“Ithink my water just broke,” I announce, staring down at the growing wet patch between my legs.
“Right now?” Birdie asks from the back seat, her voice going up an octave.
“No, Birdie, I just peed myself,” I deadpan. “Yes, right now! Oh my god, I’m really going to have to push out a watermelon-sized human.” The panic sets in when I realize this baby still has to come out of me, and I’m nowhere close to being ready for that.
“Holy Toledo,” Birdie mutters, raking a hand through her hair.
“It’s a good thing I’m driving,” Grams states calmly, eyes fixed on the road. “Because if I weren’t, you two would have us in a ditch with all this carrying on.”
She doesn’t get a chance to drive very often, so when we picked her up for the baby shower that Briar and Mama Julie are hosting for me at the ranch, she insisted on taking the wheel.
I shift to face her, wincing as a tight band of pressure rolls across my stomach. “I’m sorry, did you not just hear the part where I’m in active labor and about to push out a whole human?”
Grams shakes her head, chuckling. “What did you expect scheduling this shindig two weeks before your due date?”
I shrug, my palm pressed to my belly. “This stubborn peanut has been on her own schedule from day one, and I figured she’d be late, not early.” Plus, I’ve been actively avoiding anything that reminds me I’ll have to actually give birth for her to make her entrance.
Grams looks both ways before sharply spinning the car into a U-turn, the tires squealing against the pavement. “Hold on tight, girls. We might break a few laws on the way, but I’ll be damned if we don’t get to the hospital in record time.” She glances back at Birdie as she steps on the gas. “Tell that sheriff husband of yours that if he or any of his deputies tries to pull us over, there will be hell to pay.”
Birdie chuckles, giving a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am. I’m on it.”
I let out a strained laugh. “Never a dull moment in this family, is there?”
“Nope, but it sure keeps life exciting,” Grams says enthusiastically.
“Shit, I have to call Heath,” I exclaim, reaching for my phone on the dash.
He’s at the ranch with Lawson, the new foreman he hired last month. He moved here from Texas and has twenty yearsof ranching experience, so he’s well-versed in running large operations. He and Heath get along well, and I think they’re headed for a long and mutually beneficial working relationship.
That plays in my favor, since Heath won’t be as worried, leaving the ranch in Lawson’s hands while he’s by my side as I push this baby out and we become sleep-deprived new parents. It sounds both miserable and like the most incredible experience we’re about to face together.
I’m about to start the call when notifications from the group chat start flooding in.
Backroads & Bad Decisions Group Chat
Birdie: Code stork, Briar. I repeat, we have a code stork!
Briar: OH. MY. GOD.
Wren: The baby’s coming early?!
Charlie: A secret code? Seriously?
Birdie glances up with a shrug. “What? We had to be prepared.”
We both look back at our phones when they chime in unison.
Briar: This is all because Birdie and Wren bet the baby would come early.
Wren: She’d have to hold it in for another two days for me to win the bet.
Birdie: Walker and I were predicting two weeks on the dot, so…
Briar: I’m not paying up until she actually pops this baby out before midnight.
I turn back to Birdie. “Since when do you gamble on when your best friend goes into labor?”
She bats her lashes innocently, holding up a hand. “I was planning to use the money to care for the litter of puppies I found on the side of the road last night. So if you could give birth today, that would be great.”
