Cut and Run(94)

A knock on her bedroom door yanked her from the terrifying replay, and she sat up to see Kat standing in her room. The girl had moved into Faith’s house immediately upon discharge from the hospital. So far the two were still getting to know each other. Like most teenagers, Kat wasn’t always easy. Throw in the stress of the adoption, and well, sometimes it was a study in patience.

The bright spot had been Nancy Ridgefield, who had proposed the idea of Nancy and her husband, Mike, adopting Kat’s baby. Faith had presented the idea to the girl, and the four of them had sat down and had several lengthy discussions. In the end, Kat had decided she liked Nancy and Mike Ridgefield and had agreed.

“My bed is wet,” Kat said. “I’m soaked.”

Faith tossed back her covers, surprised at the rush of panic and worry shooting through her body. She considered herself cool under fire. Crime scenes, autopsies, even a grilling from a defense attorney in court didn’t faze her. But this moment felt entirely different.

“Don’t worry. It’s your water breaking,” Faith said. “We just need to get you changed and to the hospital.”

“Is the baby going to fall out?” Kat asked, sounding panicked.

“No, it’s not going to fall out. We’ve got time. Let’s get you changed.”

She helped the girl change into clean clothes, dressed herself in jeans, a pullover blouse, and sandals, and then grabbed the go-bag she’d packed when the girl had moved into her house.

“Paige was in so much pain,” Kat said as Faith drove through the dark streets toward the medical center. “I remember her crying.”

“It won’t be like that for you. I’ve told you there are medicines that will help. It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

Each time Faith remembered Paige’s anguished cries in that drab room, she thought about Josie, Olivia, and Kathy. They’d not had any help. They’d suffered alone, or worse, with Danny Garnet offering his ham-fisted help.

But Paige was back home with her parents and her baby girl. She was trying to put her life back together. She’d survived.

Faith tightened her grip on the steering wheel, forcing a smile for Kat’s sake as she pressed the accelerator and sped through a yellow light.

“Where’s the Ranger?” Kat’s voice sounded strained as she shifted in her seat.

“Hayden is south of San Antonio. He’s working a case.”

“Top secret.”

“It must be,” Faith said. “He didn’t want to leave until the baby was born, but there was no avoiding it.”

“Shouldn’t you call him and tell him?” She grimaced and pressed her hand to her belly.

“I will as soon as I get you checked in to the hospital.”

“And you need to call Nancy and Mike. They’re going to want to see the show.”

“Let’s just get you to the hospital.”

“You look worried,” Kat challenged.

“Nope. Not. A. Bit.”

Faith pulled up in the circular entrance to the hospital, dashed inside, and returned quickly with a wheelchair. As a nurse pushed Kat toward labor and delivery, Faith parked the car and then ran inside with Kat’s bag.

Fifteen minutes later, she was changed into scrubs and in the room, the worried girl’s contractions rapidly growing closer. She called Nancy first, who answered on the first ring. Nancy sounded calm and focused and promised that she and Mike would be there soon.

The next call was to Mitchell. He answered quickly as well, and she discovered hearing his calm, even voice settled her own jitters and worries.

As it turned out, Kat delivered Baby Boy Jones three hours later, with Nancy and Mike looking on. The boy was healthy, perfect, and squalling in a way that reminded Faith a little of Kat when the girl was complaining.

Faith took lots of pictures of mother and son. She texted several to Hayden.

Nancy and Mike held back, watching nervously as the nurse laid the baby in Kat’s arms. For a long moment, the girl stared at the baby boy and then cried. “Nancy, come and get your kid.”

Faith took the baby from Kat and laid him in Nancy’s arms. The couple cried, thanked Kat over and over, and then stared at their son with such love. After the Ridgefields moved into their own room with the baby, Faith stayed and held Kat as she cried.

Had Faith’s adopted parents looked at her with the same devotion? She’d met Marissa’s parents, and they’d listened quietly as they’d learned the circumstances of their daughter’s birth. An investigation into the Lewis family revealed that the wife, Caroline, had been a member of Margaret Slater’s tennis club. It had been Margaret who had come to Caroline and told her about a baby girl who had been born. Caroline and her husband, Kyle, had agreed immediately to the adoption. Slater & McIntyre had handled all the paperwork.

When Kat was finally asleep, Faith went to the lobby café, bought sandwiches and soda, and took them back upstairs to the physical rehabilitation step-down unit, where Macy had been staying for the last two weeks.

Faith stood at the door of the floor’s rehab gym and watched as Macy wrangled with crutches. Macy’s now very short blond hair caught the sunlight coming through the window.

Her sister was getting stronger every day, and her doctors often commented on her drive and determination. But Macy set high standards for herself and when she didn’t meet them, often got frustrated.