Kentucky's Best

Chapter 24

As soon as Harry and Louis hears those words float down the stairs they are both up and running, but Louis grabs a bag that is sitting on the sofa Harry never even saw. When they both run into the room where the women were they see Anne and Gemma doing CPR on Rose trying to get her to breath, Louis pushes Harry out of his way and drops the bag he's holding on the bed and unzips it.
"Anne we have to hurry and get that baby out of her now, before it's to late." Louis says as he takes the defibrillator out so it can start charging it.

"Just shock her, get her back." Harry cries.

"Harry, we can't." Anne says. "It might kill the baby."

"I don't care, Rose is what matters. Do it now!" Harry yells.

"No! Gemma, push on Rose's stomach, Lou help her. We are going to deliver this child, then we will save our Rose." Anne snaps. "Now Harry you can either help, or go away and take care of your daughter for once." His mom snaps at him.

Harry walks over to where Gemma was standing, pushing her gently out of the way Harry takes over. He's done this many time in his line of work. Yeah it was on animals but how different can it be. Putting his large hands across the upper side of Rose's round stomach Harry pushes down slowly.
"That's it son, keep doing that." Anne whispers. "I can see his head, Gem grab me a towel and be ready." Anne says. Anne glances up at her son as he worked on getting his son born, she could see the tears on his cheeks as he looked at Rose's unmoving chest, looking back down, she reaches out and eases the baby from Rose's lifeless body. "Harry cut the cord for me please." Anne says around the lump in her throat.

Harry does as he was told, he then steps back and watches as Louis shocks Rose several times trying to get her back to them. Harry knew Gemma has call for an ambulance already, but Harry believes it's to late. Turning Harry looks at everyone in the room. "I want that thing out of my sight, he killed her." He says, then walks out of the room and out the front door to Waikiki's enclosure. When Harry gets to the cat's cage he finds Steph there sitting against the tree with Waikiki lying beside her with his huge head in her lap, she was running her tiny fingers through his wirey fur like Rose does when she's upset. "Hey Bug, what are you doing in here alone? You know you're not supposed to do this."

Stephanie looks up at her dad, then shrugs. "Momma let's me come in here while she's feeding the other animals." She says. "I've been doing this for a long time now, Kiki likes it when I rub his ears."

"Rose let you come in here after I said I didn't want you to?" Harry asks.

"You were never home daddy." Steph says. "And when you did come home all you ever did was yell at Momma for not having supper ready on time or because I forgot to put my toys away." She says with tears now running down her cute, chubby cheeks. "Then you would eat, go to you office and stay there until bed time, you never even told me goodnight anymore." Steph cries as she looks up at Harry. "Momma has been sleeping with me for the past 2 weeks daddy but you never noticed because she has to be up to make sure your coffee is made and breakfast is done before you leave for work, then she gets me and her ready so we can leave." Steph drops her head onto Waikiki's and sobs. She then raises it back up and looks at Harry again. Harry was almost afraid to hear what his own child was about to say to him next.
"Daddy, you even forgot Momma's birthday the other day, we went out without you because when we called you, you told her you were to busy to for her, for her to go alone."

Harry's heart drops hearing that, he thinks back, trying to remember that call, when he does everything said replays in his head. He was sitting at his desk when his phone rang, when he saw it was Rose he almost didn't answer, but decided he should in case something was wrong, all he was doing at that moment was trying to figure out what to do to keep from going home so when Rose asked when he was coming home so they could go out Harry remembers telling her if she wanted to go out to go alone because he didn't have time for her right then. He had better things to do than rush home and spend the evening entertaining her, he then hung up on her.

"Daddy?" Steph says getting his attention. When Harry looks at her, she asks. "Since Rose is going make us move out again does that mean we won't get to see my new brother?"

"What makes you think we'll be moving out Bug?" Harry asks her as he walks toward her.

"That's what Momma said. That's why I was crying when you got home, she said I could come and visit her and my brother as much as I wanted to if you let me, that she will always love me, but we had to leave because she couldn't live with you anymore." Steph cries. "Why doesn't Momma love you anymore Daddy?"

Swollowing, or at least trying to, Harry sits beside his crying daughter. "Momma doesn't love me anymore because I broke the promise I made her and I've been mean to her, baby. She probably thinks I don't love her anymore." Harry says.

"Do you still Momma, Daddy?" Steph asks him. "Momma said she didn't think you did."

Harry chokes back a sob. "Yes baby, I love Momma, more than anything in this world. I've just been acting stupid and lost what means the world to me." Harry tells his amazing daughter. Harry was about to tell her more but the ambulance pulls up and Gemma walks out the front door so he stands and picks Steph up and walks toward the house instead.
Just about as he gets even with the ambulance he hears Rose's voice asking where Steph is and if she's okay. Hearing that Harry thought he was going to pass out, he truly believed his Rose was gone from him forever.