“No. Not sure, but I think so.” She swallowed hard as the reality hit her. She squeezed my hands, her eyes widening in panic. “Jesus Christ. If this… if I’m really having the baby now, how am I…? Three weeks early! Radleigh’s in another state, I’ve got Jamie to take care of, there’s a party in the back garden and this fucking hurts!”
“Okay.” I had to take charge and calm her down before she ended up giving birth on her kitchen floor. I led her across the kitchen to one of the chairs around the breakfast table and sat her down. “Wait there. I’ll be right back.”
I rushed out the back door trying to look as if nothing was wrong but my heart was racing. The baby was coming three weeks too soon. I knew premature babies could get sick if they came too early, but I wasn’t sure if three weeks meant Leah and the baby were completely out of danger or if there were still risks. Oh God. Please. None of us could handle anymore tragedy. This had to be okay.
Calm down. It might not even be the real thing.
I wasn’t buying it. I called Bryce over because, as a father of three, he’d have a much better idea of what was happening than I did.
After ensuring Jesse and Bree would watch the kids, Bryce carefully heaved himself out of the pool, water dripping down his toned chest, and I swal
lowed a laugh. When Leah first moved to Westberg we’d had many conversations about Bryce’s chest and she was missing seeing him as droplets trickled down his skin.
“What’s up?” he asked, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.
“It’s Leah. She’s in the kitchen. She thinks the baby’s coming.”
“Now?!”
“Yes, and I need you to help us figure out whether she really is or if it’s just a false alarm.”
I grabbed his hand and dragged him back across the yard; no easy task when he couldn’t walk properly with his injury. I’d forgotten he was supposed to use his crutches which he’d left by the pool. I stopped Bryce, cussed quietly, then ran to get them so he could move without making his ankle any worse. When we got back to the kitchen Leah was staring into space, her foot tapping manically.
“You okay?” Bryce asked, stopping in front of her.
Even potentially in labour, Leah flashed me a quick look of appreciation, making me cough to hide another laugh.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t think so, but I’m hoping the baby will stay inside me until tomorrow afternoon when Radleigh gets back.”
“What’s happened so far?”
Leah repeated what she’d told me about the pains in her stomach, adding that she had an ache in her lower back too.
“You need to go to the hospital now, Leah.” Bryce’s face was serious and I grabbed his arm again.
“You think something’s wrong?”
“No.” His voice was calm. “But the baby is a little early and just to be safe, Leah needs to get to the hospital right away.”
I looked into his eyes, searching to see if he really thought everything was fine. He gave me a reassuring wink but didn’t smile, and the early signs of a panic attack made themselves known in my perspiring palms.
‘Back off,’ I said internally and very firmly. ‘I don’t have time for your shit right now.’ My best friend was in labour and after a quick assessment of the situation, I realised it would probably be down to me to get her to the hospital.
“I can’t!” Leah shrieked. “I need Radleigh, and what am I going to do about Jamie?”
Again, I looked to Bryce for answers and he stood for a moment, probably figuring out the logistics.
“Okay. Since everyone’s here we can just stay for a while and take care of Jamie. I’ll call Sarah and ask her to pick the girls up early, and maybe Bree can watch Jamie tonight?”
It made perfect sense since, out of all of us, Jamie was most familiar with Bree but Leah shook her head. “I think he’ll freak out when he knows what’s happening and want to come to the hospital, or he’ll want his mum and dad and they’re bloody miles away!”
“We’ll call them and let them know what’s happening. If we can get Jamie to agree to it, are you okay with Bree taking care of him?”
“Sure, but she’ll need to stay here. Jamie will feel better if he’s somewhere familiar.”
“Okay.” Bryce looked at his watch. “Call Radleigh right now. If you catch him before the game he can try and get a flight out tonight. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be. Then you need to call the hospital and let them know you’re on your way.” Bryce turned to me again. “Can you take Leah to the hospital?”
“Of course. Leah, do you want me to tell Jamie before we go?”