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“Don’t hurt Emmy because you’re trying to get back at Sasha and me,” Owen insisted.

That was just the wrong thing to say, and now it was Emmy who took hold of Calen’s arm when she felt the anger rev through him. “Just remember my slutty underwear,” Emmy told him. And it worked. Her words stopped Calen from moving in to punch Owen’s lights outs.

Emmy put her fingers on Calen’s chin, turning his head to make eye contact. “This is our date, and I say that on this date Owen doesn’t even exist. It’s just you and me.”

She didn’t exactly hold her breath, but she waited anxiously for Calen’s reaction. Obviously, his deputy, Mick, was concerned, too, because he set his drink aside and came closer.

“You need help?” Mick asked Calen.

“No,” Calen assured him, and he gave Owen one last glance before he turned back to Emmy. “Let’s finish this dance.”

And that’s what they did. Thankfully, Calen made some moves that put distance between Owen and them.

“I don’t want any part of what Owen just said to be true,” Calen stated. “I’m not here tonight to get back at—”

“I know,” Emmy interrupted, and because she thought they could both use it, she brushed a kiss on his lips. “But you’re still worried the hurt can happen. It can,” she admitted. “But I think we’re past the point of no return here, don’t you?”

Calen looked her straight in the eyes. “Yes. I just don’t want to lose you.”

“Then we’ll take it slow,” she said, though Emmy immediately frowned. In some ways, they’d been on the slow route for over two decades. In other ways though, in ways that involved smutty underwear, they were going full speed ahead.

When Calen cursed, it took her a moment to realize the bad word wasn’t in response to their dilemma but because his phone had buzzed. He whipped it from his pocket, and she saw his pissed-off expression fade when he glanced at the screen.

“It’s Nessa,” he relayed and answered the call. Since both the music and conversation were back to normal levels, he put his finger in his ear, no doubt so he could hear. “What?” he said to Nessa. “Why are you here?”

Emmy glanced around, expecting to see his sister, but she wasn’t there, and Calen cursed again. The moment he finished his call, he took hold of Emmy’s arm and steered her toward the door.

“Nessa wanted to see Christmas Creek in the snow,” Calen explained as he grabbed their coats. “But her water broke. She wants us to go to her right away because the baby is coming.”

Chapter Six

Apparently,right awaywasn’t a hard-and-fast guideline for labor and delivery. Calen was learning that firsthand. Emmy, too, as they waited for news of the baby’s arrival. Something Emmy and he had been doing for more than six hours since they’d made their frantic rush to the hospital.

This was hardly the hot date night they had planned, but then Nessa probably hadn’t anticipated delivering her baby three weeks early at a hospital where she didn’t know any of the doctors. It was both of those things—the early labor and the unfamiliar surroundings for Nessa—that were causing Calen to pace.

And worry.

Emmy had joined in on that pacing until her party shoes had sidelined her to fidgeting in a waiting room chair. She’d also done searches on her phone to figure out the risks of Nessa delivering early, but both the Internet and the nurses on duty had assured them that all would be well. Calen hoped it wasn’t just lip service.

“Christmas Eve,” Emmy muttered. “That’ll be your niece’s birthday.”

His niece. That was something he’d thought he would never hear since Calen had believed he was an only child. But it felt right. Well, right-ish anyway, and he was going to think of his sister and her baby as sort of a Christmas gift.

His phone dinged with another text, and Calen ignored it as he had the dozens of other texts he’d gotten in the past six hours. Calen figured most were just nosey people wanting to know what was going on, but they would hear soon enough. By morning, the news would be out, and there’d be plenty of tasty topics, including Emmy’s and his party kiss, their run-in with Owen, their hasty departure to the hospital, the mail, and Nessa.

Calen practically snapped to attention when he saw Dr. Abernathy making his way toward them. Since he was the only OB in Christmas Creek, Calen figured he had to be the one who’d been called in for the delivery.

“A healthy baby girl,” Dr. Abernathy announced, motioning for them to follow him. “Nessa’s doing great, too, and she wants to see both of you. Don’t stay too long though, only a couple of minutes, because we need to run a few routine tests on the baby, and the new mother needs some rest. Six hours is a fairly short labor, but it’s still exhausting.”

Added to that, it was nearly two in the morning, so even without the labor, Nessa had to be ready to crash.

By the time the doctor finished filling them in, they’d reached the door of the delivery room, and when Abernathy opened it, Calen spotted Nessa on the bed. She had the baby cradled in her arms.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Nessa asked. Man, she was beaming. The woman always seemed to have a smile on her face, but this went beyond a smile. “Six pounds, twelve ounces. Twenty inches long.”

Emmy and Calen went closer and peered into the blanket. The baby looked pissed off, like a riled Hobbit, but, yeah, Calen felt that tug, too. Heck, maybe it was a DNA thing that made him already feel protective of the kid.

“She’s precious,” Emmy said, leaning in to gently touch the baby’s hair. “She looks like Calen and you.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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