“Women die in childbirth every day,” she dismissed, her tone cool even if perspiration dotted her forehead. “It’s a possibility. Save him. Please.”
Mouth working, I eventually settled on, “I’m going into this with the belief that mommy and baby will be tucked up safe and sound in a bed upstairs, shortly after he makes an entrance to the world.” I squeezed her fingers. “I’m an ER nurse. No, I’m not a doctor and I wish I were right now,butI know my shit. I have no intention of this going south, and if it does, Stan’s putting a medevac on standby. Understood?”
“I understand, but the men in my family are saps where the women are concerned. Don’t let them take me to a hospital unless it’s an emergency.Please. God, I should have scoped out Bellevue, prepared it—fuck. This is what I get for being underprepared?—”
“Hey! Stop it. This was last minute. Completely out of the blue. Don’t stress about hospitals. We’ll get through this. Together.”
“Together,” she repeated.
Her eyes locked on mine as she said it again, seeming to take it as a vow.
Her lips twitched and a calm seemed to overtake her. “This isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, hmm?”
Grateful that her teasing lightened the charged moment between us, I grinned. “Literally.”
I winked at her seconds before Hunter stormed in, a laptop in his hand and a doula on a video call. “She’s stuck in traffic but will be here shortly, Rory.”
As I checked her progress, Stan showed up with a promise that Victor was incoming and that they had both a medevac and ambulance on standby. Just in case.
Luciu stopped by to kiss his twin sister’s temple and offered his hand through a contraction.
Lauren and Jen hovered around me as I made my initial checks, and when Victor appeared, relief filled me that I had backup.
As a family, we guided her through what had to be the most intimate birthing experience of my life.
I never imagined my first official meeting with my future sister-in-law could ever have been like this. But it was. And, thank fuck, no complications presented.
Later, when Aurora shrieked at her doula and demanded Stan throw her out because she irritated her, it made sense to me. Victor and I worked well together and our vibe with Rory felt positive, where the doula’s serene nature only seemed to stoke her temper. Honestly, she aggravated the hell out of me too.
When the baby’s crown presented, she nearly broke Hunter’s hand. “I’m going to brand your balls with that signet ring if you come anywhere near me again!”
Then, once their son finally made an appearance and Victor made sure all was well with mommy, I took the baby away to assess his Apgar score, leaving Rory sobbing in relief in Hunter’s arms while the rest of the family peered over my shoulder at the newborn.
It hit me… just how fitting this all was.
What about my relationship with Stanhadn’tbeen a trial by fire?
A smile curved my lips as I tended to the baby…
My nephew.
Huh.
FORTY-NINE
KITTY
“About time you come and see me,” Currau greeted with a sniff.
“I was away a day, Currau,” I chided. “I helped your great-niece give birth and—” I checked my watch. “It’s 2 AM and I came to visit you. I think I deserve more of a greeting than that.” I didn’t get one. Hebahhhhedat me. “Weren’t you well taken care of while I was gone?”
Glowering, he tugged on the blankets. “That’s neither here nor there.”
“I think you’ll find it’s both here and there. Did Hunter bring the baby in to meet you?”
Currau grimaced. “Always hated babies.”
“Oh, you old Grinch!”
