Epilogue
Seven Months Later
“ M itch, wake up.” I feel her shaking me “Mitch, it's time.”
“I told ya, I’m not workin’ today.” I try and pull the covers back over us but she shakes me even harder.
“Mitch, the baby’s coming.”
My eyes shoot open and I sit up straight.
“Why the fuck didn’t ya say somethin’?” I stand up and start pacing the floor.
“I was trying to.” She laughs. She’s in labor and she’s laughing.
“What d’ya need?” I move closer to her, trying to remember what all those books we read together said, now it’s all just fuzz in my brain.
“Relax, the contractions started a few hours ago.”
“A few hours ?” I check I’m hearing her right.
“Yes, but they were irregular and just uncomfortable. Now, they’re starting to hurt.” She grimaces as she grips hold of the nightstand.
“You havin’ one now?” I look at her, feeling helpless, and when she nods her head all I can do is take her other hand and remind her to breathe.
“I think you should call the midwife now.” She looks at me once it passes. “They’re coming every five minutes. That’s when she said to call.”
“Okay. I can do that.” I leap back off the bed and head for the kitchen where my cell phone is.
“Darlin’.” I look back through the door. “You sure you wanna do it this way? At the hospital they have drugs and if anythin’ goes wrong?—”
“No hospitals.” She shakes her head. “Stress is bad for the baby and if I go to a hospital I’ll get scared. I’m much better off here where I feel comfortable.”
I flick through my phone and dial the midwife, not at all liking the response I get when I speak to her.
“Shit!” I hang up the phone and breathe myself calm before I head back to the bedroom to break the news.
“Mitch, there's another one coming.” She reaches her hand out to me and I take it, stroking her back and deciding to let it pass before I tell her what I know.
“It’s over.” She breathes a sigh of relief and smiles up at me. How the hell is this woman making being in labor look hot?
“Sweetheart, I just spoke to the midwife. She’s on another delivery, right now.” Her face instantly drops. “Now, ya don’t need to worry, they can send us a replacement, but they might take a while to get here. Or, we could go to?—”
“No hospitals,” she tells me again, maneuvering herself up off the bed and pressing her palm into the arch of her back. “You can call the girls, they can help until the other midwife gets here.” She starts to walk up and down the room, breathing calmly, and I quickly do as she says, calling Savannah and asking her to round the girls up and get here fast.
“They’re on their way, is there anythin’ I can do?”
“Just be here.” She waddles over to me and I slide my hand gently over her huge, round stomach.
“Everythin’s gonna be okay,” I assure her, as nerves and excitement battle it out in my chest. And when Everleigh tenses to endure another contraction, the gush that hits the floor makes me jump back in shock.
“Oh, this is definitely happening.” She winces.
“It sure is.” I keep stroking her back and hope those girls hurry up and get here.
“That's good, Everleigh, it’ll pass real soon.” Maisie seems to know all the right things to say to her every time she gets a contraction. They’re getting closer and closer together and lasting much longer, and I can see Everleigh’s starting to get tired.
Savannah and Leia prepare the bed for the delivery by placing a waterproof sheet over the mattress, and I just stand holding Everleigh’s hand, feeling like a spare part.
“I’m not ready.” Everleigh suddenly starts shaking her head and starts to panic.
“What?” I look down at her on the chair she’s perched on.
“This baby can’t come yet. I’m not ready,” she repeats, and Maisie looks up at me seeming just as confused as I am.
“Darlin’, I don’t think ya get a say in that, this baby’s halfway to comin’ and we’re more than ready for it.”
“No, I need us to be married.” She shakes her head. “I know I said I wanted to wait till after the baby came but I’ve changed my mind. I want us to be married before it comes.”
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s too late for that, now. We can get married straight away, after. Tomorrow, if you want. Let’s just focus on this, right now.” I try and keep her calm.
“ Oh, fuck! ” She squeezes my hand as another contraction hits her, and I breathe in sync with Maisie to help get her through it.
“I don’t wanna have this baby until we're married, Mitch.” She looks up at me helplessly, and I rack my brain trying to come up with a solution.
It’s 7 am in the mornin’. Where the fuck am I gonna find a minister?
“Okay. I’ll fix it.” I grab hold of Maisie and drag her out the room.
“We need to get Garrett here,” I tell her when we’re in the kitchen out of earshot
“Garrett? He’s gonna be even less useful than me.” She looks at me as if I’m crazy.
“Not for that, you call him and tell him to have one of the boys sit with the triplets. We need him to come here and marry us, right now.”
“Garrett can’t marry you.” She laughs at me.
“Sure he can, he’s the town mayor he can do anythin’ he wants.” I pass her my phone because I have to get back to Everleigh.
“Mitch, being the mayor doesn’t ordain him to marry people.”
“Maybe not, but right now she doesn’t need to know that. We got no midwife, a hospital is outta the question, and the last thing I wanna do is have her stressin’. Call your husband.” I leave her to it and get back to Everleigh.
“Where did you go?” She tries getting into a more comfortable position on the chair we’ve bought in from the kitchen.
“To arrange a weddin’.” I kiss her on her sweaty forehead and help her get settled.
“Well done, you're doin’ great, she’s makin’ progress, right?” I look at Maisie. Wondering what the fuck is taking Garrett so long.
“How am I supposed to know?” she whispers back at me.
“Because you’ve given birth to three babies.” I shake my head back at her.
“Giving birth does not qualify me as a midwife, you’ve probably got more experience in this than I have, you've birthed hundreds of calves.
“Mitch, there’s another one coming already.” Everleigh looks worried as she clutches my hand.
“She’s got to be close to being fully dilated,” Savannah points out.
“You're gonna have to check.” Maisie looks at me.
“I’ll get the gloves.” Leia disappears into the kitchen.
“Maisie, this is very fuckin’ different to deliverin’ a calf, I know what I’m feelin’ for.”
“Mitch.” Everleigh buries her head into my side and screams as another pain wracks through her body.
“Breathe, just breathe.” I stroke her hair, and when Garrett rushes through the door I breathe a sigh of relief. He comes closer and screws up his face when he notices Everleigh doubled in pain.
“You sure she’s up to this?” he checks.
“Yes, she’s up to it!” Everleigh manages to growl at him, clutching at my shirt and nearly pulling it off my shoulders. “God, there's so much pressure I think I need to push,” she sobs.
“I think we should get her to the bed.” Maisie looks up at me and the urgency on her face has both me and Garrett helping Everleigh to her feet and moving her in that direction.
“What’s with the Sunday best?” I notice what he’s wearing as we help her lay down. “Maisie said ya needed me to marry ya,” he points out, looking serious, and I shake my head as I try to get Everleigh as comfortable as possible.
“ OHHHHHH! ” Everleigh clutches her stomach again, and Maisie lifts up her night dress to check what's happening.
“You better hurry up with those vows, minister.” She looks up at her husband with a worried look on her face.
“Not a problem.” Garrett clears his throat and pulls a Bible outta his jacket pocket.
“Where the hell did you find that?” I ask him.
“This just so happens to be the Carson family Bible, it’s been in the family for decades,”
“Garrett.” Maisie waves her hand at him, while Everleigh continues to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth like Leia reminds her to.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here?—”
“Cut the crap, we don’t got time for it!” I yell at him as Everleigh crushes my hand tighter and starts to cry out in pain.
“You have to push, now,” Maisie tells her, looking disturbed by whatever she’s seeing down there.
“Right. Do you, Mitch Hudson, take this woman to be your lawfully, wedded wife? Do you promise to love, honor, and obey her as long as you both shall live?” he asks me.
“I do.” I look Everleigh in the eyes and smile at her as I make my promise to her.
“And do you, Everleigh, I’m not quite sure of your second name, take this man to be your lawfully, wedded husband? To have and to hold, for rich or for poorer, for better or worse, and all that other stuff?” I look up at him and shrug, wondering where he’s getting these words from. He’s got his Bible open on Matthew 26:17 which, if I recall correctly, is the last fuckin’ supper!
The face I get back from him tells me he’s making this up as he goes along but now’s not the time for me to be caring.
“I do.” Everleigh manages.
“I can see the head, the baby’s got hair.” Maisie looks up at us both and smiles excitedly.
“And with the power invested in me, your mayor, I now pronounce you husband and wife, so help me God. You may kiss the bride.” Garrett closes the Bible and lowers his head, and Maisie rolls her eyes. I take my new wife's chin and direct her lips onto mine.
“Happy now, Mrs. Hudson?” I ask her.
“Yes.” She manages a smile, but only for a second.
“Okay then, let's have a baby.” I move the cushions that are behind her outta the way and slide into their place so she can take both my hands, and rest back against me. When her next contraction comes, she bears down and I feel her whole body tremble from how hard she pushes.
“That's so good, the head’s crowned,” Maisie encourages her, and when Savannah joins her down the business end she looks equally as excited by what she’s seeing.
“Keep pushing, Everleigh, you're doing great,” one of them encourages her.
“Ya hear that? It’s nearly over,” I whisper when she takes a break to catch her breath and leans her head back against me.
“Oh God, another one’s coming,” she moans, closing her eyes tight and pushing hard against the next contraction.
“Yes, you’re doing it! Hey, who needs a midwife?” Maisie calls out, and Garrett must get caught up in the excitement because he decides to have a peek at what's going on himself.
“Hey,” I call out to him, “back up this end.”
“Women are incredible.” He shakes his head as he steps back toward the door.
“Everleigh, the whole head’s out now, we just got to get past these shoulders, push really hard with the next one.” Savannah strokes her leg and when Everleigh nods to say she’s ready, I grip her hands tight and hold my own breath while she pushes.
I hear Garrett talking on the phone but I’m too focused on Everleigh and what’s happening to care.
“That was Tate. The midwife’s showed up at the ranch, he’s pointed her in the right direction. I’m gonna go and meet her, make sure she finds her way here.” I nod at him gratefully before he shoots off.
“This is it, one more big push, and your baby will be here,” Maisie tells her, almost sounding like she knows what she’s talking about.
“C’mon, darlin’, you got this,” I tell her, wanting all this to be over for her.
Everleigh’s body goes rigid and she screams out as her nails dig into my hand, and when we hear the sound of a tiny, little cry we both breathe the same sigh of relief.
“It’s here.” Savannah looks up at us both with tears in her eyes. While Maisie wraps our baby up in a towel and passes it up carefully to Everleigh.
“You’ve got a beautiful, baby girl,” she tells us as I look down at the beautiful, pink little person, who's crying her lungs out and instantly floods my chest with love.
“She’s perfect.” I kiss Everleigh’s cheek as I offer my little girl my pinkie finger, and she immediately latches onto it like she needs me.
“You did it, look at her.”
“I’m gonna leave this situation for the midwife, she can cut the cord when she gets here.” Maisie moves away and Savannah and Leia follow her to the door. “We'll leave you two alone for a minute.” She beams at us both before she closes the door.
“Look at the state of me.” I use the hand my little girl ain’t holding to wipe away my tears.
“We’ve got a little girl.” Everleigh looks up over her shoulder at me.
“We’ve got the most beautiful , little girl in the world,” I correct her.
“I love you,” Everleigh tells our daughter, crying and laughing at the same time. Knowing that I played a role in the happiness she’s feeling makes my chest feel like it’ll burst.
“I love you too.” She looks up at me again.
“You're incredible.” I kiss her sweaty forehead and wrap my arms a little tighter around them both.
“Now, we just need to come up with a name for her.” I open up the towel she’s wrapped in so I can get a full look at her. She’s long and has perfect little toes.
“Hope.” Everleigh smiles down at her.
“Hope,” I test out the name on my tongue and like how it sounds.
“I think that’s perfect.”
I cover my little Hope back up with the towel to keep her warm and kiss her mom’s cheek, then I look up at the ceiling and thank God for that phone call I got from Jimmer Carson, asking for a favor.