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This baby was comingnow.

I’d worked in an office setting with an OB/GYN physician before I’d moved to Crystal Fork. I did a lot of prenatal care, but I’d never delivered a baby by myself. I wasn’t a midwife, so I wasn’t licensed to deliver a baby on my own. I’d assisted with a ton of high-risk deliveries when I’d been a labor and delivery nurse, but I’d only had one experience with a doctor not arriving before the delivery.

However, since there wasn’t a doctor in sight, I was all she had right now.

“Got what I could find,” Ralph said as he tossed some items to me and put a bottle of saline and antiseptic on the counter. “I’ll go look for more stuff. Kaleb and Tanner are helping me.”

All I could think was bless the townspeople in Crystal Fork.

Some of them had obviously had some medical supplies that they’d given up for a fellow citizen in distress.

The rubber gloves weren’t sterile, but they were better than nothing.

I quickly doused my hands, the gloves, and my forearms with the antiseptic before I pulled on the gloves.

This wasn’t going to be sterile by any means, but I wanted Gloria to be as clean as possible.

“Ralph!” I shouted before he was out of hearing range.

“Yeah!” he called back.

“How far out is that ambulance?”

There was silence for a moment before he answered. “ETA is about fourteen minutes.”

I took the pad that he’d brought and scooted it beneath Gloria.

“They aren’t going to make it in time, are they?” Hannah asked fearfully.

I glanced at Gloria’s progress and shook my head subtly.

“What can I do to help?” she questioned.

Since Hannah was fully versed in the childbirth procedure, I told her, “Stay calm and help keep Gloria calm. She’s crowning. You know what that means. Keep her relaxed and tell her not to push right now. Pant with her if you have to. You know the routine.”

Hannah nodded and brushed a lock of hair from Gloria’s head as she took her hand and helped her pant through her contraction. Anna tried to calm Gloria, too, and added her soothing voice to Hannah’s.

Tim tried to assist, but he looked like he was about to fall over himself.

The poor guy looked like he was in a full-blown panic attack.

“Tim?” I said softly.

He turned his wild eyes to mine.

“It’s going to be okay. Try to stay calm for Gloria. This will all be over soon. She needs you right now.”

He nodded slowly, and his panic seemed to calm a little as he realized he needed to be strong for his wife.

“You’re right,” he said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I have to keep my shit together.”

“You’re doing fine,” I said soothingly. “It’s okay to be nervous, but the ambulance will be here in a few minutes. You’ll be seeing your baby girl shortly.”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m never going to do this again. Two kids are enough.”

I smiled at him reassuringly before I snatched the bottle of saline from the counter and used it to get Gloria as clean as possible.

I’d kill for some betadine at the moment, but I was grateful for the items Ralph had gotten for me.