Page 3 of Raven

Lori and I locked eyes.

“Oh, crap,” she muttered.

“Back to the house,” I said, steadying her.

By the time we made it to their deck, Gage came barreling out with the bag.

“I thought we were going to the—what the hell?”

“Her water broke. She’s not going anywhere.”

“What do you mean she’s not going anywhere? We have to get to the hospital! This is too—”

“Breathe,” I said calmly. “It’s gonna be okay.”

But Gage… bolted. Not back inside. Down the damn beach.

“What the hell?” I muttered.

“Maybe he panicked,” Lori said, breathing through the pain.

A few minutes later, Gage returned, dragging someone behind him.

“Sweetheart,” he panted, “this is our neighbor. She’s a firefighter. She’s going to help!”

“Beatrice,” I said, surprised but relieved.

She didn’t hesitate. “Let’s get her inside.”

“Strip the bed,” I told Gage.

“What?!”

Beatrice ignored him, moving straight to Lori. “How far apart are your contractions?”

“Two minutes,” I answered for her.

“Then we need to move fast.”

I turned to Gage. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Whiskey?” he echoed, like the word didn’t compute.

“Now,” Beatrice said, pointing her finger at Gage. “Out! You are making this more stressful for your wife. You can come back after I have her in bed.”

He scrambled. When I found him again, he was downstairs rubbing his neck.

“She yelled at me,” he mumbled. “Told me to find my drink.”

“You panicked?”

He nodded. “Lori’s so damn brave. I just… I hate seeing her in pain.”

I handed him a shot of whiskey. “Then go be with her. Don’t talk. Just hold her hand.”

He nodded and trudged upstairs.

I followed him out onto the deck, and something stopped me cold.

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