“What if she…” Luke couldn’t go on.
“What if she what?”
“Screams or something,” he said squeamishly.
Jack put his free arm around Luke’s shoulders. “See, you need to be here, buddy. It’s time you learn about the cycle of life. You never know, this could happen to you someday.”
“This is not happening to me someday. I’m way past all this.”
A few male heads came up. There was some subdued laughter. “Is that so?” Jack said. “Cry me a river, pal, I was over forty when Mel tripped me up. We’re all about the same age around here, except Preacher. He’s still a pup, even though he looks older than the rest of us.”
Walt handed Luke a drink. “I was forty-four when Tom was born. I think I’m holding up all right, to tell the truth.”
“You’re going to have to come up with a better excuse,” Jack said. “Besides, I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”
“Yeah? What?”
“Well, I have a situation. We usually go to Sacramento for Christmas, but with no doctor in town and Brie just delivering, my family is coming here. There’s a ton of them. I have the guesthouse for my dad, a couple of rooms if we double up the kids, and the cabin is free again. And this is a new Valenzuela baby coming—wanna bet we’ll be seeing a ton of Mexicans around here? Mike’s family is bigger than mine. Buddy—we are out of space. What’s the status of those cabins? Got any ready to rent?”
Luke lifted his eyebrows. This was unexpected. “Tell you what I’ve got,” he said. “They’re habitable and the new appliances have been delivered but not installed, they need inside paint, and furniture has been ordered, not delivered. Thanks to Paul, all new roofs, windows and doors. The countertops and cupboards are installed, but I’m still working on baseboards. I put in new hot-water heaters.”
“If you had a hand with the paint and appliances, think you could free up a couple by Christmas?” Jack asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Luke said. “If furniture can be delivered quickly. But, Jack, even with your help, that would be a push.”
Paul moved closer. “Where’s your furniture coming from? Maybe we can pick it up with one of the company trucks.”
“Eureka. Beds, sleeper sofas, small tables and chairs, etcetera. It was the next thing after paint and appliances.”
“Then we’ll get it done,” Jack said. “That would be perfect. Otherwise, we’re going to have to hang all these people from the trees. Be right back,” he said, taking David off to bed.
Then suddenly Shelby appeared in the kitchen. She was smiling a sweet, secret smile, a very special light in her eyes. “I didn’t think you’d be here,” she said.
“Neither did I.”
To the men in the kitchen she said, “Mel said to tell you it won’t be much longer. And she said you are not to get drunk.”
“We don’t get drunk at birthing parties,” Preacher said indignantly. Then he looked over his shoulder and said, “Except Paul. He got toasted after Matt was born, but that was a whole different thing.”
Luke was focused on Shelby’s smiling face. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“I was helping with Mel’s kids so she could be with Brie, but now that Vanni and Paige are here, I can observe,” she said. “Brie said it would be all right. I’ve never seen a birth.”
“You’re up to that?” he wanted to know.
“Of course,” she said. She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
Luke made fast work of his first drink and was nursing his second, through many jokes and soft, respectful laughter, when Mike came into the great room holding a very small bundle wrapped in a pink receiving blanket. Mike went to the women first—Paige and Vanni. While they were murmuring, smiling, beaming, the men moved in a crowd out of the kitchen to have a look at what Mike had for himself. The look on Mike’s face was a combination of exhaustion and exhilaration—just what would happen to a guy who’d just helped and worried his way through labor with his wife while she produced this, his first child. His smile was huge; his eyes were bright inside and weary on the outside.
And that’s when Luke started to remember. So long ago. So deep and buried. He migrated to Mike and the baby, smiling sentimentally, gently tugging back the pink wrap to get a better look at her. He even heard himself say, “Good for you, man.”