His Ranch

Chapter 5 Two New Friends

Flannery couldn't believe that Coult had tried to kiss information out of her! After he had left the kitchen, she had quickly prepared lunch and then made the phone call to schedule a visit. 

The doctor's secretary was an overly friendly woman who insisted that the doctor could come out to the ranch to meet with her. Flannery protested, the last she wanted was anyone knowing she was pregnant, but the secretary insisted. 

Hurriedly, she showered, threw dinner on the stove and waited on the porch for the doctor to arrive. She was glad that all the ranch hands were out and not near the house. Flannery didn't want to Coult. She felt her heart jump at the thought of him. She couldn't fall for her boss! 

Flannery saw the small, black car pull up and deduced that it must be the doctor. A very tall, blonde woman emerged from the car with a warm and welcoming face. Flannery was relieved that it was a woman.

"Why, hello there!" she called up to Flannery, in her deep Texan accent. "You must be Flannery Moore?"

"Yes, I am," answered Flannery, bringing her into the living where she had set-up lemonade. "Would you care for a glass?"

With a nod, the doctor watched Flannery pour a delicious looking cup of cool lemonade.

"I am Dr. Jordan Baker. My secretary said you needed an appointment with me concerning pregnancy."

Flannery choked on her lemonade that she was sipping while the doctor introduced herself. She still wasn't used to the idea of her having a baby but the doctor just threw it on out there.

"Yes. Yes I did." Flannery began to unload everything that had happened. She told Jordan about Beau and her family and how wonderful Alice was. 

Jordan sat there and listened to Flannery pour her heart out. She knew that when having a baby, whether you were single or married, you needed to be emotionally healthy or the child would suffer. After an hour and a half of convincing Flannery that she made the right choice, Jordan took her up to her bedroom and quickly examined her. 

"Everything looks fine, darlin'" Jordan said from the bathroom while washing her hands. "You are almost done with your first trimester and you're very lucky you aren't dealing with too much morning sickness. Those prenatal's Alice gave you are totally fine, just keep active. Don't over exert yourself but a healthy mom is a healthy babe, got it?" 

Flannery began to feel her heart swell at the thought of her little one. Jordan had relieved her of the worries she had and encouraged her to read the books Alice would be sending her carefully.

"Now, have you thought about the birth?" Jordan asked, sitting back down in the living room with Flannery. 

"No" said Flannery, her cheeks turning red. Truthfully, she didn't think she was ready to talk about it yet. She didn't want to think about a baby coming through such a small hole!

"That's okay, we can talk about it some other time," Jordan said laughing at the look on Flannery's face. "Sounds like the ranch hands are coming in for lunch anyways."

~~~

Coult had been anxious for lunch since he left Flannery in the kitchen. He couldn't wait to see her again. He had kept his distance from the hands because Danny woulnd't stop talking about his date with Flannery. He wished with all his might that he had the power to demand that she not go on that date but he knew she would just go anyways.

He walked up the stairs of the porch and passed Jordan as she walked down. He wanted to ask her what was wrong with Flannery, but he knew Jordan well enough to know that she wouldn't tell him. Dammit, he had tried his hardest to get her to tell him but he guessed it wasn't enough.