CHAPTER 19 #2
Jamie watched the Langley brothers peek at their cards, lifting the corners just enough to see them.
Nolan slumped his shoulders, while Clayton remained as still as a cardboard cutout, his expression unreadable.
This might be more difficult than she’d anticipated.
She knew Clayton scratched his beard when he was nervous, but tonight he didn’t so much as twitch.
Keeping her face neutral she flipped up the corners of her cards: two kings, hearts and diamonds. A fantastic start.
Nolan called, dropping money on the table, but he’d already shown his tell by how he’d reacted.
She waited a few seconds, pretending to weigh her options, watching his fingers drum against the table. Nervous. That was all she needed to see.
With a slow smirk she threw a dollar on the table.
Clayton stayed put, being conservative with his hole cards.
Ruth burned the first card, discarding it face-down, and dealt the flop, three cards facing up: a jack of spades, a two of spades, and an eight of diamonds. Three cards Jamie didn’t need or want.
Clayton stole another glance at his cards, like he’d already forgotten what he was holding. A sure sign of trouble. “That flop’s as bad as Derrick’s movies,” he muttered .
Across the table Ruth’s eyes widened as she glanced at Jamie, waiting for a reaction.
Jamie didn’t miss a beat. “Worse,” she said, deadpan.
Laughter rippled through the group.
Apparently Derrick’s last film had bombed so hard it took the studio down with it. The thought brought Jamie a small, satisfied smirk.
It was her turn again. She let the silence stretch, fingers poised over the five-dollar bill, feeling the weight of the moment.
A beat too long. Then another. Across the table Nolan’s jaw tightened, his patience unraveling by the second.
Only when the air was thick enough to cut did she slide the money forward, slowly and deliberately.
Clayton smirked, cocky as ever. “I’m in.” He slapped five dollars over her money with a little extra force, enough to make a point.
“I fold.” Nolan threw his cards on top of the pot.
I knew you had shit.
Now it was just her and Old Hickory.
Ruth burned another card and presented the fourth community card, the turn. It was a jack of clubs. She kept a straight face and didn’t move a muscle, knowing the odds of winning with two pairs were probable.
Clayton shook his head. “Didn’t need a jack.”
“You love Jack,” Nolan said. “It’s your favorite drink.” That got a big laugh around the table.
Jamie barely acknowledged them, eyes on her cards. “Raise.” She tossed her money into the pot without hesitation.
“You’re bluffing.” Clayton’s smirk was slow, knowing. “Call,” he said, matching her bet.
Ruth burned a card and flipped over the river: the king of spades.
The one Jamie needed.
She kept her expression neutral, but inside her pulse kicked up .
Gotcha.
Clayton scratched his beard, eyes flicking to her, assessing.
Jamie leaned back casually. “Raise.”
Clayton took his time, his movements considered. “Call.”
Poppy yelped and every head snapped toward her.
Nolan shot to his feet and rushed to the whelping box, the others following close behind.
The vet tugged on a fresh pair of gloves, his hands steady as anticipation crackled through the room.
He bent over the nesting area, poised like a quarterback ready to take the snap—except this wasn’t a game.
This was the moment they’d all been waiting for.
“The first puppy’s coming,” Nolan said as its head was crowning.
“I hope it’s Reba!” Ruth said, leaning over the box.
“Everyone back in their seats,” Nolan demanded.
Jamie stroked her dog’s head, hating how distressed she looked. This was all Clayton’s fault and she wouldn’t forget it.
“That means you too, Jamie,” the doctor said.
“Aren’t you going to help her?” Jamie asked, her voice panicked.
“She doesn’t need my help,” Nolan said. “Unless there’s a problem, dogs do better when they give birth alone.”
She didn’t want Poppy to think she’d been abandoned. Slipping off her hoodie she laid it in the pen, hoping her scent would offer some comfort—a familiar presence in her absence.
Nolan observed the delivery from a few feet away. “The first one’s out.”
The vet gave them the play-by-play like a sports commentator calling a game. He explained how Poppy tore the fluid-filled sac with her mouth, and Jamie marveled at how she instinctively knew what to do.
“Is it a boy or a girl?” Ruth asked.
“I don’t know yet.” Nolan reached inside his doctor’s bag and ripped open a package of cloths, rinsed them in the kitchen sink, and walked to the box. He picked up the puppy and turned it on its back, gently wiping it.
“It’s a boy!” he announced, holding up the reddish-blond puppy. “Perfectly healthy.” He placed him back with his mother before he took the gloves off. “She’s already cut the umbilical cord and is licking the puppy. That’s a good sign.”
“Why are you taking your gloves off?” Jamie thought he should stay ready for the next one. She could imagine an obstetrician removing their protective clothing between births.
“It’s usually a while before the next one.” He went to the sink and ran the water. “Poppy will likely rest between puppies.”
“Do the twins want a boy or a girl?” Jamie asked Clayton.
“They don’t care,” he said. “A boy would probably be best for Duke.”
“Why?” Jamie didn’t know there was a difference, other than the obvious.
“Females mature faster than males,” Nolan told her.
“Just like people.” Jamie looked at the vet. “What about you, Nolan? Do you want a boy or a girl?”
“It doesn’t matter to me.” He shrugged. “I’ll take whatever.”
“I’m so glad our dogs are siblings,” Ruth announced.
“One big family,” Nolan added.
Jamie lifted her brow at Clayton, silently asking if he caught the insinuation. His slow nod and knowing smile said that he had.
Another sound came from the pen. Jamie stood from the couch, eyes narrowing at Poppy. Her little jaws worked furiously but there was no food in sight. A pit formed in Jamie’s stomach. “What’s she eating?”
Nolan walked up to the box. “She’s eating the placenta. ”
Jamie slapped her hands against her cheeks, fingers digging into her skin as if she could scrub the image from her brain.
Nope. Still there. And still disgusting.
She wrinkled her nose, lips curling in a grimace, but it did nothing to erase the horror now permanently burned into her mind.
A shudder rolled down her spine, making her shoulders twitch.
“Gross,” Clayton said, turning his head. “I can’t look.”
Ruth joined the vet at the box and said, “It’s perfectly natural.”
“I think I’m going to be sick.” Jamie clutched her stomach, willing herself not to hurl. She wasn’t sure if she could ever look at Poppy the same way again, let alone kiss her.
“I’ll join you,” Clayton said. “Might want to keep a trash can handy.”
“It’s good for them,” Nolan said. “Placentophagy provides nourishment to the mother.”
“Didn’t you grow up on a farm?” Jamie sat back down, eyeing the country singer. Surely this wasn’t a big deal for him. As for her? She’d never even made it through a documentary of an animal giving birth—she always changed the channel before it happened.
“That’s why he played ball instead of becoming a vet.” Nolan laughed. “He never had the stomach for it. Three generations of livestock vets and this guy faints at the sight of blood.” He looked at his brother. “Daddy was not impressed.”
“Were you in the delivery room when the twins were born?” Jamie asked Clayton, who swayed back and forth as if he were in a rocking chair. The color drained from his face, slipping past his beard and stopping at his neck.
“This is a good story,” Nolan said. “Want me to tell it?”
Clayton said nothing and shook his head.
Nolan went on, “Tammy decided to have a C-section, so it was already scheduled. The whole family was in the waiting room. Daddy was beside himself, never having been in that position. He was always the one delivering. Momma, though, was cool as a cucumber, sitting in a chair and knitting. A few minutes after Clayton went in the doctor came out and told us my brother had passed out after the bikini cut and was now in a hospital room himself. He had a concussion from when his head hit the ground. The doctor said that Tammy screamed at him until they rolled the gurney out, so I volunteered to stay with her so she wouldn’t be alone.
I got into a gown and hat and put on gloves.
Emily was the first, and a few moments later, along came Charlotte. ”
“He missed the whole thing?” Jamie asked as if Clayton wasn’t sitting directly across from her.
“The whole dang thing,” Clayton admitted.
A whimper came from the whelping box.
“Maybe this is Reba!” Ruth said, her voice even more hopeful than the last time.
Jamie sank into the couch, forcing herself to stare at a hole in her sock instead of the pen. She couldn’t watch the delivery. The knot in her stomach tightened—maybe, for once, she and the country singer had something in common.
Nolan repeated the process of washing a cloth in the sink and wiped off the puppy.
“Another boy!” he said. “He looks identical to the first one, maybe a little more red.”
“Oh, shoot.” Ruth popped her gum. “Well, at least he’s healthy.”
Reluctantly, Jamie asked, “Is she going to eat the placenta again?”
“Most likely,” Nolan said.
“Gross,” Jamie and Clayton said together.
“Why don’t you two”—Nolan pointed at Jamie and Clayton—“go out on the balcony. Get some fresh air. You’re not helping here.”
They took the vet’s suggestion. Clayton rose first, sliding the balcony door open as Jamie followed him outside.
He grabbed the railing, his knuckles turning white as he sank to his knees. “Sorry.” His breath came in short, even bursts. He inhaled sharply then exhaled, slower this time, like he was trying to steady himself. “Thought I could handle it.”