His light eyes flickered with uncertainty.
“You’ll be there and back before I can even miss you. Ain’t no use losin’ the whole damn herd over this. Go while the storm ain’t here. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want you here all alone…” But the fight had left him. I’d won, he was just drawing it out now.
“Charlie should be back soon from droppin’ Cason off at school. And Cash and Bad will be back in a few hours from that stupid futurity event or whatever the hell thing it was they went to this weekend.” I leaned up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Go do this before you worry yourself to death, Maverick.”
He wrapped an arm around me, drawing me in close. “Fine,” he murmured against my lips. “But if you need anythin’... If you start to feel anythin’, you call me. Immediately.”
“Yes, cowboy,” I murmured, pressing another kiss to his lips.
He pulled back, gripping my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I mean it, Chey.”
I offeredhim a soft smile. “I know.”
Maverick left shortly afterwith Ryder, though they’d opted to take Ryder’s truck instead of the ranch one. Ryder claimed they might as well walk, with how shitty and unreliable Cash’s was. Not to mention, the windows didn’t roll up on one side, and it had started raining.
Well, looks like I'll be spending the day inside.
I had a couple orders to make, and maybe I’d spend the time trying new candle scents since Mav was gone. He loved when I came up with new ones, but hated the process. Claimed it was too hard on his nose. Well, he wasn’t here to complain now, was he?
I headed out to the garage to grab all my things. It didn’t take long to set up and pretty soon the whole house smelled like lavender, vanilla, and a touch of lemon. I was so over this stupid, cold weather, and the smell reminded me of the sun and springtime and warmer days. God, I missed the warmth, and it hadn’t even been that cold this year.
I found a baggie of dried wildflowers and began sprinkling them atop the melted wax when a string of cramps surged through me, enough to make me pause.
Fuck. More Braxton Hicks contractions.
I’d gotten them a week and a half ago and Maverick had demanded we go to the hospital, thinking I’d started labor. But after wasting an entire day in the hospital to be monitored, the doctor sent me home, saying it wasn’t time yet. I had an appointment on Wednesday, anyway. My doctor said she would likely induce me if I hadn’t gone into labor yet. Little girl had seemed happy enough in my stomach when I’d gone in for my ultrasound on Friday. I’d last through the next two days. I was sure of it.
I breathed through the pain, letting it flow through me as it peaked and then receded, like a wave on the shore.
Thank God Mav wasn’t here. He’d have already had the truck running and been ushering me into the passenger seat. Hopefully they were gone soon, then he’d never have to know.
…except they weren’t.
In fact, they actually got stronger and more frequent over the next couple hours. Still manageable, but sharp enough to take the breath from my lungs for a moment. Fuck. Maybe I should just call Maverick. Try and see when he’d be home… He had said to call if I felt anything. But when I checked my phone, there was no service.
Ugh. Great. Guess they weren’t kiddin’ when they said this would be a nasty storm.
I looked outside. The sky was black and angry, a fierce wind whistling, but it wasn’tpouring. At least not yet.
What was I supposed to do? Were Braxton Hicks contractions supposed to be this strong? I let out a sigh. I should’ve read at leastoneof the books Charlie recommended me. But I don’t know… I’d tried reading them. There was so much medical jargon in it that I just…I didn’t care. I imagined my water would break and boom we’d go to the hospital and I deal with all this shit with a medical professional.
I could ask Charlie, but that meant driving through the storm to get to her house. Another wave of pain cramped its way through me, stealing the air from my lungs and forcing me to lean against the countertop. Brandy leaned into my leg as I rode the wave.
As the pain finally ebbed, I glanced down at her. “What’dya say, girl? Wanna go for a drive?”
Adrive down theroad may have not been—okay, wasn’t at all—my wisest decision. I may have underestimated how hard it was raining…and these fucking cramps. I wouldn’t call them contractions, because if they were contractions…well then, this meant something else entirely and there was no way I was having this baby without Maverick here.
The thought alone terrified me. He was my rock, my support. He’d read all the books. Watched all the videos. He probably could deliver a baby at this point with how much he’d researched it.
Another wave of pain coursed through me, and I slammed on the brakes hard enough to make the tires lock up and slide through the mud before lurching to a halt. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
They were getting stronger. A lot stronger. And closer together. What had Charlie said… something about 4-2-1… No, that wasn’t it. 4-1…
5-1-1. Five minutes apart. One minute contractions for one hour.Well, they were definitely happening frequently. And the last three felt like they’d go on for fucking ever.
Panic knotted in my chest. I couldn’t be in labor. How? Had my water even broke? Wasn’t it supposed to be like a huge gush? I pulled out my phone to check if I had service, but nothing. Not even a damn bar.
