“I understand that. Just take a breath—”
“Shut up, Faith.”
“Don’t tell me—”
“Oh dear!” Hope shrieked, looking close to tears.
“What?” Newman asked.
“I-I think my waters broke.”
Chapter 14
Faith watched the look of absolute panic sweep over the faces of both Newman and Ryan.
“I’ll get Jake.” Branna sprinted away.
“We need to get to the clinic,” Faith said, taking action when the two men seemed rooted to the spot. “Now!” she snapped.
“Yes,” Newman said.
“Right,” Ryan said.
They started moving as one. Jake intercepted them with Cubby and Branna.
“I have my cruiser,” Cubby said.
“Okay, that’ll do.” Jake stood in front of Hope when they stopped. “How you doing?”
“Okay, but I’m wet.” She looked shocked.
“That happens.” He gave her a kiss on the top of her head. “And now let’s go and deliver you a baby.”
Faith shot a look to where the man who was Hope and Ryan’s father stood with his family. He looked worried, his eyes on his two eldest children. The two children he’d walked away from when they were young.
Faith didn’t know much about what had happened between Militant Lawrence and her ex, but the bits of information she had heard weren’t good. There had been a lot of arguing, and then he’d left and not returned.
“Where’s Mom?” Hope asked. She sounded breathless. Did that mean she was experiencing contractions? Faith knew about childbirth because plenty of her friends had gone through it. She liked the end result—babies were awesome—but the actual delivering of that baby was not something she looked forward to.
“I’ll get her,” someone said.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Faith focused, in case she was needed.
“What can I do?” Ryan asked, following the small procession now making their way to Cubby’s cruiser.
“Have this baby for me,” Hope gritted out.
“You know if I could, I would.” Ryan’s voice was thick with worry.
“Faith, head to Newman and Hope’s and grab her bag, will you?” Jake asked.
“Yes!” She ran, pleased to have something to do, weaving through the crowds and simply raising a hand when someone wanted to talk about her performance. Reaching the parking lot out the back of The Howler, Faith grabbed her keys from inside, then jumped in her car and backed out of the space. She was soon heading out of town slowly, as there were cars everywhere.
The drive didn’t take long. She knew where the spare key was and let herself inside. Stopping briefly to admire the baby’s room and the crib that would soon be inhabited, she hurried to grab the bag from the closet.
“This place is ridiculously clean.” Turning in a circle, she admired the uncluttered space. “I need to be more like this.”I have one room, and the floor is a dumping ground for every piece of clothing I own.
She was soon back in the car and heading into town. The Yelp Medical Center had a long driveway and a welcoming façade that was rarely appreciated by the people entering the building. After parking, she grabbed the bag and ran inside.