Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [117]
The pains woke her an hour later. Now there was no disguising it: she was in labor. The low back pain worked its way around her abdomen with growing intensity. Checking her watch, she realized the contractions were coming regular as clockwork, every five minutes.
Not wanting to alarm her husband, the first person she phoned was Dr. Leggatt. Unfortunately he was out of the office, but she was able to talk to his nurse, Mrs. Berghoff.
“I’m in labor,” Sarah cried, doing her best to control the blinding sense of panic. “It’s too soon…I’m afraid I’m going to lose my baby.”
“Relax,” the woman told her calmly. “I’m sure everything’s going to be all right.”
“You don’t know that,” Sarah cried, clinging to the telephone receiver until her fingers went numb.
“You’re right, I don’t, but I do know that panicking isn’t good for you or for the baby. Is anyone with you?”
“No—my husband’s gone for the day.” Leave it to this baby to choose a day Dennis was delivering fuel.
“Is there anyone who can drive you to the hospital?”
“Yes…of course.”
“Good, then leave your husband a message and get started.”
“Without Dennis? But…I want him with me.”
“Mrs. Urlacher, for your sake and the sake of your child, don’t delay any longer. I’ll alert the hospital and they’ll be waiting for you. This hasn’t been an easy pregnancy. Let’s not do anything to jeopardize it now.”
“All right, all right,” Sarah agreed, fighting back the fear and hysteria. “I’ll come right away.”
Dennis was out of reach, but she did take time to contact two families along his route, asking them to let him know she’d left for the hospital. With her husband unavailable, the first people Sarah thought to contact were her brother and Maddy, but they were an hour from town. She couldn’t wait. Her second choice was her father. Her hand shook as she punched out the phone number.
Only it wasn’t her father who answered, but Calla.
“Where’s Dad?” she demanded.
“Hello to you, too, Mother,” Calla said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I need your grandfather,” Sarah cried, unwilling to engage in pettiness. There’d been too much of that between her and Calla in the past few weeks.
Something in Sarah’s tone must have alerted her daughter. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m in labor. I need your grandfather to drive me to the hospital in Grand Forks.” Sarah’s voice trembled with urgency. A labor pain came over her, worse than the others, and she moaned softly.
“All right, all right, don’t panic,” Calla cried, sounding close to it herself. “I’ll get Gramps and send him right over.”
“Calla, please…”
“Mom, don’t worry, I’ve got everything under control.”
Sarah desperately wanted to believe that, but her fears had intensified, as well as her pains.
Within minutes, the old battered pickup that belonged to her father pulled up in front of the house. Reaching for her overnight bag, Sarah started out the door, but it wasn’t her father who rushed to meet her. Instead of Joshua McKenna, there stood Calla.
“Where’s my dad?” Sarah asked.
“Playing poker in Devils Lake. You ready, or are we going to stand here and argue all afternoon?”
Sarah hesitated, then nodded. Calla had a driver’s license, had been driving for years. Despite their differences, she knew her daughter would get her where she needed to go.
Taking Sarah’s elbow, Calla carefully helped her inside the truck, then raced around the front and climbed into the driver’s seat. “Hold on,” she instructed as she revved the engine and shifted into gear.
Sarah clicked the seat belt into place and closed her eyes as another labor pain seized her. An involuntary moan slipped through her lips.
“You’re in pain?”
Sarah nodded. “It’s too soon—oh, Calla, it isn’t good for the baby to come this early.”
“You’re not going to lose my sister,” her daughter muttered. “Not if I have anything