Page 86 of Cowboy

Bull doesn’t move. I’m not certain he’s even breathing, but I’m huffing and puffing, trying to make it through the pain. “Bull, I need to push.”

My knees bend upward, and I shift my tired body. Bull slips the ring box into his coat pocket, and he loosens the sleeping bag around my legs.

Shifting up on my elbows, I bear down, screaming through the pain as the driver’s side door opens and just as quickly closes. When the pain stops for just a second, my head falls back.

“You’ve got this, Scarlett,” Bull says, lifting his arm and pounding his fist on the driver’s side window. Blade opens the door again.

“I’m not looking. I don’t see anything,” Blade yells.

“Where’s that fucking ambulance?”

“They’re struggling through the snow but still on their way.”

“The baby is coming,” Bull yells.

“So is winter,” Blade jokes.

“Are you referencing Game of Thrones?” I snap.

“Yeah, have you seen it?” Blade says, shifting so his head pops into view, but just as quickly, his face disappears again.

“Busy here,” Bull hisses.

“Never mind,” Blade states, closing the door once more.

“Bull, I don’t think I can do this,” I whimper.

“Marry me?” Bull questions, his voice full of incredulous hurt.

“Have the baby,” I cry, rolling my head side to side.

“You can, Scarlett. You’re strong. You can do this.” While I want to yell at him that I don’t need a fricking cheerleader, another wave hits me, and I sit upward, knees to my shoulders, clenching. I don’t even hear what Bull says to me. The next thing I know, my jacket is opening, and Bull is unbuttoning the cute new flannel shirt I bought for this occasion. The proposing occasion, not the birthing scene, which is happening in the back of a fricking pickup truck.

“When Sprout comes out, he’s going to need skin-to-skin contact, Scarlett. He’ll need your warmth until we get you to a hospital.”

While I agree, I shake my head because I’m so tired. It hurts so much. Another wave of pain rips through me. For a moment, I feel like I’m outside of myself. My eyes roll back. My heart races, flooding all sound in my ears.

A rush. A gush. And then the cry of a newborn.

“He’s so beautiful,” Bull says, his voice full of liquid, but I only nod as something warm and slimy is placed over my skin, and red lights filter through the steam-filled windows.

“The answer is yes, Scarlett,” Bull says before the driver’s door is opened and a blast of cold air hits me.

“Yes,” I whisper, not remembering the question as my lips find the head of a little being on my chest.

28

Family Names

Bull

The adrenaline high of the past few hours churns with emotion.

My baby born.

My woman admits she loves me.

My sweetheart asks me to marry her.