Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,83
speaking through gritted teeth. It was clear that she was far from okay.
“I’m going to pull over,” I said softly.
It was snowing again, and at times, visibility wasn’t that great. Still, I saw a turn off up ahead. We passed a sign that said Liberty was thirty-six miles away. In these conditions, it was easily an hour drive to the hospital, and about forty-five minutes or so to one in Salt Lake. We were literally in the middle of nowhere on some mountain road.
Danielle’s breathing was heavy, and I could tell she was focusing on it - trying to breathe evenly.
We pulled over, and Eli’s truck pulled up behind us.
“Alright, it passed,” Danielle said slowly. “The cramping has eased.”
“Do you think—”
“Oh God, oh God,” Danielle said, squirming in her seat.
“What’s wrong?”
“My water broke,” she said. “Oh God, Mason. It’s too soon. I can’t have the babies now. It’s way too early.” Tears streamed down her face as she stared at me, her eyes wide in panic.
There was a knock on the window. I lowered the window and told Eli, “Call an ambulance.”
“There’s no time, Mason!” Danielle cried. “Oh God, no, this can’t be happening.”
All my worst fears came to light - I was now responsible for the lives of those I loved, including the children I helped create.
Danielle
“Oh God!” I kept screaming.
Skyler was in the backseat crying as well. “Mommy, Mommy, what’s happening?”
“It’s okay. Mommy’s just going to have the babies now,” I said, trying to remain calm for her sake and mine. Being freaked out wouldn’t help any of us. But not panicking was easier said than done considering the circumstances.
I heard Eli talking to Mason. They had no cell service, not a single one of them. We were in the middle of nowhere, in a snowstorm, and there was no cell service. The nearest hospital was God knows how far away and I was in labor.
Mason hopped out of the truck, and Eli called out, “I’ll try to drive back to town and call an ambulance from there.”
“Thank you,” Mason said, rushing around to my side of the truck. “Skyler, do you mind sitting in the driver’s seat and letting your mom get in the back?”
“Okay,” she said meekly.
Mason talked in soft, soothing tones. “It’s going to be okay. I was a medic in the military. I’ve got this,” he said, speaking to himself as much as to us.
He helped me move into the backseat where I could lie down. Skyler leaned over the seat, watching me. God, what an experience for her - first her dad tried to kidnap her and now she gets to witness the miracle of childbirth. I prayed she didn’t have to witness anything worse than that, that we’d all be fine. I prayed that my babies would be born safely, hopefully in a hospital, but I had my doubts as the contractions continued coming, closer and closer together. I could hardly catch my breath.
Luckily, I was wearing a dress, so Mason easily slipped my panties off and pushed the dress up.
“Breathe,” Mason said. “There you go, just take it easy.”
He stood in the snowstorm, the white stuff sprinkling into the truck. The frigid cold felt good to me as sweat dripped from every pore of my body.
“Alright, here we go, I see the head,” Mason said. “It’s happening.”
I tried so hard to hold my babies inside me, but the desire to push was too strong. My body had a mind of its own, and whether I was ready or not, they were coming.
“Mason, oh God…”
“Shh, it’s okay,” he said, his voice calmer and surer of himself than I’d ever heard from him before. “We’ve got this. We can do it, Danielle. The baby will be here any minute now.”
I bore down hard, screaming as it felt like my body was being ripped apart. After a few more pushes and several screams, I heard a glorious sound. Crying.
“Skyler meet your new baby brother,” Mason said, holding the tiny, frail, screaming infant up.
There was hardly any time for me to relish in the relief of seeing my son as the pain continued to tear through my body. Mason handed the boy to one of his brothers, who wrapped him in his jacket before getting in the front seat of the truck with Skyler.
My son. My beautiful, perfect son was born. His cry was like music to my ears as Mason delivered the second baby.