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“No. My big brother did.”
“That’s good. My dad says you have a baby in your tummy and it’s going to come out. How does that happen?”
She looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. It didn’t seem to matter that she was shivering and in pain, giving someone shit was still her default mode.
I gave my head a small shake.
“I’m not touching that question. You’re his father,” she whispered.
“James, did you find your headphones?”
He disappeared, then popped back up holding a set of headphones. “Got ‘em right here, Dad. I need you to make it so the Minions movie plays in the headphones.”
“Hand me your iPad.”
He thrust it over the seat. I queued up the movie, setting the volume a little higher than normal, then handed it back to him.
“Cool! Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re welcome. Now settle in and watch the movie, okay? Zoe and I are going to be busy back here, and we need to concentrate, so it’s going to be a big help that you watch your movie and not interrupt us.”
“Gotcha. I won’t ‘rupt you.”
“Good boy.”
I watched through the front seats as my son settled in, and soon he was immersed in the world of yellow hell. All things considered, sitting through another showing of Minions or helping Zoe deliver her baby, I was thinking I was getting the better part of the deal. I turned to her.
“You ready?”
“Me? No. My niece, however, is all sorts of ready.”
“Well, then, let’s get you comfortable.”
Chapter Three
The idea of getting the frozen maternity jeans and wet undies off my body sounded like heaven, but I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell I could get that done on my own in this cramped space.
“Besides the sleeping bag for you to lie down on, I’ve got this blanket for you to lie under. All the comforts of home, don’t you think?”
I looked down at the Spider-Man sleeping bag and couldn’t help but shake my head. “My nephew Zephyr has this exact same sleeping bag.”
“See, this will be practically a home birth.” He held up the wool blanket and handed it to me. “I can hold this up while you slip out of your jeans. Which way will be easiest? While you’re sitting up or lying down?”
Hell, maybe I was wrong. If Adam was this confident, maybe I could peel myself out of the wet denim. “Sitting up,” I answered.
He held up the blanket, and I hoisted up my parka so I could grip the elastic band of my jeans and the panties at the same time. I got a firm grip then yanked.
Nothing.
I wiggled my hips. They didn’t wiggle much, but I did it again and yanked at the same time. The denim inched down just a little bit. Not much, but a little. I tried some more, and again, until I finally had my panties and jeans pulled down under the swell of my belly, but they were stuck on my hips and butt. They wouldn’t budge.
I looked up at Adam over the blanket.
“Not going so well, huh?”
I could feel the gathering pain starting to grab at my lower back. I bit my bottom lip.
Dammit!
