17. Chapter 17

Chapter seventeen

"I finally got you into a cowboy hat."

W hen Paxton went home to Elaina, he found her pacing in the living room. She hugged him when he walked over to her. She looked beautiful and not like she was about to deliver a baby.

"I waited to call you until I was sure."

"Babe, you should've called me right away." He put a hand on her stomach. "How close are your contractions?"

"Five minutes or so."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. I called my mom and Corbyn. They're both waiting for us at the clinic."

"Is Joaquin up?"

"No. I didn't want to wake him until you got here."

"Okay. The truck is running. Let me get you out there, then I'll come get Joaquin."

She nodded, and Paxton helped her into her coat. Then he grinned and took his cowboy hat from the rack. "Here. Wear this. It'll keep the snow off." He set the hat on her head, then grinned. "I finally got you into a cowboy hat."

"For the first and last time."

"I don't know. Once you start wearing one, it's hard to stop."

She patted his chest. "Trust me. That won't be a problem for me." As Paxton opened the door, Elaina stopped and groaned.

"Honey?"

She held up a hand and breathed through the contraction. "I'm okay. Let's go before the next one hits me."

Paxton helped her to the truck and when she was inside, she handed the hat back to him. "Please take this."

"Put your seatbelt on."

"I'm not sure that's possible."

"Figure it out. The roads are really bad."

He left her to work on that while he went into the house to get Joaquin. The boy was sound asleep and Paxton lifted him up, blanket and all. Then he carried him through the house and out the door to the truck. He put him next to Elaina, then got in behind the wheel. He buckled the child's seatbelt, then pulled onto the street.

"Okay, here we go. I'm glad it's only four miles to the clinic." Paxton wanted to hurry, but he took it slow. Better safe than sorry. Elaina had two contractions on the way there.

"That's closer than five minutes, honey."

"They seemed to have sped up."

When they got to the clinic, the lights were on and the walkway had been cleared of snow. Corbyn had made sure they got inside safely. He must've been waiting for them, because he came out the door and approached the truck. He helped Elaina inside while Paxton got Joaquin.

Maria and Lainey were waiting inside. Joaquin was still asleep, so Paxton carried him up the stairs to Maria's apartment and put him in his room there. When he went back downstairs, Maria was reluctant to leave Elaina.

Elaina smiled at her. "I'm in good hands, Mama. Go stay with Joaquin ."

Maria kissed Elaina, then hugged Paxton. "Call me if you need me."

Paxton nodded. "I will."

Lainey had taken Elaina to the room permanently set up as a birthing suite for the women in town that didn't want to deliver in Richfield. Or the ones who had to deliver due to weather or the ferry not running. As she was getting settled in, Corbyn took Paxton aside.

"How're you doing?"

"Um…scared to death, actually."

Corbyn smiled. "That's good. I'd be worried if you weren't." He put a hand on Paxton's shoulder. "I'm sorry you couldn't make it to Richfield."

"Honestly, I'm relieved. I'm glad you're the one delivering my child."

"I'm glad too. I'll take good care of both of them."

Paxton took a deep breath. "I know."

"Okay, let's go see where we're at."

Once they arrived at the clinic, things moved quickly and by two a.m. Raphael Greer Calaway was born. He was a big baby at almost eight pounds and Paxton was overwhelmed by the whole process. Corbyn and Lainey left them alone to bond with the newest member of the family.

Paxton kissed Elaina on the forehead. "You're so amazing. How did you do that without losing your cool?"

She smiled. "I'm pretty sure I lost my cool near the end."

Paxton flexed his right hand. "You did almost break my drink serving hand."

She looked at the baby. "I can't believe how beautiful he is."

"He looks like you."

She shook her head. "No. He looks like his father."

"I know you don't ever want to wear a cowboy hat. But my son is damn well going to wear one."

"Of course, Cari?o. I think it's time we got Joaquin one as well. They are Calaways after all."

"Yes, they are." He touched the baby's face. "I can't stop looking at him. I'm afraid he's going to disappear. That all this was just a dream."

"It's not a dream. He's here to stay. Although you might wish he'd at least quiet down when he wakes up in the middle of the night multiple times."

"I'm ready. And I'm going to cherish every night of no sleep. Every tantrum. Every moment. Mom has always told us how fast it goes by. I don't want to miss any of it."

Elaina patted the bed next to her and Paxton laid down and put his arm around her and Raphael. "I love you Elaina Quintero Calaway."

"And I love you, mi amore ."

Sydney waited until the roads were plowed before she drove to the grocery store on Thursday morning. When she passed the newspaper office, she spotted Dale standing out front, looking forlorn. The lights were off and Gage's truck wasn't parked there. Even though Gage said he wasn't going to show up early, he should've been there by now. It was publication day. He hadn't missed one yet.

She parked her car and got out to talk to Dale. "Hi. Gage isn't here yet?"

Dale was hunched over with his hands in his pockets, and his cheeks and nose were rosy from the cold. "No. I've been waiting about a half-hour. He said to be here at ten."

Sydney still had a key to the front door, and she unlocked it. "Come inside. Do you know how to start a fire in the wood stove?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Will you do that and warm yourself up? I'll call Gage and see when he's coming in."

Sydney took out her phone and dialed Gage's number. It went directly to voicemail, which usually meant he had no service. With the weather, it wasn't surprising. She thought for a moment. Paxton would know what time Gage left the bar, so she dialed Paxton's number next. It rang, then went to voicemail. Again, this wasn't too unusual. Paxton had a habit of leaving his phone at home. Or not charged. He wasn't big on cell phones and had only recently gotten one. He often didn't have it on him.

She sat at the desk. Tracking down Gage wasn't going to be easy. Her next option was either Cooper or Cabe. They both lived near Gage and they probably went home at the same time. She decided to try Cooper first.

Lyric answered her call. "Good morning."

"Hi, Lyric. This is Sydney. Is Cooper around?"

"He's outside playing in the snow with the boys. I'll get him for you."

"Thank you."

She waited a couple of minutes before Cooper came on the line, sounding slightly out of breath. "Hello, Sydney. What can I do for you?"

"Um… I'm trying to get a hold of Gage. I tried Paxton first, but he's not answering."

"He wouldn't. Elaina had the baby last night. A boy."

"Oh, my gosh. That's great. Everything went well, I hope."

"Yeah. They're all doing fine. Gage's truck is still out front. He parked it here last night and walked to his house."

"So, he made it home?"

"Yeah. It's just a mile. Not much could've happened to him."

"Did he drink last night?"

"Not really. We were so busy, there was no time. And after we closed, we just wanted to get home. He was completely sober. I didn't really think about how late it was. It's weird he hasn't left for work. The paper comes out today, right?"

"Yes. Which is why I'm calling you. He told Dale to meet him here at ten. And it's almost eleven."

"I'll take a walk to his place and get his ass out of bed. We have power here, but maybe he lost his. It's happened before. He might've overslept."

"That doesn't really sound like Gage, with or without power."

"Okay, now I'm worried. I'll go see what he's doing."

"Thank you. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."

"I'll call you as soon as I know anything."

"I'd appreciate it."

Sydney set her phone on the desk and turned to Dale. "It seems Gage is going to be late. The papers are all printed. They just need to be folded and boxed."

"Okay."

"I'll stay and help you until he gets here."

Dale nodded and went to the stack of newspapers. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you quit? I thought you liked it here."

"I did like it here, Dale. There were just some things that… I needed a change. That's all."

"Hmm. Okay. Gage isn't really doing that great with you gone."

Sydney shook her head. "I feel bad about that."

"Then you should come back."

She picked up one of the crates they used to transport the papers. "Let's get these ready to deliver."

"Yes, ma'am."

She smiled. "You know. You make me feel old when you call me ma'am."

"Sorry." He blushed. "My mom says it's a sign of respect."

"Well, thank you. It's a compliment then, I guess." She thought about the Calaway brothers who all seemed to use ma'am on a regular basis. They were certainly respectful. Even when Gage was at his grumpiest, he was still respectful.

She tried not to think about why he wasn't there. It would be an overreaction to assume something had happened to him. Like Cooper said, what could happen in the mile to his house?