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“Your mother would start the parade without me, and she loves me even more than she loves you,” Faith teased.
“Of course she loves you the most. You’re the most lovable.” Dean lifted her off the ground and spun her around until she giggled.
Dean and Faith had been married for about a month. They’d held their wedding in Grass Lake Community Church surrounded by not only family and friends but practically the entire town.
Piper had taken extensive notes on how to do a wedding right. She and Sawyer were planning to get married in the fall right before they headed back out on the second leg of their tour. Heath already had Piper’s tour bus babyproofed.
Main Street was in its full red, white and blue glory. Flags were flying and people lined the streets.
“How you feeling, Mama?” Sawyer asked as they got out of Dean’s car. “You gonna make it?”
“I can’t let you be grand marshal by yourself. We’re in this together, right?”
There was no one he wanted to be in it with other than her. “Then let’s get this parade started.”
Marilee was running around checking off everyone in line. She squealed when she saw them approach. “You made it! I was worried that maybe that little fella disrupted your plans.”
“Not yet,” Sawyer said. “We’re ready to go.”
She led them to the head car, a bright red Mustang convertible that would be driven by Mr. Presley. On the sides of the car were signs with Piper’s name in giant letters and Sawyer’s in tiny print underneath.
“What in the world? How come my name is so small?”
Marilee cringed. “Sorry, the girls who painted them misjudged how much room they would need to fit both names.”
“It makes sense, if you think about it. I am literally ten times bigger than you right now,” Piper said.
He kissed her forehead and helped her into the back seat of the car. They sat on the back and waited for their cue to go.
At twelve on the dot, Marilee started the parade. Piper and Sawyer waved to the crowd. Everyone cheered and snapped pictures of them. Sawyer had ridden in the parade last year by himself. How things had changed in such a short time. Not only did he have a hit album, he was marrying one of the greatest country singers in the world. His mother was part of his life and Dean was officially his brother-in-law.
There wasn’t much more he could ask for.
Piper gripped his arm, digging her nails into his skin. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh man, I think that was a contraction,” she said once it passed.
“One contraction doesn’t mean anything. Just breathe through it.” Ruby had sent her home twice after having contractions for hours.
About two minutes later, Piper had another one. And two minutes after that, another. Piper, still the consummate professional, did her best to mask her discomfort. Sawyer kept smiling and waving. There was nothing else he could do.
“Ahhh!” Piper moaned as yet another contraction hit. That was four contractions in a row that were about two minutes apart. Red-faced, she could no longer hide her pain. “Oh my gosh, Sawyer.”
“What?”
She turned to face him. “My water just broke.”
This was not a drill. He didn’t want to freak out while on display for the entire town of Grass Lake, but Sawyer needed to get Piper to Ruby immediately. He tapped Mr. Presley on the shoulder and told him the problem.
Ted Presley was known for having a bit of a lead foot. That was about to come in very handy. Sawyer helped lower Piper down into the back seat and buckled her in before Ted took off like it was a NASCAR race. Safety first. The Grass Lake residents probably had no idea what was happening as the car sped down the street. Astonished faces quickly became nothing but a blur.
He texted Ruby to meet them at the hospital ASAP. He texted Faith and Heath. He texted Hunter and Lana. In between texts, he encouraged Piper to breathe through the pain.
“Would you tell someone who was shot to breathe through the pain?” she screamed. “Breathing. Doesn’t. Help!”
Ted got them to the ER in a matter of minutes. Sawyer jumped out of the car and ran around to open Piper’s door and help her out. They went inside to check in.
