Shock poured through her when she didn’t make it. She quickly sat down on the toilet and realized that she hadn’t wetherself. She pulled in a breath as terror streamed through her, for she had not lost control of her bladder.
Her water had broken.
And she’d left her phone on the bed.
She felt frozen in place, not quite sure what to do. Her mind raced, but the extreme tightening of her belly stole all thoughts. This was not just something weird from the past nine months.
“It’s a contraction,” she said. She did have to go to the bathroom, and she didn’t think she’d be able to stand up until she did.
The contraction intensified, and Lenore placed both hands over her belly, a groan involuntarily coming out of her mouth. She had no idea how long it lasted, but it finally passed.
Lenore managed to lumber to her feet. “Brandon,” she called, though she knew her husband hadn’t come in off the homestead yet. The goats were out on the south side of the barn, and he wouldn’t be able to hear her if she called from the house.
She made it to the bed, but her clothes were wet, and she needed to change. Her mind splintered into many directions, and she tried to focus.
She quickly swiped up her phone and tapped to call her husband. “Come on, honey,” she whispered to herself. She turned around to go into the bathroom to get their toothbrushes and then Brandon’s shaving supplies.
“Hey, baby,” he said, his voice as jovial as ever.
“My water broke,” she said. “I’m getting our bag and I’ll meet you out front. How close are you to being done?”
Brandon didn’t say anything, and that alone told Lenore how shocked he was.
“Brandon.” She needed someone with a level head in this situation, and she’d always known it wouldn’t be her.
“I’m coming over right now,” he said. “I’m not done, but I’ll call Dawson.”
“Or Finn or Alex,” Lenore said. “Are the goats going to be roaming free?”
“If the goats get out, they’ll be fine,” Brandon said. “I’m on the way.”
Lenore nodded as tears spilled down her face. She’d only needed another twenty-four hours. “But you don’t have it,” she told herself firmly. “Get your things and get out front.” She grabbed the few toiletries and moved back into the bedroom to get their pajamas.
“Lenore!” Brandon called before she’d even managed to do that, and she’d never felt so slow and dim-witted as she did in that moment. She turned just as a dull ache radiated through her, turning sharp as the tightening intensified.
It had to have been several minutes since the first contraction, and she braced herself against their dresser as the pain spread down her legs.
Brandon darted into the room and stopped. “Are you okay?”
“It’s the second contraction,” she told him through gritted teeth. “I had one right after my water broke.” She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “We have to go now. It’s an hour to the hospital.”
Fierce determination entered his gaze. “We’re going right now.” He picked up their bag, which Lenore had just put their pajamas in. “Come on, honey.” He shored her up with one arm and helped her walk down the hall and out of the house. Everything seemed to take ten times as long, but finally, she sat in his truck, and he jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
Lenore took out her phone and noted the time. “Four-ten,” she said. “We’ve got to time the contractions.”
“Okay,” he said, and then he tapped on the screen of his truck and said, “Call Dawson.”
“Calling Dawson,” the truck said.
Lenore tuned everything out as Brandon told Dawson that her water had broken and that they were on their way to the hospital. Dawson said he would call Finn and Henry and Alex and Libby—everyone who lived and worked on the north side of town. Someone would come make sure the goat enclosure was secure. The call ended, and still, Brandon drove.
Lenore pressed her eyes closed and prayed.
“Hey, are you okay over there?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m just trying not to panic.”
“We’re going to make it,” he said.
