Chapter 35 #2
Admittedly curious, Rory watched as Connor reorganized his tools while searching through them.
When he managed to pull out a smaller skilsaw with an even sharper-looking blade, she had to smile.
He’d bitched a few times over the last couple of weeks about allowing some quack that specialized in runny noses going near her arm with a saw.
He was so damn protective of her and she loved that about him.
“Do you trust me?” Connor asked, closing the lid on the toolbox as he double-checked the saw’s battery and blade.
If it had been anyone else, even her brothers, who she loved and knew would never hurt her on purpose, she would have said no.
But this was Connor. The man that she loved and the man that she was just starting to realize would never do anything to hurt her.
So, to answer his question, she placed her arm on top of the toolbox.
Connor leaned in and kissed her. “That’s my girl.”
“Just be quick. I want to go swimming,” Rory said, hoping to do a little more than that actually.
All summer, they’d been restricted in their activities because of her arm, and tonight, she wanted to go skinny-dipping with Connor.
She didn’t come to the reunion with that in mind, but when she was out walking a little while ago, trying to get over the way her father had been treating her all day, she’d stumbled upon a secluded area not far away with the perfect spot for a small fire and plenty of privacy.
It would definitely be the perfect spot for what she had in mind with Connor.
“I don’t think that I can watch this,” Zoe mumbled, her voice shaking, but thankfully her hold on the flashlight didn’t waver.
“Are you ready?” Connor asked, giving her one last chance to back out.
“No!” was Zoe’s answer, but she trusted her guy, so with one nod, Connor turned on the saw and touched the blade to her cast.
She watched him work and was impressed by his focus and handling of the saw.
He kept his cut straight and even, his hands steady.
In a matter of seconds, he was done, the saw was off and she was pretty sure that Zoe was mumbling something and hyperventilating a tad bit, but she was too excited to finally have this damn cast off to really care.
“How does it feel?” Connor asked once the cast was ripped off her arm.
“It feels good,” she said, sighing with relief to finally be able to move her hand and arm without that damn cast getting in the way.
“Um, actually, it kind of hurts,” Zoe said, drawing their attention just as she leaned in to kiss Connor.
“What hurts?” Connor asked, looking like he wasn’t about to give up that kiss when Zoe’s next words stopped them both dead in their tracks.
“The contractions. My water breaking didn’t exactly feel great either, but the contraction definitely hurt,” Zoe said as Rory moved past Connor and took the flashlight from Zoe, careful not to flash the light in her friend’s eyes and when she saw Zoe practicing her breathing exercises, she knew that their night just got interesting, mostly because they were a good hour away from the hospital.
“Your water broke?” Connor asked, fidgeting and for the first time in his life, not really looking all that confident. Not that she could blame him since all she wanted to do at the moment was start screaming for help and give in to the panic clawing at her.
“If your water broke, then why didn’t you say anything?” Connor demanded, truly looking at a loss at what to do next. Give the man a saw and he was calm, give the man a woman in labor and he shattered.
“Because I didn’t want you cutting off her arm, you jackass!” Zoe cried out, her words ending on a scream as she grabbed onto Connor’s arm and squeezed. Rory could tell by the strain on his face that it hurt, but he took it.
“Sorry,” Connor mumbled.
“You should be!” Zoe snapped. “You scared the hell out of me and now, I’m about to give birth to two Bradfords out in the middle of nowhere with no drugs!
Do you have any idea how big a Bradford’s head is?
Huh? Do you?” Zoe demanded, between panting.
Rory would have offered Zoe her hand to squeeze, but her broken arm had just healed and she really wasn’t eager to get another cast.
“I’m going to call for an ambulance,” Connor said, pulling his phone out of his pocket just as company arrived.
“What the hell is going on?” Trevor demanded, climbing onto the truck. He went to put his arms around Zoe but stumbled back as the small woman suddenly turned the most vicious glare that Rory had ever seen on the man.
“You!” Zoe said accusingly as her eyes narrowed to slits on her husband.
For a moment, Trevor simply sat there, looking at his wife, until finally he sighed and gestured to Connor. “Do you have any rope?”
“Rope?” Connor repeated as Rory asked, “What the hell do you need rope for? She’s in labor!”
“It’s to stop her from trying to rip my balls off,” Trevor said with a fond smile for his wife, who looked like she really wanted to do just that.
Definitely the most interesting family reunion, Rory thought an hour later when the ambulance finally showed up just as the twins arrived and she decided against telling Connor that she was late.