Page 129 of River Wild

Hope knew what she was talking about when she said it would help. Because being close to him right now is helping already.

“Do we know what we’re having?” Hope asks me.

“A baby,” River says next to my ear, and I honestly don’t know if he’s being serious or not.

“She meant the sex of the baby.” I roll my eyes at him. “And, no, I didn’t find out the sex,” I tell Hope.

“A surprise. I love surprises.” She beams.

“I do, too, but not the kind of surprises when they think squeezing your uterus like a grapefruit in a vise is fun!” I grit the words out as another wave of pain hits.

“Another contraction?” Hope asks.

“Y-e-s,” I pant out.

Holy God, I think I’m dying. It hurts like no pain I’ve ever felt before.

“Do you still feel like you need to push?” Hope asks me.

I nod.

“Okay, well, you just listen to what your body’s telling you to do, Carrie. Give me a nice big push.”

I clench my jaw and push as hard as I can. My feet slip against the seat. “I can’t!” I pant. “I feel like I’m just moving down the seat!”

“You can do it,” Hope tells me. “Put your feet here.” She places each foot up against the inside of my car. “When you push now, you won’t move anywhere.”

“You’ve got this, Carrie,” River says in my ear.

He puts his hands up, and I grab hold of them.

“Okay, Carrie, give me another big push!” Hope says.

I push with all my might. “ARRGGH!” I yell, breaking off. “It’s not working!” I cry.

“You’re doing great, Carrie. Just keep going.”

“But it hurts!” I whimper.

“I know. But you got this. You’re a strong, badass woman. You can do this. I bet you could birth this baby in your sleep.”

“In my sleep?” I pant out a laugh.

“For sure.” She grins up at me. “You’re a woman. We can do anything we set our minds to. Now, let’s do this, yeah? Bring this baby of yours into the world, and then we can all go and have a nice cup of coffee.”

“Tea, and it’s a deal.”

“You’re on.” She smiles up at me. “Now, come on, Carrie. I need you to give me one big, long push.”

Gritting my teeth, hands squeezing a tight hold on River’s, I push with all I have. But it feels to be in vain. “I can’t do it! It hurts too much. I can’t take it.” I’m turning my head from side to side. I feel like I’m being ripped in two.

“You can,” Hope encourages.

“No, I’m tired. I’ve had enough! I want to go home!”

“And we will, Carrie. I promise we’ll go home as soon as this is over. You just need to push real hard.”

“I did! It’s not working!” I cry.