“What choice do I really have?”
“You always have a choice,” Birdie and Hawk said at the same time.
“You’ve got a good man here by your side, Jess. Hawk, why don’t you take her hand? I have a feeling another contraction’s going to start soon and I want to be listening to the baby’s heartbeat through it.”
Jessie’s mind faded back into the abyss as her stomach clenched. Somewhere, deep within the burning ache at the center of her body, Jessie felt the smallest pull of her instincts telling her the time to bare down was coming.
The contraction eased, and Hawk smoothed back the frizzy hair that was clinging to her forehead.
“Bee’s heart rate looks textbook. I’m going to check and see how far you’re dilated. Feet together, drop your knees out.”
Jessie closed her eyes as Birdie’s hand slipped under the blanket. She waited for her friend’s voice to pull her back into the room, but it didn’t come. And when she opened her eyes, and found nothing but shock on Birdie’s features, Jessie freaked.
“What’s wrong?” She watched Birdie and Hawk exchange concerned looks.
“Nothing. You’re doing great, Jess, and so is the baby.” Birdie reassured her.
“But?” Hawk barked.
“She’s almost fully dilated. There is just the smallest lip ofyour cervix left, Jess. I assumed with the way you’ve been pulling into yourself during contractions, that we hit transition. We can’t move her right now, Hawk. Certainly not to put her in your truck and attempt to get to Bell Ridge. The safest thing for Jessie and the baby is for her to deliver here.”
“No,” Jessie gasped. She’d been thinking it, but to hear Birdie say it… “No. We have time.” She propped up her torso with her elbows. “Help me up, Hawk. You can carry me down to the truck. I won’t argue now.”
“Jess, I know how important it was for things to go according to your birth plan?—”
“No, Birdie. Just, no. We’re going to the hospital. You’re just going to deliver the baby there. Not here.”
“Listen to me. With where you’re at right now, and how far away the hospital is, I’m not comfortable trying to make it there. The baby would probably be born before we reached the highway.”
“No,” she cried as her stomach clenched again. Her jaw was so tight she felt like her teeth might start breaking.
“I know this isn’t what we planned.” Hawk’s hands were still wrapped warmly around hers, and she knew she was squeezing them so hard he’d have bruises. “But you need to relax your body. Birdie knows what she’s doing. If she says we can’t make it to the hospital, but she has everything here to safely deliver the baby, then I think we need to stay here.”
“I don’t want to do it here,” her voice hitched as the tears she’d been working so hard to hide finally broke free. “I want to be at the hospital. If something’s wrong…”
“Nothing is wrong, and like Hawk said, I have everything we need here. I know it’s not ideal, but it is the safest thing for you and your baby. I don’t think we’re going to have to wait much longer until she’s here.”
Hawk raced to the door. Stone was pacing at the bottom of the stairs, and Hawk didn’t hesitate to call out to him.
“Doc?”
“Yeah?” Stone turned around and looked up at Hawk. “What do you need?”
“Water. Ice. There should be a box of fluffy towels down there, probably in the kitchen or the laundry room. Can you bring that all upstairs.”
“You got it.” He turned, pausing for a second before asking, “Is Jessie okay?”
Hawk smiled and nodded. “She’s a goddess. The baby’s coming, likeright now. This is it. I’m going to become a dad.”
“I’m so happy for you, Phoenix.”
Hawk hovered in the doorway keeping an eye on Jessie. As soon as she started to groan, he was by her side, with his hands under her arms, half holding her up, and half letting her sit deep into a squat.
Stone knocked gently on the door before setting everything he’d carried at the edge of the room.
“Birdie?” he asked.
“We’re all good up here, Stone. Thanks for checking.”
