Unbroken Promises (34 page)

Beth stopped laughing while she talked with Cody. And now that she had time to notice Jordon, she found he hadn’t even cracked a smile. In fact, he looked furious. “Sue, is daddy serious?” Beth whispered with concern in Susan’s ear.

Susan started laughing again and all she could do was to bob her head “yes” with tears running down her cheeks.

“Uh oh…Don’t stop running, baby! Your brother’s gonna’ kill you!” Beth hollered from the porch.

Jesse stopped near the end of the drive and looked back at them with a mischievous grin on his face.

It was several hours later and dark outside before Jordon finally said Beth could go get Jesse.

Jesse was very sheepish looking when he walked to the dinner table. Jordon was still mad but at least the killer urge had subsided.

It was later that night that Susan went into labor.

“Calm down, Jordon. For goodness sake, women have babies everyday. Just put the suitcase in the car and come back and help me downstairs,” Susan scolded.

Jordon took off in high-speed across the slick hardwood floors in his socks, slipping and sliding the whole way. When he got to the back, he threw open the back door that led to the breezeway and shouted, “Jesse! Jesse!” Then he ran and skidded back down the hall and up the stairs to Susan.

Jesse woke up from a deep sleep and bounded out of bed wearing nothing but his boxers. His broke out in a dead run, his bare feet slapping across the floor, “What’s the matter! What’s the matter?” he thundered, his heart feeling as if it were about to jump ship.

“Here, take this!” Jordon said as he threw him the suitcase. “Put it in Susan’s car and bring her car around to the front of the house.”

Jesse didn’t slow down as he ran to the garage. He spun out trying to get the car out, leaving behind a rolling smoke of burnt rubber. When he ran back in, Beth handed him his clothes.

Beth was moving a little slower but she was going as fast as she could. “Sue! Are you okay?” Beth called up the stairs.

“Yes, baby,” Susan said as she held onto the rail. Susan had to pause because a contraction started and it was harder than the others had been. “Uhhhh, they are starting to get harder.” After it subsided, she went on, “Beth, why don’t you call Mom and Dad Bately? They have a phone set up in their travel trailer. And call Cody and tell them all they can meet us at the hospital.”

Beth, a little shaky, hurried to do as she was told because she was planning on riding with Susan and Jordon to the hospital. If she couldn’t get everyone the first try, she would just call from the hospital, but she was going to be in that car when it drove out.

Jordon slowly helped Susan downstairs. Jesse had the car running. Jordon helped Susan in and then he went around and got in the backseat with her. Beth ran outside and climbed in the front seat with Jesse.

The nurse checked Susan in E.R. when she got to the hospital. Then they rushed her toward the brightly lit labor and delivery room on a squeaking gurney.

“What’s going on?” Jordon asked in fear as he walked beside the moving bed grabbing for his wife’s hand.

“Sir, your wife is going to have a baby, or babies rather. Are you coming in?”

“I know my wife is going to have a baby! But why are y’all rushing her into labor and delivery? We just got here. Doesn’t this take a long time?”

“Sir, your wife must have been in labor for some time before she let you know. This happens often because women don’t believe it’s the real thing. Your wife is dilated to eight already. The babies will be here soon. Are you coming or not?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

An hour later Jordon walked out in a green ill-fitting hospital gown with a baby in each arm.

He walked to the window with a huge grin on his face and proudly showed his family, kissing the top of each head as he pivoted each a little closer. The babies were identical twin boys.

They had black hair and blue eyes. They truthfully looked more like Beth than either Jordon or Susan.

Beth was crying and she looked up at Jesse and found he was crying also. She hugged him and he enfolded her in his arms.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Beth said.

“Yes, they most certainly are because they look just like their handsome uncle.”

“They most certainly do not. They look like me.”

Jesse tweaked her nose. “They do, do they?” “Well, ours is going to be green eyed and sandy headed like me then,” Jesse said, not arguing because the twins did favor her.

“Maybe, maybe not. She might look like me, too,” Beth said while watching for Jesse’s reaction.

“She?” Jesse asked surprised then he hugged Beth again and laughed. “A little girl, huh?”

“Yes, are you happy?”

“Yes, I’m happy. I’ve never been happier. I have the wife I love more that life itself, two fine healthy nephews and a daughter on the way. How can life get any better?”

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: I hope you enjoyed Unbroken Promises. Please leave a review and let me know what you think about it.

If you would like to read Cody’s story—a continuation of Unbroken Promises—email me at [email protected] and I will email it to you free of charge.

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SPOILER ALERT:

Cody’s story is a continuation of Unbroken Promises. When I placed Unbroken Promises for review, a few reviewers thought that Cody’s part was too much. However, I couldn’t find it in me to change it so I removed it instead.

Dianne Stevens

Biography: Dianne is married and has three children. She found her love for reading when she was confined to bed during her last pregnancy. Up until that time, she had only read educational books. As she was bored in her confinement, a friend handed her a romance novel and told her to read it. Dianne was hooked after the first book. She never realized the joy that could be found in reading. The passion she had for reading, has now, revolved to writing.

Personal Anecdotes: Unbroken Promises was written during a very rough time in my life. I feel I used my writing as a way to temporarily escape. I still love my hero. I hope someone else will also enjoy a temporary escape while reading Unbroken Promises.