Page 7 of Delivery After Dark (Gansett Island #28)

“ T iffany is in labor, too,” Dan told Kara when he brought her another cup of ice chips and fed them to her after a particularly brutal contraction.

He wasn’t sure he would survive childbirth, but he wisely kept his mouth shut since he wasn’t the one doing the heavy lifting.

He’d never been prouder of his incredible wife than he’d been during the interminable day that had passed since she woke him up to tell him she was in labor early that morning.

“It’s too soon for Tiffany. She’s not due until after Christmas.”

“I guess the baby has other plans.”

“Damn,” she said. “I hope they’re okay.”

Katie came in to check on them. “How’s it going in here?”

“The contractions are four minutes apart,” Dan told her.

She put on gloves. “Let’s see where we are.”

Kara grimaced her way through the internal exam and then moaned as another contraction descended upon her.

Dan held her hand and tried to help her breathe through the pain, but the breathing exercises hadn’t done much to help her, and they made him feel like he was hyperventilating.

She’d wanted to have the baby on the island, while he’d advocated for the mainland in what had turned out to be one of the more intense disagreements they’d ever had.

He was hoping he wouldn’t regret ceding to her wishes.

If anything happened to her or the baby…

He couldn’t bear to think about any outcome other than a healthy mom and baby at the end of this ordeal. And people said childbirth was the most natural thing in the world. Like hell it was.

“Why are you spinning?” Kara asked when the contraction had passed, and Katie declared them getting closer to ten centimeters dilated, at which time things would get real. Katie said she’d be back to check on them again shortly.

“I’m not.”

“Don’t lie to the person who knows you best.”

“I’m having trouble with anticipating worst-case scenarios, which is usually my job.”

“Don’t do that. We’re fine. This is normal, even if it seems anything but.”

“You promise?”

“Yes, I promise. It’s all good and will be over soon enough.”

“Not soon enough for me.”

She gave him a withering look. “Because it’s all about you.”

“It’s so nice of you to realize that.”

Kara laughed. “Only you could make me laugh when I’m in labor.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Comic relief.”

As she curled her hand around his, he was thankful she still wanted him around when he’d gotten her into this situation in the first place.

“Did you text your family?” she asked.

“Not yet. I’d rather tell them when our peanut has arrived than have them stressed for hours.”

“But you talked to Bertha, right?” Kara asked. “You told her Slim is on standby to bring her over?”

“I did, and she was packing her bags as we spoke.”

“I can’t believe she’s going to take a day off from lobstering for me.”

“Really? You can’t believe that? She adores you, and she can’t wait to meet her new great-grandbaby. I bet she stays a week.”

“No way. She’ll be twitching after twenty-four hours.”

“Want to make a bet? I say seven full days.”

“I say twenty-four hours.”

“What’s the wager?”

“Winner’s choice.”

He waggled his brows. “I’m already thinking about my prize.”

She groaned. “Stand down, stud.”

“Are we shaking on this wager?”

She raised her hand.

He shook it and then kissed the back of it. “My queen. The mother of my child. The love of my life. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.” She looked up at him with big eyes. “It’s a lot more painful than I thought it would be.”

“You want the epidural?” The thought of a shot in the back had freaked her out more than the fear of pain, but that was before reality set in.

“I think I might.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’ll tell Katie.”

David Lawrence sat on the edge of the bed and kissed Daisy’s cheek.

His wife’s eyes fluttered open, and she smiled when she saw him there.

“Sorry to disturb you.” Now in her third trimester with their first child, she was tired all the time and had taken an early-afternoon nap that’d stretched into dinnertime. “I got called in to work for multiple deliveries.”

“Oh, who is it?”

“I can’t tell you that, but you’ll know soon enough. Nothing stays secret around here for long.”

“I hope whichever of my friends is giving birth has the best possible experience.”

“We’ll make sure of it.” He kissed her. “Will you be okay on your own tonight?”

“Somehow, I’ll get by, but I won’t be happy about it.”

David smiled. “I’ll call you when I can.”

“I’ll look forward to that.”

As he drove quickly toward the clinic, he called Victoria for an update.

“Tiffany is crowning six weeks early.”

“Put Life Flight on notice that we may need them.”

“Already done. Kara Torrington is stalled at seven centimeters for four hours now. We’re going to move her along.”

“Good plan. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“See you then.”

Soon enough, it would be Daisy’s turn to give birth, a thought that filled him with unreasonable anxiety.

He’d spent years watching expectant fathers pace the floor while their wives or partners were in labor and had found it funny that they were so stressed out about one of life’s most natural things.

Now he got it. When the most important person in your world was going through something as difficult and sometimes traumatic as childbirth, he could now see from the perspective of a devoted husband and father that it was normal to freak out.

The thought of Daisy suffering through labor set off a burst of panic inside him every time he pictured what it would be like to see his wife in a hospital bed, struggling to give birth to their baby.

Fortunately, they had a couple more months before that would be their reality.

Soon, they’d have a little girl to love and adore.

At first, they’d planned not to find out what they were having, but David had taken one look at the ultrasound and knew it was a girl.

He’d asked Daisy if she wanted to know since it wasn’t fair that he knew and she didn’t. She’d said, Hell yes, I want to know.

They would soon have a daughter named Helen, the name Daisy loved.

He couldn’t wait for that part, and neither could Daisy. She’d begun buying cute outfits and onesies and little socks that were so small, they could’ve been made for a doll.

Helen Lawrence.

That sounded like an old-time movie star’s name.

It had grown on him since Daisy had first mentioned the name Helen when they were riding out Hurricane Ethel together at the clinic.

He’d tried to cancel it out by suggesting Myron for a boy, which had taken them back to square one.

Over time, he’d come to see that Daisy was truly sold on Helen, and since he was truly sold on her, he’d agreed.

But he would get to name the next one.

As long as it wasn’t Myron, his wife had said.

David was smiling when he walked into the clinic to the sound of a mother in active labor.

He washed up, gowned up and gloved up and was walking into the room as Tiffany pushed her premature son into the world at just thirty-four weeks.

“You have a son,” Victoria announced as she quickly cut the cord and handed the baby off to David.

“A son,” Blaine said through tears. “We have a son.”

Tiffany wept as her husband held her close.

“What’s his name?” Victoria asked as she worked on Tiffany while David tended to their son. He’d emerged with a bluish tint to his skin that’d initially concerned David, but the little guy had stabilized quickly. David suspected he might be closer to thirty-six weeks rather than thirty-four.

“Adrian Robert Taylor,” Tiffany said.

“I love that. It’s a beautiful name for a handsome boy.”

“Why is he so quiet?” Blaine asked.

“He’s awake and alert,” David said. “Which is what we want to see. Five pounds six ounces and nineteen inches long.”

“Does this mean we finally had a quiet child?” Tiffany asked.

“Might be.”

“If there’s anything this family needed, it’s a quiet boy,” Blaine said.

Tiffany laughed through her tears. “Are you sure he’s okay, David?”

“He seems to be just fine, even though he came early.” He wrapped the baby in a receiving blanket and brought him to his parents. “Adrian, meet your wonderful mommy and daddy. You’re a very lucky boy.”

“Hi, buddy,” Tiffany whispered as tears continued to spill down her cheeks. “You’re so handsome, just like your daddy.”

As the baby looked at his parents with big, solemn, dark eyes, David decided he was an old soul, come back around for another trip through life.

Blaine ran a finger over the infant’s cheek, seeming in awe of the miracle he and his wife had created. “Thank God you’re here to save me, Adrian. Your mother and sisters are a lot, but I’m sure you’ll love them as much as I do.”

Tiffany laughed as she cried. “I can’t believe he’s here so early!”

“He knew his daddy needed him to hurry up,” Blaine said. “Welcome to the world, Adrian Taylor.”

“Tiffany had her baby!” Abby told Adam when he and Liam returned to the hospital to have dinner with her after a trip to the park.

“What? I thought she was due in January.”

“She was. He came six weeks early.”

“Ah, they had a boy, then.”

“Yes, Adrian Robert Taylor.”

“I like that. They stuck with the A names.”

“But he’s six weeks early, and here I am with no sign of these babies, who should’ve come by now.”

“Remember what the doctor said: The longer they cook, the stronger they are.”

“This slow cooker is fed up and ready to be done with this.”

Adam laughed. “You’re the prettiest slow cooker I’ve ever met.”

She scowled at him. “Your potent charm is no match for my current mood, Mr. McCarthy.”

“Oh, yikes, good to know.” He lifted Liam onto the bed. “Mommy needs some sweetening up, and you’re the only man for the job.”

“Sweet, Mommy,” Liam said, melting Abby’s heart.