someone he assumed was a doctor.
“Hey, Doc! I’ve got a woman in labor here—” he hoisted Donna a few inches higher to dramatize the situation “—and we need some help for her now, not later.”
“Dr. Keifer, I tried to explain to this man—” Nurse Rivers said.
“First-time father?” the slender, bespectacled, young doctor asked as he approached Jake.
“Yes,” three feminine voices replied—Sheila, Tallie and Donna.
Dr. Keifer grinned. Jake grunted. The doctor placed his hand on Jake’s shoulder.
“I’m Stan Keifer, Mr...?”
“Bishop. Jake Bishop.”
“Mr. Bishop, we’re going to get a wheelchair for Mrs. Bishop—” The doctor motioned to the stunned nurse, who nodded and raced off to follow his instructions. “—And they’ll take her on up to her suite while you go around to Admitting and fill out the paperwork.”
“I’ll have to fill out the paperwork,” Donna said. “The insurance is in my name and—”
“Just give your husband your insurance card—” Dr. Keifer said.
“He’s not my husband!” Donna turned to Jake, glaring at him. “You can put me down now! I’m perfectly capable of handling this myself.”
Jake eased her onto her feet, but kept one arm around her.
The nurse returned with a wheelchair. Donna pulled away from Jake and sat immediately. “Let’s go to admissions and get this show on the road.”
Jake stood in the doorway, big, brooding and mouth agape.
Tallie grabbed the wheelchair handlebars and looked over her shoulder at her brother. “Let’s go get Donna admitted before she has this baby in the hallway.”
Jake felt like a fool. He was in unknown waters here, sailing an uncharted course. All he wanted was help for Donna—for the woman who was about to give birth to his child. The very thought of fatherhood overwhelmed him. The last thing on earth he had expected when he showed up for Hank’s wedding was to find his weekend lover on the verge of childbirth.
Tallie tapped her foot. “Well? Are you coming with us or not?”
Without saying a word, Jake fell into line beside Peyton and Sheila and followed his sister as she wheeled Donna down the hall.
Fifteen minutes later the Bishop clan took up residence in Donna’s suite in the hospital’s separate maternity division. Jake stood in the corner, silent and sullen, refusing to answer any questions from his two younger brothers—and grateful that Tallie was too absorbed in Donna to harass him. Nobody could harass and needle better than his little sister. She’d been a hellcat even as a child. Maturity had mellowed her only slightly.
He watched with curiosity and concern as the nurses followed what was obviously standard procedure as they prepared Donna for childbirth. Before the family had been allowed into the suite, Donna had changed into a blue-and-white-striped cotton gown. She was now hooked up to a bag containing some kind of intravenous fluids—and to an electronic fetal monitor. That’s what the nurse had called it when he’d asked.
“Dr. Farr!” Donna held out her hand toward the middle-aged man who entered the room.
The doctor took Donna’s hand, patted it in a reassuring manner and smiled broadly. “Looks like we won’t have to induce labor, after all. I’m glad this young lady decided to make her entrance into the world before she grows any larger. We wouldn’t want you delivering an eleven pound baby, would we?”
“Eleven pounds?” Susan asked.
“When they’re full-term, Bishop babies tend to be large,” Sheila said. “Danny weighed almost ten pounds.” She patted her belly. “Lord only knows how big this one will be.”
“Yes, mine came in at over nine pounds,” Tallie said, then glanced accusingly at Jake. “Since this little girl’s daddy is six-three and a pretty big guy, she’ll be lucky to weigh less than ten pounds.”
While Jake’s mind whirled with the news that his child would be a girl, the nurse shooed him and the Bishop clan out of the room while Dr. Farr examined Donna.
He’d never thought much about fatherhood, had never actually considered having children. But the few times the notion had crossed his mind, he’d imagined his child being a boy. After all, boys ran in the Bishop family. Caleb had a son. Tallie had two boys. Now Hank had a son.
Even though Jake had a difficult time picturing himself as a father, he supposed he’d figured that helping raise a little boy was something he could handle. But a little girl? God help him, a little girl was a different matter altogether. A baby girl would need gentleness and tenderness, probably more than a boy. And any daughter of Donna’s would be a little lady. Jake would be the first to admit that he didn’t know a damn thing about ladies, little or otherwise.
Dr. Farr stepped out into the hallway and glanced at the seven adults waiting there. “Donna’s labor is progressing quickly. I don’t think we’ll have a very long wait. Sheila, since you’re Donna’s coach, you should go on in and be with her now.”
Sheila glanced over at Jake, who stared back at her in bewilderment. “I think the baby’s father should be with her for the delivery.”
“The baby’s father?” Dr. Farr questioned. “I didn’t realize that Donna had any contact with the father.”
“She does now,” Tallie said. “The father is here—” she pointed to her eldest brother “—and he’s the type who ikes to take charge of situations.”
“I’m Dr. Farr, Mr...?”
“Jake Bishop.”
“Hank and Caleb’s brother?” the doctor asked.
“That’s right.”
“And you’re the father of Donna’s baby?”
“Looks that way.”
“Do you want to be with Donna during the remainder )f her labor and the delivery of your child?”
Did he? Could he? “Yeah, I want to be with her,” he answered finally. No woman should go through childbirth without the baby’s father, Jake thought. And no kid should grow up without a dad, the way he and his brothers and Tallie had.
Jake followed Dr. Farr back into Donna’s room. The atendants turned and stared at him.
“This is Jake Bishop.” The doctor introduced him.
‘He’s the baby’s father.”
All the women smiled warmly and moved aside to allow him space next to the bed.
“What are you doing here?” Donna glared at him. “Where’s Sheila?”
“Everybody thought I should be present for our daughter’s birth,” Jake replied.
“She’s my daughter!”
“She’s our daughter, sugar.” Jake took Donna’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips.
She narrowed her eyes and glowered at him. “You didn’ t even know she existed until a few hours ago! You have no right to make claims on my baby. You weren’t supposed to be a part of her life. You’re totally unsuitable to be Louisa Christine’s father.”
Jake kissed Donna’s hand, then sat in a chair one of the attendants scooted over to him. “Louisa Christine sure i a mouthful for a little baby. Maybe we should call he Christy or Lou.”
Donna jerked her hand away. “We will do no such thing I’m naming her in honor of my grandmothers and I’m go ing to call her Louisa!”
“Sure thing. You call her whatever you want to cal her.”