03 The Long Road Home (5 page)

"Apologize?"  she said coolly.

"For my remark about you being a prodigal.  I was under the mistaken impression that you could help Janet financially, but chose not to.  I had no call to make such assumptions, but I did, and I'm sorry."

Margaret stared at him, more impressed by the apology than she had been by anything else about Matthew Magnum.  Admitting one's mistakes took courage.  Most people she knew would rather ignore them than admit to them.

"It doesn't matter," she said stiffly.  What mattered was that he had been absolutely right in the other things he had said.  She did want to nudge Timmy toward a safe job. 

As if he read her thoughts Magnum asked, "Have you had time to think about the discussion we had?"

Margaret's temper blazed.  "That was no discussion.  You lectured and I listened, but that doesn't mean I agreed with everything you said.  I'm not going to let you brainwash me.  I love Timmy and want what's best for him."

"What you think is best for him," corrected Magnum.  "Janet mentioned you care so deeply about Timmy that you won't let a man near enough to distract you from your duty toward your brother.  What do you plan, Margaret?  To wait till Tim is safely married to someone you introduce him to, before thinking of your own future?"

Margaret took a deep breath.  This man wasn't simply encroaching on her personal space.  He was submerged, neck deep, in the middle of it.  Attack was sometimes the best form of defense.  "Isn't it very boring for you here in Inchwater, Mr. Magnum?"  she said.  "Is that why you are taking such a personal interest in my life?" 

"Call me Matt, Margaret and no, Inchwater is a lot of things, but I wouldn't call it boring."

"What would you call it?"

The hand that came up to cover hers made Margaret aware she was still stirring her coffee.  She swallowed as the hand was casually removed and Matthew Magnum said, "I like the solitude, the away-from-it-all atmosphere."

"There's nothing to do here."

"Is that why you stayed away for so long, Margaret, except for your brief visits at Christmas?" 

He did know their entire family history.  She dropped her gaze to her cup.  "Work kept me away."

"Strange.  Work is exactly what brought me here."

"How long will you be staying?" 

She expected anger at her blunt question.  Instead he gave her a whimsical smile.  "That would be a very flattering question; if you could only look a little wistful while you asked it."

Angry with the way her heart responded to the intensity in Magnum's green eyes, Margaret snapped, "Why?  I'm not some gullible idiot and I’m not taken in by your smooth talk, Mr. Magnum."

"Pity," Matthew Magnum stood, placed a tip beside his mug, and glanced at her.  "I would certainly like to take you in, Margaret Browning.  Very much.  I think we would both learn a great deal in the process.  See you around."

He was gone before she'd cleared the shock from her system enough to find her voice. 

I would certainly like to take you in, Margaret Browning.

She drew in a deep breath.  Why that... that...wolf!  He surely didn't think she was going to be overpowered by his looks and charm, as Timmy had been, did he?

Matt left, deep in thought.  Had he carried the teasing a little too far?  The flash of fear he had seen in her eyes at his last comment had shaken him.  Helping Margaret Browning put herself first was one thing, but he'd better be careful he didn't get tangled up in the web of plans he was spinning.  There was something about her melted chocolate eyes that got to him in a way nothing else ever had.

Two days later Margaret entered the restaurant at noon, took one look at Gina, and said, "Gina, what's wrong?"

But she knew.  There was a line of sweat on Gina's forehead, and the hand that clamped down on hers was icy cold.

"It's Junior.  He wants out."

Stay calm, Margaret.

"Are you sure?"  Wasn't there such a thing as false labor, and how did one tell the difference?

Gina nodded.  "I've had slight contractions all morning.  I ignored them because I'm not due yet, but they're strong and unmistakable now.”

"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine," Margaret said automatically.  "I'll drive you to the hospital and stay with you till Jack gets there.  Ben," she flung at the boy behind the counter, "Get Aunt Janet."

Her aunt took over at once, asking Gina questions about contractions and water, while Margaret ran out to the Volkswagen the family used for errands.  She'd better start it, before she got Gina into it.  Sometimes the old engine refused to cooperate.

"Come on!  Come on!  Don't go temperamental on us now," Margaret urged as the car remained stubbornly unresponsive.

"Need a ride somewhere?"

She looked at the shadow that fell across her.  She might have known the omnipotent Matthew Magnum would be at hand.  Still, this wasn't the time to let personal feelings get in the way.  "It's Gina.  She's in labor, and Beelzebub won't start."

"Beelzebub?"

She was already out, shutting the door.  "The car," she said impatiently.  "Where's yours?  Can you take Gina to Garrison Community Hospital?"

"Over there."

His car was parked next to hers.  Beside the silver grey lines of the Lincoln Continental, Beelzebub looked like an aged bumblebee with its bright yellow body and black hood.  "I'll get Gina."

"Whoa!"  The hand on her shoulder burned her skin.  "I'm not taking the lady in alone.  Someone has to ride with us in case she decides to give birth en route."

About to argue that Gina would do no such thing, Margaret stopped.  She didn't know enough to assure him that wouldn’t happen.

"I'll come," she snapped, hurrying in.

For a moment, she toyed with the idea of asking Aunt Jan to go in her place.  Aunt Jan, who had been with their mother both at Margaret's and Timmy's births, knew all about having babies.  Margaret opened her mouth and closed it again.  It wasn't a feasible idea.  The lunch rush was still on, and by four, early diners would be stopping in.  With Gina away, Aunt Jan was the only other person who could run the Inner Man.

"There's nothing to worry about," Aunt Jan told them all as she helped Gina out to the car.  "The contractions are a good twenty minutes apart, and it takes only ten minutes to get to Garrison."

Margaret slipped into the back seat beside Gina, held her hand, and tried to sound positive, "You're going to be fine."

Face pale, Gina rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes.  "I only wish Jack wasn't out of town."

Margaret froze.  Did Gina mean out of town, as in wouldn't-be-here-to help?  Aunt Jan hadn't mentioned
anyone else in Gina's family.  Which left her, Margaret, as the last resort? 

She blinked rapidly.  As last resort, she definitely wasn't in the running for any prizes.

CHAPTER FOUR

"Where is Jack?"  Matthew Magnum threw Gina a glance over his shoulder. 

Gina's breath caught in her throat as pain washed through her like a wave.

"Short shallow breaths," Margaret instructed, hoping it was the right thing to do at this stage of labor.  It was what people said on television shows anyway.

As Gina relaxed, Matthew Magnum said again, "Do you know which run Jack is on?"

"Barstow to Vegas."

"I see."

Margaret stared at the back of Matthew Magnum's dark head, resisting the urge to hit him.  She doubted if he saw anything.  Not Gina's need to have her husband with her.  Not her own terror and ignorance. 

This, she wanted to scream at him, is what happens to men who become truckers.  Their families suffer, their wives give birth alone and afraid.  Now, do you see why I don't want this kind of life for Timmy?

If looks could kill, Matthew Magnum would have fallen down dead right there, but they couldn't, so the car continued to purr smoothly as it covered the distance between Inchwater and Garrison.

Gina shifted, and then said, her voice fraught with worry, "The baby's early.  I hope he's going to be fine."

"How early?"  Matthew Magnum asked.

"Two weeks."  There was a quaver of fear in Gina's voice.

"Probably just a slight miscalculation of when you actually became pregnant.  Same thing happened to one of my sisters." 

He sounded very confident, but then he wasn't the one having the baby, was he? 

Margaret knew she was the most nervous of the three.  This was the first time she had seen anyone in labor.  She was trained to face emergencies calmly.  She could handle a schoolyard fight, cut knees, even a broken hand.  But this...this was something so different, she had no idea if she had what it took to help Gina.  Scarlet O'Hara, she was definitely not.

Margaret looked up straight into Matthew Magnum's eyes.  Watchful, smiling, reassuring.  He winked at her in the rear view mirror, and she felt her face grow hot. 

"Gina, when was your last check-up?"

Matt's calm attitude had the right effect on Gina.  She gave a small smile and said, "I saw Dr. Reddy last Thursday.  He said everything looked fine."

"There, you see?" he said reassuringly.  "There's nothing to worry about."

Gina sat up suddenly.  "Oh, no!  I forgot all about picking up my suitcase and the baby's bag from the apartment."

"I'll pick them up once we have you settled in hospital."  He pulled up at the Emergency entrance and said.  "Wait here while I get someone to bring out a wheelchair.

"The water hasn't broken," Gina fretted aloud as they waited. 

What, Margaret wondered helplessly, happened if the water didn't break?

Matt took care of filling in the forms as Gina supplied the information, and then Gina was wheeled away with Margaret trotting anxiously beside her.  Matt decided to pick up Gina's things and return quickly.  He had a feeling both women would need him in the next few hours.

A nurse came forward, and Gina's grip on Margaret's hand tightened.  "Don't leave me."

"Of course not."  Margaret's heart sank, though her tone remained cheerful.  She had an idea Gina wanted her to stay with her.  To the finish.  Not outside in the waiting room either.  Right beside her.  Margaret felt her palms dampen, her mouth go dry.

Waiting outside while a doctor examined Gina, Margaret wondered where Matthew Magnum was.  She was sure it was the thrust of that determined chin, the glint of authority in the green eyes that had gotten them through the tedious admitting details so quickly. 

"You may go in now."

Margaret walked into the room.  Gina, draped in a hospital gown looked scared, but managed a shaky smile.  "Dr. Reddy said it's going to be about three hours before Junior makes his grand entrance."

"Well," said Margaret, borrowing some of the confidence she had heard in Matthew Magnum's voice earlier.  "That will give you a little time to give me a crash course in Lamaze.  I don't think they'll let me stay if they know how green I am at all this."

Gina's smile wavered, "Jack attended the classes with me.  We planned it so we would be together when Junior was born.  He was going to take two weeks off at the end of this month."

"It's a good thing you're so well prepared for this baby," Margaret forced her voice to remain cheerful, though her heart ached for the young woman in the bed.  Jack should have been here with Gina.  As a substitute, she was the worst kind.  Unprepared, inadequate, ignorant.

"We weren't prepared really, not at first.  You know Jack and I got married during our last year of school,” Gina’s voice came out slowly.  "I was already pregnant, and we were scared because we had no money, no jobs, nothing.  We hated living with my parents.  Jack wore out his shoes knocking on doors in Garrison, asking for work.  Someone mentioned looking for work in Inchwater, and I caught the bus there one day after Jack had left.  Luckily, Janet took me on right away as kitchen assistant.  I was too scared to tell her I was pregnant, but one can't really hide morning sickness.  I thought she'd fire me when she found out, but instead Janet switched me to the cash register, away from the smell of food being cooked and gave me a note for Jack to take to Bedouin Trucking.  Matt was in town for a brief visit, and he interviewed and hired him, even paid for him to attend truck driving school in Barstow.  It seemed like a miracle.  Suddenly, we had everything.  Money, a job, medical insurance.  I could have regular pre-natal checkups.  The best part was finding a place of our own in Inchwater."

"I'm glad it all turned out so well," Margaret said.

"Not all teenagers in our situation are so lucky," said Gina soberly.  "I went back to talk to the kids at Garrison High and shared Jack's and my story with them.  Wish someone had given us the facts, the way I gave it to them.  Love doesn't stand a chance, unless you have an education and the means to support yourself."

Gina looked up at Margaret and said, "Am I boring you?"

Margaret shook her head, "It's fascinating."  Talking was also better than waiting in silence for the next contraction. 

"I'm going to get my General Equivalency Diploma after the baby's here," said Gina, determination in her voice.  "Then I've decided to take a computer course.  My children aren't going to have a high school dropout for a mother."

Gina leaned forward as another contraction swept through her.  "Ooh."

Margaret rubbed Gina's back, feeling helpless, wishing she could do more.  Time them, the nurse had said, so she looked at her watch.  Two fifteen.

The next one came fifteen minutes later, and it was barely over when the nurse bustled in.

"How are you doing?" she asked cheerfully."

"Fifteen minutes apart," said Margaret weakly.

"Fine," said Gina in a bright, clear voice.

"Good."  Reaching for Gina's wrist to check her pulse, the nurse looked at Margaret, "The hunk that brought you in is outside and wants to see you."

"Matt," said Gina. 

Matt noticed how pale Margaret was right away.  Damp tendrils of hair clung to her neck, and her forehead glistened with the sheen of perspiration. 

"I've brought Gina's things."  He smiled as he handed her the bag and watched the color rise in her face.  "How is she?" 

"In a great deal of pain, and I have no idea what to do."  Margaret's voice tugged at him.  It held one part worry, two parts pathos.

"I can help."

"You?"  He was surprised by the anger in her eyes as Margaret looked at him.  "Don't tell me running a trucking empire gave you enough leisure to take a course in midwifery as well?"

"Nothing so interesting," Matt said calmly.  "I went to Lamaze classes with my sister Susan because her army husband was away on active duty."

Seeing the nurse come out, Margaret said, "I have to go back in."

"I've told her to rest for a while," said the nurse.  "Why don't you get something to eat, before you go back in there?  I'll watch her on the television monitor in the nurse's station."

Margaret glanced at the room uncertainly.  "I don't want to leave her."

"She'll be fine," said Matt.  "And after we eat, I'll come in with you."

"Both of you can be with her now, but later the doctor's going to allow only one of you in the delivery room," the nurse warned.

Margaret stiffened as she felt an arm go around her shoulders, the chuckle in Matthew Magnum's voice as he said, "I know how much you want to be in there Margaret.  Stop looking so worried.  We'll toss a coin for the privilege after we eat."

He seemed to know his way around because he steered her directly to the hospital cafeteria.  Margaret was beginning to have a suspicion the man knew his way around everything and everyone.

"The special is roast beef on rye," said Matt looking at the board on the wall.  "The alternatives are fish and chips, chicken cordon bleu, or turkey and all the trimmings."

Margaret hadn't eaten since the morning, but she wasn't hungry.  Picking up a carton of chocolate milk, she said, "This is all I want right now."

"You'll feel better if you eat something," Matthew Magnum said, looking at her with a frown.

"I'll eat later."  When it was all over.  When she knew for sure she wasn't going to make a fool of herself by throwing up, or fainting.

Picking up a glass, Margaret headed for the cash register.  The customer in front of her opened her bag to pay; reminding Margaret she had no purse with her, therefore no money.  Panicked, she turned to look at Matthew Magnum.  "I don't have any money."

"I have enough for both of us."

For both of us.  The way the phrase linked them together disturbed Margaret. 

"Ring it up together, please," she heard him say as she stared blankly ahead, trying to smother the emotions tumbling inside her. 

Spotting an empty table by the window, Margaret hurried over to it, trying to figure out the compelling need to get as much distance between her and Matthew Magnum as she could. 

"Hi Margaret!"

She looked up to see Joe Graines.  In his long lab technician's coat, he looked very different from the Joe who in high school had traded her repair work on Beelzebub, for doing his book reports for him.  She had meant to call and thank him for the ride from the airport but she’d forgotten to do so. "Joe!  How nice to see you. Won't you join us?"

It was the perfect solution.  Joe's easygoing ways would definitely defuse any tension, real or imaginary, between her and Matthew Magnum. 

A prickle at the back of her neck warned Margaret Matthew Magnum was close by.  "Mr. Magnum and I had to give one of the girls a ride into the hospital.  She's in labor."

"Hi Matt!"  Joe waited till Magnum placed his tray on the table, and then the two men shook hands.  "The person you brought in wouldn't happen to be Gina?"

Surprised, Margaret asked, "You know Gina?" 

"Gina and Jack rent the upstairs apartment from me, but I'm going to move there, and let them have the downstairs now the baby's here."  Joe stood up taking his soda with him.  "I think I'll run up and keep her company for a while, so don't hurry with your meal."

Margaret smiled, "Thanks, Joe."

"Anything for you, Margaret," he said good naturedly.  "See you around Matt."

"Known Joe long?"  Matthew Magnum asked as he reached for the salt.

"All my life," said Margaret.  "We went to school together."

"Any romance between you two?"

"I beg your pardon?"  She set her glass down with a small thud.

"You know the story line," he said patiently.  "High school sweethearts reunited.  Passion blazes."

"That's none of your business," Margaret snapped. 

"I just wondered what keeps Joe in Inchwater."

Margaret immediately jumped to Joe's defense.  "Joe's a wonderful person.  He's easy going.  When he’s not working here he’s always ready to fix everyone's cars, always ready to lend a helping hand.  Just because he's content to live in Inchwater, doesn't mean he's a failure."

Matthew Magnum reached across the table and laid a hand on hers.  Margaret snatched hers away.

"Margaret, stop fluffing your feathers as if I'm attacking one of your chicks.  I like Joe Graines."

"You do?"

"What makes you think I'd feel anyone who chose to live in Inchwater is a failure?  Success isn't making a million, or being approved of by the world.  Its self-approval and contentment.  Joe's at peace with the world because he has both these qualities.  Too many people have to pay a therapist to teach them how to handle life."

"Oh!"  Matthew Magnum's words took the wind out of Margaret's sails.  After a moment, a thought occurred to Margaret.  "Why are we having this conversation about Joe?"

Matt looked at her.  The urge to make her aware that she had a life of her own to live was stronger than ever.  It was time for part two of his plan.

"I just wanted to know I'm not stepping on anyone's toes."