Epilogue 1
We Have A Code Stork
“I think my water just broke,” I announce, staring down at the growing wet patch between my legs.
“Right now?” Birdie asks from the back seat, her voice going up an octave.
“No, Birdie, I just peed myself,” I deadpan. “Yes, right now! Oh my god, I’m really going to have to push out a watermelon-sized human.” The panic sets in when I realize this baby still has to come out of me, and I’m nowhere close to being ready for that.
“Holy Toledo,” Birdie mutters, raking a hand through her hair.
“It’s a good thing I’m driving,” Grams states calmly, eyes fixed on the road. “Because if I weren’t, you two would have us in a ditch with all this carrying on.”
She doesn’t get a chance to drive very often, so when we picked her up for the baby shower that Briar and Mama Julie are hosting for me at the ranch, she insisted on taking the wheel.
I shift to face her, wincing as a tight band of pressure rolls across my stomach. “I’m sorry, did you not just hear the part where I’m in active labor and about to push out a whole human?”
Grams shakes her head, chuckling. “What did you expect scheduling this shindig two weeks before your due date?”
I shrug, my palm pressed to my belly. “This stubborn peanut has been on her own schedule from day one, and I figured she’d be late, not early.” Plus, I’ve been actively avoiding anything that reminds me I’ll have to actually give birth for her to make her entrance.
Grams looks both ways before sharply spinning the car into a U-turn, the tires squealing against the pavement.
“Hold on tight, girls. We might break a few laws on the way, but I’ll be damned if we don’t get to the hospital in record time.
” She glances back at Birdie as she steps on the gas.
“Tell that sheriff husband of yours that if he or any of his deputies tries to pull us over, there will be hell to pay.”
Birdie chuckles, giving a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.”
I let out a strained laugh. “Never a dull moment in this family, is there?”
“Nope, but it sure keeps life exciting,” Grams says enthusiastically.
“Shit, I have to call Heath,” I exclaim, reaching for my phone on the dash.
He’s at the ranch with Lawson, the new foreman he hired last month. He moved here from Texas and has twenty years of ranching experience, so he’s well-versed in running large operations. He and Heath get along well, and I think they’re headed for a long and mutually beneficial working relationship.
That plays in my favor, since Heath won’t be as worried, leaving the ranch in Lawson’s hands while he’s by my side as I push this baby out and we become sleep-deprived new parents. It sounds both miserable and like the most incredible experience we’re about to face together.
I’m about to start the call when notifications from the group chat start flooding in.
Backroads & Bad Decisions Group Chat
Birdie: Code stork, Briar. I repeat, we have a code stork!
Briar: OH. MY. GOD.
Wren: The baby’s coming early?!
Charlie: A secret code? Seriously?
Birdie glances up with a shrug. “What? We had to be prepared.”
We both look back at our phones when they chime in unison.
Briar: This is all because Birdie and Wren bet the baby would come early.
Wren: She’d have to hold it in for another two days for me to win the bet.
Birdie: Walker and I were predicting two weeks on the dot, so…
Briar: I’m not paying up until she actually pops this baby out before midnight.
I turn back to Birdie. “Since when do you gamble on when your best friend goes into labor?”
She bats her lashes innocently, holding up a hand. “I was planning to use the money to care for the litter of puppies I found on the side of the road last night. So if you could give birth today, that would be great.”
“How come I wasn’t invited to place a bet?” Grams huffs, reaching over to pat my leg. “I’m an excellent judge of timing.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re supposed to be on my side. Guess the only one I can count on not to profit from my impending pain is Heath—” I cut myself off when I remember I need to call him to have him meet us at the hospital.
I dial his number before pregnancy brain takes over again and put it on speaker so I can lean against the headrest without juggling my phone.
“Hey, hellcat,” he drawls. “How’s the baby shower?”
He was planning to meet me at his parents’ ranch house once it was over.
“I didn’t make it that far,” I pant.
“Why? Everything okay?” Concern creeps into his voice.
“Your wife is in labor!” Birdie hollers from the back seat.
“Her water broke. Good luck cleaning that up later. It’s a bitch to get out of leather,” Grams adds cheerfully.
“Damn, that hurts,” I hiss through gritted teeth as a strong cramp tightens in my lower abdomen.
“Charlie, please tell me you’re all right,” Heath says, remaining calm.
I exhale slowly. “I’m fine. Your daughter’s just trying to claw her way out of me, that’s all.”
I hear a door open and slam shut on his end, followed by the rumble of an engine starting.
“I’m on my way to the hospital now,” he informs me. “Briar’s Jeep just turned onto the road up ahead, so I assume the whole family will be in the waiting room eagerly anticipating this baby’s arrival here shortly.”
It makes me happy to know that we have so many people who are just as anxious to meet our little girl as we are, and that they’ll do whatever they can to support us.
“What about my hospital bag?” I blurt out. “I never packed one.” I was so sure this baby was coming late I hadn’t bothered to put one together yet.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I packed one last week, and it’s in the truck,” Heath reassures me. “I even threw in the blanket Grams gave us.”
“This is why I love you,” I say, blinking back tears.
“Good man,” Grams adds simultaneously.
When we visited her at Meadowbrook last week, she surprised us with the baby blanket I’d found in Florence’s room the morning after she passed. Grams had finished it and wanted me to have it before the baby shower, knowing we’d both be a blubbering mess when I opened it.
After we use it for newborn photos, I’ve decided to store it in the keepsake box Heath made, along with the Birkin. I don’t have the heart to sell it, so I’ll pass it on to my daughter someday. I know that’s what Florence would have wanted.
“I love you too, hellcat,” Heath says, pulling me from my thoughts. “I’ll see you real soon.”
“Stop and get me sushi on the way,” I reply before he can end the call.
There’s a new place in town that does the best vegetarian rolls, and it’s been my biggest craving these past few weeks. Still, I’d give anything to have a spicy tuna roll.
Heath’s warm chuckle echoes from the phone’s speaker. “With extra wasabi on the side, right? Don’t worry, the minute we meet our girl, you’ll have nine months’ worth of tuna and salmon rolls.”
“My savior,” I declare.
After I hang up, I lean against the headrest and close my eyes as the pain in my belly intensifies. I’m already counting down the minutes until I get the sweet relief of an epidural and can properly curse out my sweet husband for putting me in this predicament.