Under the Open Sky

Chapter Twenty-Six

Trent apologized to his sister the next morning when she came to the hospital. He also apologized to Jenny, though she didn’t seem inclined to forgive him just yet. A few days later, Amanda paced her father’s room while he was out for tests and sighed. The last several days had seemed never ending and she was utterly exhausted. A knock sounded on the door and Amanda turned to see Kevin waiting.

“Hi, Kevin,” she greeted him.

“Hey, Mandy; how’s your father?” Kevin entered the room and came to lean against the window ledge.

“Decent, considering. We have a long road ahead,” she admitted.

“You look exhausted,” Kevin commented with concern.

“I feel exhausted,” Amanda admitted. “The last few days have been grueling.”

“You need to slow down, Mandy. You have your baby to consider.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I just don’t see how. We don’t want to leave Daddy alone in case he needs something or the doctor needs to talk with us and there’s still the ranch to run; it’s a lot.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Kevin offered.

Amanda sighed as she lowered herself into a chair and shook her head. “Thanks for offering, but I can’t think of anything.” Amanda reached to knead her back with her fist.

“You okay?”

“My back hurts, these chairs aren’t comfortable and I think I’ve been on my feet too much today,” she shared.

“You sure that’s all it is? How close are you to your due date, Mandy?”

“Three weeks,” she supplied.

“You might want to call your doctor. My older sister just had her baby a few months ago and she hurt in her back real bad when she went into labor,” Kevin recommended.

“After Daddy gets back, I just might do that,” Amanda nodded. She figured she was fine.

“Well, I should get back to work,” Kevin pushed off the wall and exited the room. Amanda put the foot rest up on her chair and tried to find a position that would ease her back pain.

“Hey, Mandy, Kevin was worried about you; said you’re hurting,” Jenny entered the room, her work badge showing she had just come from her office.

“I’m just tired,” Amanda argued as she stood. She might as well; sitting wasn’t helping. Amanda had only made it a few steps when she grabbed the wall. A sharp pain shot through her abdomen followed by a rush of water.

“Okay,” Jenny rushed to the bed and punched the nurse call button.

“Yes?” the nurse responded.

“We need a wheel chair in here!” Jenny informed the woman as she rushed around to grab Amanda’s arm to help steady her. A moment later, a tall black woman, with graying hair came pushing an empty wheel chair into the room.

“Well, now, at least you don’t have far to go,” the woman rushed forward to help Amanda into the wheel chair. Amanda was soon in the chair being pushed down the hallway toward the other end of the hospital.

“Daddy will wonder what happened,” Amanda fretted.

“He’ll be fine, Mandy; you focus on this child,” Jenny chided her.

“Is she alright?” Kevin approached.

“Her water broke,” Jenny supplied.

“Can I do anything to help?” he queried.

“Wait a minute, Dee,” Jenny spoke to the nurse. Jenny whipped a pen from her pocket and wrote a number on Kevin’s hand. “Call the ranch. Tell Naomi that Amanda is in labor and needs her bag; it’s by the front door of the cabin,” Jenny instructed.

“Call Naomi, bag by door; got it.”

“Thanks, Kevin,” Jenny called as she chased after Dee who had resumed her trek down the hall. Amanda was wheeled into a labor and delivery room; the nurse helped her up.

“Can you dress yourself in this here lovely gown, dear?” Dee tossed a hospital gown onto the bed.

“I think so.”

“I’ll help,” Jenny assured the nurse.

“Alright, you call if you need me; I’ll be back in a moment,” the woman bustled from the room. Amanda quickly changed and climbed into the bed. Pains were washing over her strong and fairly regular now.

“I thought it was supposed to happen all slow like,” Amanda fussed.

“Everyone’s different but it’ll probably be a while yet anyway,” Jenny informed her.

“You’ve done this before?” Amanda demanded.

“No, but I’ve been reading ever since I found out you were pregnant,” Jenny admitted with a grin.

“Let’s check you out and get this baby here on monitor,” Dee reentered the room and bustled about as attached Amanda to monitors. The rhythmic whoosh, whoosh of the baby’s heart beat filled the room.

“Nice strong, fast heart beat,” Dee announced in satisfaction before she examined Amanda.

“You’re pretty well on your way,” Dee informed her. “You just start hurting?”

“My back has been hurting since yesterday,” Amanda shared.

“Mmm, hmm,” Dee nodded. “The doctor will be along shortly. You try to rest while you can.”

The woman left them alone and Amanda looked around; she felt completely unprepared for what lay ahead.

“You okay, Mandy?” Jenny pulled a chair close and took Amanda’s hand.

“I’m scared,” Amanda admitted, “and I want Cade,” she started crying.

“I know, sweetheart; I know,” Jenny pushed Amanda’s hair back from her face.

“You alright dear?” another nurse entered the room and began adjusting equipment and checking read outs from the machine beside the bed. Amanda groaned as another contraction hit her. The nurse watched the monitor.

“That one was strong,” she noted. “Hang in there, dear,” the woman patted Amanda’s shoulder.

Amanda, tears still trickling down her cheek, laid her head back.

“I’m sorry, Mandy,” Jenny offered.

Several minutes later Amanda was sobbing as another contraction seized her. The door opened and Naomi entered and moved to stand by Amanda.

“Look at me, Mandy; focus,” Naomi ordered. Amanda blinked against her tears and looked at her aunt. “That’s better; quit fighting and ride it out, it’s easing now, feel it?” Naomi asked.

Amanda nodded.

“Buck up, Mandy; you have a baby to deliver. I’m going to stay right here with you and together, we Jennings women are going to show them how it’s done, okay?” Naomi’s blue eyes were steely with determination.

Amanda swallowed and nodded; who was this woman was who looked like her aunt but sounded nothing like her?

Amanda stared down at her daughter in amazement. Two brilliant blue eyes blinked up at Amanda blearily. A tiny pert nose sat above lips that at moment were stretched open in a yawn. Amanda smiled as she smoothed her daughter’s thick head of black hair.

“She’s so beautiful, Mandy!” Jenny leaned over the bed staring at the squirming bundle.

“She is,” Amanda said proudly. “She’s amazing.”

“All her toes and fingers there?” Trent wanted to know.

“Yes!” Amanda and Jenny chorused. Jenny had watched Amanda check her daughter over just after delivery.

“She is pretty isn’t she?” Trent was smiling down at his niece, his expression showing that he was already smitten.

“How’s dad?” Amanda asked of her brother.

“He was trying to ask the same about you. I assured him you were fine. He’s doing fine for the moment,” Trent explained. Naomi had gone to relieve Trent so he could see the baby and was staying with Sterling for a while. There was a knock on the door and Jenny stood to answer it.

“Hi,” Kevin greeted.

“Hi, come see my daughter,” Amanda invited proudly.

“Oh, Mandy, she’s beautiful,” he assured her with a smile.

“Isn’t she?” Amanda kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“I’m glad you’re okay. I knew you didn’t look so hot earlier,” Kevin teased.

“I thought I had just over done it the last few days,” Amanda admitted.

“You probably had,” Jenny spoke.

“How much did she weigh?” Kevin inquired.

“Six pounds, eleven ounces but she’s twenty-two and half inches long!” Amanda, her eyes bright, shared.

“She’s going to be tall and slender like you,” Jenny predicted.

“And her daddy,” Amanda commented and watched her brother frown. She wished she could get up and pop him; he might wish to forget that her child had a father; but the fact was she did.

“So what’s her name?” Kevin wanted to know.

“Cadey-Lynn,” Amanda shared and spelled it for him.

“Cadey-Lynn Jennings,” that’s pretty.

“Cadey-Lynn Winston,” Amanda corrected and watched her brother’s jaw twitch.

“I’m going to check on dad.”

“I swear I am going to slap him one of these days,” Jenny threatened, her hazel eyes snapping.

“Guess he’s not happy that you gave Cadey-Lynn Cade’s last name, huh?”

“He isn’t happy about her name at all,” Amanda admitted.

Cadey-Lynn’s chin started trembling a moment before sound emitted from her lips as she squinted her eyes and cried.

“I think she’s hungry,” Amanda laughed.

“I’ll get out of your way. Congratulations,” Kevin ducked from the room.

Amanda had made the decision to breast feed and lifted her daughter to feed her. She hadn’t been a mother even a full day yet and already she loved it. That night she wrote in her journal:

Cade,

Today our daughter was born. She weighs in at six pounds and eleven ounces and is twenty two and half inches long. She’s a long skinny little thing with your brilliant blue eyes and thick dark hair. Otherwise she looks like my baby pictures. She is so amazing, Cade; I love her so much it makes my chest squeeze painfully. She’s a part of both of us; it amazes me to think of that. There is a part of me that fears you decided it wasn’t worth fighting for us. I hope this isn’t true; I miss you so much and wanted you here today so badly that I cried. I love you; I think I always will whether I ever hear from you or not. I don’t think I can help myself.

Amanda rocked her daughter at home a few weeks later and continued to marvel at how amazing and beautiful she was. Amanda had stopped to see her dad on her way out of the hospital and understood his attempt to state that his granddaughter was beautiful. The doctor was talking like Sterling would get to come home in a few days. A physical therapist would be coming to work with him to help him regain mobility. Amanda knew that with her unable to help the last few weeks and her still needing a little help herself, that her family had been stretched to its limits. Had it not been for Jenny stopping by and helping, offering rides to Naomi and Amanda where needed, Amanda wasn’t sure how they would have managed. Amanda had finally received the all clear to drive at her appointment that morning, maybe now she could be of some help again.

“You need a diaper change,” Amanda informed her daughter as she stood and moved to the diaper changing table.

“Yoo-hoo,” Jenny called as she started up the stairs, “Where is my god-daughter?”

“We’re up here; don’t you ever come to see me anymore?” Amanda called back.

“Nope, you’ve been upstaged,” Jenny grinned as she entered the room.

She stopped short to glare at Amanda.

“What did I do?” Amanda frowned at her friend.

“That’s like your sexiest pair of jeans; you should not be able to wear those already,” Jenny accused.

“I’m sorry,” Amanda laughed. “Despite feeling like a whale while I was pregnant, Dr. Connor said my weight was right where it was supposed to be. I’m doing pretty well losing the few extra that hung around.” Amanda had paired her favorite jeans with Cade’s shirt.

“Obviously,” Jenny still looked disgusted. “Paired with Cade’s shirt and the extra baggage,” Jenny waved between her own breasts, while nodding to Amanda, “you could go find you a man real fast. If you weren’t waiting for Cade that is.”

“I am,” Amanda insisted as she lifted her daughter.

“Let me see my girl,” Jenny reached for Cadey-Lynn. “You’re so sweet, yes, you are,” Jenny smiled down at the infant. “So what’s with your brother, anyway?”

“What do you mean what’s with my brother?” Amanda tidied the changing table and threw away the diaper she had just changed.

“I stopped by on my way out of work and he stared at me like had grown a third eye.”

“I gave up understanding my brother a long time ago. My dad, too for that matter. And come to think of it Cade; I’m on a roll here and it aint good,” Amanda turned to lean against the changing table, and smiled at her friend.

“Is your brother being any nicer?”

“He is.”

“Good,” Jenny nodded but she still frowned.

“You’ll have to forgive him sooner or later you know; you still love him.”

“It’s easier if I stay mad at him,” Jenny admitted.

Amanda gave her friend a sympathetic smile; she could understand how that would be true.