Page 114 of Adoring Delaney

The rest of the family had taken off either to help my aunt gather what she needed or to go wait in the front to gratuitously flag down the ambulance.

“Just to say, baby, you wait too long and pull that shit, I will not be happy.”

“It’s my fault. She knew, I told her last night that I was surprising you. She didn’t wanna miss us getting married.”

“I don’t care if the Pope was in town passin’ out golden tickets to the pearly gates. The second you feel a twinge we’re at the hospital and you’re getting an epidural.”

Just then Honor let out a bloodcurdling scream that had my ears ringing.

“But I don’t want an epidural.”

“Baby, there is no way I can handle seeing you like that.”

And for emphasis I threw my arm out and pointed at Honor bent over and crying.

“But, honey, that’s beautiful. Her body’s doing what it’s supposed to do. That’s part of having a baby.”

“Beautiful or not, I will lose my ever-loving mind to watch you in that much pain.”

“We’ll see.” Laney smiled. “You’ll be so happy that your son’s almost here you’ll be fine.”

Was she crazy? I’d never be so excited about anything not to care that Laney looked and sounded like she’d been possessed by the devil.

“Right. Look at Ethan, Delaney. He look all fired up about Honor getting ready to give birth on his aunt’s kitchen floor?”

“Well, no, not about that part. But you’ll see. When Hudson’s here he’ll forget all about this part.”

I highly doubted she was right. I knew I’d be having nightmares about this for the rest of my life.

Jackson and Ethan had gotten Honor in the house when I heard her cry out again. What I did not hear was sirens.

Good Christ, she was gonna have my nephew in the kitchen and I couldn’t help it, I busted out laughing. Of course this was how it was going to happen. It was fitting, today on Ethan’s birthday, the day I married Laney, the place we’d spent so much of our childhood.

How many times had Nick, Jackson, Ethan, and I raced into that very kitchen to get a drink or something to eat before we went back outside? Bet my brother would’ve never guessed that all these years later his wife would give birth on the very floor he’d spilt his chocolate milk.

By the time we’d gotten into the house Ethan had Honor on the floor, a thick mat of blankets under her and thankfully her legs were pointed in the opposite direction and we were looking at Honor upside down.

Jackson was at her side, Ethan on the business end of the baby stuff, and Laney went to her other side. Everyone else but my mom was out of the house.

“What do you need, brother?” I asked.

“A goddamn ambo,” he growled.

“Other than that?”

“She said she’s hot, can you wet these with cold water?” He held out a stack of washcloths.

I took them without looking and had just turned on the water when Honor cried out.

“That was under a minute,” Jackson announced.

“Honor, Sweetness, do not push. Breathe through the contraction,” my brother coaxed.

“Don’t push,” she grunted. “Have you lost your goddamned mind? I have to push, Ethan. I can feel it.”

“I know you do. Just please try.”

I handed the wet cloths to Laney and hurried to move, wanting no part of watching my sister-in-law. I made my way to my mom and pulled her into my arms.

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