Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [119]
“Say a prayer for me,” Sarah cried when the big steel doors slid open.
The attendant pushed her inside and then reversed her position so that she faced Calla.
“Mom…Mom…”
Another contraction struck and Sarah was left gasping by the force of the pain. They were worse now, worse than anything she remembered. She was hardly aware of the short journey to the labor room.
“Mrs. Urlacher,” Dr. Leggatt greeted her as soon as she was settled. “This is a surprise.”
“I don’t want to lose my baby,” she sobbed.
“Good,” the physician said. “I have no intention of losing either one of you.”
“My husband…”
“Phoned the hospital,” Dr. Leggatt told her. “Don’t worry. He’s on his way.”
Eighteen
Matt took Margaret’s suggestion that he visit Sheryl and the baby by himself as a sign of her love and trust.
“Are you sure?” he asked before he left the ranch. His arms were burdened with gifts, ones they’d purchased together for Hailey.
“Yes. For the first visit, at any rate.”
Still he hesitated.
“Matt,” she said, and laughed, easing him toward the door. “Hailey’s your daughter. I want you to have some time with her on your own.”
He understood and appreciated her reasons, but he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to do it this way. Today’s visit was going to be difficult enough. If Margaret accompanied him, they’d present a united front, proving to Sheryl once and for all that there was no chance of a continuing relationship. Instead, Margaret ushered him out the door to make his own peace with his former lover.
The drive into Devils Lake seemed to require double the amount of time it normally did. His hands tightened around the steering wheel, and Matt acknowledged how nervous he was. Not about any confrontation with Sheryl; she didn’t tempt him in the least. He wasn’t even worrying about her lawsuit; somehow or other, that would all be settled. In analyzing his feelings he realized his uneasiness had to do with his newborn daughter. This child was the result of his own carelessness—and Sheryl’s greed. Yet Hailey was blameless. During the pregnancy Matt had avoided thinking about the baby, avoided forming an emotional attachment. Deep down, all he’d wanted was the whole thing to go away. Not exactly a mature or realistic outlook.
From the day he’d heard about Hailey’s birth, he could no longer block her from his life. He was about to meet the daughter he’d fathered, the daughter he was prepared to love—already loved. The realization terrified him.
He parked outside Sheryl’s rental house and saw the drapes part as she peeked out the window. The front door was open long before he reached the porch steps.
“You’re right on time,” she said, holding the screen door for him.
Matt had to admit she looked good, despite having given birth only a week earlier. She’d evidently gone to a great deal of trouble with her appearance. Her hair and makeup were done to perfection. She wore tight slacks and a revealing halter top, her breasts almost spilling out.
She must have caught him looking, because she instantly commented. “Nothing fits right anymore.” Cupping the underside of the bra top, she shrugged her shoulders, then jiggled her breasts so they threatened to spill out entirely.
Embarrassed, Matt glanced away and set down the packages. “I brought Hailey a few gifts.”
“How sweet.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
Matt reacted as though she’d burned him.
Sheryl giggled. “No need to be afraid. I promise not to hurt you.”
An immediate argument came to him, but he squelched it. From the moment Sheryl realized he wasn’t going to divorce Margaret and marry her, she’d done everything she could to hurt him. She’d tried to destroy his marriage and his life. If she couldn’t get him back, she was going to make him pay.
“Where’s Hailey?” he asked.
“Asleep.”
“I’d like to see her.”
“Don’t worry, you will,” Sheryl said. She motioned for him to sit. “Make yourself comfortable and I’ll get you a drink.”
“I’m here to see my daughter,” he insisted, refusing to take a seat.
“Oh, Matt,” she said with an exaggerated sigh.