Virgin River (Virgin River #1)(80)

“A lot of blood?”

“What’s a lot? Not puddles, but enough to make me get in the truck and come for you. Pronto.”

“You have a gun,” she pointed out to him. “I hate guns.”

He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “Protection for you,” he said. “I’m just a businessman, but there’s some crazy people stuck out there in the woods. I’m not going to let anything happen to you—that would make my life way too complicated. I don’t want any attention from the sheriff. We really gotta go. There’s a baby coming. Real soon.”

“Oh, shit,” she said. “Don’t do this to me.”

“I’m doing something to you? I’m asking. That’s all. I want to get a baby born without anything stupid and wrong happening to the baby or the mother. Get me?”

“Why didn’t you just take her to the hospital?” she asked him.

“She works for me, okay? And she has warrants. They ID her at a hospital and she’s going to jail. You can’t take care of a baby from jail. That’s why it’s gotta be this way.”

“Look, go get her and take her to town, to Doc’s. We’ll do it there and no one will ask any questions about—”

“I’m telling you, there isn’t time!” he shouted. The look on his face was desperate and he took a pleading step toward her, arms wide, palms out. “It’s gonna happen soon, and we’re almost an hour from her! We might not make it as it is!”

She took a deep breath. “We should take the Hummer…”

“Can’t,” he said. “Can’t leave my vehicle here in case someone comes looking for you and finds only my truck. Sorry.”

“I’ll get my bag,” Mel said, reluctantly.

She grabbed her bag out of the Hummer and got in his SUV. He held a black sash in his hand. “You should blindfold,” he said.

“Get real,” she answered. “I’m not doing that. Hurry up. If she’s been hurting all day, just hurry up.”

“Put it on. Come on.”

“So I won’t see what? Where we’re headed? I’m from L.A., buddy. I’ve been here three months and I can hardly get myself to town in the daylight along these mountain roads. It’s pitch black. Just move it—I’m never going to be able to tell anyone where we went.” And more softly, “Besides, I wouldn’t. The only thing that would make me do that is if I needed to find you, or her, to save a life.”

“This some kind of trick?” he asked.

“Oh, please. Now stop scaring me. I might panic and throw myself out of the car, and then where would you be?”

He put the SUV in gear and peeled out of the drive and headed east. “I hope you’re not lying to me, setting me up. Because after this is taken care of, you don’t have to see me again. Unless…?”

“Setting you up?” She laughed. “Did I come to your house? You want to just get this baby born on your own?” she asked him.

“I never did anything like this before,” he said, his voice solemn and serious. “If I’d known there was a baby coming, I would’ve taken her somewhere. Somewhere out of this county. But I didn’t know. Just do your thing, I’ll pay you, and we’ll be done. Okay?”

“We’ll be done?” she asked. “These babies that no one expects? Sometimes they last about ninety years! After labor and delivery, there’s stuff to do! Children to raise!”

“Yeah,” he said, tiredly. Focused on the road he whirled the SUV around the tight turns, gunned the engine when the road was straight. But the straightaways were short, always followed by more tight turns. Most of the time the speedometer read about twenty miles per hour. He used not only his headlights, but the lights mounted on his roof. It was a long, silent spell before he said, “I’ll take care of what they need. After the baby’s here, when she’s up to it, there’s a sister she can go to in Nevada.”

“Why’s this all so secret?” Mel asked. She looked at his profile and saw him grin largely. He had a slight bump in his nose. Under the bill of his ball cap his eyes crinkled when he smiled like that, and she noted that while he was rugged and scruffy, he was not unattractive.

“Jesus, you’re something, you know that? Just go with it, little girl.”

“How’d you know where I live?” she asked him.

He laughed. “I hope you don’t think you’re hiding out there, miss. Because everyone knows where the new midwife lives.”

“Oh, great,” she said under her breath. “That’s just great.”

“It’ll be okay. Nobody wants you hurt or anything. That would just bring a whole heap of trouble on a whole lot of people.” He stole a glance at her. “Someone like you goes missing, three counties go tearing up the hills. That’s bad for business.”

“Well,” she said softly. “I guess I should be honored.” She looked over at him. “Why am I not feeling so honored yet?”

He shrugged. “I guess this is all new to you.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Boy howdy.”

They rode silently for a while, twisting around the mountain roads, up and over, down and around. “How’d you get yourself into this mess?” she asked him. He shrugged. “Just one of those things. Let’s not talk about this anymore.”