Page 68 of Derecho

“Look at me.” Her long, dark lashes fluttered as she locked in on my gaze. “You aren’t. You’ve never been. Not to me.”

She bit down on her lip. “I have to tell you something.”

“Okay…”

“You have a really nice ass.” Her chin quivered as my brain processed what she’d said.

“What?” I laughed.

“You have a really nice ass. I looked. At the spring. I’m sorry I said I wouldn’t, but you can’t blame me. It was right there, in all its glory for me to see. Don’t hate me…”

My hand cradled her head, positioning it on my shoulder as I kissed into her hair. “What’s one cheeky sneaky peek between friends?”

“True.” She smiled, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as her hand slid over her belly again. “And I think we’re almost at the point where you’re about to see a whole hell of a lot more of me.”

Christ, these contractions were coming one right after the other. Lainey wasn’t getting a break anymore, and the conversation we were able to keep going before had long stopped. The hail had passed without the wind getting worse, and had all together stopped about twenty minutes ago. Which filled me with relief—the worst of the storm was past us now.

We were still in the tub, but now, Lainey was on all fours, her hips swaying back and forth as we sat in the short lull between the pain. I was sitting on the edge, ready to press down and provide what little relief I could for her.

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t,” she groaned.

“You can. You’re doing so good. I’m so proud of you. Your body knows what it’s doing. Everything is going to be fine. The storm is slowing down, and I’ll have service soon. We’ll get an ambulance here. You’ll be okay.”

I had no fucking idea if I was telling her the truth, and in all honesty, chanting those words over and over again were more for my own benefit at this point than hers. I was pretty sure she couldn’t hear me half the time, and my anxiety was climbing with each passing minute where I was convinced that something was going to go wrong, and I’d lose both her and the baby.

Lainey’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she let out a scream. “Ow, my back. My back. God this hurts…”

“Lachlan!” My brother’s voice boomed through the house as I pressed harder on her hips.

“Is that…?” Lainey’s eyes snapped to mine, her breath sharp as she searched my face.

I nodded. “Beau.”

“Lach?!” he called out again.

“We’re in here!” I shouted back, Lainey’s groans receding enough for me to shift so I could get on my good leg and stand.

“Don’t go!” she cried.

“I need to so that Beau can bring Birdie here.”

I held on to the edge of the tub, knowing I was about to be in pain as I stepped out. “I will be right back. I promise.”

As soon as I threw open the bathroom door, Beau was standing there.

“What the fuck? Why aren’t you answering your phone?” he immediately asked.

“No reception. I got the warning about the tornadoes, and then service dropped out completely. That doesn’t matter—” A scream filled the entire house.

“Is that…?” Beau looked over my shoulder and into the bathroom.

“Lainey’s in labor. You need to get Birdie down here.”

Beau shook his head. “No.”

“What the fuck do you mean, no? Lainey’s going to have her baby!”

“I didn’t mean no like I wouldn’t help her. It was crazy getting over here. There are trees down all over the place, and it doesn’t make sense for me to drive back up to the house to bring Birdie and Juniper over here. It’s probably best if I call 911, and we try to get an ambulance out here.”