buddy.” Mac squeezed him hard.
“Thanks for coming. You sure got here fast.”
“Where’s Buster?”
“Gone to the bathroom.” Joiner sat back down beside the gurney, taking Stella’s hand again. Mac sat down in the seat beside him.
“What’s going on?”
“They’ve ruled out the gallbladder. Now they’re saying it could be reflux or possibly something to do with her liver.”
“And the baby?”
Joiner pointed to a screen hooked to one of the monitors. “That’s her. See the heartbeat and oxygen levels? Everything’s great right now. No problems.”
“That’s good news.”
“Yeah. We were really worried when we got here.” Joiner sighed. “It’s a big relief that the baby is fine. But we’ve got to get this pain figured out with Stella.”
“Looks like she’s feeling pretty good right now.” Mac smiled wickedly, nodding at the snoring Stella.
Joiner kissed her hand. “They’ve got her doped up pretty strong. She was in terrible pain when we got here.”
“Poor thing.” Mac smoothed Stella’s hair.
Buster appeared in the doorway with a cup of coffee for himself and Joiner. “Hey there, Mac. You want a cup? It’s right around the corner.” The older man’s overalls were worn in the knees and his boots caked with mud.
“No, thanks, Buster. But I’ve had instructions to go get you men a bite to eat.”
“Stella?” He looked lovingly at his daughter.
“Yes. She doesn’t want you going hungry. Woke up just long enough to give me orders.”
“Ha, ha. That sounds like ’er.”
Stella opened her eyes and stuck out her tongue at them, then recommenced snoring.
“What are you in the mood for, Joiner? Buster? I’ll go pick something up.”
* * *
MAC RETURNED WITH two sandwiches and jalapeno-flavored potato chips, along with lemonades. Joiner and Buster devoured their food like starving men. Buster looked up at Mac between bites and explained, “We eat breakfast early on the ranch.”
Mac took the chair opposite them and waited. It seemed as if the room had a revolving door of nurses, phlebotomists, ultrasound technicians and doctors. Cullen and Hunt arrived just in time after Cullen’s afternoon class to hear the news: blood work confirmed that Stella had HELLP syndrome, a form of preeclampsia. She would need to deliver the baby early. In fact, she’d be admitted, moved to a room and prepped to induce labor—the baby would be born the following morning.
While Joiner and Stella asked the doctor questions, the brothers got on their phones and let wives and families know. Mac called Alma, who, in excited Spanglish, instructed him to text her a list of things Joiner and Stella needed so she could go to their house to pack a bag for them. Then he called Jacqueline.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I think I’ll stay here all evening and then come home, but I’ll need to come back in the morning. I want to be here when the baby is born.”
“Sure. Of course.”
She seemed to understand all he wasn’t saying. “Would you like to have the day off?”
“I’ll do whatever you need me to do, Mac. We’ve had several people bring in their tax stuff today and I imagine it could be that way all week. I kind of hate to close the office.”
Mac smiled. She hated to close the office.
“But I understand if you want me to. I mean, if you want it closed without you here.”
“You are spoiling me, Jacqueline. Not closing never would have been an option before. But your skills have rendered my presence a lot less valuable.”
She snorted. “Not less valuable. Just a little less required.”
He grinned. “Well, thanks a lot. I think.”
She laughed, that musical sound again.
“Don’t work too hard,” he said.
“Keep me posted when you can.” Her voice turned tender with concern.
“I will.” As Mac hung up the phone he felt warm, content. It was nice to have someone to call, to share his news.
* * *
THE ROOM STELLA moved to was sumptuous by regular hospital standards. It seemed pains were taken to make Labor and Delivery friendlier, more comfortable. “It’s the happiest wing of the hospital!” a chipper Certified Nursing Assistant sang out as he brought in extra chairs to accommodate the family. The expression on Joiner’s face, however, was not happy.
“Superman,” as the brothers had dubbed him since the movie Man of Steel featured Joiner’s look-alike in the role, was drawn up as tight as a bowstring. When Gillian and Sarah arrived, the brothers suggested they take him and Buster out for a bite to eat. But Buster, assessing the situation, said, “Joiner, you go on and get outside for a minute. You’ve got a long night ahead of you. I’ll stay here till you get back, then I’m going home to my own bed. I’ll tend the animals and be back in the morning.”
Stella nodded. “I’ll be out of it in a few minutes, anyway. They just gave me another dose of pain medicine. Go eat. Get out of here.” She shooed him with her IV-laden hands, smiling bravely.
“We’ll be here, too,” Sarah said.
Finally, Joiner agreed. “I guess I’ll go since Mac’s buying.” He managed a grin in Mac’s direction.
They piled in Mac’s truck, which had front and backseats, and he drove just a few blocks away to a steak house. Although he was the most conservative spender of his brothers, he also believed there was a time for extravagant gestures, and he ordered a blooming onion, Aussie fries and beers with limes for everyone. He watched as Joiner’s shoulders visibly relaxed.
“So tell us everything,” Hunt implored Joiner.
“Everything went fast there at the end, didn’t it, Mac?” Joiner began. “All day they’ve run tests, thinking it could be gallbladder, acid reflux, different stuff. But that last blood work came back with wacky liver enzymes and I guess that’s when they knew it was this HELLP syndrome.” Joiner rubbed his eyes. “You heard what the doctor said. The only way to stop it is to get the baby out.”
“I didn’t hear everything you asked him, though,” Cullen said. “Did you ask something about the timing? Like why the baby has to come now?”
“I did. You know the baby looked good all day on the monitor. So Stella and I were both wondering if she could stay in there awhile longer, you know, like maybe two more
