Having His Baby. BEVERLY BARTON

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СКАЧАТЬ to induce labor, after all. I’m glad this young lady decided to make her entrance into the world before she grows any larger. We wouldn’t want you delivering an eleven pound baby, would we?”

      “Eleven pounds?” Susan asked.

      “When they’re full-term, Bishop babies tend to be large,” Sheila said. “Danny weighed almost ten pounds.” She patted her belly. “Lord only knows how big this one will be.”

      “Yes, mine came in at over nine pounds,” Tallie said, then glanced accusingly at Jake. “Since this little girl’s daddy is six-three and a pretty big guy, she’ll be lucky to weigh less than ten pounds.”

      While Jake’s mind whirled with the news that his child would be a girl, the nurse shooed him and the Bishop clan out of the room while Dr. Farr examined Donna.

      He’d never thought much about fatherhood, had never actually considered having children. But the few times the notion had crossed his mind, he’d imagined his child being a boy. After all, boys ran in the Bishop family. Caleb had a son. Tallie had two boys. Now Hank had a son.

      Even though Jake had a difficult time picturing himself as a father, he supposed he’d figured that helping raise a little boy was something he could handle. But a little girl? God help him, a little girl was a different matter altogether. A baby girl would need gentleness and tenderness, probably more than a boy. And any daughter of Donna’s would be a little lady. Jake would be the first to admit that he didn’t know a damn thing about ladies, little or otherwise.

      Dr. Farr stepped out into the hallway and glanced at the seven adults waiting there. “Donna’s labor is progressing quickly. I don’t think we’ll have a very long wait. Sheila, since you’re Donna’s coach, you should go on in and be with her now.”

      Sheila glanced over at Jake, who stared back at her in bewilderment. “I think the baby’s father should be with her for the delivery.”

      “The baby’s father?” Dr. Farr questioned. “I didn’t realize that Donna had any contact with the father.”

      “She does now,” Tallie said. “The father is here—” she pointed to her eldest brother “—and he’s the type who ikes to take charge of situations.”

      “I’m Dr. Farr, Mr...?”

      “Jake Bishop.”

      “Hank and Caleb’s brother?” the doctor asked.

      “That’s right.”

      “And you’re the father of Donna’s baby?”

      “Looks that way.”

      “Do you want to be with Donna during the remainder )f her labor and the delivery of your child?”

      Did he? Could he? “Yeah, I want to be with her,” he answered finally. No woman should go through childbirth without the baby’s father, Jake thought. And no kid should grow up without a dad, the way he and his brothers and Tallie had.

      Jake followed Dr. Farr back into Donna’s room. The atendants turned and stared at him.

      “This is Jake Bishop.” The doctor introduced him.

      ‘He’s the baby’s father.”

      All the women smiled warmly and moved aside to allow him space next to the bed.

      “What are you doing here?” Donna glared at him. “Where’s Sheila?”

      “Everybody thought I should be present for our daughter’s birth,” Jake replied.

      “She’s my daughter!”

      “She’s our daughter, sugar.” Jake took Donna’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips.

      She narrowed her eyes and glowered at him. “You didn’ t even know she existed until a few hours ago! You have no right to make claims on my baby. You weren’t supposed to be a part of her life. You’re totally unsuitable to be Louisa Christine’s father.”

      Jake kissed Donna’s hand, then sat in a chair one of the attendants scooted over to him. “Louisa Christine sure i a mouthful for a little baby. Maybe we should call he Christy or Lou.”

      Donna jerked her hand away. “We will do no such thing I’m naming her in honor of my grandmothers and I’m go ing to call her Louisa!”

      “Sure thing. You call her whatever you want to cal her.”

      “Don’t you patronize me, J.B.! Dammit, I mean Jake.’

      “I don’t mind you calling me J.B.”

      “That’s not your name, is it? If you’d told me you were Jake Bishop the night we met, I wouldn’t be in this situation now.”

      Jake leaned over, lifted his hand to Donna’s face and caressed her moist cheek. “Are you sure about that, sugar As I recall, nothing short of an act of God would have prevented what happened between us.”

      “Why you...you...you...” Donna spluttered furiously.

      “Calm down,” Jake said. “What will these fine folk here think if we keep fussing with each other?”

      Donna glanced around the room at the attendants, who tried to pretend they weren’t listening to every word of the not-so-private conversation. “Right this minute, I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks.”

      Dr. Farr motioned to Jake. “Are you ready to be a father, Mr. Bishop?”

      Was he ready to be a father? Hell, no! He’d been a renegade and a black sheep all his life. A hell-raiser, who had avoided responsibility and commitment for as long as he could remember. The last thing on earth he was ready for was fatherhood.

      But prepared for the awesome task or not, he was about to have fatherhood thrust upon him. Without prior warning. With no preparation.

      Jake stood, leaned over and kissed Donna’s forehead. “I’m here for the duration, whether you want me or not.”

      Donna grabbed Jake’s hand. He grasped tightly. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a brief moment.

      “I want you here,” Donna admitted, doing a sudden about-face in attitude. “Don’t leave me, Jake.”

      Two

      Following the last of Dr. Farr’s instructions, Jake cut the umbilical cord. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as an exhilaration he’d never known rushed through his body.

      “How about a good look at your daughter, Donna?” Dr. Farr indicated for the nurse to lay the newborn on Donna’s abdomen. “She seems to be perfect in every way.”

      Jake stepped back, took a deep breath and gazed at the woman who had just given birth to his child. Despite the time in labor and with her makeup melted away, Donna was still beautiful. So beautiful that at that precise moment the sight of her and his infant daughter hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut.

      Tears СКАЧАТЬ