CHAPTER 19

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W ally and Howard Houser jumped out of Howard's carriage and rushed toward the door as Max and Louise followed Gilly's horse into the yard of the main house.

Livvy met everyone at the front door and ushered them into the parlor where she quickly related how she'd heard Philadelphia 's scream, followed by a horrifying racket. When she reached the foyer, she found Philadelphia sprawled unconscious at the foot of the staircase.

Howard started up out of his chair, but Livvy raised a hand. "She's in bed now, resting. She could have broken her neck, but she didn't. She has a cut on her forehead and a sprained wrist and ankle. She may get a black eye, and she'll certainly be bruised."

"And the baby?" Howard demanded.

"I'm guessing that's why she came to the stairs. To call me because her labor had begun." Livvy clasped her hands in front of her waist. "Frankly, I don't hold much hope for the baby," she informed them, speaking slowly. " Philadelphia 's contractions are weak and she's been bleeding since she fell." She stared hard at Howard and Wally. "If either of you can talk sense to her, I beg you to urge her to allow us to send for Dr. Pope or a midwife. She won't listen to me. Each time I mention outside assistance, she becomes hysterical."

"Where's my daughter?" Howard stood, a bloodless scowl clamping his expression.

"She's upstairs. I'll go with you." Wally and Houser hurried out of the parlor.

Every instinct urged Max to follow, but his mother's gaze pinned him and warned that he would not be welcome. Because he couldn't remain seated, he added wood to the parlor fire and knelt before the flames. Frustration rolled his stomach in knots, and he thought the top of his head would blow off.

He was to blame for whatever happened today. Philadelphia 's pain, the birth or loss of a child. His child. If Philadelphia died, he would never forgive himself. It was hard enough already. But if his lust had put her in a position where she died…

"I left Sunshine with Dave," Gilly said when the silence became oppressive. "I didn't think she should …"

"You made the right choice," Livvy agreed absently, her gaze on the staircase.

Louise studied Max, then turned to Livvy. "What can we do to help?"

"Gilly is no good in a medical situation. We'll put her to work in the kitchen. Gilly, you know where I stacked the diapers and blankets. Get them ready. Also, we'll need a supply of towels. And there'll be wash to do."

"I assume the 'we' you keep mentioning means you and me?" Louise inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm guessing you've attended a birthing or two?"

"Several," Louise admitted. "Most of them sudden. Where there was no one to help but me." She glanced toward the hearth, concerned by the pain in Max's eyes. "But I doubt Philadelphia wants me to help with her delivery."

"If Mr. Houser and Wally can persuade her to allow a doctor, I'll assist him alone. If not, I need you no matter how she feels about it." Livvy dusted her hands together, the matter decided.

Twenty long minutes later Wally and Howard Houser returned to the parlor. Houser walked directly to the window and glared through the panes. "That is the most stubborn woman… She has some damned idiotic idea that no one will learn about the baby if she has it alone. But every person in Fort Houser will know if we send for Dr. Pope."

"Like you said, Ma, she gets hysterical about having a doctor present." Wally pushed both hands over his forehead and through his hair. "But she agreed that if something goes wrong and it looks as if she might die, then we can send for Doc Pope. But we had to promise not to do it until she gives the word."

Livvy blinked hard. " Philadelphia is in no fit state to make this decision. I implore you to send for Doc Pope right now!"

Howard answered without turning from the window. "This day will be hard enough without beginning it on a broken promise. This pregnancy began in betrayal, it isn't going to end that way. When my daughter tells me to fetch Dr. Pope, I will. But not before." When he faced into the room, his gaze hardened on Max. "Why is he here?"

"I sent for him," Livvy said sharply.

"I have a right to be present," Max insisted. But it was Wally he faced. They stared at each other. "After this baby is born, I'll step back and relinquish any claim, as I promised. But today, I need to be here as much as either of you."

"And I need Louise's help. She's assisted at birthings before. Oh. You haven't met Max's wife." Hastily Livvy introduced Louise to Howard Houser.

"Howdy do," Louise said solemnly. In her old life she would have stuck out her hand to shake. But she didn't have to strain to know what to do in this situation. Philadelphia 's father wore his superiority like a shield to ward off people like her.

Howard Houser looked her up and down, and his eyebrows soared as if he were surprised to discover that she was clean and tidy and modestly dressed.

Louise was surprised by him, too. She'd expected the man who was making a misery of her life and Max's would look like the ogre he was. But Houser was her height, balding, and he looked more ordinary than she had imagined. Right now, he was a man half-sick with worry for a beloved daughter.

"Shouldn't someone be with her? She's alone."

As the sharp words were directed to her, Louise supposed the statement indicated his grudging approval. Howard Houser would have welcomed the devil if the devil could help his daughter.

Now Houser flicked a hand at Wally. "It's early, but I could use a drink. It's going to be a long day."

"We all could," Wally said, meaning the men.

Before she hurried after Livvy, Louise sought a quick word with Max. He stood before the fireplace as if he'd taken root there, staring into the flames.

"You haven't said two words."

He didn't look at her. "If she dies …"

"She ain't going to die, Max. I promise you, I won't let her die." Philadelphia was the mother of his child, and she should have been his wife. He loved her. Never had Louise been more aware of that than now as she watched knots ripple up his jaw, saw his hand working the green marble in his pocket.

"How soon will something happen?" he asked in a low voice.

"I imagine it'll be several hours yet."

He nodded. "Tell Ma I'm going to borrow one of her horses. I need to do something or I'll lose my mind."

She didn't let herself dwell on his feelings because it would hurt too much. And she walled off her own emotions because they hurt, too. To get through today, she needed to forget that her husband loved Philadelphia and that Philadelphia would give him a child before this day ended.

There was something else that she didn't let herself think about, although she knew she would later.

Philadelphia 's child would be half sister or half brother to the child that Louise carried. It was another reason, maybe the best reason, to do everything she could to help mother and child come through the delivery safely.

Livvy waited outside Philadelphia 's bedroom door. "I'm sorry to ask you to help after the abominable way Philadelphia has treated you. But there's no one else."

"It doesn't matter." She gave Livvy a steady, direct look. "Now the whole truth."

"I had an idea you'd know there was more." Livvy shook her head and wrung her hands together. "I don't know what to make of this. I ran to the barn and brought back two cowboys to help me get her upstairs and into bed. That's when I noticed that she was bleeding profusely. Once I got her into a nightgown and lying down, the bleeding slowed. I packed her with absorbent cotton."

"You've got a rubber sheet on the bed?"

Livvy nodded. "We've been ready for a couple of weeks. And I have plenty of sheets. We're going to need them since we'll have to remake the bed periodically, especially if the bleeding continues." Livvy glanced toward the bedroom door. "She's having chills and stomach pain down low. Some nausea."

Louise's thoughts raced. "After a fall like that, I'd expect labor to begin at once, particularly since she's overdue. But you're describing—"

"Take a look and tell me what you think."

The instant Louise walked into the room, she smelled the thick coppery scent of blood. Philadelphia was curled on her side in bed, shivering, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Louise exchanged a glance with Livvy before she approached the bed.

"Howdy, Philadelphia . You look like hell."

One eye was swelling and beginning to discolor; she was going to have a dandy of a black eye. And the cut on her forehead would leave a scar. It had bled into her hair and the blood had dried there. Her wrist was wrapped in a stiff bandage to hold it steady, but Philadelphia seemed unaware of wrist pain as she cupped her stomach. That indicated greater pain in her stomach than in her wrist.

Her eyes fluttered open. "You! Get out of my room!"

Louise pulled back the covers and examined Philadelphia 's bloody nightgown and the bloody sheet beneath her hips. She raised her head and stared at Livvy. "Someone should fetch Doc Pope right now."

"That's what I've been saying!"

"No!" Philadelphia glared at them with burning eyes. "It's not your decision! No, no, no!"

"Is the pain constant or intermittent?" Louise snapped.

"Constant. Oh God, it's constant. It doesn't let up. Give me back the blanket, I'm so cold."

"Let us have a minute or two to clean this up and get you into a fresh nightgown, then you can have the blanket," Livvy said soothingly. To Louise she added in a lower voice, "We can fold a sheet into a pad and put that beneath her so all we have to change next time is the pad instead of the whole bed."

Fifteen minutes later, they had the mess cleaned up, the bleeding slowed, and Philadelphia into a clean nightgown and wrapped in an extra blanket. Louise carried the bloody sheets into the corridor with Livvy right behind her. "Well?" Livvy said.

"If I didn't know better," Louise answered slowly, puzzled, "I'd say we were dealing with a miscarriage, not a birth. She's having chills, constant pain… I'd give her a few grains of gallic acid every few hours to arrest the bleeding, and advise her to stay in bed for the next two months and hope she carries to term."

"It can't be a miscarriage." Livvy frowned back into the bedroom, her eyes on Philadelphia , writhing beneath her blankets. "The one thing there's no doubt about is the date of conception. May 29. She's not early; she's overdue."

"And that means we have a situation here that sure ain't good. She must have hurt herself inside when she pitched down the staircase."

"Or maybe it's the baby that's hurt and bleeding."

"Either way, Livvy, this isn't a normal delivery. We need the doctor."

They stood in silence, staring into the bedroom.

"We'll alternate sage tea and tansy tea for the bleeding," Livvy said finally. "I've got some laudanum if the pain gets unbearable. If we can't slow or stop the bleeding, then I'll insist that Howard or Wally send for Doc Pope. I'll throw them both out the door if I have to."

"You fix the tea tray, and I'll stay with her." Shaking her head, Louise entered the bedroom and pulled a chair next to Philadelphia . "Is the pain still constant?"

"You have no right to be here, and I want you gone. I detest you! Get out, get out, get out!"

"Do tell." Louise reached for the basin on the bed table beside her and held it as Philadelphia vomited.

When Philadelphia fell back on the bed, Louise wiped her face with a damp cloth and gave her a glass of water to rinse her mouth.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know why I'm trying to help you. You're about as worthless a person as I ever met. But I'm here for the duration. I guess tending sick folks or folks in pain is a flaw in my character. Now do you want to know what's happening to you, or not?"

They stared at each other, then Philadelphia fell back on her pillow. "I wish it was you lying here suffering. I wish you'd never been born."

"I've wished that myself a few times. Now. You've lost alot of blood. That tells us something is bad wrong. You're also sick to your stomach, shivering, and experiencing continual pain. None of that is usual for a delivery. If Livvy and I can't slow down the blood loss or stop it, we're sending for Doc Pope."

"I'd rather die than send for a doctor!"

"Well, it might happen that's going to be the choice. Death or a doctor. You might be stupid enough to let yourself die because you have some crazy damned notion that a doctor is going to tell everyone that you have a baby everyone will hear about anyway, but I ain't going to let that happen. I can't promise anything about the baby—that ain't looking good—but I can promise that you are not going to die! Long before that happens, a doctor is going to be standing here working on you."

"Never! My father promised! Oh! Oh!"

Leaning forward, Louise placed her palms on Philadelphia 's stomach. It was a contraction, but weak.

After glancing at the clock with the intention of timing the contractions, she explained what had just occurred.

"Where is Livvy?" Philadelphia asked when she'd caught her breath. "I want her here, not you."

"She's downstairs fixing tea."

Philadelphia grimaced and clenched her teeth, then she exhaled slowly. "Max will never love you. Not ever. He loves me, and he always will!"

Louise gazed at the blankets mounded over Philadelphia 's belly and unconsciously her hand dropped to her own stomach.

Philadelphia smiled. In the midst of her pain and nausea, she smiled. "Anyone with eyes can see that you love him. That's good. Because when I take him, I want you to suffer like you've made me suffer!"

" Philadelphia ? Shut up."

"What?"

Louise narrowed her eyes down to slits. "Do you have trouble understanding English, or are your ears bad? I said, shut up. We aren't going to talk about me, and we aren't going to talk about Max. The only person we're going to talk about today is you. You ought to like that since that's your favorite subject."

"Nobody talks to me like that!" Bubbles sputtered up at the corners of her lips.

"Now here's how it's going to go." Reaching, she picked up the basin again and caught another gush of vomit. "The only way you get rid of me and I get rid of you," she paused to wipe Philadelphia 's mouth and hand her the water, "is after you produce that baby. So here's what you do. The next time you have a contraction, you concentrate on making it stronger and harder. When the time comes, I'll tell you to push, and you bet ter damned well do it."

"I don't take orders from you. I'll do what I please!"

"Not today you won't. Today, me and Livvy and Mother Nature are going to dictate what you do. Now let go of those covers. I need to see if you're leaking blood again."

"No, you don't," Philadelphia snapped, baring her teeth. "If you think I'm going to let you inspect my bottom—"

"Before today is over, I'm going to be sick of looking at your bottom." Louise preferred a male patient every time. Women could be such a pain in the butt. She sighed. "Let go of the covers, or I will break your fingers."

"What?" Shock widened Philadelphia 's blue-green eyes, and her mouth dropped open. "What did you say?"

"I said I am going to check and see if you're bleeding again. If you resist, I'll break your fingers. And I'll enjoy doing it." Louise pried up one finger, pulling it back far enough that Philadelphia screamed and snatched her hand away.

"That's better."

"I … I can't … you… "

"I've been told my bedside manner stinks," Louise commented, hauling down the covers for a look. She didn't spot blood on the pad, or the cotton packing Livvy had put between Philadelphia 's legs. "Coddling only makes it harder to get things done."

Philadelphia screamed. "Livvy!"

Louise pulled up the covers and sat down. "I expect Livvy isn't one for coddling either, although I could be wrong."

"Not by much," Livvy said, carrying a tea tray into the room. Her nostrils pinched, and she glanced toward the vomit basin. "We'll start with sage tea, see where we go from there."

And so began six hours of vigilance, worry, work, and a growing sense of helplessness. Louise and Livvy took turns rubbing Philadelphia 's back, wiping sweat from her forehead, or wrapping her in extra blankets when the chills shook her. They brought her tansy tea and sage tea, gave her cold water when she demanded it, and held the bedpan when the urge inevitably came. They changed the bloody sheets and Philadelphia 's nightgown about once every hour and a half. Afterward, one of them would take the sheets and nightgown and the vomit basin downstairs where Gilly waited with a laundry tub and hot, fresh coffee.

When it was Louise's turn, she lingered, glad to escape the odors in the bedroom upstairs. Glad to sit for a minute and rest her own back.

But this time she strode into the kitchen too spitting mad to think about coffee or a minute's rest.

"What's happening up there?" Max asked. "It's been hours."

"Shut up," Howard snarled, then asked Louise the same question. An hour ago, Livvy had implored Howard to send for Doc Pope, but he'd refused. Until Philadelphia sent for him and asked him to fetch the doctor, he would not break his promise.

Furious, Louise walked up to him, slammed her fists on her hips, and leaned into his face. "Listen to me, you son of a bitch. Your daughter has been losing blood for six goddamned hours. She's weak, she's sick, she's in pain. And she is going to die if you don't get a doctor out here and damned soon! Whatever is happening up there, it's beyond what Livvy and I can handle. Now I don't like Philadelphia ; I don't like one damned thing about her. But I promised Max that she isn't going to die, and she goddamned well isn't! So. Are you going to send a cowboy to fetch the doc, or do I have to go out there, climb on a horse, and go get the doc myself! I promise you, somebody is going to town to get the doctor and right now. The question is, who's it going to be?"

"It's going to be me," Max said grimly. Long ago the men had shed jackets and ties and rolled up their sleeves. Max pushed down his cuffs and headed toward the back door where he'd hung his jacket.

"You're not going anywhere, McCord. This isn't your decision. Nobody goes for the doctor until I talk to my daughter first."

Louise ignored him. "Don't waste a minute, Max. She's in a real bad way."

"I'm going, too," Wally said, jumping to his feet. "I can't sit here doing nothing. I'm going crazy."

"You stay where you are! I'm going upstairs to speak to my daughter, then we'll decide."

"No, you're not going upstairs. Sit down, Mr. Houser." Louise gave him a push on his chest, and he was startled enough to sit down hard. "Believe me, you don't want to go up there. Give me that whiskey bottle. Gilly? I need a glass."

Gilly brought three glasses, dropped into a chair, then poured for herself, Louise, and Howard Houser.

"The clothesline is full of frozen sheets. All I can do now is wash them, wring them out, and stack them in the box over there in the corner. I don't know what we'll do about nightgowns. We've gone through all of Philadelphia 's, and we've started on Mama's." She gave Louise a look of anguish. "I'm so scared. Is Philadelphia going to die?"

Louise tossed back the whiskey, then studied the bottom of the glass. " Philadelphia 's lost a lot of blood. She's very sick and very weak. I hope the doctor can save her, but I guess it could go either way."

Houser propped his elbows on the table and dropped his head in his hands. "You're not a doctor; you don't know. What you are is a vulgar-mouthed interfering woman."

"I've been called worse."

He lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. "She's my only child. I've tried never to let her down. Now, because of you, I've broken my promise." His furious expression promised that she would regret crossing him.

"So what will you do, Mr. Houser? Will you punish me for trying to save your daughter's life? Punish Max for riding hell-bent for leather to fetch the doctor? What can you do to make our lives harder or make us more miserable than you've made us already?" Reaching for the bottle, she refilled her glass and then poured more whiskey for Gilly and Houser. "Maybe you won't wait until foreclosure to burn down Max's house. That would teach us not to interfere, wouldn't it. Or maybe you could send one of your minions to shoot what's left of Max's cattle. Yeah, that would teach us a lesson."

A deep plum color infused his cheeks, and he leaned toward her. "Whatever happens is well deserved.

Whose fault is it that my daughter may die?"

"I'm not sure," Louise said thoughtfully, moving her glass in damp circles on the table. "Maybe it's Philadelphia 's fault for not saying no when she should have. Maybe it's your fault for not setting limits and for letting her believe rules don't apply to her. Maybe it's Max's fault because he loved her too much.

Maybe it's your wife's fault for dying too soon. Maybe it's my fault for marrying Max when I didn't even want to. Maybe it's Livvy's fault for buying land outside Fort Houser and making it possible for her son to meet your daughter. Maybe the weather is to blame for providing a warm spring evening conducive to poking. I don't know who or what is to blame. What difference does it make? Will assigning blame change anything?"

"That's enough!" he said, speaking through his teeth.

"Yes, it is," she said wearily, pushing up from the table. "Gilly, we'll need a stack of fresh towels for the doctor. Your mother said to tell you to put out the roast beef for supper. People can eat if they feel like it."

Without glancing at Houser, Louise walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs and back into the oppressive and frightening odors and the sight of blood and pain. Livvy looked up with a worried and helpless expression and shook her head.

"I hope the doctor gets here soon."

"I do, too." She wanted Philadelphia to live. She had promised Max.

An endless hour elapsed before the downstairs door finally banged open and Max, Wally, and Dr. Pope ran up the staircase. The doctor strode in the room, but Max and Wally halted at the door and their eyes widened before they turned away.

"Oh Jesus."

"God!"

"Damn it, get out of here," Louise said, pushing them into the corridor. "Go downstairs," she ordered before she shut the door on them. "We'll tell you the minute we know anything."

Dr. Pope set down his bag, threw off his coat, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. "I'm told she's full term. She fell down the staircase and that's when the bleeding began. Is there anything else I need to know?" After Livvy described what had happened throughout the last seven hours, he nodded briskly.

"I want to die," Philadelphia whispered. She blinked dazed eyes at the ceiling.

"We're going to try to prevent that," Dr. Pope said, bending to open his bag. "You ladies might want to step outside for a minute or two. I think our little mother would appreciate some privacy during the examination."

"Oh. Of course." Taking Louise's arm, Livvy headed for the door. She sagged against the corridor wall.

"I am so thankful that he's here. Whatever you said to make this happen, I bless you for it."

After a few minutes, Louise frowned. "What's taking so long? Did he forget we're waiting out here?"

"I didn't forget," Dr. Pope said, stepping into the corridor and pulling the door shut behind him.

"How is she? Will she be all right?" Livvy inquired anxiously.

"I'd say so. She'll need complete bed rest and a lot of care, but she's young and healthy. I expect her to recover."

"And the baby?" Louise asked.

"We'll know in a few minutes, but my informed guess is the baby will not survive. You said this was a full-term baby, but it isn't. She's only seven months along. Being eight, maybe nine weeks premature, plus the fall …"He shook his head.

"That's impossible," Livvy stated flatly. "This isn't a premature baby. It can't be."

"Mrs. McCord, I've been delivering babies for thirty-five years. I know how far along a woman is, and I know the difference between a delivery and a miscarriage. This is a miscarriage." He spoke with the full authority of his title and experience. "Whichever one of you is going to assist, we'll begin now." He pushed open the door and walked back into the bedroom.

"Seven months," Livvy whispered. "No wonder she didn't want a doctor." Her eyes rounded, then narrowed. "You and I didn't understand what we were seeing. We dismissed a miscarriage because it wasn't possible." Hot color rose in Livvy's cheeks, and her shoulders stiffened. "She damned near got away with this. It wouldn't surprise me if falling down the stairs was no accident."

"Livvy, what are you saying?"

"Think about what a seven-month baby means." Striding forward, she entered the bedroom and closed the door with an angry click.

Before Louise could think about anything, she needed to tell the others that Doc Pope was confident Philadelphia would survive. She found everyone sitting around the kitchen table waiting in worried silence. They gazed at her with anxious, expectant eyes.

"There's nothing much to report yet. Livvy and the doctor are with her."

"What are they doing?" Howard demanded.

"I don't know. My impression is that Doc Pope will deliver the baby." She didn't tell them the baby was two months premature. "The doctor expects Philadelphia will fully recover."

"Thank heaven," Gilly whispered.

But Max was the person she spoke to, the only person she saw. He dropped his head in his hands and didn't move. She guessed he was praying, thanking God. And then she remembered Philadelphia saying that she would take Max away. If she ran off with Max, it would break Wally's heart. All Louise had to do was glance at Wally's white, drawn face to see that he loved his wife. But Philadelphia had said she would take Max.

Smothering a sigh, she placed her hands against the small of her back and stretched. "I'll return when there's more news."

There was a wooden bench in the corridor outside Philadelphia 's bedroom, and she sat there to wait, leaning her head back against the wall.

Seven months ago Max had been in Piney Greek. She knew he hadn't left camp during the summer because she'd been aware of Max by then and had kept an eye on him. There was no possibility that Max could be the father of Philadelphia 's child.

Lowering her head, she rubbed the bridge of her nose with thumb and forefinger. Livvy was right. Now they knew why Philadelphia had taken such an adamant position against seeing a doctor. She might deceive Livvy and Louise, and almost had, but a doctor would know at once that she was not as far along as she claimed.

The scope of Philadelphia 's deceit was staggering to think about. She would have married Max and let Max raise another man's child while believing it was his. And Wally. Wally had married Philadelphia to give a McCord child the McCord name. If Philadelphia had told the truth, Wally's life would have been very different now.

Fin ally, to protect her deception, Philadelphia must have deliberately fallen down the staircase, hoping to induce labor when labor should have begun if the baby had been Max's. She must have known that she might seriously injure herself and her baby, but she had done it anyway.

Louise shuddered and pressed a hand to her stomach as the door opened and Livvy emerged, holding a bundle in her arms. She jumped to her feet. "The baby lived!"

"Only for a few minutes. It's a boy," Livvy said in a flat voice.

"Where are you going?"

"This is not a McCord. I want the men she deceived to see this baby and know what she did."

"Livvy, wait." Louise caught her motherin-law's arm. "There's no reason to tell anyone about this baby.

You'll only bring pain to those who love her. They don't have to know." She didn't want Max to learn that Philadelphia had betrayed him with another man. It would hurt too much. "Please, don't do this. We can keep her secret for the sake of those we love."

Anger flashed and burned in Livvy's gaze. "She betrayed Max. And she intended to pass another man's by-blow off on my son to raise as his own. Wally didn't have to marry her; he could have had his own life, could have chosen his own bride. Then she allowed her father to punish Max when Max had nothing to do with this pregnancy. And she dared—she dared—to call you indecent! She did these things to my family, and by God in heaven, I will not protect her. Get out of my way."

Livvy carried the baby down the stairs and into the kitchen. Circles of scarlet flamed against her pale cheeks as she told Max, Wally, Howard Houser, and Gilly what she had come to say.

"That is a filthy lie!" Houser stood abruptly, shaking with anger. "How dare you suggest that my daughter had sexual congress with another man only two months before her wedding?"

Livvy's chin came up. "Doc Pope will confirm this child was premature." Livvy turned back the blanket that had hidden the baby's face. "If you still doubt, then look at this child. See for yourself that this is not my son's baby."

Louise drew a sharp breath. From where she stood, she could see a shock of black hair and the baby's face and chest. His skin was the color of coffee with cream.

Howard Houser stared, then he threw out an arm to catch himself. Leaning, he steadied himself against the kitchen wall. "Luis Delacroix," he whispered, blinking at the bundle in Livvy's arms. "That son of a bitch!"

Max met his mother's gaze; then he stood abruptly and walked out the back door, letting it slam behind him.