Page 104 of My One and Only

“I did,” she said, rubbing her belly. “Jack’s hungry.”

“Can’t have him getting cranky. Sit down and I’ll heat up your mac and cheese.”

“I can do it myself,” she said.

Cam turned and rolled his eyes at her. “Yeah, I’m gonna sit at my desk and watch my very pregnant wife make us lunch? Hell, no.” He pointed at the desk beside his. “Sit down and tell me what you did all morning.”

As Cam heated their lunch, she told him about how she’d done background checks on two people he’d interviewed for jobs the day before. “Both of them are squeaky clean,” she said. “Couldn’t find one speck of dirt between them.”

“Good,” Cam said. “Will liked both of them.” He carried her bowl over to where she sat behind the desk and she dug in. She wasn’t terribly hungry, but she knew if she didn’t eat, she’d be a disaster later this afternoon.

She ate about half the bowl, then pushed it away. Cam glanced at her and frowned. “You okay? You never turn down mac and cheese.”

“Just not terribly hungry. Only ate so that Jack would give me some peace.” She heaved herself out of the chair and headed for the bathroom. “Be right back.”

She stopped before she reached the door and stared at her feet. Then she turned to Cam. “Um, my water just broke.”

Cam leaped to his feet. “Are you sure?”

She rolled her eyes. “There’s a big puddle on the floor, and I still have to pee.”

“Go to the bathroom while I clean up the floor. Then you can call Dr.Gulling and we’ll head to the hospital.”

“You should probably call your mom and tell her that she’ll have to pick up Fiona from school.”

“I’ll do that.”

As soon as Jo vanished into the bathroom, Cam grabbed some towels and cleaned up the amniotic fluid. He made sure the floor was dry so Jo wouldn’t slip when she came out of the bathroom.

Cam threw on his coat and said, “Stay here. I’ll get your purse and your computer and lock your office, okay?”

Jo nodded, putting both hands on her belly.

“Contraction?”he asked

“Yeah.” She waited a moment, then blew out a breath. “I’ve been having them all morning. Thought they were just Braxton-Hicks contractions.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t know they were the real thing.”

Ten minutes later, they were on their way to Delnor Hospital. Jo had called her Ob/Gyn and the woman had assured her she’d meet them there. While she was doing that, Cam called his mom and told her that the baby was on the way and they were heading for the hospital.

“Fiona’s gonna want to visit,” his mom said.

“Yeah, I know.” Cam shoved his fingers through his hair. “Why don’t you let us get settled in the hospital and we’ll see what Dr.Gulling says. But for sure you and Fiona and dad need to visit as soon as the baby’s born. Jo’s mom, too.”

“I’ll give her a call and let her know that Jack’s on the way, and that you’ll keep her in the loop.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Cam said. Jo shifted in her seat, and Cam said, “Gotta go. Talk to you soon, Mom.”

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up at Delnor. Cam parked in the ER lot, and he helped Jo into the hospital. The staff moved quickly to get them up to the labor and delivery floor, and in no time she was in a hospital gown and on a bed. A nurse got Jo hooked up to all the equipment, and ten minutes later, Dr.Gulling hurried in.

“How’re you doing, Jo?”she asked.

“Started having contractions early this morning,” she said. “My water broke at the office, so here we are.”

“Let’s see where you are,” the doctor said, sitting on a stool at the end of the bed and examining Jo. Finally she looked up at Jo and Cam. “You’re eight centimeters dilated,” she said. “I’m shocked you waited so long to come in.”

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