âItâs a mess. Single-vehicle accident about ten miles past Manny Cordovaâs place. Looks like the driver lost control.â
Nolan listened to the report coming over the police scanner. Since he was the only one on call at the newspaper, it looked as if that âmessâ was his responsibility. He loved most things about owning and managing the local newspaper. But stories like this were never fun.
He took a sharp corner slowly, his tires jostling on the poorly maintained pavement. Ahead he spotted the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. Parking behind the police cars, he had a view of the accident. The vehicleâsome kind of SUVâhad gone off the road and crashed into a rock outcrop.
Heâd have to get a photo. About to uncap his camera, Nolan froze. He could just see the rear license plate of the mangled vehicle. And heâd seen that particular pattern before.
And then it hit him.
The SUV belonged to his sister.
Dear Reader,
In our family my husband, Michael, is the one who is usually taking business trips. I stay at home and look after the kids and the house and shovel all the snow (it always snows when he goes away). When I found out I was going to be working on a series set in New Mexico, though, I knew that this was my chance. I had never been to New Mexico. Clearly a âbusiness tripâ was in order.
So I told my husband, âHoney, Iâm going on a business trip to New Mexico.â He asked me what I was going to do there. âOh, go shopping and sightseeing and hang out in the local coffee shops. Iâll probably have to take lots of pictures,â I added, so it would be clear that I would be working very hard. I think he must have felt sorry for me by this point, because thatâs when he volunteered to come with me.
Several months after that trip, I sat down at my computer with visions of mountains and deserts and Georgia OâKeeffe paintings filling my imagination. Michael and I had a wonderful time in New Mexico. Itâs a beautiful place, an enchanting place. The perfect settingâin my opinionâfor THE BIRTH PLACE series.
If youâve read the earlier BIRTH PLACE books, youâll already have met my hero and heroine. Kim Sherman is the birth center accountant who has come to town for reasons only she knows. And Nolan McKinnon is the local newspaper editor whose world is about to be torn apart by a family tragedy. I hope you enjoy the adventure of their love story. And come back to Enchantment next month to discover the truth behind the legend of the homecoming baby.
Sincerely,
C.J. Carmichael
P.S. Iâd love to hear from you! Write to #1754-246
Stewart Green, S.W., Calgary, Alberta T3H 3C8. E-mail: [email protected].
Thanks to all the âSuperâ authors who made collaborating
on this project so much fun: Darlene Graham, Brenda Novak, Roxanne Rustand, Kathleen OâBrien, Marisa Carroll. What a great team of writers to work with!
Special thanks to Anita Cisecki, R.N., ISE,
who works in high-risk obstetrics at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, for sharing her amazing experience and expertise. Lucky for me my brother married your sister!
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE SPACIOUS ROOM FELT tranquil and homeyâwith dim lighting, soothing classical music and the scent of lavender in the air. Steve Davidson rubbed massage oil through the back opening of his wifeâs favorite flannel nightgown, while Mary crouched on her hands and knees panting softly.
She was ten centimeters dilated.
Lydia Kane, midwife and founder of The Birth Place, observed the young woman thoughtfully. Six years ago, Maryâs first delivery had been relatively quick. Lydia had predicted that this second one would be even faster. And yet the baby still hadnât dropped into position in the birth canal.
Across the room, where she was folding the damp towels Mary had used to towel off from a soak in the whirlpool tub earlier, Gina Vaughn, the assisting midwife, was biting her bottom lip. Lydia caught her gaze and gave her a reassuring smile.
Gina was doing wonderfully. Newly certified, a mother of two herself, Ginaâs passion for the calling reminded Lydia of herself decades ago. Oh, sheâd been terribly idealistic at that age. A part of her, she knew, still was.
Even after all these years, every birth Lydia attended gave her the same deep sense of wonder and satisfaction. The belief that she was helping mothers savor the full meaning of their childbirth experience had motivated her to establish The Birth Place in the fairly isolated town of Enchantment, New Mexico, and to keep it runningâsometimes overcoming incredible hurdlesâfor over forty years.
âExcuse me.â Steve approached, his eyes creased with concern. âHow much longer, do you think? Sheâs really in a lot of pain.â