When Luke and Stevie were gone, Hannah went to the dining hall and radioed all staff asking them to meet there. Once everyone was assembled, Hannah told them of the plans she and Luke had made. When finished, she asked if anyone had any questions.
Jo was the first to speak up. “So, Luke’s going to be in the house
on the same floor as me, Dave and Emily? He’s not going to be in your room?”
“No, this isn’t a trial marriage or relationship. Luke is going to
stay there so he can have better access to Stevie, plus be aware of my
pregnancy as my body changes. I’m not planning to trap him into marriage so
both my children will have a father. If we love each other enough, maybe
eventually we’ll become a couple. For now, we’re just coparenting Stevie in the
same house.”
“You said something about Luke taking on ranch responsibilities.
Are you going to assign those or is he just going to do whatever he wants?” One
of the men from the bunkhouse asked.
“I haven’t yet talked to Joe, but Joe is the foreman or supervisor
if you will of all the staff that performs ranch work. I’m hoping Joe is
willing to have Luke report to him. When Luke was first here years ago, he
worked with Gramps, Joe and Dave. He was more in charge then than Joe, but we’ll
see how he does when he’s not running the show. That okay with you Joe?”
There were some additional questions about Luke’s
responsibilities, whether or not he’d be paid like everyone else, all of which
Hannah referred to Joe. Hannah ended the meeting by encouraging anyone who came
up with additional questions or concerns to bring them to her or Joe. Everyone
went back to work and she returned to the house.
While she waited for Luke and Stevie to return, she took sheets
and towels to the empty room that would be Luke’s. She made the bed, put the
towels and washcloths on top of the dresser. Luke could put them in the
bathroom himself on the empty rack in there. She made a note to tell him he had
to do his own laundry, including changing his linens. She figured he’d be smart
enough to figure out what he needed to do to join his fellow roommates when he
saw the lists posted in both the hall and bathroom.
Hannah was back in the dining hall when they returned. She watched
through a window as they hauled the various boxes and bags toward the house.
She had to smile at Stevie, doing his best to haul his share. He’d go a few
steps and have to set his bag down before taking it up again to proceed. Luke
would stop each time to encourage him along.
When they joined Hannah at a table a short time later, Stevie was
still excited and pretty much went from table to table to tell his friends that
Luke was his daddy and wasn’t that just so cool. Following dinner, Hannah
proposed she do some work in her office while Luke got Stevie ready for bed.
She’d join them in an hour or so to kiss Stevie good night.
From that night forward, Luke took on his dad responsibilities
without whining or complaining. If Hannah indicated she wanted to be the one to
take care of whatever Stevie needed, Luke backed off. She didn’t horn in often
because she’d already had almost three years with her son and Luke needed his
time.
In addition to caring for Stevie, Luke listened to Joe and took on
whatever chores he was assigned. He didn’t argue or quibble about what they
were or how they might be done better or more quickly. He gave Joe and the rest
of the staff the respect they all deserved and did his best to fit in as one of
them. And, the staff became very comfortable with Luke as time passed. Hannah was grateful to all of them.
Christmas came and went as did the new year. Even though Luke
wanted to provide Stevie with an entire toy shop, he listened to what Hannah
had to say and curtailed his spending so the boy wasn’t overwhelmed with too
many packages.
Meanwhile, Hannah’s body continued to change and swell some as
they baby inside grew. She found Luke looking at her much larger boobs fairly
often before his gaze would fall to her belly. She could almost see him
thinking he’d dearly love to caress those bigger boobs. For that matter, she’d
love to have them caressed. For some reason, just like last time, she was so
horny, it was all she could do to ignore her body’s desire for Luke’s, but she
persevered and didn’t make or allow any overtures. By January, her tummy
had gotten large enough for notice and the potential for movement was getting
close. Hannah asked Luke to tell Stevie about his upcoming sibling.
“You don’t have to tell him it’s your baby. All you have to do is
tell him there’s a baby boy or girl in my tummy. You can tell him that it will
be months yet before it gets here. Then, you answer any questions Stevie may
have. I’ll be right there with you to help out if needed.”
Hannah was impressed with the way Luke told Stevie the news and
even more impressed with his responses to Stevie’s questions, although he did
breeze by how the baby got in mommy’s tummy. When finished, Stevie had to see
Hannah’s belly, so they both joined her on the couch. She raised up her sweatshirt
and slid her pants beneath the small swell. “There’s really a baby in there?”
Stevie asked, poking at her belly button.
“Yep. It’s not very big now, but it will keep growing. Soon, I’ll
be able to put your hand on my belly and you can feel the baby move around.”
“Really mom, that’s so cool. Isn’t that really super cool daddy?”
Hannah had to hand it to Luke as he told his son, “Yes, it’s just
about the coolest thing since you were in your mom’s belly.”
The days moved on and just before Stevie’s birthday, Hannah felt the
first quickening, not enough to share just yet, but it would be soon. At the
rate her belly was growing, if the doctor had told her it was twins, she wouldn’t
have been surprised. There again, Luke had accompanied Hannah to all her
appointments, gone into the exam room and asked pertinent questions. He really
was trying.
With Stevie’s birthday Luke’s gift-giving was a bit of a different
story. Luke could not be dissuaded from getting his son a brand new and larger
pony than he’d had since his first birthday. It was a Shetland and absolutely
gorgeous. Luke had talked to Joe, Dave and Dale about the purchase. The men had
been supportive and went together to purchase tack that was big enough and as beautiful
as it was sturdy. It complimented Stevie’s new animal handsomely.
Stevie was so excited about his new mount he could hardly wait to
get in the saddle. He had to wait though because there had been a huge
snowfall. He also decided he would name the new pony Goldy because it was such
a pretty gold color. Then, when he looked at his old pony, his eyes filled with
tears. “Oh, what about Spot? He’s going to be so sad. I love Spot.”
“That’s okay honey,” Hannah knelt so they were face-to-face. “You
can still take care of Spot and ride him some, but he is getting older and you
are getting bigger. I’m sure Spot and Goldy will become friends when they are
out in the pasture together. Look, Spot is already trying to reach his muzzle
out to Goldy.”
Sure enough, the two ponies appeared to be bonding and it made
Stevie feel much better. As soon as the snow had melted enough, Luke had Stevie
out in the parking lot and pasture on Goldy. Some times he would mount a horse
himself and walk around with Stevie and other times, he’d just walk beside
Stevie as the boy learned to control this larger pony.
At the beginning of March, Hannah asked Luke and Stevie to join
her. Again, she pulled up her shirt and lowered her waistband. “Now, you have
to be a bit patient, but the Little Mite is being very active just now. Of
course, as soon as you expect it, the baby always stops.” She took one each of
their hands and placed them on either side of her belly.
“Did you know that when you were in my tummy like this, I called you
a Little Mite as well, Stevie.”
“You did? That’s so cool mom. Isn’t that cool dad?” Then, Stevie
jumped and pulled his hand back. “It moved. I think that Little Mite kicked me.”
On the other side of her belly, Luke pressed his hand a bit harder
against the swell of her tummy. As if the Little Mite didn’t want to play
favorites, Luke suddenly felt something, he couldn’t tell if it was a hand or a
foot, but it pushed against his hand with surprising strength. He was
absolutely amazed. He’d felt horses, cows and dogs when they were pregnant, but
it didn’t compare to how he felt, knowing it was a tiny human inside. He so
wished he’d been there to feel Stevie kick and stretch and punch, but he pushed
that thought away, determined to enjoy this experience as much as possible.
The next few months flew by as the ranch got ready for Memorial
Day Weekend. By mid-May, Hannah was even bigger than she’d been with Stevie.
When the baby stretched, she felt as though the feet or hands or whatever had
gone beneath her lungs and reached the back of her throat. She was
uncomfortable, actually miserable and so cranky she didn’t even like herself.
Hannah had reached the point where she wanted this over, done, finished. At her
doctor’s appointment the following week, she was going to demand he induce her
that very afternoon. Enough was enough.
Hannah didn’t make it to the doctor’s appointment. Her water broke
while she was standing in front of the stove Sunday morning. Of course, the
majority of staff at WFR were away, going to church, having a day off, or just
away on their own personal business. Joe, who’d agreed to be her birth coach
again was also gone. When the first labor pain grabbed her, she had to lean
against the counter and hang on. It seemed to last forever even though she knew
it was only about a minute.
When Hannah let go of the counter and turned, Luke was right
there. ”What’s going on? Are you okay?”
Hannah sighed. “It’s time I went to the hospital. I need to change
my pants and socks first and get my bag.”
“I’ll bring you some pants and get your bag.” Luke responded. “What
are we going to do with Stevie?”
“I thought I’d leave him with you.”
“How are you going to get to the hospital? Pretty much everyone is
gone. I’ll need to take you. Stevie can come too.” With that Luke ran off down
the hall to return with everything Hannah needed. He stood her up, pulled her
pants and panties down, sat her down, yanked her socks off, then redressed her
beginning with the socks. Hannah was grateful Stevie wasn’t there to see.
Luke was amazed at the size of Hannah’s stomach in relation to her
legs. Her belly was huge and distended. He couldn’t believe she was able to
move around and take that huge belly with her. And, yes, he’d sort of seen it
when he and Stevie were feeling the baby move, but seeing her naked from the waist
down really emphasized the size.
“You just sit here. I’m going to get Stevie and then we’re outta
here. You okay? God, I hope you’re okay.”
Luke was back in no time and carefully led her down to the truck.
While she climbed in, he buckled Stevie into his car seat. “Mom’s having the
baby? Are you having my brother or sister now mom?”
Hannah could feel another contraction building. She took hold of
the door handle and squeezed as hard as she could until it passed. “I think you’d
best get me to the hospital soon Luke. Feels like this one doesn’t want to wait
much longer.”
Luke drove carefully, but as quickly as possible down the ranch
road and on to the highway, doing his best to answer all of Stevie’s questions
while Hannah lay her head back against the headrest and prayed they’d get there
in time. She didn’t really want to have this baby in the front seat of the
truck.
Entering town, Luke said, “We’ll drop Stevie at Liam’s house….”
“No” Hannah gasped. “No. You have to take me to the hospital now.
You can take Stevie after.”
Luke pulled into the ER, got out and ran inside where he yelled
for help. Turning back, he found Hannah ready to get out of the truck. She was
only waiting because she was telling Stevie to be good, that she loved him and
couldn’t wait to show him his new brother or sister after a while.
Placed on a gurney, hospital staff wheeled her away as Luke
climbed back in the truck and headed for Liam’s house. There, he asked Celia to
take care of Stevie and thanked her profusely since they hadn’t even called
first. Back in the truck, he gunned it down the street and hoped like hell he’d
get back to the hospital in time. He’d done the childbirth classes with Hannah,
but knew she thought Joe would be with her. Well, Joe wasn’t. It was going to
be him and even though he could hardly believe it, he was really looking
forward to helping her birth this child.