Barclay Read online

  "Ain't seen 'im." Oysters went to the stove. "He's inside somewheres, though."

  While the cook stirred beans in a kettle, Barclay yanked another big pot out from under the work bench and filled it with water. He put the pot on the back burner, slapped on a lid and lit the flame. The smell of biscuits baking came from the oven. Barclay's stomach rumbled. It was suppertime, but he had other fish to fry. With luck, he could sneak in a few minutes in the office before the baby came. Better yet, Jared and Chase could take care of the birth and leave him out of it.

  No. High Mountain Ranch was his obligation, just like everything else that happened here. His brothers owned equal shares to his, but being the eldest, the bulk of the responsibility fell to him. And he wanted it. While he might be tempted to run off and go fishing now and then, he stayed and saw to business.

  Outside, the sky darkened, thunder rumbled in the distance, and the shower had become a deluge.

  Jared entered the room. "Chase went up to check on the girl. I told him to leave her alone. He went anyway."

  "No surprise there." Chase was nothing if not consistently contrary. "Did he say where he'd been?"

  "Nope."

  A scream from upstairs sent both brothers running.

  "Good Lord," Barclay muttered, taking the steps two at a time. What had Chase done, scared her half to death?

  They found her writhing on the bed, pain turning her face into a grotesque mask. Chase stood flattened against the wall with terror darkening his sky-blue eyes to the color of ink. Barclay motioned for him to leave, and he darted out.

  Going to the girl, he tried to calm her. "Easy, there. You're all right. Doc will be here soon. We're only six miles from town."

  As if his words had healed her pain, she lay back, panting, eyes closed, lips parted. Barclay glanced at Jared, standing beside the open door.

  "I'll stay with her." Barclay pulled a chair over by the bed. "Go eat. And see if there's any sign of Doc arriving yet. Bring our lady here some water."

  "Would you like anything else, ma'am?" Jared asked her.

  She shook her head. "I'd likely just puke it up."

  Barclay grimaced at that picture, and Jared seized on this chance to escape. Alone, Barclay watched her and wondered about her story. "Please tell me your name. Someone—husband, parents—will be worried about you. We should let them know where you are."

  She jackknifed to a seated position but not due to pain this time. "No, don't tell anybody I'm here. Please. Don't let them find me."

  She was working herself up to hysteria. He held up his hands. "I won't, I promise. I'll keep you and your baby safe, but I still wish you'd tell me who you are."

  "I can't." She lay back down, and his pulse slowed to normal.

  He didn't want her getting too excited. It might cause her to give birth sooner. Delivering calves and foals was one thing, this another. He knew little about babies and even less about birthing one, except that it was agonizing for the mother. He remembered that from when Jared and Chase came into the world. Even at the age of three, he'd known his new sibling caused the fuss. When he'd heard the girl upstairs yelling, he'd thought for sure they'd find the mother with a babe in arms. Being wrong proved disappointing. He would have preferred to have the ordeal over with.

  Between her pains, his thoughts drifted to the work piling up in his office. They had a payment due at the bank in six weeks and didn't have the money. His brothers didn't know that yet. To improve their stock Barclay had taken a loan on the ranch when he took over. He'd bought a black stud horse and a young bull. If he lost the ranch, Jared and Chase might murder him, and his mother would help.

  Half an hour later, the contractions came faster. Barclay knew Chase had returned to peek in from the hallway. He must be curious, childbirth being new to him.

  At a gasp from the bed, Barclay leaped up and Chase stepped inside. The girl curled her fingers so tightly over the headboard they turned white. Sweat formed on her brow. When a bead rolled down her cheek, Chase surprised him by moving to gently wipe her face with the edge of the blanket. He whispered to her until she lay quiet again.

  Her labor proceeded that way for three hours, the contractions coming at regular intervals. By then, sweat ran down Barclay's face, watching her suffer. Her pains came closer and closer until, now, no more than five minutes separated them. Chase did a good job keeping her calm while Barclay paced the hallway, a nervous wreck.

  Where were Slim and Doc Willoughby? Caught in the storm? Wind howled in the eaves while branches from the cottonwood tree clawed at the windows. What if the storm flooded the creek, preventing Doc from getting here?

  Barclay went back into the room. The girl kept her eyes closed, but he figured she had to be awake. No one could sleep through what she was experiencing. She simply didn't want to talk, except to Chase.

  After the next cramp ended, she looked at the boy, panting a little. "My clothes."

  Chase scratched his neck. "What about them? I know your skirt's wet. Reckon it must be uncomfortable."

  Barclay cursed himself for not being more considerate.

  "Need it off," she said. "Go away. Both of you."

  "She's embarrassed," Chase said. "Let's go."

  Guilt immediately stabbed Barclay. Of course, she needed privacy. "Can you handle it by yourself, ma'am?"

  "I'll manage."

  "All right." Gratefully, he followed Chase into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Thank goodness he didn't have to undress her. He was a man, she a girl. The entire situation boggled his mind. Never in the three years since his father died and his mother moved to town had he wished more fervently for her presence.

  After several minutes of leaning against the wall and watching his little brother grow antsy, Barclay knocked on the door. "Everything okay?"

  Hearing only a groan, he peeked in. She had managed to get rid of the quilt and remove her skirt before her latest contraction gripped her. Underneath her bodice, she wore a shabby shift which no amount of soap would ever get white again. The thin fabric stretched snuggly over an ample bosom and oversized belly.

  "How can I help you?" Chase asked, raising his voice to be heard above the thunder outside.

  "Get out," she gasped.

  The girl— Barclay spun to face her. "Look, I'm tired of not knowing what to call you. We’re only trying to help you, you know. What’s your name?"

  She glared as if hurt by the question.

  "He's worried about you. We all are," Chase said. "We're your friends. Can't you tell that?"

  "Call me Minnie," she spat out as if the words tasted vile.

  "All right, Minnie.” Chase patted her hand. “How old are you?"

  She paused as if deciding whether to answer. "Fifteen."

  Barclay wanted to rant and tear at his hair. He knew girls married at fifteen, but this one must have been fourteen when she became pregnant. Too young, in his mind. "All right, Minnie. Tell us what to do."

  "Just leave me alone. I don't want any men near me."

  "I'd be glad to leave, but you're about to have a baby. Your first, I'm sure. You need someone with you, and we don't have any women on the ranch. Nor do we have any idea when Doc will show up. I suspect the storm is slowing him down."

  "I don't care. Go away. I'll manage."

  "I'm worried about you, Minnie," Chase said. "Can I stay?"

  She didn't answer. Barclay backed out of the room and waited for Chase to follow. In the next instant, a shriek hurt his ears. He glanced inside. She had her legs up and her face scrunched with the effort to push the child out. Barclay felt helpless. Worse, stupid.

  Jared pounded up the stairs, coming to a halt in front of his older brother. "I heard her scream. What's happening?"

  "Chase is the only one she'll allow near her." Barclay twiddled with the pencil he kept behind his ear. Jared once accused him of sleeping with a pencil there. "I think the baby will be here any minute."

  "Gert's grief!" Jared spat. "I was hoping t
hat wouldn't happen. Not before Doc arrived. How are we supposed to deal with this? Neither of us has any idea what to do. Did you get her on clean, dry sheets?"

  "They were dry when I put her there. Chase had drawn down the bedding, though I'm not sure how long they stayed dried, since her skirt was soaked."

  "They aren't dry anymore then. We need to get her on clean sheets while Chase is here to help us." Jared pushed on the door and went in. Averting his gaze from the girl, he opened the trunk at the foot of the bed. "Ma kept sheets and extra quilts in here."

  "All right." Barclay followed, taking a sheet from him. "Minnie, we're going to change that wet sheet under you. I'll lift you up, and Jared will switch them quick as he can."

  He looked at Jared. "Maybe we should put a raincoat underneath too. It would keep the mattress dry through the birth."

  "There's a piece of gutta percha on the rear porch," Chase said. "Want me to get it?"

  At once, Minnie grabbed Chase's hand as if she couldn't bear for him to leave.

  "I'll do it," Jared volunteered and ran down the stairs.

  When he returned, he set the gutta percha tarp aside and moved next to the bed. "I'm ready."

  "I don't like this." Minnie wore only her shift now, the wet muslin molded to her curves. "So what if I'm wet? I’ve been in worse situations."

  Chase bent closer. "It’s okay, Minnie. I know you’re scared, but we're trying to help you. If you take a chill, you could die and the baby with you."

  She gave a half-shrug, looking a little ashamed. “Ok. Please don't leave me." Her belligerence and defensiveness vanished, leaving tears glistening on her eyelashes as she gazed up at Chase.

  Barclay took hold of Jared's arm and hauled him into the hallway. Even though the idea of his little brother delivering a baby made his stomach queasy, if that's what she wanted, he wouldn't argue with her. He wanted the whole thing over with, and without making the experience even worse for her.

  Chapter Two

  L eaning against the wall, Barclay blew out a breath. "We need to keep her calm, or the situation could get worse."

  Jared nodded, looking equally chagrinned, frustrated and uneasy. “Maybe if we give her some time. Leave her alone for maybe ten minutes or so.”

  “Good idea. It will give me time to calm down too. This girl is so damned pathetic, it’s tearing me apart.”

  “You’re too softhearted, Barclay. She can see it and it makes her more upset. I know we’re always getting on you to express yourself more, but this time, try to hide your feelings.”

  Barclay nodded and they stayed silent the remainder of their ten minutes. "All right. Let's try this one more time." He went into the room, followed by Jared.

  Minnie had her eyes shut, one hand grasping the headboard, the other Chase's hand while a contraction racked her small body. When it ended and she opened her eyes, she whined, "Why can't you leave me be?" Tears glistened in her eyes.

  "We’ll be as gentle and quick as we can be, Minnie," Barclay said. "But we need to do this. You're lying on a wet sheet and when the baby comes, a lot of fluid will come with it. We need to protect the mattress. They don't come cheap around here."

  "Please, Minnie," Chase said, "let them change the sheet and get some padding under you. All right?"

  She closed her eyes, opening them after a moment. "Do you have to lift me up? Can't you put on the bottom sheet while I scrunch up here? Then I can move down there and they can finish with the top?"

  Barclay sighed. What she asked would be a lot of trouble and take longer. What had happened to her before she showed up here that she would do almost anything to avoid being touched? Even after all their efforts to assure her she was safe, she cowered against the headboard. "All right. Sure, we can try that."

  "Please, hurry,"

  Barclay started to toss the tarp to Chase, then stopped. Any quick moves might spook her. He handed it over instead. "Once the sheet is off, lay this on the mattress. I'll add a couple of quilts."

  They lifted the wet sheet and Chase threw down the gutta percha. After Barclay laid out the quilts, Jared flung a fresh sheet into place. The brothers worked together to get everything done as swiftly as possible.

  "All right, Minnie, you can move to the foot now," Barclay told her, moderating his voice to keep her calm.

  She crawled to the footboard. When she got into position, the boys smoothed the sheet at the head of the bed and folded it under the mattress. Minnie hardly had time to relax and settled down before a new cramp claimed her.

  Thunderation. How did women get through this ordeal? Barclay would never be able to see an expectant mother again without pitying her. He couldn't imagine why every woman on the planet allowed men near them knowing what the result might be.

  Chase wiped perspiration from her forehead. With the dirt wiped off her face, she appeared rather pretty and more her real age. "Minnie, where are your parents? Don't you want your mother here?"

  She gave her head a fierce shaking and let out a long groan. He wanted to tell her to put her legs down and stop pushing away the top sheet. It wasn't right for him and his brothers to see her so intimately. Of course, that would be impractical. She couldn't deliver a baby with her legs pressed together. "The baby will be here any minute. You realize we're going to have to help you, don't you? Cut the cord, things like that?"

  "Talk to her gently," Chase chided. "I'll stay and keep her calm."

  To Barclay's further surprise, she nodded, peering up at Chase in a way that stunned Barclay, like some sort of bond had developed between them. Maybe because Chase was closer to her age?

  "All right," he said. "I've delivered about a hundred calves, Minnie, and it isn't much different from babies. Don't be afraid."

  She studied Chase as if she trusted him to let her know what was true and what wasn't.

  "We won't let anything happen to you," Chase told her.

  Barclay turned away, rubbing at his eyes. Lord have mercy. What was it with this girl? What had happened to her to make her so afraid of men? He cleared his throat. "According to my watch, the contractions are five minutes apart. I don't know when you went into labor. Before you arrived here. That was about six o'clock. Three hours have passed since then. I'd say you're going to deliver soon."

  "Thank goodness," she muttered and jackknifed with another pain.

  Jared stepped inside and motioned for Barclay to follow him out into the hall. Chase stayed put, holding Minnie's hand.

  "She didn't bring a thing with her," Jared said when they were out of earshot. "We have no clothes to put on that baby. No diaper. What do we do about that? This isn't a calf or a foal we're delivering here. It's more…serious."

  That was certain.

  He thought for a moment before taking several small towels from the linen chest. "We can use these for diapers and tie them on with cord and a slipknot. They're clean and about the right size. The baby will be swaddled in a blanket, so it won't need any other clothes for a while. With luck, she'll be gone before we reach that point."

  "Have you ever seen a new baby?" Jared asked. "How do you know what size it will be?"

  Glowering, Barclay spat back at him, "You want to take care of this? I'm guessing it will be a good deal smaller than a foal."

  "No. You're doing fine."

  Chase's voice came from the bedroom, speaking softly. The men glanced at each other, then stepped inside. Minnie lay quietly for a change, listening to him whisper. He pulled something from a pocket and gave it to her, a small polished-looking yellow stone. A rare Montana sapphire, if Barclay guessed right.

  "It's a worry stone," Chase told her. "See how smooth it is? That's because I rub it when I'm nervous. Go ahead, try it. It will soothe you."

  "Of all the dang ideas," Jared muttered and started toward Chase. Barclay held him back, watching Minnie and the expression on her face. She trusted Chase, felt safe with him. Barclay had no idea why but considered it a good thing.

  Minnie continued to caress th
e rock, eyes closed.

  "Looks to me like it's working," Barclay told Jared.

  "How could a dang rock—?"

  Chase broke into song, a tender melody. The boy had a good voice. Their ma used to say he sang like an angel. Barclay had no idea where he'd gotten that talent. None of the rest of them could get the notes right if they tried.

  "Where do you think she came from?" Jared asked. "I can't figure how she came to be on our road. That horse of hers has a Diamond H brand on its rump. We might be sheltering a thief."

  Normally, it was Barclay who had trouble trusting people. Should he listen to Jared?

  Outside, thunder rumbled, and raindrops drummed on the window. Lightning shot crookedly across the sky. It was one heck of a night, and no wonder Doc hadn't arrived yet. Barclay hoped he and Slim were all right. "The Diamond H is over by Pony. That's fifty miles away. I can't believe she came that far in her condition."

  "Maybe we ought to notify the marshal. That horse could be stolen."

  "The baby's coming," Minnie cried. "I gotta push."

  The men rushed into the room and, sure enough, the baby was coming. Gulping, Barclay glanced at Jared who simply shrugged. Barclay rubbed his eyes. It had grown late. As exhausted as he was, he couldn’t imagine how the girl kept going. Now, the birth seemed eminent. A sense of panic taunted him, the way it often did before one of his mares gave birth. Or some other important event he anticipated.

  Like he did on those occasions, he straightened his shoulders and reminded himself that a Givens never shirked his duty or refused a soul in need.

  Chase kept singing. He kept Minnie calm even during cramps.

  Jared stalked around the room scratching his head and muttering. If the man ever married, Barclay figured Jared best forego having children. Barclay wasn't sure his brother would survive this one, and it would certainly be much worse with a wife of his own.

  When it came right down to it, Barclay wasn't exactly sailing through this whole experience unscathed. The faces of dead calves he hadn't been able to save, and the foal he fell in love with the moment Mama had the afterbirth cleaned off him haunted him. The foal never even got enough strength to stand up. He died within half an hour of his birth.