Page 50 of The Maverick
Bailey grinned. “Mrs. Kirby made the fudge drop cookies that I love so much, but she made me leave them in the kitchen instead of taking them to my room, like I wanted to.”
Rachel laughed. “I can bet you argued about that. I love those cookies too, and a half dozen of those with a large glass of milk sounds wonderful right now.”
Nick shook his head. “Sweetheart, if you eat that many, you’ll make yourself sick.”
Rachel laughed. “I said it sounded good, but even eating for two, I still have my limitations. Let’s get these bags upstairs so I can unpack. Then we can sit by the pool while the kids play.”
He walked over and wrapped his long arms around her. “I think that sounds heavenly.” He kissed her behind her ear.
She shivered.
Then he whispered, “The only thing that sounds better is having you in my bed.”
“That’s what got us in this situation to begin with,” she admonished him, and then she grinned. “But I totally agree.”
“Mooommm. I can hear you,” complained Bailey.
“Oh, go on and take your bag upstairs. Then you don’t have to hear me as I say naughty things to your father.”
“Arrgg. You two are gross.” Bailey lifted her backpack and headed to the stairs.
Wyatt followed her.
“Come on, Dad. Let’s go be gross.” She giggled as she followed her son and daughter up the stairs.
He was slow going up the stairs, practically crawling rather than walking.
That was fine with Rachel, she wasn’t moving very fast up the stairs either. When she got to the top of the stairs, she was winded. This pregnancy had been harder than the other two. She and Nick had opted not to find out the sex of the baby, but she hoped for a girl. A little one who looked like her father and her sister. She thought Bailey sometimes felt outnumbered by the boys. She and Jake usually played well together, but when Wyatt joined them, Jake always took the little one’s side. Of course, Wyatt was a little terror when he didn’t get his way, so that might be Jake’s way of keeping the peace.
She’d been having small contractions since about halfway to Hawaii. She didn’t think too much about them, because they were just an ache in her back more than anything. Suddenly, when she was walking into the bedroom, a bad one hit. Then she felt her water break. Oh, dear. They hadn’t planned on her having the baby yet. Of course, if they hadn’t been on a private plane, the airlines wouldn’t have let her fly. Maybe something about their rules was important.
“Nick. Nick.” She held her belly as the water pooled into the carpet.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“My water just broke, and I think we’re having a baby very soon.”
His eyebrows shot up and he swallowed hard. “Okay. Let’s get you back downstairs. You can sit in one of the recliners. I’ll call an ambulance.”
She shook her head. “We don’t need an ambulance. Call Kekoa and have him bring the car back. He knows the island better anyway. He can get us to the hospital faster.”
“Right. I’ll also ask Mrs. Kirby to watch the kids. We need to tell them what is going on and have Bailey and Jake take care of Wyatt.”
“You get them. I’ll just go back downstairs and we can talk to them together.” Then another contraction hit. This one was stronger. She closed her eyes and grimaced against the pain. “Nick, they are coming faster than they should be. I think this baby is anxious to be here.” She tried not to let the worry sound in her voice.
Suddenly, Nick picked her up in his arms. “I’ll get you downstairs.” He yelled as he went. “Bailey, Jake, bring Wyatt and meet us downstairs. Now!”
He carried her down to the living room, which was closest to the front door. He stood her on her feet and steered her toward a recliner.
“No, I need to walk.” She held her hands at the small of her back. “The more I keep active, the easier the delivery will be. When you get the kids down here, we’ll talk to them together, just like we discussed.”
“Okay.” Facing the staircase, he yelled again. “Bailey. Jake. Now!”
When the kids arrived, Bailey was holding a wiggling Wyatt.
She let him down.
He ran to Rachel.
