Page 61 of Before You Can Blink
“Jesus. That’s not Daisy hollerin’ in the background, is it?”
I dragged my free hand down my face. “Yeah. I need you to ring up Doc Stevens, tell him we need him to get out here quick as he can. Have Caroline grab Aspen from the cabin and then bring the truck around. We’ve gotta get Daisy moved, but it’s not gonna be on foot at this point. You got all that?”
“Got it,” Wade confirmed. “I’m on my way.”
Loud whinnies rang out as hoofs beat on stall doors in response to the sharp cries that seemed to be on an endless loop.
The horses were sufficiently spooked and my nerves were shot to hell, but neither of those held a candle to what my panting, shaking, sweaty mess of a wife was going through.
My heart twisted as the feeling of helplessness settled deep in my bones.
“Jett.” My name came out on one of her many ragged exhales. “Need you to take down my underwear.”
My brain short-circuited at the request. It didn’t make any sense.
Until it did.
I shook my head firmly. “No, no, no, Daze. We’re not doing this here. We’re just sitting tight until Wade gives us a lift to the cabin, where Doc Stevens is gonna meet us.”
“Can’t wait that long.”
“You have to!” I practically shouted.
Mind racing, I began to pace.
All of this was happening too fast.
I wasn’t equipped to handle this on my own.
What if I fucked it all up? Hurt Daisy or the baby? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
And where the hell was Wade? Shouldn’t he be here by now?
Through gritted teeth, Daisy forced out, “I need to push.” Her head fell back against the haybale. “Ahhhhhh!”
Her gut-wrenching scream had me falling to my knees. Any hope I had that maybe she was being dramatic vanished when her skirt rode up as I peeled the soaked panties down her legs to reveal what was definitely the top of a head beginning to emerge from between them.
Holy shit, this was happening.
Pulse pounding in my ears, I peeked up at Daisy. “Um . . .”
Panting heavily, she asked, “What?”
I grabbed her trembling hand and brought it between her legs, letting her feel that our baby was right there, ready to be born.
Daisy’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.”
Gripping her bare knee, I offered her the same words of reassurance she often said to me. “It’s not ideal being out here just you and me, but we’re gonna make it work. Because we always do, don’t we, Daze?”
Weakly, she nodded, and I watched as some of that fire she usually kept contained flickered in her gaze, and a look of pure determination set in on her face.
“That’s my girl.”
A deep groan rumbled up from her chest, and she muttered, “Pressure,” before loud grunts fell freely from her parted lips, and I watched on as that visible peek of our baby’s head grew larger. There wasn’t much more I could do. The hard part fell to Daisy when it came to bringing our child into this world.
Though I couldn’t physically aid her in this task, I made sure to offer as much emotional support as possible, chanting phrases like,you’re doing so great,you’re so strong,andyou’re almost there.
As her body stretched to accommodate what appeared to be the widest part of the baby’s head, she hissed, “It burns.”
