. As I left the room, I looked back at her and threw a prayer up that she would be okay. It didn’t look like it at the moment, but I knew somehow that everything was going to be okay.
When I got out of there, I called my brother again and told him what was about to happen. I could hear the stress in his voice and his need to be there.
“I can’t believe I am going to miss my own son’s birth.”
“Well she is early. It’s not like you were going to know about it. Besides, we are all here for her brother. The whole Callahan clan is here in her corner rooting for her. She is going to be fine. Just hurry your butt up and get here.”
“Thanks sis for being there for her. You know I wouldn’t have left for a two week shift if I knew she was going to pop so soon.”
“Well she is, so figure out a way to get here. We are going to see your son before you do.”
I hung up and went to the vending machine and got a cup of instant coffee. I grimaced at the taste and walked back into the waiting room. At least Marcel wasn’t pacing so much like he had before.