Mallory Vaughn James. Dr. James, you may kiss your bride.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Quinn said.
Chapter 37
Sitting on the stupid lounge chair that allowed her to be part of everything while on bed rest, Maddie McCarthy watched her sister-in-law Mallory marry Quinn James as she timed pains that could no longer be called anything other than contractions. This couldn’t be happening, she thought, not in the middle of Mallory’s wedding, not when the twins weren’t due for another month.
Thankfully, Mac was occupied with watching his sister get married while keeping their kids from distracting from the proceedings, so he’d yet to notice his wife grimacing in pain every eight minutes. He was going to lose his mind when he realized she was in labor.
Maddie withdrew her cell phone from her purse and sent a text to her sister, Tiffany. As soon as the ceremony is over, please come here. I need you.
After Quinn kissed Mallory for what seemed like five full minutes, they turned to face their guests, smiles stretching across their faces as they made their way down the aisle to rousing applause for the newlyweds.
Carrying her daughter Addie, Tiffany stood and rushed over to Maddie. “What’s wrong?”
Maddie took a second to see where Mac was and saw him holding Hailey and baby Mac while he said something to Thomas.
“Maddie?”
She looked up at her sister. “I’m in labor.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I really am.” As if to make her point, a contraction picked that moment to take her breath away. She breathed through it as she broke into a cold sweat.
“Since when?”
“About an hour, since right after we arrived. Is Victoria here?”
“She is. Do you want me to get her?”
“Yeah, and hurry up about it.” The last thing Maddie wanted to do was anything to disrupt Mallory’s day, but her baby girls apparently had other plans. She was terrified about them arriving early. They were supposed to be in Providence long before the due date, not once again on a remote island, and once again without electricity. She forced herself to remain calm, to not give in to the hysteria bubbling just below the surface.
Tiffany returned with Victoria and without Addie.
“Did your water break?” Vic asked.
“Not yet, but for the last hour, I’ve been having contractions that I thought were Braxton Hicks, but they’re eight minutes apart.”
“I need to get you inside and examine you. Do you think you could walk?”
“I can do it.”
Victoria and Tiffany helped her up.
“Be careful, Tiff,” Maddie said to her sister, who was also pregnant.
“I’m fine,” Tiffany said. “Don’t worry about me.”
Maddie whimpered when another contraction made it so she couldn’t move.
“That was only six minutes after the last one,” Tiffany said.
Time seemed to slow down at that point as others on the lawn began to notice something was going on. Maddie happened to look up and catch the exact moment when her husband realized something was wrong. The stricken look on his face told the story for both of them. This couldn’t be happening again.
Victoria and Tiffany got Maddie up the stairs and into a main floor sitting room.
“I don’t have gloves,” Victoria said.
“It’s fine,” Maddie said.
“Let me go wash my hands before I touch you.”
When she returned, Victoria performed a quick exam and discovered Maddie was fully effaced and six centimeters dilated. “Holy crap. You don’t mess around.”
“What’s happening?” Mac asked when he came into the room, his face ashen from shock and dismay.
“I think we’re going to have some babies today,” Victoria said.
“No,” Mac said, shaking his head. “It’s too soon.”
“The babies seem to have other ideas, and it’s not at all unusual for twins to arrive early,” Vic said. “Tiffany, go get your husband. Tell him to hurry.”
While Maddie contended with another contraction, Mac rushed to her side, dropping to his knees beside the sofa where she was stretched out. “I’m so sorry,” she said as tears rolled down her face. “This came out of nowhere. I was fine earlier.” But when she thought about it, her belly had felt tight for days, her back had been aching worse than usual and she’d been nauseated. Perhaps she’d been in labor without realizing it.
“Stop,” he said. “Don’t be sorry. You and I don’t know any other way to have babies except the crazy way.” He kissed her and brushed away her tears. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”
She appreciated him making an effort to stay calm for her when he was probably losing his shit on the inside.
Blaine came into the room,