Page 95 of Rocky Mountain Devil
Hope narrowed her eyes.
He grinned evilly.
Laurel stepped past, tapping him on the back of the head. “You’re going to get in real trouble one of these days. Don’t you know better than to taunt pregnant ladies?”
“Especially ones who are—” Whatever Hope had intended to say vanished as her eyes widened and her mouth popped open.
Shit.
It got very quiet for a moment as they glanced down at the wetness staining her maternity pants.
Laurel recovered the quickest. “Hope? Did your water just break?”
The other woman nodded, passing her armload of books to Becky so she could cradle her belly. “Whoa. Didn’t expect that.”
All other plans went out the window as Rafe got pulled into the action. It was weird how much coordination and effort it took to get one pregnant woman and her husband to the hospital at the same time.
Hope refused to let them call an ambulance. “I’m not in that much of a hurry, but I suppose someone else should drive.”
Becky’s eyes widened in horror. “I can’t do it. You’ve got a standard.”
In the end, Laurel was drafted to help, the three girls taking off in one vehicle with Rafe racing off in his truck toward Six Pack land in search of his cousin Matt. Ranchers and phones were notoriously unreliable, between dead zones on the cell grid or having their hands full of shit—sometimes literally—that made answering impossible. Matt hadn’t responded to Hope’s text or phone message.
Rafe drove as fast as he damn well wanted this time. Figured, though, that the first time he had a good excuse to burn rubber, his cousin Anna was nowhere in sight.
It took a while, but he found Matt’s truck outside the main Six Pack barn, rushing in at a dead sprint to discover Blake helping a horse foal. Matt knelt at his side, calming the mare.
Break the news gently, or not?
“Hope needs you,” Rafe announced with as much calm control as possible. “Every—”
Matt shot to his feet, twisting so quickly he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Blake chuckled, one arm buried nearly to the shoulder in the horse. “Smooth.”
As if he’d hit a trampoline, Matt was back up, his eyes wild as he patted his pockets frantically. “My keys. Where the hell are my fuckingkeys?”
Blake made soothing noises, but he caught Rafe’s gaze as he tilted his head to the side. “You two go ahead, I’ll finish up here. But, Matt, maybe it would be best if Rafe gave you a ride. Would save you wasting time looking for—”
Matt was across the barn and in Rafe’s face. He caught hold of the front of Rafe’s shirt and half dragged him out of the barn without another word, Blake’s laughter echoing off the walls behind them.
Obviously his cousin was not in his right mind, and when Matt held out his hand, Rafe tightened his fist around his keys. “No way in hell are you driving. Get in. I’ll get you there as quick as possible.”
They flew down the highway, Rafe listening as Matt went off on twenty different tangents about everything Hope had been doing the last few days that he’d warned her not to. “I told her this would happen, stubborn woman.”
“I think the kid is ready,” Rafe pointed out. “It’s been nine months, at least.”
Matt had both hands clenched tightly in his lap, his knuckles going white. “I’mnot ready,” he muttered.
While Rafe concentrated on getting them to the hospital in one piece, his cheeks hurt from grinning so hard. “You want to call to see where you need to go?”
Wrong suggestion. Another frantic set of patting ensued as Matt checked every one of his pockets before dragging his fingers through his hair and swearing loudly. “Where thehellis my phone? Dammit, why is everything happening to me?”
Obviously fatherhood destroyed brain cells, even before the kid arrived. “Relax,” Rafe ordered. “I’ll get you to her.”
He was grateful Matt seemed willing to stay by his side as they left the parking lot and strode toward the main doors. Rafe texted Laurel for information as they hurried forward, and her instant response let him guide his cousin straight to the second floor where Laurel met them.
“You’ve got lots of time, Matt,” she assured him, holding him back from sprinting down the hall. “Becky’s with her, and the doctor, and everything’s going great.” She sniffed, then pushed him toward the nearby public bathroom. “First you need to wash your hands. With soap.”
