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working.” Her eyes flew open. “The baby’s coming out!”
    Caleb drew back the nightgown to view the part of a woman he wasn’t supposed to see. Between her legs, a hairy scalp about the size of a silver dollar gradually grew larger. He inhaled the dusky smell of birthing.
    At last Maggie found a position of comfort on her uninjured side, legs drawn up to her chest, hands gripping her thighs behind the knees.
    Caleb remembered he was supposed to hold a cloth to support the baby underneath her female parts, but he couldn’t seem to move. He felt as if he was looking at Maggie through narrowed vision, breathing too fast, and he became lightheaded. Keep taking slow breaths. This is no time to keel over, Caleb Livingston, he sternly told himself. He grabbed a clean cloth and pressed it under her.
    The baby’s head emerged, facedown.
    “It’s coming!”
    She ignored him, taking another deep inhale, and pushed.
    With her second push, as the baby’s face turned toward Maggie’s knee, Caleb supported the head. He took his hand and wiped the infant’s nose and mouth, pulling away the fluid, flicking it to the ground.
    She took another deep breath and pushed. Labor seemed to have taken over her body, compelling her to do nothing but thrust out the baby.
    With the next push, the lower shoulder slipped through into Caleb’s hands, and he intuitively moved the baby downward to make room. The top shoulder squeezed out next, then the rest of the body glided out. A girl.
    A splash of clear fluid followed. The tiny body was slippery, and he held her tightly, afraid she’d slither out of his grip. He rotated the infant faceup, holding her about ten inches away from his face.
    The top of her head had a slight cone shape. Her blue-tinged hands pinked. The baby’s eyes were open, alert and seemingly amazed. They connected with his.
    A jolt of intense feeling, of recognition ,flowed between them. As he gazed on the scrunched features of the infant, love surged through him. He’d never felt such a feeling before, and his chest ached with the joyful pressure. Caleb wanted to curl her to his chest and keep her safe. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, inhaling a scent that surprised him with its sweetness.
    “My baby?” Maggie asked.
    The infant broke eye contact with Caleb and turned her face toward the sound of her mother’s voice.
    He blinked back moisture from his eyes and grinned. “You have a beautiful daughter.”
    Maggie let out a cry of joy.
    Goose bumps swept over Caleb’s skin, and his voice shook with emotion. “She’s so little. So perfect.”
    A huge smile broke out over Maggie’s face. She looked at him in obvious elation. “Let me have her.” Completely unabashed, she pulled up her nightgown to her shoulders, and then stretched out her arms for her daughter.
    Careful not to jerk on the cord, he handed over the baby.
    Maggie kissed her daughter and laid the infant face down between her breasts.
    Caleb grabbed up the flannel blanket warming by the fire. Moving to Maggie’s side, he laid the cloth over the baby.
    The baby’s head turned toward her mother.
    Her expression glowing with maternal love, Maggie explored the infant’s face with fingertip touches. “Oh, sweet baby, you have my mother’s nose.” She continued to examine her daughter, unfurling miniature, delicate fingers and obviously delighting in the child’s perfection.
    The baby turned her head toward a breast and pushed her feet on Maggie’s stomach, slowly moving sideways.
    Caleb watched in astonishment as the baby inched toward the nipple.
    The infant reached her goal and, lifting her head, made several attempts before she maneuvered the nipple into her mouth and latched on.
    “Oh, look, dearest. You found your first milk by yourself. Clever girl.” Maggie crooned. “I knew you could. You’re going to make your way in the world and find what you need.”
    Caleb couldn’t take his eyes off the baby. “That was the most amazing thing