Page 58 of No First Kisses

“Call Remy,” I tell him calmly. “Tell him that Parker’s water broke and that he needs to either get here or meet us at the hospital.”

Parker whimpers, gets on her knees, and puts her hand between her legs. “We’re not making it to the hospital,” she whispers hoarsely, another contraction coursing through her body.

Logan goes deathly pale, but his eyes never leave mine. “Nope.” He shakes his head. “I’m not doing it.”

“Lo.” I stay as calm as possible. “I’ve got to put Cassie in her playpen. Not only that, but I’m too pregnant to deliver her baby on the floor. So you either have to do it or you have to help me get her on the table, which is in the kitchen. No matter what you do, you’re about to see her vagina. So it’s time you pull on your big boy pants, get that sick look off your face, and be happy that you’re not about to see my goods on display for your friends while a cantaloupe comes out of it. Got it?”

Logan’s eyes are still locked on mine, and for a second I think he is going to bolt out the door. Either that or pass out. Instead, he nods.

“Good. Get some hot water and clean towels. You know what to do,” I prod him before I walk out of the living room with Cassie still in my arms.

“Do you want me to put on one of her movies in my room?” Nox pops his head out from the top of the stairs. “I’ve already moved her Pack ’n Play in there. That way, you can help Mom, and I don’t have to see anything.”

“Thank you, Nox.” I smile at him. “I would love that. Can you carry her? Getting up and down the stairs is gonna be too long for me.”

Nox dutifully comes and takes his sister, carrying her like she is the most precious thing in the entire world. I watch until he vanishes at the top of the hall, disappearing into his room. The entire time, he talks to Cassie about how they are going to have two new babies to spoil, and they have to learn how to share their toys.

My heart lurches in my chest at how amazing of a little man Nox is. And then I hear Parker’s pained gasp, and I move back into action.

My phone is in my hand, and I’m dialing 9-1-1 before I realize it.

“9-1-1, what is the address of the emergency?” Chloe’s voice fills my ear, but I can’t say anything friendly in that moment.

I spit out Parker’s address and listen to her enter it into the system.

“I’ve got a forty-week pregnant woman, Chloe. Parker’s in labor. Contractions are less than a minute apart, and her water’s broken. Remy’s on duty, but I don’t think she’s gonna make it.”

I walk back into the kitchen in time to see Logan’s face go deathly white, and I see exactly why.

“She’s crowning,” I tell Chloe. “And anything that you said, I completely missed. I’m putting you on speaker, but I don’t know if you’re gonna be able to give us any directions, ’cause it looks like she’s having Baby A right now.”

Thinking fast, I hold up the phone and flip on my camera, starting to snap pictures of everything that is happening.

Not only will I need blackmail for Logan in the future, but Parker will want as many photos of the birth as possible.

Logan’s hands go out, almost automatically, and he catches the first baby in the bright-pink towel that he must have grabbed while I was giving Cassie to her brother. The loud, screaming baby with a healthy set of lungs.

The clock on the wall says it is exactly eight p.m.

“Clock says eight,” I repeat into the phone, snapping a photo of that as well. In the back of my mind, I think maybe the doctors will need to know what time the baby was born. For the birth certificate.

“Holy shit,” he mutters. “Holy fuckin’ shit.” But his eyes aren’t filled with panic anymore. Instead, he is staring at the baby covered in mucus and bodily fluids with awe. I make sure to grab a picture of him, staring at the little baby.

The camera on my phone will be full, no doubt. But I can’t miss getting everything I can possibly get.

“It’s a boy,” Logan tells Parker, bringing him up to her chest still covered in the towel with the umbilical cord connected.

Parker? Well, she cries and clutches at her baby with all her might, like she is afraid that he’ll be gone in another second.

The back door slams open in the distance, and I listen to footsteps hustle through the house, stopping in the kitchen first. As Remy calls out for us, I get a washcloth wet with the hot water and start to clean up Parker’s girly bits as well as I can.

“Baby A is out, Chloe,” I tell the almost silent dispatcher on the other end of the call, ignoring Remy. He’ll see us in just a second. “Is the ambulance on the way?”

Chloe doesn’t answer, but I can hear her in the background on the radio, so that counts.

“You didn’t poop,” I whisper loudly to Parker as the footsteps get closer.

“Holy shit, Parker.” Remy barrels into the room, panic written all over his face. “You’re having a baby with Logan in the room?” He has a sick smile on his face, and I can tell he is just as worried as we all are about how fast her labor is moving.

---