"Well, as long as you don't actually deliver, I think we'll be fine," Nate assured her.
Once Jessa was settled, Lily followed Nate around to the other side. "I want to get in back with her."
Nate nodded as he opened the door and then, just like he had so many times in the past, he reached for her. His strong hands gripped her waist as he lifted her into the truck. Though at any other time she might have protested the action, right then Lily was just grateful that she hadn't had to try to lift her legs high enough to get into his big truck.
"Why don't you call Dean and make sure his guys know not to pull us over on our way in. I'm going to come in from the west to avoid the traffic down Main Street."
"I don't have his number, but since I have to call Violet anyway, I'll tell her to pass the message on to Dean." After a glance at Jessa to make sure she was okay, she phoned Violet. "Vi, Jessa's gone into labor."
As with Lance there were a couple of seconds of silence before Violet said, "Okay, I'll line up babysitting with Laurel and Amy, and we'll be there as soon as we can."
"Do you want me to call Laurel?"
"No, I can call her. Why don't you call Will?"
"Okay." Then Lily passed on Nate's message. "We don't want to get stopped on our way to the hospital."
After calling Will with the news, Lily slid her phone into her purse and turned to Jessa. "The troops are all rallying."
Jessa gave a weak smile. "It's been a while since we rallied for this purpose."
"Well, I'm just glad you waited until I got home."
Tension tightened Jessa's features as her gaze lost focus. Lily moved closer to her and held out her hand for Jessa to hold. She tried not to wince at the strength in her sister's grasp. When the pain passed and Jessa's body relaxed, Lily asked, "Should I be timing something?"
"No, don't bother. With my water broken, they're not going to send me home. And once I get there, they're going to hook me up to everything that will tell them what’s going on." Jessa gestured to her bag. "Actually, I forgot. I'm supposed to call my doctor."
Lily fished the phone out of the bag on the floor and handed it to Jessa.
"Hopefully, I can get through this before the next contraction," Jessa said as she touched the screen of the phone. "Hello. This is Jessa Collingsworth-Evanston. I'm onmy way to the hospital. My water broke."
Apparently, whoever answered her call had been prepared for it because Jessa didn't have to say any more. She touched the screen again and then held the phone out to Lily.
"Are they able to handle an early birth?" Lily asked.
Jessa nodded. "The hospital has been working over the past few years to bring the NICU up to current standards. He'll be fine."
Lily was glad that Jessa wasn't going to have to stay in one hospital while her baby was whisked away to another. She knew it happened far too often.
As they got closer to Collingsworth, Nate said, "We've got company."
Lily glanced out the back window to see a cop car behind them. She met Nate's gaze in the rear view mirror.
"In the front, too," he said.
Lily looked between the front seats to see that another car led them, its lights flashing. "Guess we've got an escort to the hospital."
Jessa gave a soft chuckle. "Pays to be related to the sheriff."
"Or a member of the founding family," Lily added.
As they neared the city limits, another car joined the one in front of them and in addition to the lights came the sirens. Cars pulled over to allow them through, no doubt wondering who rated the special escort.
The cop cars continued on past the hospital, but Nate turned into the emergency entrance. He pulled to a stop where a small group of people waited with a wheelchair. One of them opened the back door even before Nate could get out. As they helped her sister from the back seat, Nate opened her door and held out a hand to help Lily.
He continued to hold her hand even after she was steadyon her feet. The warmth of his touch spread up her arm and into her heart.
I’ve missed this.
