âI donât know you at all.â
Devon pulled her lower lip between her teeth after she spokeâas though she, too, wished to take back the words. She put her right hand on the floor to push herself to her feet.
Miguel closed his fingers around her forearm and held her beside him. âDevon, have you given any thought as to why you ended up in my bed that night?â
âShock. Confusion. Sleep deprivation. I was a little out of my mind, I think.â
âMaybe,â he agreed, smiling, although it took some doing to produce a grin. Part of him wanted her to say it was because she was still madly, passionately, forever in love with him. âI think we both were.â
âI didnât know if my grandmother was going to live or die. I needed comfort. You offered me that.â
âDevon, it went past offering you comfort five minutes after we left the hospital.â The words came out as a kind of growl and her eyes widened a little with dismay.
âI told you, it was an aberration. We were both a little crazy that night.â
Dear Reader,
Babies are such wonderful little creatures. Being able to contribute a story to a series dealing with the women who dedicate their lives to bringing babies into the world was a challenge we were happy to accept.
Midwives have helped women deliver their babies from ancient times, but in the past hundred years, at least in the United States, the craft has fallen into disfavor and is still viewed with skepticism by much of the medical profession.
Today many women are rediscovering the joy of delivering their children with the help of skilled midwives like Lydia Kane and the others at The Birth Place.
Lydiaâs granddaughter, Devon Grant, has always known she wanted to follow in her grandmotherâs footsteps, but sheâs taken a different path to that goal, becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife instead of following traditional ways. Now sheâs back in Enchantment working alongside Lydia, and old wounds and new secrets add to the tension between the women, tension thatâs intensified further by their differing approaches to their age-old craft.
The reappearance of Devonâs teenage love, all grown up and even more handsome than before, only adds to the complications in her lifeâand then there are the children sheâs taken under her wing at the risk of being arrested for harboring illegal aliensâ¦and wildfire on the mountainâ¦oh yes, and a baby born under the stars.
We hope you enjoy reading The Midwife and the Lawman as much as we enjoyed writing it. Weâd also like to add a special thank you to the great authors in this series (Darlene Graham, Brenda Novak, Roxanne Rustand, C.J. Carmichael and Kathleen OâBrien) whose books preceded ours. It was an honor and a privilege working with all of you.
Sincerely,
Carol and Marian
For Erika, Jennifer, Allicyn and Matthew and now for Becca and Nicholas, and always for Sarah
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
EPILOGUE
HE WONDERED if Devon would ever come to him again.
Enchantmentâs Chief of Police Miguel Eiden put the decidedly nonregulation thought out of his head as his radio crackled to life. It was the day dispatcher, Doris Fernandez, checking in.
âChief Eiden, did you copy the transmission from The Birth Place?â
He hit the toggle that opened the receiver affixed to his shoulder, frowning a little at the use of his title. Until a few weeks ago Doris would have called him Miguel. Then heâd still been one of the guys. Now he was the boss, and things had changed. âRoger that, Doris.â Heâd picked up Devon Grantâs conversation with her grandmother, Lydia Kane, on the scanner speaker. He hadnât responded, though. That was the last thing Devon would want.
âShall I send out a ten-fourteen?â Ten-fourteen was code for a police escort.
The only other officer on duty this shift was Hank Jensen. Hank was six months out of the New Mexico Police Academy. It would be lights and siren all the way back to The Birth Place. Devon would be furious. Madder than sheâd be if he showed up. âNegative, Doris. Iâm heading back into town. Iâll meet her at the Silver Creek Road intersection.â
âAffirmative. Iâll notify the clinic that youâre available.â
âIâll give you an ETA after I connect with Ms. Grant. Eiden out.â He stood up but didnât leave the shade of the brush arbor where heâd been sitting with his grandfather, Daniel Elkhorn. âGotta go, Granddad. Devon Grant doesnât want to be delivering a baby in the back of her Blazer any more than I do. Iâd better see sheâs got a clear run the rest of the way into town.â
His grandfather stood, too, unfolding his barrel-chested, six-foot frame from his lawn chair, and took a limping step forward. âThisâll be the second baby in two weeks that sheâs talked the mother out of delivering at home. Not the best endorsement for her grandmotherâs clinic.â