Desiring the Enemy (13 page)

     Jenna figured it would be best to let him say what he had to say and leave.

     He heard as she unlocked the door then opened it to let him in.

     “Please be quick, I have things to do,” she said as she walked into the living room.

     Wade began to speak but stopped when he saw her bend over and grab onto a chair.

     “What’s wrong?” he said, alarmed at her pallor.

     “Nothing, now say what you have to say and leave.” She tried to sound strong but this last contraction had taken her by surprise, it had been stronger than any of the others. She figured that the stress of seeing Wade again was pushing things along more quickly. 

     He watched as she again bent forward in pain.

     “You need to get to a hospital.”

     “I need to call Corbin, I want him to take me to the hospital.”

     She didn’t see the look of pain in Wade’s eyes.

     “What’s his number, I’ll call him,” he said.

     “That’s okay, I’ll call him. Now please Wade, you need to go,” she said as her face again contorted in pain.

     “I’m not leaving until he gets here. You can’t stay alone in this condition.”

     Jenna decided not to argue. She picked up her cell phone and went into her bedroom. She first called Carol, since she was her coach, and then called Corbin and explained the situation.

     Within minutes they were both there. Wade saw that the woman was the waitress from the diner and caught the look of recognition in her eyes, but she said nothing and neither did he. He watched as they put her in a car.

     “Carol, please get my bag, it’s under the bed.”

     Carol rushed in and took the bag out. She locked the door and ran to the car. No one gave Wade a second look. He stood there and watched helplessly as they drove away.

     He began to turn around and head to his truck when a plump lady came up to the door looking for Jenna.

     “They just left for the hospital,” Wade said to the lady.

     He saw as the woman raised her fist into the air.

     “Finally, I thought that baby would never come,” she said laughing.

     Wade felt as if he had been punched in the gut.

    
“What do you mean, isn’t she early?”

     “Early? Hah! That baby’s almost two weeks late.”

     Realization hit Wade like a ton of bricks. She had lied to him, this was his baby!

     “Can you tell me where the hospital is located?” he asked nervously.

     The woman finally stopped and looked him over suspiciously. “Who are ya? I’ve never seen ya ‘round these parts before.”

     “I’m a friend of Jenna’s, and I need to get to the hospital right away,” he said.

     “Listen, I don’t want ya starting any problems for Jenna,” Midge said, regretting ever speaking to the stranger.

     “Believe me, the last thing I want is to create any problems for her. I just have to see her, that’s all.”

     “Well, I’m not gonna be the one to direct ya there,” Midge’s protective instinct took over. Jenna had become like a daughter to her and the last thing she wanted was to see her get hurt again. In her excitement Midge had said too much, but this man would get nothing more out of her.

     “Okay, you don’t have to help me. I’ll find out some other way.”

     Midge saw him walk away and immediately called Carol, but the call went directly to voicemail.

     “Hi Carol. I just wanted to let ya know that some man was here and said he was going to the hospital to talk to Jenna. Please warn her for me. Thanks.” She ended the call, hoping that Carol would receive the message before the man got there.

     Wade drove to the local gas station and went into the small convenience store located towards the rear of the lot.

     “I’m sorry to bother you,” he said to the tall lanky man sitting behind the counter.

     The man put down the newspaper he had been reading and looked at Wade.

     “How can I help you, son?”

     “I’m looking to get to the hospital. Can you give me directions?”

     “Sure thing. Take this road to the end, then make a right. Just follow the hospital signs from there.”

     “Thank you much,” Wade said as he rushed out the door.

     He sped down the road hoping that there were no police around to stop him. Everything was a blur, Wade’s only focus was reaching Jenna. When he finally got to the hospital he hastily parked the truck and ran into the emergency room waiting area.

     “I need to see a patient who was just brought in,” he said to the young nurse in the reception area.

     “What’s her name,” she asked.

     “It’s Jenna Delaney, she’s in labor.”

     “Oh, you have to go through those doors. Make a left and go to labor and delivery, someone will help you there. Are you the daddy to be?” she asked sweetly.

     “Yes I am,” Wade answered, an overwhelming flow of emotions suddenly hitting him. He was going to be a father. He and Jenna were having a baby. Tears sprang to his eyes as the reality of the situation set in.

     He followed the nurse’s directions and stopped when he saw Jenna being wheeled in. The nurse left her to help prepare her room.

     “I’ll be done in a jiffy, sweetheart,” the nurse said.

     “Okay,” Jenna said as she looked up. 

     Wade saw the look of sheer panic in her eyes as she caught sight of him.

     “I told you to go away, Wade. Please leave me alone.”

     He slowly walked to her and knelt beside her. “Jenna, I know this is my baby,” he said softly.

     Jenna looked at him wide-eyed and started to protest, but he stopped her before she could continue.

     “A lady stopped by your house right after you left, she said the baby’s late. This is my baby.”

     Jenna lowered her head and began to cry. He hated being the one to bring her to tears at a time like this.

     “Wade, you made perfectly clear how you feel about me. Please leave me alone to raise my child in peace. I can’t subject it to your scorn and hatred of me, please don’t make me do that.”

     Wade started to explain what had happened that awful day when he saw her tense up in pain. Just then Carol and Corbin walked in.

     “Hey hon, we got you signed in.”

     “She’s in pain, I’ll go get a nurse,” Wade said as they eyed him suspiciously.

***

     When Jenna had left Wade back at the house she felt reassured that he would not follow her. Knowing that she was carrying another man’s child should have been enough to send him away for good, so why had he come back? When he told her that he knew he was the baby’s father Jenna felt as if her world were collapsing. What would he do now? Would he try to take the baby from her? She didn’t think Stanley and Rose would allow him to do something like that, but he did have the resources to fight her.

     “What’s he doing here?” Carol asked worriedly.

     “He figured out that he’s the father,” Jenna said dejectedly.

     “How did he do that? You told him you were only seven months pregnant.” Carol said in disbelief.

     “Someone told him that I was actually late.”

     “What does he want to do now?” Corbin asked.

     “I don’t know, but I don’t want to anger him. Maybe we can come up with an amicable solution.” Jenna was trying to remain hopeful. If he wanted to be in the baby’s life they could come up with visitation. It wasn’t what Jenna had envisioned, but if he proved he was the father she would have to give in. The last thing she wanted was a legal fight, but if he thought that he could come in and take her baby away he didn’t know Jenna. She would fight tooth and nail for her child. She felt another contraction coming and braced herself. The nurse rushed over and wheeled her into the labor room just as Wade was returning from the nurses’ station.

     “I’m going in with you,” He wanted to be there when his child came into the world and no one was going to stop him.

     “I’m her coach,” Carol protested.

     Jenna looked at Wade and knew that it would be futile to argue.

     “You can both come in,” she said, looking at Carol.

     Once they settled Jenna in her bed Wade went over to talk to the head nurse.

     “She’s in a lot of pain, can’t you give her anything?” He had seen her grab onto the bed rail, white knuckled and in excruciating pain, and wanted nothing more than to ease her misery.

     “She’s too far along, the baby will be here soon. The doctor’s on his way and in the meantime we’ll try to make her as comfortable as possible,” she said, looking at Wade with understanding eyes.

     Wade went back into the room and took Jenna’s hand in his.

     “Hey sweetheart. The nurse said the doctor’s on his way,” he said, wishing he could magically take the pain away.

     Jenna didn’t know what to make of him. He was treating her with such tenderness, yet when she had
last seen him back at the ranch he had been anything but.  She was trying to make sense of it
when another contraction took hold, obliterating any other thought but that of her body wracked with pain.

     The nurse checked her vitals and Wade watched as she rushed out to find the doctor.

     A couple of minutes later the doctor came into the room.

     “Sorry I’m late. So I see he or she finally decided to make an appearance,” he joked to an unamused Jenna.

     “She’s in a lot of pain doc,” Wade nervously said.

     The doctor checked the monitor and frowned. He called the nurse to the side and Wade saw the concern on her face. He tried to be nonchalant as he walked over to the doctor, the last thing he wanted to do was worry Jenna.

     “What going on doctor?” he whispered.

     “Her blood pressure is dangerously high, and the baby is in some distress. We won’t be able to wait for her to deliver normally, we’ll need to perform a C-section immediately.”

     “Are their lives in danger?” Wade asked, the pallor on his face betraying his emotions.

     “If we don’t act quickly they will be. I’m going to contact the anesthesiologist and we’ll get her to the O.R. as soon as possible.”

     “Doc, please don’t let anything happen to them.” He had finally found her, he couldn’t lose her again.

     “We’ll do everything we can. The important thing is to get the baby out, once that’s done everything should go back to normal.”

      The doctor walked over to Jenna. He explained what was happening as Jenna’s eyes widened in fear.

     “Please doctor, save my baby.” 

     Wade’s heart constricted as he heard her plead for the life of their child.

     “Let’s get you ready, the sooner you deliver the better.”

     Wade
stood beside Jenna, holding her hand as the doctor explained the procedure. When the doctor
walked away he kissed her hand.

     “Everything will be okay honey, you’re in good hands.” He tried to be reassuring, but he was scared to death.

     Jenna began to speak but a contraction forced her to scream instead. 

     “Oh my God, the baby’s coming!”

     The nurse ran out to get the doctor as Wade tried to soothe her.

     The doctor went back in the room and examined her. “You’re ten centimeters dilated, and the baby’s crowning. You’re delivering right now.”

     When the doctor positioned himself before Jenna and asked her to push she had Carol holding one hand and Wade holding the other, encouraging her to be strong. It didn’t take much pushing and at last, after one final push, the doctor pulled the baby out. Jenna, Wade and Carol waited to hear the baby’s first cry, but none was heard.

     “What’s wrong, why isn’t it crying?” Jenna cried out.

     Finally they heard the most wonderful wail as their baby took its first breath.  

     “It’s a boy, and he has some set of lungs,” the doctor said as their son cried in protest.

     “Thank you God,” Jenna cried, looking up to the heavens.

     The doctor handed Jenna the baby and Wade saw through his own tears as his beloved took their son in her arms and cried tears of happiness.

     Jenna tenderly nestled her son close to her heart, at that moment she had eyes only for the beautiful child that she had been blessed with. She would think about the circumstances surrounding his entry into the world later. The nurse walked over to her and gently took the baby from her arms.

   “I’m sorry dear, but we need to take his measurements and clean him up.”

     Jenna reluctantly let him go. She finally looked at Wade, who had been quietly watching mother and child bond.

     “He’s beautiful,” he finally said, as tears sprang to his eyes again.

     “I know,” Jenna said, softly so
bbing. The emotions finally took over and she let the tears flow. She
was so thankful that he was alright, and at that moment that was enough, but soon the reality of her situation overwhelmed her. What would she do now? What kind of future awaited her and her child? At least when she thought Wade would have no place in their lives she felt like she could give him a stable life full of love, she would be mother and father to him. But now that Wade was back in the picture she had no idea what to expect, and she was terrified.

     “Please don’t cry baby,” Wade said as he cradled her in his arms. He wanted to say more but just then the doctor came over and asked him to leave the room while he examined Jenna.    

     “I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he said as he left the room.

***

     Carol was outside the room when he walked out.

     “I don’t know what your story is, or why you’re here, but Jenna has become very important to us, and we won’t see her get hurt
, again
,” she said pointedly.

     “I don’t want to hurt her, I love her.” Wade didn’t know why but it was important to him that she understand this.

     “That’s not what I heard from Jenna, and I have no reason to doubt her word.”

     “I was awful to her, you’re right, but it was due to a terrible misunderstanding. As soon as I can talk to her in private I’m going to explain everything, and hopefully she’ll forgive me,” Wade said, a pained expression etching his face.

     Carol looked at him, and in spite of her misgivings decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. The man she had seen at the diner was a broken man, there was no doubt about that. Maybe he had come to make amends.

     They paced for a while as they waited for the doctor to give them the okay to go back in. When he finally came out they went in just as a bassinet was being wheeled in.

     “Oh Jenna, he’s perfect. Look at those blue eyes,” Carol said. She looked at Wade and realized they were his eyes.

     “Thank you. I can’t believe he’s finally here,” Jenna said, looking adoringly at the little bundle before her.

     “Have you decided on a name?”

     “Not yet, I have to get to know him a bit. This name will be with him for the rest of his life, it has to fit,” Jenna said, looking lovingly at her baby boy.

     “You’re right about that.” Carol looked at the clock hanging over the door, “Listen sweetheart, I’m sorry I have to leave, but I have to go back to work. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, okay?” Carol said apologetically.

     “Of course. Thank you so much for being here for me, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

     Wade cringed at the thought of Jenna going through her entire pregnancy alone, without loved ones around her. He was glad that she had found friends to help her.

     Carol walked out the door and Wade saw his opportunity to talk Jenna. Just as he was about to explain what had happened the lady he had seen at the house came into the room.

     “Hi honey, didn’t I tell ya it was a boy?” Midge said proudly.

     “Hi Midge. You guessed right,” Jenna said, smiling.

     Midge walked over to the bassinet and oohed and aahed when she saw the baby lying there so peacefully.

     “What a sweet baby, congratulations sweetie.”

     “Thank you. I can’t believe I’m a mom,” she said, before remembering that Wade was in the room. What did he think of the fact that he was a father? Jenna was sure that this was the last thing he had expected when he set out to find her. Why, she wondered, had he wanted to find her? What did he want?

     Midge looked at Wade, then looked back at Jenna.