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‘Don’t you dare drop me!’ she said weakly.
‘I won’t drop you.’ He’d cut his arm off first, he realised, before he’d cause this woman a moment of additional suffering.
He started up the stairs, carrying her as
carefully as if she were made out of spun glass. But it made no difference. When they reached the landing another contraction seized her. She gripped his neck hard, the groan long and low, before she started to pant desperately again. He waited for it to pass before taking her into the first bedroom he came to. By his calculation, the pains were less than two minutes apart and lasting at least forty seconds. He had worked on a cattle ranch one murderous spring pulling calves so he knew it was not a good sign.
Neat and tidy and with no personal possessions in it, the room they entered looked like a guest room. He laid her on the bed, but she grabbed his arm as he straightened.
‘Please, don’t go.’
‘I’m not going anywhere.’ It surprised him to realise he didn’t want to leave her. He gripped her hand as the next pain assailed her, rubbed her back until it passed.
He stroked her hair back from her brow. ‘I’m going to go and get the phone to call Linc and the doctor. Okay?’
She nodded, meekly. ‘There’s a hands-free phone in our bedroom next door.’
He ran into the next room, grabbed the phone and ran straight back with it. He sat next to Ali on the bed and held onto her hand as he dialled Linc’s cell phone.
‘Linc, you need to get home. Your wife’s about to have your kid.’
There was a crash on the other end of the line and then he heard Linc’s voice. ‘Is she okay? How is she?’
He could hear the panic in his brother’s voice. Monroe fought to keep his own cool and even. ‘She’s doing fine.’ He gave Ali a quick wink. ‘She’s a pro at this. But she wants you and Jessie here now. I’m calling the doctor as soon as I hang up, so just concentrate on getting your butt back here.’
Ali panted her way through another contraction as soon as he hung up.
‘They’re so strong, Monroe.’ She gasped. ‘I can’t believe how strong they are.’
‘I think we need to get the doc here,’ he said as he began dialling the obstetrician’s number that Ali reeled off, clearly knowing it by heart.
Reassured that the paramedics were on their way, he put the phone down. Ali was clutching the covers, her face set in grim lines of agony as she panted off another contraction. He gathered her into his arms and let her cling onto him. The helpless cries of pain she made until it subsided tore at his heart.
He eased back, looked into her face. ‘How are you doing?’
She shook her head, tears trembling on her eyelids. ‘I’m so scared. I’ve never done this before without pain relief. It hurts so much.’
He took her face gently in his hands. ‘Ali, you’re doing great. The medical crew will be here any minute, I promise. Just hold onto me and yell all you want. Okay?’
She nodded. He could see the pain swirl into her eyes again as her fingers dug into his arms. ‘Here’s another one,’ she groaned.
She cried out in pain. Monroe heard a loud crash as the door slammed downstairs.
Monroe figured Linc must have flown up the stairs, because he burst through the door less than three seconds later.
‘Ali, Ali, are you all right, honey?’ Linc dashed across the room, his face whiter than the bed sheets. Ali shook her head, still panting, crying and holding onto Monroe.
As Jessie ran into the bedroom behind Linc she saw her sister cocooned in Monroe’s arms. He held her gently as Ali’s fingers fisted on his upper arms in a viselike grip and she screamed. At last, the cry of pain and anguish dimmed and Ali collapsed against him. He stroked her back, speaking softly into her ear. ‘Linc’s here, now, Ali. He’s going to take over.’
She nodded weakly as Monroe pulled back carefully and stood up. He continued to hold Ali until Linc had taken his place on the bed.
‘The paramedics arrived just after us,’ Linc said softly to his wife as she huddled in his arms, exhausted. ‘They’re coming right up.’
Jessie blinked away the tears of emotion gathering in her eyes as Monroe walked across the shadowed room towards her.
He looked shattered, she thought. His eyes were swirling with an emotion so intense, so naked, it stunned her. She could see the vicious bruises already forming on the tanned skin of his arms where Ali’s fingers had gripped.
‘Where’s Emmy?’ he asked softly.
