Chapter 33 #2
Her body relaxes when the contraction stops and she releases the hold on her leg.
“Any chance you know how long it takes to push this baby out?”
“Everyone’s different, but typically, the first pregnancy can take a while.”
“How long is a while?” Wesley asks.
“My mom’s had women push for upward of three hours.”
“Oh, hell no.” Raven’s head falls back on the pillows. “I can’t bear the pain that long. This shit hurts.”
“Hopefully, that won’t be your situation,” I tell her, hopeful. Although it can help to have meds because then the mom doesn’t tire out as quickly.
But I don’t tell her that.
“Another one’s comin’…” She repositions, lifting her leg.
“You’re doin’ great. I can see the head.”
“You can?” Wesley sneaks a peek, and I push him away.
“This ain’t a free show,” I snap.
“That’s still my baby, whether you like it or not.”
“That doesn’t give you a free pass to look at her while she’s exposed. So be respectful.”
He glares, his jaw locked in place, but doesn’t argue. Returning to her leg, he continues holding it up.
“Keep pushin’…”
Raven cries out for the next hour and even though she’s crowning, the baby doesn’t move.
“I think something’s wrong. The baby should be out more by now.”
“Feel around and see if you touch anythin’,” Raven suggests. “It said in one of the baby books I read, if the head doesn’t descend, the cord could be wrapped around the neck. If that’s the case, you should be able to put your fingers underneath and loosen it.”
My eyes widen, thinking how the hell I’m going to do that.
“You want me to shove my hand that far up?”
“Just to feel for the cord. If you don’t, then you shouldn’t have to do anythin’ else.”
“I wish we had a heart monitor,” I say, bracing myself to shove half my arm up her cooch.
“Oh shit, another contraction.”
She tries pushing again, but there’s no movement, and once it’s over, I slide my hand up.
“Oh God, this is…there’s a reason I’m not a nurse.”
“What do you feel?”
“You don’t wanna know…” I focus on feeling for the cord. “Okay, I think I found it. Feels like it’s wrapped around the neck once.”
“Slip two fingers underneath and then carefully lift it over the head.”
“I hope I’m doin’ this right,” I murmur, gently doing what she said. Raven tries not to scream, but I know this can’t be comfortable. “Okay, I think I did it.”
“Thank God. That hurt like a bitch.”
Sliding my hand out, I ask Wesley to get me some fresh gloves.
“The next contraction, you need to push as hard as you can,” I tell her.
Wesley returns, and I quickly change out my gloves.
“Okay, get ready.”
Wesley gets back into position, and I help Raven keep her other leg up with one hand. The head glides out and then the shoulders.
“Oh my God, keep pushin’!” I use both hands to hold it while the rest of the body comes out.
Raven pants and then finally breathes a sigh of relief.
“Towel,” I call out, and when Wesley hands it to me, I wrap it around the baby.
“Why isn’t it cryin’?” Wesley asks.
“I dunno. Gimme a second.”
I wipe the face and eyes, then move down to the mouth and cheeks.
“What is it?” Raven asks. “Boy or girl?”
Oh shit, I didn’t even look.
“Aw…it’s a girl!” I announce.
“She’s still not cryin’,” Wesley says, staring down at me.
“C’mon, sweetie…” I pat her butt.
“Check her airway,” Raven says.
“Oh wait, I remember this.” I put her on my lap and open her mouth but don’t see anything. Then I stimulate her chest for a few seconds before flipping her into a head-down position and let gravity do its job.
Moments later, she starts crying.
“There we go, sweet girl.” I clean the rest of her off, then set her on Raven’s chest with the blanket.
Raven cries and then mouths, “Thank you.”
“You still need to deliver the placenta.”
“What the hell is that?” Wesley asks.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s what is attached to the umbilical cord. It has to come out or Raven could hemorrhage.”
“How does she do that?”
“It should come out naturally within a half hour after birth, otherwise I’ll have to try to do it manually.”
My mom told me a few horror stories, which I’m grateful for now.
“God, I hope not. You’ve been up my vagina enough for one day.”
“Do you still feel contractions?”
“A little, yeah.”
“That’s good. It’ll probably come on its own then.”
I help Raven remove her shirt so she can do skin to skin. The baby’s cries stop as soon as she feels her mama’s warmth.
“She’s so beautiful.” I smile, looking at her.
Then I look at Wesley, who’s watching them. “I think it’d be smart to get her checked out by a doctor.”
“No,” he snaps.
“She needs medical care. Shots. A birth certificate. You can’t actually think you can keep her off-grid?”
Wesley holds up his gun, facing it at me. “You’ve done what I brought you here for.”
“Wes, no!” Raven pleads. “Don’t hurt her. The baby and I will stay here with you. Let her go.”
“So she can go tell the police? I don’t think so.”
“Put me back in the trunk and drop me off somewhere. I have no idea where we are, so I won’t be able to tell the location,” I plead. “I won’t say a word because I know if I do, Raven and the baby die.”
He slowly lowers the gun. “It wouldn’t just be them either. Jonah. Wilder. Your mom and sister.”
My throat closes up at the mention of the people I love.
I nod in understanding. “I won’t say anythin’. You have my word.”
“Good. Because I’d hate for you to have to watch me kill your husband and then you next.”
I know he’s trying to get me to react, fall out of line so he can shove that gun in my face again, but it’s not going to work.
“Understood,” I say firmly.
We continue waiting for Raven’s placenta to come out, and I breathe a sigh of relief that I didn’t have to pull it out. Then we cut the cord.
I add another blanket over the baby and admire how happy Raven looks, even if it’s temporary.
“Bailey looks like you,” I whisper, then kiss her cheek and whisper in her ear, “Please be careful and remember what I promised.”
She nods once. “You too.”
“Alright, let’s go.” Wesley grabs my arm, pulling me back.
Then he holds up a set of handcuffs and grabs Raven’s wrist.
“Is that necessary?” I scowl. “She just had a baby. It’s not like she can run.”
He snaps it into place and then attaches the other side to the headrail. “I’m not takin’ any chances.”
That’s what he must’ve done when he left to find Jonah’s truck.
Raven doesn’t fight it and continues holding the baby with her other hand.
“Down the stairs, go,” he orders.
With one more glance over my shoulder, I meet Raven’s eyes, making sure she knows I’ll be back for her.
When I get to the bottom of the stairs, I get a better look at what this building is.
“Was this a car repair shop?”
“Yeah, my grandpop was a mechanic years ago. He raised me and taught me everythin’ I know about cars. I was the one who found him in his home garage, inside his truck with the engine runnin’ and the windows down. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning.”
“Oh God, that’s horrible,” I say as we continue walking through the building.
Wait a minute…
I wonder if that’s around the time he started hitting Raven and—
“Sugarland Creek PD! Hands up!”
A dozen officers barge through the door with guns raised. Wesley moves behind me, wraps his arm tightly around my neck, then shoves his weapon into my skull.
“Wesley, put the gun down…” Sheriff Wagner calls out. “Let her go.”
“No way. You’re on private property. Get out!”
“You know we’re not leavin’ without the girls. Surrender and no one gets hurt.”
“Wesley…” I whisper his name to get his attention. “Your grandpop wouldn’t want you to do this. I think you’re sufferin’ from PTSD and grief disorder. You can get help for that.”
I learned all about that in my grief counseling sessions. And now I’m kicking myself for not seeing the signs. I wish I’d known he’d recently lost someone close to him.
“He left me behind,” he grits between his teeth.
“That doesn’t mean he loved you any less. Or that you don’t miss him.”
“Shut up.”
“Wesley…” Sheriff Wagner warns.
Next, we hear a helicopter flying ahead.
“Holy shit,” I murmur.
It hits me that Wilder and my family are probably going out of their minds, worried about me. And I know my husband is losing his shit. I’m surprised he didn’t demand to come out here.
However the hell they found us, I have no idea, but I do know Wilder is panicking.
“If I die, she dies with me…” He clicks off the safety.
Before anyone can move or say another word, Wesley jerks behind me and falls to the ground.
I scream when the weight of his body knocks me over and the officers rush over.
My heart’s racing so hard, I can’t breathe.
“Delilah, you’re okay…” a female voice I don’t recognize says, trying to lift me.
“I-I can’t—” There’s a piercing ring in my ears.
“Hang tight, sweetheart.”
She places an oxygen mask over my mouth. “Inhale slowly.”
I think I’m having a panic attack, but I’ve had those before and they’ve never felt like this.
My eyes struggle to stay open, losing the fight to see the woman in front of me.
And then the quiet and darkness surrounds me…again.