Read Rorey's Secret for Free Online Page A

for?” Thelma suddenly asked her husband. “Another boy?”
    “I don’t much care,” Sam said quietly. “So long as you’re both strong as Georgie.”
    She wiped at her face with a hanky Lizbeth must have given her. “Did I sleep long?” she asked me.
    “A while. I was pretty surprised you could sleep at all.”
    “Gettin’ my strength up. Gonna need it.” She grunted as a pain swept over her again. But then it was finished, and she tried to smile. “We oughta call this one Sam, honey. Just to confuse everybody. What would Mr. Wortham think? Or maybe George again, wouldn’t that be somethin’? I could call one name an’ turn three heads.”
    “You’re gettin’ goofy again,” Sam told her. “Jus’ like last time.”
    Lizbeth went to the kitchen. It sounded like Katie was doing the dishes, and I knew that whatever else Lizbeth was doing, she’d be making sure we had plenty more warm water. I could hear Sarah singing upstairs now too. She’d have Georgie asleep pretty soon. Probably on her own bed. I looked out the window, hoping to see the headlights of Ben’s car. Robert was already gone, and there wasn’t a sign of anyone on the road.
    Thelma was panting and sweating, and I felt like time was standing still and we’d be going on forever in her painful cycle, one wave followed by another and another. Eventually she gave up trying to smile or talk in the moments of calm in between. She was getting weaker, the pains were getting stronger, and I was getting really worried. I kept hoping to find the baby’s crown of hair, to get this over with before the doctor got here, but I found nothing when I checked. I took to bathing Thelma’s forehead with some cool water until Lizbeth came and relieved me at it.
    I noticed for the first time that I was sweating as much as Thelma. My heart was thumping like galloping horse hooves as I went walking around the kitchen, trying to figure whether we had everything we might need. Clean scissors held in the lamp flame to cut the cord. Bias tape to tie it off, just like Emma had used. Towels and clean sheets and water and . . .
    Suddenly a noise outside. Our old dog, Whiskers, came running up from the barn and gave just one gentle bark, the way he always did when greeting a car coming up the drive. I ran to the window, just about falling over myself hoping. And when I saw two sets of headlights coming up the lane, I almost shouted. Praise the Lord! Finally our help!
    I ran out the back door, not waiting for them to get inside. I figured the doctor should know just exactly what had happened so far. I could tell him everything we had ready, how Thelma’d been doing. I ran to the car, almost tripping over iris stubble in the side yard on my way. Samuel jumped out from the passenger side and caught me in his arms, starting to talk at the same time I was noticing that there was no doctor with them. Nobody at all.
    “Juli. Juli, honey, I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “The doctor wasn’t at home, and we couldn’t find him. The neighbors weren’t sure where he’d gone, but they said they’d send him our way when they saw him come in.”
    I was shaking in his arms. Dr. Howell was a busy man, despite his advanced age. He might’ve been called anywhere. What would we do without him?
    Ben stepped out of the car and solemnly went for the house.
    “W-what about Delores?” I asked.
    “We tried to find her too,” Samuel told me. “We went clear over to her son’s place. He said she might’ve gone to Frankfurt, calling on Lora Bloom again. He’s going after her. They’ll get her here as soon as they can. We went after Dr. Hall in Mcleansboro, but he couldn’t leave the hospital tonight with a woman there birthing twins and a man from the town that’d just come in sick with his heart. Dr. Hall said we could bring Thelma in if she can be moved. Do you think we ought to try?”
    “She doesn’t want to be moved, Samuel. And tell you the truth, I don’t know how