He gently held the woman’s hand and said softly, “It’s going to be okay.” He’d never even watched a movie where they delivered a baby, never mind assist with. From the death grip the woman had on his fingers, and the moans and screams coming out of her, he’d have been okay never experiencing it either. Looking back to the bossy blonde, he asked, “What do you want me to do?”
“Tell her to push,” the woman ordered.
“Why don’t you tell her?” he asked.
“Because I don’t speak her language, so it’s up to you.”
Connor didn’t know this woman, never mind what language she spoke. But this wasn’t the time to make introductions. They could talk later, after the baby was delivered. He turned back to the young woman and he tried telling her to push in Spanish, then in French, and finally in the little he knew in Russian. Each time he said something, she only cried out more. Connor couldn’t communicate with her, but somehow, she must’ve known what he was trying to tell her, because she gritted her teeth, grabbed her knees, and made some animal growl. Taking a breath, she did it again, and again. Connor moved his hand to help by supporting her shoulders. He was okay with not being able to see what was going on down below.
“Good girl. You’re almost there. Now breathe and give me a big one. “
Connor wasn’t even going to bother trying to translate that. Instead, he raised his hand and held up his thumb, hoping she knew she was doing a good job. A few more pushes, and the woman collapsed in his arms. He wiped the sweat off her brow, and even though she had no idea what he was saying, he smiled and whispered close to her ear, “You did really good.”
A moment later, he heard a baby cry. “Congratulations, it’s a girl,” the other woman said. She handed him the baby wrapped up in his shirt, “Hold her close while I check her one more time.”
Check her?He didn’t want to know any more than that. He was still trying to get the visual out of his head. But as Connor held the baby in his left arm, and looked down at her, it wasn’t hard. She was the tiniest thing he’d ever seen. He was almost afraid to hold her. The young woman who delivered the baby grabbed hold of his free hand, brought it to her lips and kissed it in gratitude. Connor smiled down at her, then laid the baby on her chest, never actually letting go himself.
It had all happened so fast, but it was both a horrific sight, as well as something very beautiful. And I’m okay with never going through it again. He thought about Kollette, and had a feeling that Ethan wasn’t any more prepared for this than he was. The difference was that Ethan would be going through it with someone he knew, and Connor was among strangers.
Looking down at the baby, Connor marveled at her tiny, closed eyes and the slight weight of her in his arms. She seemed content. You sure know how to make an entrance, young lady. Bet your mother’s never going to forget this. Connor knew he wouldn’t, either.
He could hear the ambulance approaching. Someone must’ve called. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t, but then again, when could he? His hands were literally full. He wasn’t moving from this spot until the medics were ready to take over. Not that he was in this for the long haul, but for the moment, he was committed to caring for her, and the baby.
The blonde woman barked a few more instructions. “The EMTs will take it from here, but before I go, you’d better promise to step up to the plate. This woman and child need you. You can’t be leaving them in a car while you go off drinking. You look like a decent man, but it’s time to grow up and become a responsible adult. You’re not a teenager, for goodness sake. You need to take care of your family.”
Before he could even tell her how wrong she was, the medics were nudging her out of the way so they could do their job. Connor made his way out of the back of the SUV and tried to see the woman, but she was walking so fast, she had disappeared into the crowd. He was sure he could catch up to her, but Connor couldn’t just abandon the woman in his care. Someone had to tell the medics the correct information. Like - I’m not the father and I have no idea who this woman is.
Connor stood by while they quickly evaluated the baby and mother then transferred her onto a gurney. Before they wheeled her away, Connor leaned over and touched the baby girl one more time. “You have a beautiful baby.” Then he took the woman’s hand and this time he placed a kiss on it. “I hope the baby’s father knows how lucky he is.” And he’d better take damn good care of you. He didn’t want to be, but somehow, he was now connected to these two.
As mother and baby were loaded into the back of the ambulance, Connor knew he’d never see them again, and for some odd reason, that saddened him. Maybe it was just coming down from the adrenaline rush, but he felt drained. Empty. He stayed there watching until the ambulance was out of sight. Maybe I should’ve gone with them.
Of course, it would be hard to explain if he ditched Shaun for some random stranger. He looked at his watch. Being early was now out of the question, but if he rushed, he could at least be on time.
Before heading back to his SUV, Connor looked around one more time. How was it that a woman could deliver a baby and then just rush off like it was…nothing? Not that he expected they would exchange numbers or have coffee or anything, but she acted as though this wasn’t so out of the ordinary. He had to give her credit, what she lacked in height, she made up for in confidence. Not only did she have everything under control regarding the birth, but he didn’t usually let anyone speak to him like that. He could chalk it up to being in shock, to being in the moment, but the truth was, he would never have told a lady off anyway. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to talk to her. Guess that isn’t going to happen.
He noticed that passersby were looking at him oddly. One lady actually winked at him. A cool breeze reminded him why. Although he was wearing his black suit pants, he was shirtless. It wasn’t like he had a spare in the vehicle either. This was just adding to the adventure, one that didn’t seem real at all.
Connor turned and walked back to the SUV. The back door was still open and when he got closer, he caught sight of the back seat. Shit! Picking Shaun up without a shirt was one thing, but no way in hell was Shaun getting in this thing. It was…disgusting. Connor wasn’t about to drive it back and retrieve a new rental either. He didn’t care what it cost him, but he would let the rental company take the lead on cleaning up this mess.
He slammed the back door and opened the front door. Surprisingly, his jacket and cell phone were still inside. Then again, a carjacker or thief wouldn’t want to touch anything in that SUV either.
He dialed the rental company and let them know there was a problem with the SUV. Connor didn’t bother getting into the details. They could figure it out when they brought him his replacement. Besides, no amount of explanation would change the fact that an excessive amount of bodily fluids on the back seat wasn’t covered under his rental agreement.
Connor’s second meeting wasn’t going to be as easy. No way in hell was he going to tell Shaun or anyone else what had just transpired. But he needed to think of something to explain why he was going to be late, and without a shirt, too.
He opted to take the easy way out for now and text Shaun.
RUNNING LATE. ETA ONE HOUR.
As predicted, Shaun questioned it. SOMETHING WRONG?
Lies always caught up to you, so he chose to dance around the truth. NEED TO GET A CLEAN SHIRT. MINE WAS BEYOND SAVING.
Shaun’s response was simple. TEXT ME WHEN YOU GET HERE.
If it was any of the other Hendersons, this might not have been so easy. But Connor didn’t like being late for anything. Not that this was his fault, but then again, he had left his vehicle unlocked. A mistake he wasn’t going to repeat.
He leaned against the SUV and waited for the replacement vehicle. It was almost a shame that no one was going to know what a crazy afternoon he’d had, first with Ethan, and then a baby. When he had been a DEA agent his life had been more believable than this. But even if he could explain it, who would he call? Not Kollette, because she might panic that it could be her in that situation someday. And his friends would probably bust a gut laughing.