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“Belle?” Mom shouted, just as the pain subsided. Her body appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and she frowned up at me. “You okay?”
I shrugged off the last bites of pain and stepped forward on shaky legs. “I’m good,” I told her. “Just coming now.”
She waited for me at the bottom of the stairs, her frown not moving off her face. “You sure? You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine.” I halted at the bottom of the stairs and tried to smile. “Just hungry.”
She placed her arm around my shoulders. “I can fix that.”
I let her lead me into the living room and then into the ki
tchen where everyone was gathered. Food was already spread on the table, and Dad was carrying the golden roasted turkey over. There were three empty seats, one at the head of the table, and one next to it, which were Mom and Dad’s, and then one between Cade and Asher.
My gaze connected with Ford. He was sitting on the other side of Asher, and all the guys on Dad’s team were opposite us.
“Finally gracing us with your presence, lil sis?” Asher asked, his trademark smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and shoved his shoulder lightly as I sat next to him. We’d always been close, but these last few weeks, we’d become inseparable. I had a feeling his girlfriend didn’t like the lack of time he was spending with her, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
“I heard there was pumpkin pie.” I shrugged and turned my head to face Ford. “You know I can’t turn down pumpkin pie.” Ford grinned and winked at me, and I wondered what had changed in the last few days. Cade said he’d made Mom and Dad see sense, but no one had told me anything. I’d been left out of the loop again, but I had no doubt Ford would tell me. He never left me out.
Everyone started to pile their plates with food, and just as I passed Asher the mashed potatoes, pain shot across my stomach. I bowed my head and held on to my bump, gritting my teeth and hoping it would pass by quickly. It tensed, like a rubber band being pulled to its capacity. My cheeks burned as my entire body went hot.
I jerked as the pain got stronger, and screwed my eyes shut, just waiting for it to pass. And once it had finally subsided, I looked up, but no one was paying attention to me. My energy was zapped, and I wasn’t even sure I could pick up the fork to eat, so I just sat there for a few seconds and debated going back to bed.
The baby kicked several times, and my shoulders drooped. I couldn’t sit here, not when I was feeling like this, so I stood slowly, the legs of the chair scraping against the tiled floor.
“Belle? Where are you going?” Dad asked.
I turned to face him, holding my bump with both hands. “I don’t feel—” I cut myself off as I felt a trickle down my leg, and when I looked down, I could see liquid on the floor. Then a burst of it shot down and trickled again. “I…I…” My head whipped up, and I stared wide-eyed at my mom and then at Ford. “I think my water just broke.”
Several chairs moved, and then a set of hands was gripping my shoulders and moving me back to my chair.
“Holy shit,” I heard someone whisper, but I wasn’t sure who, and then the pain rolled over my stomach again, only this time, I couldn’t help but call out. They were getting worse and worse and lasting longer each time.
“Belle.” It was Mom. “Sweetie, how long have you been having contractions?”
I shook my head and gritted out, “They’re just Braxton-Hicks.”
Her hands cupped my face, and she tilted it so I could look at her. “They’re contractions. How many?”
“I…” I breathed in and out. “This is the third one since I got in the shower.”
“That was about forty minutes ago,” Cade supplied from beside me.
“Did you have one at the top of the stairs?” Mom asked, smoothing my hair out of my face, and all I could do was nod. “Ford, get your cell out. Keep time between each contraction and then how long they are.”
“On it,” I heard him say, and he was closer than I’d realized. The pain started to subside, and I glanced up, reaching for him. “I’m here, Baby Belle,” he said, his voice soothing.
“Don’t leave,” I begged him, tears springing to my eyes. I stared at him, trying to convey how I felt. “I’m scared.”
“You’ll be okay, I promise.” He crouched down beside me. “We’re here, and we’re not gonna let anything happen to you or the baby, okay?”
“Okay,” I sobbed out, losing control of my emotions. “I can feel another one coming.”
“That was three minutes,” Ford said, but I wasn’t sure who he was talking to.
“Breathe, Belle,” Mom told me, moving her hands up and down in the air as she breathed. “Just breathe through it.”
I tried to do what she said, but it was harder than she was making out. My body just wanted me to hold my breath so the pain wouldn’t be as bad, but that was making my head spin. “I can’t,” I cried out, my hands shaking. “It’s too much.”
