The Cowboy's Baby(49)

Cursing, Esme leapt back from the stove as her sauce boiled over, her back hitting the opposite counter painfully so she cried out. Immediately, there was a collection of sous chefs by her side, and she tried to wave them away, struggling to right herself.

“I’m fine.” She tried firmly. “Really, I’m fine.”

But she wasn’t. She didn’t know if she would ever be fine. She’d given her heart to the one man she’d thought would never break it and then he’d gone and done exactly that. God, was there any greater fool in the world?

All at once, she went lightheaded and clutched at the counter for purchase as a gush of moisture spilled from between her legs, wetting her pants down the front. Gasping in surprise, Esme looked over herself a moment before a cramp sliced through her womb, making her groan.

Jesus. Not now. Not now.

Pierre was at her side in minutes, easing her down onto the floor as he directed the other sous chefs in a mixture of French and English. But Esme heard nothing he said. It was all she could do to breathe, fear for the baby within her tightening her chest to the point of hyperventilation. Daniel had to see that Alyssa would destroy any chance of family he might have – he had to.

But whether he did or he didn’t, now, it was too late.



**



It was Alyssa’s birthday.

As always, she’d planned an extravagant party using his money – though Daniel would give her that at least this time she’d asked.

He stood on the balcony of Venicia, her favorite Italian restaurant, watching her flit around the party below in a five thousand dollar dress that molded to every contour of her body perfectly.

And yet, he could drum up no desire for her.

It was true, she had changed – but not in the way Daniel might have hoped. Now, instead of blowing up at the slightest problem, Alyssa had other methods for getting her way. She would bring the baby into everything, citing that a mother’s happiness was paramount to a child’s happiness.

In truth, Daniel didn’t know what more he could do to make her happy. He’d given her tens of thousands of dollars. Let her completely redecorate the nursery in god awful hues of pink and purple. He’d stopped going to doctor’s appointments with Esme at her insistence that it would only cause him undue “emotional stress”.

And now, he stood in the center of Alyssa’s lavish party, wondering if Esme was happy. Alyssa might be the baby’s biological mother, but Esme was the one giving birth. While Esme's belly was swelled with child, Alyssa flitted around with a bevvy of socialites, gossiping about the latest high society scandal.

Where was Esme, he wondered? At her apartment, living off his stipend, as she merely waited for her pregnancy to run its course? He knew they had agreed that she’d stop working at Pierre’s the closer her delivery date drew, and Alyssa assured him she had, but Esme was miserable without access to a decent kitchen.

He couldn’t help but think she must be in her apartment, alone and sullen, suffering through the last stages of one of the most difficult biological processes known to man – alone. Sighing, he took a sip of his champagne.

Esme wasn’t supposed to be his concern anymore. He himself had dismissed her, hadn’t he? And yet here he sat, pining after her like a school boy.

All at once, his phone buzzed. Reaching into his pocket automatically, he retrieved it to answer.

“This is Hartsford.”

“Daniel, It’s Amos.” The doctor sounded rushed, worry tingling his deep tenor. “Esme’s gone into labor. An ambulance just picked her up from Pierre’s. I’m on my way to the hospital now.”

For a moment, the rancher forgot how to speak.

Esme was in labor…now? And why had an ambulance picked her up from Pierre’s? Christ, had she been working? Eight months into her pregnancy.

His protective instincts immediately kicked into overdrive. “Has the ambulance reached the hospital yet?”

“Only just.” Amos returned curtly. “Supposedly, she’s only a few centimeters dilated, but they say she’s progressing fast. You and Alyssa need to get down there as soon as you can.”

“Of course. Immediately.” Immediately, a mixture of excitement and apprehension welled in his stomach. This was it. His child would make its way into the world tonight. Turning from the balcony, he hurried down the stairs to make his way through the crowd to Alyssa. Taking her arm in a firm grip, he caught his breath before he addressed her. “Alyssa, we have to go.”

The dark-haired beauty’s eyes flashed briefly in annoyance before she put up an understanding front. “Honey, I know you don’t like parties like this, but it’s just for a little while. And it’s my birthday. Enjoy yourself!”