This was myfamily.
Reaching out, I took her hand and she gripped it in a vice as another contraction took over her whole body.
“This baby is coming, guys,” she panted out.
“What can I do?” Val asked, coming over to us, her hand reaching out to rest on my shoulder.
She was comforting me and I felt more tears gather in my eyes. Then Huntley was there. He planted a kiss on the top of my head.
The sound of sirens wailed, not too far away, and I heard a vehicle kicking up dirt outside.
“I got this,” Huntley said as feet pounded up the stairs toward the front door.
Bronson was racing toward his wife. “No, I got it, man. Thanks.”
We all moved so he could get to his wife. All but Stormi, who stayed close to her mother, worry, etching her angelic face. Wanting to give my niece support, I moved in and dropped back onto my knees behind her.
“She’s gonna be okay, sweet girl. It’s just time to get that baby brother you asked for at Christmas last year.”
I hugged her to me as she kept her hand in her mother’s and Bronson spoke softly to his wife. Their interaction was one of the sweetest things I’d ever seen. He moved up toward her head, planting a sweet kiss on her lips and whispered in her ear. Lake's smile was radiant for a second before she screamed again in pain.
Bronson moved down to take a peek at Lake’s progress and looked up a bit stunned. “Oh shit, it’s definitely time.”
Lake yelled again as sirens blared right outside and the sounds of a bunch of screeching tires ripped through the air. And then the room was a blaze of activity. I got up to leave the sweet family for their moment, but my sister screamed my name.
“River!”
I turned back and once again, my sister had her hand stretched out. “I want you to stay.”
Blowing out a breath, my gaze searched for Huntley and when I found him, he was smiling and nodding in encouragement. “I love you. Go be with your sister.”
God this man knew exactly what I needed and he gave me strength. He was my rock. Myeverything. How fitting wasthat when his mom was myangel? I watched him, Val and my kids walk toward the front door, where a group was gathering outside.
With the phone tree probably in full effect, I had no doubt it was probably every one of our friends there to rally around one of their own.
“Whoa momma.” Kace started in the door and stopped in his tracks.
All of a sudden a huge hand reached out and I could see Gyth behind him. “Yo, Dipshit, get the hell out of there!” he yelled at Kace, yanking on his shirt and flinging him back outside.
I heard Kace say something about Gyth being a big brute.
Leave it to those two to add comic relief everywhere they went.
Forgetting about the guys and anyone else, I turned back and quickly made my way back to my sister’s side and knelt by Stormi once again, both her little hand and mine in her mother’s as Bronson held her other one.
“Pant, pant, scream. Push,” I heard the paramedic say over and over. “Pant, pant, scream.”
The sound of a baby's cry echoed through the room.
Lake, Bronson and Stormi were all crying. I was right there with them.
My nephew, Forrest Michael Caddell, was born.
And he was perfect.
Mother and babywere doing amazing.
Everyone—and I mean literally every one of our friends and their kids—had followed the ambulance to the hospital and we took turns visiting the happy family.
