Scarlett Rose's Arc

Chapter 51 of 57

The third pull came harder. Scarlett gripped the table and breathed until it passed. Maya wrote the time on the feed receipt without a word. Rose was still forty minutes out. Clayton was still past the ridge with no way to know. "I need him," Scarlett said. "I can't do this without him standing here." Maya set the pen down. "Then we go get him." "He's an hour into the back pasture." "I know where he moves cattle on wet ground. I grew up on that land too." Maya pulled her keys back off the hook. "You come with me. Doctor said two hands on you. I'm not leaving you here and I'm not leaving him out there." Scarlett stood. Another pull started low and she waited it out against the door frame. Eleven minutes since the last. Still time. Maya drove the ranch road slow over the ruts. Scarlett watched the fence line pass. The twelve acres she had signed over sat green on the left. Cattle were bunched at the far corner near the cedar break. A single rider sat on the ridge above them. Maya laid on the horn. The rider's head came up. He turned the horse and came down the slope at a hard trot, then a canter. Clayton pulled up beside the truck and swung down before the horse had stopped. "How far apart." "Eleven minutes," Maya said. Clayton looked at Scarlett through the open window. His hand found hers on the door. "I left the radio." "I know." "I'm sorry." "You're here now." He tied the horse to the fence and climbed in beside her. Maya turned the truck for the highway. Clayton kept his hand on Scarlett's knee and timed the next one on his own watch. Nine minutes. Rose met them at the clinic doors with the cedar box and the overnight bag. Dr. Wishborne was already in the hall in her white coat, glasses pushed up, waiting. "Seven minutes on the last two," Dr. Wishborne said, one hand on Scarlett's back. "You timed it right. Bed's ready. Both babies still measuring strong." They moved her down the corridor into the maternity ward. Clayton did not let go of her hand. The room was quiet and warm, the bed turned down, a bassinet waiting at the wall. Dr. Wishborne checked her and nodded. "You're at six centimeters. Faster than I expected. We're having these babies today." Scarlett looked at Clayton. His hat was still on. Dust from the pasture sat on his sleeve. He was here. "Okay," she said. "Okay." A contraction rolled through her and she squeezed his hand until it passed. Rose stepped out to call the family. Maya stood at the door. Dr. Wishborne pulled on gloves. The waiting was over. Azure and Skye were coming, and Clayton was beside her for it.