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As the pressure grew, and his stomach muscles tightened, he started to panic. After a minute the contraction eased, and he slipped free.
Cade’s eyes were huge. “That was freaky,”
“Welcome to my freaky pregnant world,” she joked. “Please help me down and to the tub.”
Anna sighed blissfully as she lowered her tired body into the warm water. Thankfully, the tub was larger than normal, or she may not have fit.
She had just leaned back and closed her eyes when a contraction gripped her stomach again. It wasn’t any stronger than the last, so she ignored it and enjoyed her bath.
Thirty minutes later she was dressed and back on the couch. A beeping sound caught her attention. “Cade? Where’s your phone?”
“Next to you on the end table.”
“Perfect. Just perfect,” she scowled as the battery blinked one red bar, then gave up the ghost.
“What is it?”
“Your phone just died. We will have to remember to charge it when the power comes back on.”
“I’ll plug it in now, so we don’t have to think about it.” He took the phone to the kitchen and plugged it in.
Without power to watch a movie, all there was to do was watch it rain or read. Cade was leafing through Sports Illustrated while Anna used her Kindle; at least that still had power. She was on the third chapter of the novel she was reading when another pain struck. This one was stronger than the last and felt different. She tried to ignore it and not panic.
“Anna? What the hell is that?”
“Don’t worry, it should pass. Sex can trigger contractions, but it usually doesn’t induce labor.”
“Usually!”
“Just give me a minute and remain calm,” she said as she tried to breathe through it.
She could feel Cade’s worried gaze like a tangible touch as she concentrated and took slow, steady breaths. Finally, the contraction subsided.
“See?” She grinned unconvincingly. “All gone.”
“I should never have lost control in the bathroom,” he growled as he raked his hair angrily. “This is my fault.”
“I seem to remember being a full participant in the bathroom sexcapades. Personally, I enjoyed every minute and wouldn’t change a thing.”
Cade was still frowning. “That was stronger than the others. How do we know if it is a fake one?”
Chapter 9
“When they start coming at regular intervals, for example, twenty minutes apart instead of random, then we will worry,” Anna assured him smoothing the worry line between his brows.
Crap! That one hurt, Anna groaned silently in her mind. Another pain so soon?
“Anna? Are you okay? That felt like more than false labor.”
“I'm fine. I'm pretty sure it's still Braxton Hicks.”
Cade warily searched her face. He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or lying to spare him the worry.
When a few minutes passed, and she hadn't had another one, he breathed easier. False labor, that's all it was. Nothing to worry about.
Just when he was sure they were in the clear, her expression turned to uncertainty. “What is it?”
Her hesitation had his gut tightening. He could feel her indecision. She was holding something back, he was sure of it. “Spit it out, cher.”
Anna sighed, “I noticed during my bath that the baby looked like she was sitting lower. I think she dropped.”
Cade gaped at her like she had hit him over the head with a bat. “The baby dropped! And you’re just now telling me? What the hell, Anna?”
Tears welled in her eyes; she hadn’t meant to deceive him, she just hadn’t thought about it at the time. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I only noticed that the pressure was less on my ribs, and the baby didn’t feel like she was kicking them to pieces. Just now, I was looking at my stomach and noticed it looked lower, and I put two and two together.”
Cade wrapped an arm around her. He’d yelled at her without knowing the whole story, and now he felt like shit. His wolf was none too happy with him either. Suddenly his stomach cramped until it was tight as a drum. “Are you sure it's false labor? With her dropped an’ all?
“Pretty sure,” she managed through gritted teeth.
