A sharp, stabbing pain grabbed Sara Morgan’s middle, and she gripped the edge of the seat.
“A bad one?” Jack asked from behind the wheel of the SUV.
“Yes.”
The contractions were getting more intense and closer together. But nothing was the same as it had been last time. No backache. Just a gush of fluid between her legs and a call to the doctor reporting that her water had broken.
He’d asked her to come right in.
Now they were on the way to the hospital from their new house on Willow Lane, where Jack could easily supervise the construction of the children’s center.
Sara smiled at her husband, and he smiled back.
She was still marveling at how different her life was from the way it had been the last time around.
She and Jack had eloped within a week of the confrontation at the old house. She’d dreaded going with him to tell his parents about the marriage. But they knew about the part Sara had played in saving the lives of both their sons. And they were likely also relieved that Jack was settling down and wasn’t going to fight his brother for control of Morgan Enterprises. They’d accepted Sara as their daughter-in-law and been delighted when they’d found out she was going to have a baby. A boy again.
And Jack liked the name she’d chosen before. Daniel.
With her in-laws, she’d worked hard to put away the bad feelings from the first time around. In fact, she’d been able to see them in a better light once the tension of their previous dealings had faded.
This time they didn’t think of her as a woman trying to get some of the Morgan money. Instead they saw her commitment to their son.
After a stern lecture to Ted for his reckless disregard for company funds, the elder Morgan had written off the missing money as a bad business investment.
Sara thought Ted had learned his lesson because he seemed to be running Morgan Enterprises without getting into any more trouble.
She was never going to be good friends with him, but at least they weren’t enemies.
Another contraction brought her back to her own immediate situation.
She gritted her teeth until it passed.
“Hang on. We’re almost there,” Jack said, as the SUV approached the hospital.
They’d waited several months to get pregnant, and now it was late spring. A good time to have a baby, Sara thought, as Jack pulled up at the hospital entrance.
“Here we are. Safe and sound.”
She squeezed his hand, more relieved than she wanted to admit. Even though the season was different, she’d still been worried about this trip.
Jack escorted her inside to the lobby, then parked the car and caught up with her in one of the birthing suites.
They’d attended childbirth classes together because he wanted to share every step of the experience. And she knew that he also wanted this time to be as different as possible from the last.
Now he helped her change into the oversize shirt she’d brought to wear instead of a hospital gown.
As she settled down in the bed, he pulled up his chair beside her, and she reached for his hand when another contraction grabbed her.
The doctor examined her and told her it would be a short labor.
Last time she’d wanted to use medication. This time she’d decided to see if natural childbirth would work for her, and she’d practiced breathing exercises. Jack coached her as the labor progressed. He rubbed her back, gave her ice chips, told her how much he loved her. And then when it was time, he was with the doctor at the foot of the bed, ready to welcome his son into the world.
“Push.”
She gave a mighty heave, then another and another.
“I can see his head,” the doctor told her. “One more good push.”
She gathered her strength and bore down, hearing her son cry before he was all the way out of her.
“Perfect,” Jack said.
“Do you want to cut the cord?” the doctor asked.
Jack did the honors, then the nurse washed Daniel, wrapped him in a blanket and handed him to Sara.
As she held her baby in her arms, Jack pulled his chair close, and tears filled her eyes.
“You did good,” he said, emotion thickening his voice, and she knew he was tearing up, too.
“So did you.”
“I think you had a little harder job.”
“Having you here made it a whole lot easier,” she whispered.
He kissed her brow. “I’ll always be here, thanks to what you did.”
She snuggled into his embrace, holding their baby, her happiness overflowing. She had come back to save the man she loved, and she had her reward.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of Wrangled by B.J. Daniels!