Ty shook his head. “No. She’s pregnant, ready to deliver. They’re bringing her here because there’s no doctor in Clinton. They were on the wrong street. I told them how to get here, then ran ahead to warn you.”
Jennifer looked at Carol. “You deliver babies?”
Carol shook her head quickly. “Calves and puppies. Never human.”
“Well, get ready, Carol,” Ty said, as he looked down the street to where two people were leading a very pregnant young woman on a horse, “because you’re about to get the chance.”
“I’ve worried about this,” Carol said anxiously, “but nobody in Deer Creek is pregnant. I didn’t think about Clinton. Jennifer, get Grace. Ty, help get some water heating up.”
Carol pushed the furniture back against the living room walls, then sent Ty and David to retrieve the box spring from the bed Grace used and place it in the center of the room. Jennifer met the group from Clinton at the front door and helped guide the pregnant woman to the box spring on the living room floor.
“What’s your name?” Jennifer asked as she helped lower the young woman onto her back.
“I’m Heather,” she answered, gritting her teeth in obvious discomfort and struggling to get the words out.
“Hi, Heather. I’m Jennifer. Carol is the doctor. She’s going to help you.”
“I heard she was a vet,” Heather gasped.
“I am,” Carol said, as she emerged from the kitchen with a stack of towels. “Obstetricians are in short supply, so I guess it’s me or your neighbor. I’ve delivered lots of farm animals, if that’s any consolation.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not at this point you don’t.” Carol checked the girl’s pulse. “This your first baby?”
Heather nodded, relaxing a little as the contraction ended. “I had the ultrasound scheduled, but then everything crashed and I couldn’t have it done. I don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t due for a couple of weeks. I thought I’d have a chance to come and talk to you before now, but I haven’t been feeling very good.”
Carol patted her hand. “Well, just relax. How strong are the contractions?”
“Compared to what? They’re pretty strong I guess, but I don’t know. My water broke a little bit ago, then it felt like a snake wrapped around my belly and started squeezing. Felt like I needed to go to the bathroom too, but I knew enough not to push, at least not yet.”
While Carol tended to the mother, Jennifer talked to the elderly couple that had brought Heather to Carol’s. “Are you family?”
The woman shook her head. “Just neighbors. She worked at the truck stop in Clinton and rented our basement apartment. We’ve been trying to help her as best we can.”
“Is the father around?”
The man shook his head and spoke softly. “He’s a truck driver. No one knows where he was back in September, and he hasn’t shown up. They weren’t married.” He paused, biting his lip. “I didn’t really know him, but I always wondered if he was that committed to her. He’d go a long time between visits; she was always worried about their relationship.” He frowned as he glanced over at Heather and exhaled faintly. “She’s a sweet girl, but…”
His wife grabbed his arm. “Shhh, not now,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed. She looked at Jennifer. “We’ll do what we can to help Heather out. By the way, I’m Jane, and my husband is Gordon. What do you need us to do?”
Jennifer shrugged helplessly. “Carol, what do we do?” she asked, returning to Carol and Heather.
Carol issued orders, sending Jennifer and Grace after more blankets and rags, Ty to get one of the women in town who was an LPN, Gordon to get water, and Jane to help with Heather. Spencer had heard the commotion and come upstairs out of curiosity, so David was assigned to keep Spencer and Emma out of the way and to maintain the fire and keep the house warm.
“I feel another contraction coming on,” Heather said, her voice rising as she gripped Jane’s hand.
“Let me know when this one ends and the next one starts, and how strong they feel,” Carol directed. “We need to track them as they get closer together.”
Heather clenched her lips together and nodded, her face reddening as she absorbed the pain of the contraction. After twenty seconds she gasped, then took in several deep breaths. “Okay, it’s ending, but they’re getting stronger.”
Carol lay a blanket over Heather and helped remove her pants and underwear. “I’m going to wash my hands and get some wet towels. I’ll be right back.” She hurried to the basement where two large pots of water sat on a grate in the fireplace, sprinkled in a few grains of the powdered bleach, and dipped her hands in the water of the smaller of the two pots. The water was still quite cool, and she grumbled under her breath before turning to David and Gordon. “I need it hot! Get the fire cranked up and monitor the temperature of the water. It might get real warm down here, but you’ll have to put up with that.”
Gordon added wood to the fire while David took Spencer outside to bring more wood in.
“Call me when the water gets hot to the touch. Understand?”
Gordon nodded. Carol dipped an old bath towel into the water, then wrung it out and ran back upstairs.
Jennifer knelt at the head of the box spring and stroked Heather’s hair, keeping it pulled back from her face, while Jane held her hand and chatted with her.
“You feel the next contraction coming on?” Carol asked, seeing Heather shift under the blanket.
She shook her head. “No, it’s just not very comfortable on this thing.”
Carol bit her thumbnail as she assessed the situation. “I really want you on something firm, but maybe we can improve things a little.” Carol grabbed some pillows from the couch and, with the help of Jennifer and Jane, set about repositioning Heather on the bed. When they were done, Heather was propped up with couch pillows, her hips on the edge of the box spring and her legs extending off, supported with pillows. As Carol commented under her breath, it was far from perfect, but it was the best they were going to manage under the circumstances.
CHAPTER 30
Tuesday, February 7th
Billings, MT
Rose felt the knife strike bone, the impact making a dull thud in the silence of the RV. Mantle jerked his head back and screamed as a thin trickle of blood began to drain from the wound. He pushed at her, but Rose clung fast to the knife anchored in his back, grasping it desperately with both hands and drawing the wound open as she fought to keep her grip.
He clawed for her hands as blood now ran freely down his back and splattered on the floor around him. “You stupid bitch!” he screamed, trying to jerk away, flailing at her with his hands.
Rose tugged at the knife, wanting to pull it out, but the blade, embedded deep in his bone, resisted. She stepped back with one foot, twisted the knife, and jerked it as hard as she could. Mantle fell forward with her pull, still screaming and twisting in pain as the knife pulled free.
Rose stared at her hands and the knife, scarlet red and dripping with blood. Mantle lurched away, and she saw him groping for his handgun with his free hand while keeping the other pressed against his neck, trying to staunch the flow of blood. Rose raised her foot and lashed out, catching him in the nose with her heel and snapping his head back.
“Stop!” he screamed, eyes watering and blood now gushing from his nose too. He coughed and sprayed blood on Rose’s legs. His eyes were filled with panic, like an animal caught in a trap, knowing its fate but terrified of meeting it. “Don’t kill me,” he begged. “This wasn’t my idea.”
Rose could see that Mantle was still groping for the handgun, his fingers just inches away from it. She kicked at him again, but this time he grabbed her leg with blood slicked fingers, dragging her towards him. Rose slipped on the bloody floor, landing hard by Mantle. He struck her, punching her in the stomach and knocking the air from her lungs.