Free Small-Town Brides by Janet Tronstad Page A

husband list. Me and Rene are making our lists.”
    Rene half-choked. Did Mandy mean she was making a list, too? “I thought you—” Rene stopped. What was Mandy doing?
    â€œA hat just looks so masculine,” Mandy continued. “Yes, we definitely want a man with a hat—a big cowboy hat.”
    â€œBut I wear a cap,” Davy protested. “Remember, I like the baseball brim?”
    Rene thought she heard Mandy purr for a second and then the younger woman said, “Clay wears a cowboy hat.”
    Clay could feel everyone in the truck staring at him, and not all of the gazes were friendly. He swore he didn’t understand women. He did recognize the glare he was getting from Davy, though. “I hear baseball caps are popular these days.”
    The young man grunted.
    â€œNot every man can wear a cowboy hat,” Rene agreed emphatically.
    Clay remembered that Trace wore a Stetson. Of course, Rene would put that on her husband list.
    â€œIt’s just that a cowboy hat looks so romantic.” Mandy finished her comment with a sigh. “And what woman doesn’t like a little romance in her life?”
    â€œI can be romantic,” Davy said stiffly.
    Clay was starting to feel sorry for the young man. Just then Mandy gave a deep gasp that had Clay hunching forward over the steering wheel again. They were a good ten miles from Miles City. Fortunately, the roads had become better as they got closer. The snowplow must have cleaned some of the snow off last night.
    They were quiet for miles. Clay figured Mandy and Rene must have given up on their relaxation goal. How could anyone be totally calm when Mandy was sitting there with her lips pressed tightly together in pain?
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    Clay didn’t know what to do about it, but it looked to him like the young woman was going to have her baby early. He was relieved when he saw a cluster of buildings come into view. It was Miles City.
    A large sign led to the hospital, and Clay drove thetruck up to the front entrance. Snow covered the parking lot, but there were enough footprints in it to show that the place was open.
    Davy was closest to the passenger door and he carefully moved his arm, which was holding Mandy, so that he could open the door.
    â€œI’ll come around,” Clay said as he turned the engine off.
    â€œMaybe you should go inside and get a wheelchair,” Rene said from the back. “Charlie said they have them right inside the door here.”
    Clay nodded as he opened his door and climbed down. He hurried around the front of his truck and went inside the building.
    â€œWheelchair?” Clay demanded of a matronly nurse who was walking by. “We have a pregnant woman outside.”
    â€œCharlie’s girl?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œI’ll get some help.” The nurse turned to the reception area.
    Clay thought he could relax once he got Mandy inside the hospital, but he was wrong.
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    â€œYou’re sure you don’t know what insurance she has?” the woman at the reception desk was asking Davy. “She said she’d been seeing a doctor in Minneapolis.”
    â€œShe was at her parents’. It was their insurance,” Davy said, leaning on the shelf by the receptionist window.
    â€œMaybe you could call them up and get the information,” Rene suggested. She was sitting on a chair nearby.
    â€œI don’t know their number. Besides, they hate me.”
    Clay was standing beside the window and he hadn’t said a word. Those two young people thought it was enough that they loved each other, but they were wrong. Itwas never all a couple needed. He could see why their parents were concerned.
    â€œCan’t you just admit her now and figure out the insurance later?” Clay turned slightly so he could smile at the receptionist. Being cordial was the last thing he wanted to do right now, but he didn’t see any other way out of this. A smile often worked.
    The