Chapter Twenty-six

 

James took a deep breath and told himself to remain calm. It wouldn’t do him any good to freak out. He exited the truck and opened the hood. Snow flew in a white tunnel all around him. He could make out the trees that were on either side of the road, but the road itself was white. The only tire tracks were his.

His gaze went to the battery and the connecting wires. Everything looked fine to him. But what do I know? James thought. Nothing, that’s what. He needed to call someone. Not for the first time, James regretted not paying what he considered the exorbitant annual fee for a roadside service. There was nothing he could do about it now, though. He had to call a tow truck from Harrisonburg.

Ten minutes later, James had exhausted all of his possibilities. No tow trucks were available due to high demand because of the snow.

There was only one other option: Ace, the mobile mechanic.

Freezing cold, James fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his wallet looking for the man’s phone number.

His cell phone rang.

James answered the call without even looking at the caller ID, hoping it was someone calling him back to say they could tow him after all.

“James,” Jane said.

“Hi, honey,” James said with as much cheer as he could muster. Maybe he could avoid telling her he was, yet again, stuck on the side of the road.

“James, I’m sorry to call you while you’re at the library, but I—oh!”

“Jane! Jane, are you all right?” He heard his wife breathing rapidly. “Jane!”

“I’m okay,” she said after an agonizingly long few seconds. “It was another contraction. I’ve been having them since right after you left for work.”

James looked at his watch. “That was five hours ago!”

“It’s not that uncommon to have false labor. The baby isn’t due for another two weeks. I did start to become concerned when the contractions came regularly. Then about fifteen minutes ago, my water broke and—oh!”

James listened with growing horror as his wife groaned in pain. He had to get to her. He had to get to Quincy’s Gap right now! But he couldn’t because of the Bronco!

“I called the doctor,” Jane said when she caught her breath. “He told me to go to the hospital. Can you come pick me up? Eliot’s home. They dismissed school early because of the snow. We can drop him off at Jackson and Milla’s on the way.”

In that moment, James hated himself. Why had he begrudged his family a newer, more reliable vehicle? He should have given up on the truck three repairs ago. He saw now that having the money in savings didn’t matter when it came to reliable transportation and his family’s safety.

Frantic with worry and desperate to get to his wife, he forced a calm tone. “Honey, the investigation took me out of Quincy’s Gap. The murderer has been caught, but it will take me a while to travel back. Call Jackson and Milla. Have Jackson take you to the hospital in his truck while Milla keeps Eliot.”

“Wh-where are you, James? Are you far away? With this being my second baby, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be in labor. You’re not going to miss our daughter’s entrance into the world, are you?” she asked, her voice rising on the last few words.

“No, no, I’m not! Hang up and call Pop. I’ll meet you at the hospital in Harrisonburg. I love you, Jane.”

“James, it’s not the Bronco, is it?”

James squeezed his eyes shut, mortified and ashamed. “I’ll be there, Jane. Just get to the hospital. Please call me when you’re there safely, or have Pop call me.”

Silence.

James didn’t know if the call had dropped or if Jane had disconnected.

“No!” he yelled into the silent woods. His fingers fumbled the phone. It fell into the snow.

James got down on his hands and knees and plucked the phone from the snowy depths, hot tears dropping into the icy whiteness.

He got in the truck and prayed as he turned the key in the ignition.

Nothing.

Digging in his wallet, James thought about calling Lucy and asking her to come and get him. But he discarded this idea as being selfish. Lucy would come and rescue him, he had no doubt, but she’d get in trouble if Sheriff Huckabee found out one of his patrol cars had been used as a taxi. Still, if Ace couldn’t come . . .

Like the last time he called the mobile mechanic, the phone rang and rang while James’s heart pounded in his chest. Finally, Ace answered. “Yeah.”

“Ace, this is James Henry. Remember me? I’m the guy with the Bronco.”

“Yeah.”

“I need your help! I can’t get the Bronco to start and my wife’s having a baby!”

“Don’t deliver babies.”

James dug the fingers of his left hand into his palm. “I understand. Can you get my truck started?”

“Don’t know. Have to see it.”

“Where are you?”

“Elkton, visiting my girl.”

“I’m on Route 33, past Swift Run but before Skyline Drive. You’re not that far away.”

“Got my dog, Bacon, with me. Too cold outside for her.”

“You’re exactly right,” James said, willing himself not to scream. “Could your girl look after Bacon while you help me out? We could go to the ATM afterward.” James thought he would hand the mechanic his debit card and the PIN if he got the Bronco started.

“Be right there.”

James let out a huge sigh of relief. Then he realized he was shivering and hadn’t even realized how cold he was. He climbed back into the Bronco. He tried the ignition for the heck of it, but nothing happened. James reached into the backseat and grabbed an old wool stadium blanket that his father had passed down to him. He pulled the warm blanket around his shoulders.

He called Jane but got her voice mail. “Honey, I love you, and I’m doing everything possible to get to the hospital. If I don’t make it in time for the birth”—James’s voice broke—“kiss our daughter for me and tell her I can’t wait to hold her.” He ended the call.

James sat with his gaze glued to his rearview mirror, willing Ace’s truck to come over the horizon. Aloud he said, “Lord, please help me be there for the birth of my daughter. I promise that I’ll go to the nearest car dealer in the morning and buy the best vehicle I can with the money I have. Please let me be there for Jane and, yes, for myself. I’ll get a job waiting tables at Dolly’s Diner on the weekends if tha—”

He heard the rumble of a truck. Yes, there it was! Ace’s red and white truck was coming up the road behind him!

James jumped outside and waved his arms madly.

The old truck parked close to the Bronco and Ace climbed out. Once again, he wore a T-shirt and jeans without a jacket.

“Thank God you’re here!” James cried, so happy he could hug the guy.

Ace’s jaw worked and James could hear the familiar rapid sucking sound. He waited for the crack of the sunflower seed. After it came, Ace said, “Hey.”

Ace checked under the hood while James stood nearby.

In a surprisingly short time, Ace turned to him and said, “Blown head gasket.”

James didn’t know that much about cars and trucks, but he did know that Ace wouldn’t be able to fix a blown head gasket on the side of a snowy, icy road. “You’re sure, huh?”

“Yep. Oil looks like coffee with too much cream.”

“No getting the truck on the road now,” James said.

“Nope. Call the scrap metal man. He’ll tow it away and maybe give you a hundred bucks for it.”

“Tell you what, Ace. I have to get to the hospital in Harrisonburg now. I mean right now. My wife’s having a baby. I’ve got to be there. I’m begging you to take me. I’ll sign the truck over to you, you have my word. You can do whatever you like with it.”

“Snow’s getting deep.”

“Plus we’ll stop at the ATM and I’ll give you a hundred dollars. The hospital’s only about thirty miles away. I’m asking you man to man to help me out. I’ve got to be there when my daughter’s born. My wife needs me.”

To James’s shock, tears formed in Ace’s eyes. “Know what you mean. My dog, Bacon, she had puppies once. Needed me there. ’Course, I got her fixed since then so that nasty mutt down the road would leave her alone. Come on, let’s go.”

James held his hands up. “Okay, give me a second. I want to write a note to leave on the truck’s dashboard so the police won’t impound it.”

Ace nodded and walked to his Chevy.

James turned around so fast he slipped in the snow, but he righted himself. He scribbled a brief note and placed it on the left-hand side of the dashboard. He took a look around the Bronco and was about to get out when he remembered Jane’s infinity necklace was locked in the glove compartment. He got it, said, “Goodbye, old friend. I’ll miss you,” to the truck and then climbed into Ace’s old Chevy.

On the way, he looked at his phone. The battery was low, but he made two quick calls.

“Milla?”

“James! I tried to call you but the phone didn’t even ring.”

“Where are you? Is Jane at the hospital? Is she all right? Has the baby come? Is Jackson with Eliot?”

“Calm down, dear. Jackson stayed at your house with Eliot. Since his stroke, he won’t set foot in a hospital. I drove Jane to the hospital in my van. She’s in labor and delivery. Where are you?”

Labor and delivery! “Does that mean she’s having the baby now?” James hollered.

“No, dear, that’s the department where women go to have babies. But she doesn’t have much longer to go. What’s happened?”

James couldn’t bring himself to tell her. “I’m on my way, okay? Please tell Jane that I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Gonna take more like thirty minutes in this snow,” Ace said as they passed Elkton.

“James,” Milla said, “Jane and I talked about it. If you’re not here in time, I’m going to be in the delivery room with her for support.”

James turned his head to the passenger window so that Ace wouldn’t see the tears running down his face. “That’s a good idea,” he managed. “Thank you, Milla.”

“When you get here, come straight to labor and delivery. I’ll tell the nurses to expect you.”

“Tell Jane I love her,” James said and disconnected. He got control of his emotions and dialed Lucy.

“Yes, James, I’m freezing and buried in paperwork. Are you coming in to give your statement?”

“Lucy, I don’t have time to talk. My phone’s battery is low. Jane’s at the hospital. The baby’s coming. I was stranded, but I’m getting a ride. The Bronco is still on Route 33. I left a note in it. Can you be sure it won’t be towed?”

“Yes,” Lucy said. “Don’t worry about it or about making your statement. Where are you now?”

“Just past Elkton.”

“Be safe and good luck,” Lucy said.

The minutes crawled by, but James had to admit that Ace was an expert driver. As they came down from the mountainous area, the road had been plowed, and Ace picked up speed.

All of a sudden, Lucy’s patrol car swung in front of them, her lights and siren blaring. Lucy held her hand out the window with the thumbs-up sign.

“Dang,” Ace said. “We’re getting a police escort!”

“Yes,” James said, gripping Jane’s present, every muscle in his body tense. “We sure are.”

“We aren’t stopping at the ATM. I trust you,” Ace said.

“Thank you,” James responded, vowing to make sure that, along with the money, Ace received a healthy gift certificate from Gillian for the Yuppie Puppy.

With Lucy’s help, they made great time.

When they pulled into the entrance circle, James didn’t even let the Chevy come to a complete stop before he was out the door and running inside. He dashed into the nearest elevator, then realized he’d forgotten what floor labor and delivery were on. Luckily, another visitor riding up was able to tell him.

James hit the labor and delivery area at a run.

“You must be James Henry,” an older nurse in pink scrubs said calmly.

James nodded, barely able to catch his breath. He spotted Milla, already wearing scrubs. She smiled and said, “You go, James. I’ll wait by the nursery.”

“Snap to it, Mr. Henry. Put these on over your clothes.” The nurse handed him a pair of blue scrubs and supervised him while he washed his hands.

The next fifteen minutes went by as if they were only two seconds.

Jane, crying at the sight of him. James cradling his wife’s head with one hand, his other hand holding hers tightly as he begged her forgiveness for being late. The doctor saying, “The baby’s head is crowning!” Jane’s groan ending on a scream, then the sweetest sound James had ever heard in his life: his daughter’s first cry.

The doctor placed the baby on Jane’s chest. James and Jane smiled at one another through their tears. James kissed his wife, then looked at his tiny, perfect little girl with her adorable dark wisps of hair. He’d never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life.

When the nurses took the baby away to be washed and evaluated, James said, “Jane, can I get you anything, honey?”

Jane said, “I would really, really like some ice cream.”