Special Delivery (Mountain Meadow Homecoming 1) by Laura Browning Page B

Did she mistrust him so much? Jake pressed his lips together. “Okay, okay. We’ll get you home, then come hell or high water, I’m taking you and your sister out of there tonight. Even with a phone, I’m not sure any help could get to y’all in an emergency.” Thinking of the protective order, he added, “You can stay with me until you find someplace closer in where Holly can get help if she needs it.” And by God, if she bowed up on him, he’d carry her out over his shoulder, pregnant or not.
    As they set off, Jake realized he was doing what Jenny had angled for at her party. He realized something else. It didn’t matter. He couldn’t let Holly and her brother stay in that piece-of-shit house any longer. The place should have fallen in years ago.
    * * * *
    How long had it been since the last contraction? Holly huddled in the bathroom. She’d been sick a couple of times as the contractions rolled through her. The pains came harder and faster, and now she wasn’t sure just how much time she had. She put clean towels on her bed and boiled water. What the water was for she had no idea, but it seemed like people always wanted boiling water when they screamed about birthing babies in the movies.
    She checked her watch. Five o’clock. She’d been in labor about four hours. Not very long. She remembered other women at Doc Owens’s talking about being in labor for twelve hours and more. She checked her watch as the next contraction hit. Less than five minutes. The freezing rain hit the windowpanes with an ominous ticking noise.
    For the first time, unease stirred and with it the realization she was in very real trouble.
    When she heard a vehicle outside, she braced one arm on the edge of the tub and tried to stand, but she was tired. As she shifted one more time, something popped and was followed by a gush of warm liquid that drenched her clothing and left her gaping in horror. The front door opened and Tyler called to her.
    “Holly? Where are you?”
    Another contraction hit, and she moaned.
    * * * *
    Jake pushed into the house right behind Tyler and stomped the snow off his boots. He heard Holly’s moan as soon as the door shut. He took in the scissors and string on the table, the pot of water on the stove, the towels and a book on pregnancy and birth. Dropping the box he carried into the chair next to the door, Jake shot past Tyler.
    “Holly!” Fear drove him down the hall.
    She knelt on the floor of the bathroom in a puddle. His throat ached. Her eyes swallowed her pale face. He had seen the look before: pure, unadulterated fear. For soldiers, it could be deadly, and Jake had no doubt this could be just as dangerous. Calm down. He had to be the strong one because she must be scared spitless.
    “Holly, honey, it’s Jake,” he murmured, not sure how aware she was. “You need me to help you?”
    She nodded. “My water just broke, but I’ve been in labor for a while.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “Oh, Jake. Thank God you’re here.”
    He picked her up, mindless of her wet clothing, and carried her down the hall to the room he assumed belonged to her. He was relieved to see the bedcovers turned back and towels already covering the sheets. He glanced at her with new respect. She’d prepared to get through this on her own. As he settled her on top of the towels, he asked, “How long have you been having pains?”
    “They started around one.”
    He glanced at his watch. About five hours. “How far apart are they?”
    She swallowed and whispered, “The last ones were three minutes.”
    Jake pulled out his phone, checked to see he had a signal, and punched a button. It rang just two times. “Doc? It’s Jake.”
    “Hmm, you’re calling me Doc, so this must be business.”
    “It is. I’m at Holly’s house. I brought Tyler home. She’s in labor. About five hours. Pains three minutes apart.”
    “Shit.” There was a pause and then she said, “Why didn’t she call someone? No. Never mind that