“I’ll happy place you, if you don’t—” Breaking off, she groaned through another pain, though this one wasn’t quite as strong as the previous. But all she could think about was it was too soon, the baby still needed to cook for another few weeks. But these pains, they were coming so close together.
“Beth, you are dilated to ten centimeters. I’d say Tessa better get hold of Brody quickly, because you are having this baby today.”
Tessa turned her phone so Beth could see the screen. “Good news. They found Ms. Patti and she’s fine. Well, she’s in the hospital,” she paused, sharing a look with Dr. Stevens, before adding, “they don’t think it’s serious, probably just a bad sprain to her ankle. Rafe and Douglas are on their way to Mercy General now. And Brody didn’t answer his phone, but I’ve got the whole fire department looking for him. I’ll keep trying.”
“Ms. Patti was missing?” Dr. Stevens glanced between Beth and Tessa before shaking his head. “Why do I suddenly feel out of the loop?”
“We didn’t want anybody panicking, she’d only been out of touch for a few hours. I’m pretty sure somebody would have called here though, checking to see if she was hurt.”
He shook his head. “I never got a call.” Standing from the rolling stool, he took his gloves off and turned to the nurse. “Go ahead and get her out of the stirrups, and as comfortable as possible. If her water doesn’t break in the next half hour, we’ll have to do an AROM.”
“A what?” Beth couldn’t quite hide the quiver in her voice.
Dr. Stevens smiled. “Sorry, medical speak. It means an artificial rupture of membranes. Your water hasn’t broken, even though you’re definitely in labor. If it doesn’t break on its own, there’s a procedure we do called an amniotomy. It’s simple and easy, nothing to worry about. Relax, and we’re going to keep an eye on Junior, okay?”
Beth nodded, her hands clutching the sheet covering her stomach. Today was turning out to be nothing like she’d planned. Then again, she mused, when had plans ever amounted to anything when the universe decided to turn everything on its head? You’d think she’d be used to chaos by now. Of course, living with Brody made everything…perfect. He calmed all the turbulence of being nine months pregnant, with a daughter who’d started elementary school and wanted to be part of everything, including all the renovations they were doing to their home. But it was worth any price, because she was happier than she’d ever been in her entire life.
“You’re sure Ms. Patti is okay? Did anybody say how she got hurt?”
Tessa shook her head. “All I know is what the text said, that she was at Mercy General Hospital, and they were waiting for tests. I’ve already sent a text to Rafe, asking him for more info ASAP. Do you think I should call Douglas? Maybe he knows something.”
“No, don’t bother him. I was already worried when I heard about Ms. Patti being missing, afraid it might affect Douglas’ heart. I—we—can wait until Rafe or one of the others fills us in.” She sighed. “I just want Brody. I don’t want him to miss his son’s birth.” Beth squeezed her eyes shut as another pain spread across her lower abdomen.
“Lemme go make some more calls. Somebody has to know where he is or how to get hold of him. It’s not like Brody not to answer—” Tessa broke off when her phone rang. She grinned when she read the caller ID and handed the phone to Beth. It was Brody.
“Brody, where are you?”
“Beth? I was calling Tessa back. Her message sounded urgent. Are you okay?”
“Yeah—no—Honey, I’m having the baby.”
“Now? You’re having the baby now? Where are you? Did Tessa take you to the hospital? I can’t believe Junior’s coming. When did you go into labor? Why didn’t you call me? Beth, are we really having the baby today?” Brody’s questions were flying a mile a minute, and Beth clutched the phone in her hand, almost giddy at the happiness in Brody’s voice.
“Slow down, cowboy. Yes, it looks like Junior decided today was the day he wanted to come into the world. I didn’t know I was having labor pains, not until a little while ago. My back was hurting, but I thought it was muscle strain from bending over and tying ribbons on the church pews. We’re at the emergency clinic. Dr. Stevens is taking care of us. Where are you?”
There was a long period of silence on the other end, and Beth wondered if he was going to answer. Finally, he gave a wry chuckle.
“I drove to Austin this morning. The gift we ordered for Momma and Dad came in, and I went to pick it up. Figured I wouldn’t be gone for more than a couple hours and look what happens. Momma goes missing and my wife goes into labor.”
“That’ll teach you not to tell me when you’re going to be gone. You got the message that Ms. Patti is going to be okay, right?”
“Yeah. I’ve been trying to call Rafe, but he’s not answering. All I know is she’s in the hospital and they’re waiting for test results. I swear I’m gonna throttle him when I get hold of him. None of my brothers have been able to reach him, either. I do know Dad’s with him, so I’m assuming they’re on their way to be with Momma.”
“Brody, you said you drove to Austin. Where exactly are you now?” Beth bit her bottom lip as a muscle spasm rocked her back, a soft groan escaping her lips.
“I’m halfway home. My truck kind of…broke down. Dante’s bringing the tow truck to haul it to Frank’s, and he’s supposed to give me a ride back to town.” Guilt colored his words. “I’m going to call my brothers, see if one of them can get here faster and pick me up. Did Dr. Stevens give you any idea when you’ll have the baby, sweetheart? Does he want to send you to the hospital?”
“He didn’t say, he’s keeping an eye on me. He said the baby will probably come today, though. Brody, do the best you can. I want you here. You can’t miss the birth of our son. You can’t!”
Beth handed the phone to Tessa, placing her hand on her belly. A gush of water spread beneath her, beginning to pool on the floor. Guess she didn’t need to worry about them breaking her water, because it just broke.
“Brody, I’m staying with Beth until you get here. She’s having contractions, and her water just broke, so I’d say hurry.” Tessa emphasized the last word before hanging up. Leaning over, she pressed a kiss against Beth’s forehead. “I’m going to get somebody to help clean this up and let Dr. Stevens know your water broke. Be right back.”
Beth nodded and leaned back against the pillows, closing her eyes. Her mother used to say things always happened in threes. So far, there’d only been two today. Maybe they’d get lucky, and they’d miss that particular superstition.
She really hoped so, because she wasn’t sure she could handle any more surprises today.
CHAPTER EIGHT
