Page 78 of Her Elusive Cowboy Billionaire

“I’m good, Mama.”A contraction hit her, and she did her best not to moan and scare the children.Instead, she gripped the counter and breathed through the pain, which only lasted about a minute, but felt like forever.“I’ll be even better when I have this baby.”

Carole set her purse on the kitchen counter and looked around.“Where is Chase?”

“Getting my overnight bag.”

“Well, don’t worry about them.”She jutted her chin at the children.“We’ll be having fun, won’t we, kids?”

Jenny was petting her kitten, a tiny calico with four white socks, two black eyes, and a mottled orange, brown, and white body and tail.CJ’s kitten was solid black and was struggling to be let down.

Danni had an orange-and-white-tiger-striped baby cat that was busy trying to claw its way up her shirt onto her shoulder or her head.Meri wasn’t sure which.

Chase walked in, holding Meri’s small overnight bag.It had a summer nightgown and robe, along with a change of clothes for the trip home.He also carried a diaper bag she had packed with diapers, wipes, and a couple of newborn onesies in white and green.She had some pink and blue garments, too, but she wouldn’t take those with her to the hospital.

Meri looked up at Chase.“I forgot about the diaper bag.They’ll probably have all of that at the hospital, but I like to be prepared.Thank you, my love.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”Chase wrapped an arm around Meri’s waist and walked around the kitchen with her.

Carole pointed her finger at the diaper bag.“When will you get rid of that thing?That’s the same one you had with Jenny.”

“I’ve been using it to hold my brushes and other art supplies to take out to the studio.It works much better than a plain grocery bag.”

Chase held out his hand.“Are you ready to go, my love?”

Meri held still for a minute, closed her eyes, and let the major contraction stop before moving again.Then she kissed her mother on the cheek.“Thanks, Mom.”

Carole took Meri’s face between her palms.“Of course.We’ll come see the baby soon.Rose and I will take shifts, like usual.”

“Great.I was going to change clothes, but I need to go now.These contractions are getting worse and coming closer together.I don’t want Chase to deliver hissonon the side of the road.”

Chase’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.“I don’t want to deliver mydaughterat all.”

Laughing, she placed a hand on his arm.“Don’t worry.I’m just teasing you.If I was in that much of a hurry, I would have told you to take the kittens back to the barn until later.”

He swept a hand across his forehead.“Whew.You had me going there.”

“Bye, Mom.Bye, rugrats.I’ll see you in a couple of days with your new baby sibling.”

“What’s a sibling?”asked Jenny.

Meri stopped and talked to her oldest child.“It’s a brother or sister.Since we don’t know what the baby will be, I’ll call him a sibling for now.Mommy’s got to go now.I love you.”

The children hugged her.

She took Chase’s hand and walked with him to the garage.

He carried the overnight case and diaper bag with his other hand.

“Let’s take the Land Rover.It’s easier for me to get in and out of than the new Charger.”

“Okay.”He helped her into the car and then put her overnight case and the diaper bag in the back seat before climbing behind the wheel.

Once they were on the road to Bozeman, he reached over and took her hand.“You can squeeze my fingers if you need to.”

“I’m okay, but the contractions have speeded up considerably.I would guess they are only about three minutes apart.You might want to drive faster.”

“Yes, ma’am.”He pressed on the accelerator pedal.“If I get stopped, I’ll tell the officers they he might have to deliver a baby if we don’t get to the hospital.I bet they’ll give us a police escort.”

“I’d rather not have to stop for anything, or you might be telling the truth.Ahhh!”She squeezed his hand as hard as she could.