Page 2 of Shielding Soledad

I snagged the keys and returned to Soledad, who leaned over as best she could to stroke the dog’s ears.

“She’s yours?” I questioned, eyeing the animal. Soledad hadn’t had a pet while we’d dated.

“Yep. Frankie, meet Alex. Alex, this is Frankie.” Soledad spoke as though this was just a meet and greet and she wasn’t about to have a baby in the entry of my house.

“Later,” I said. “We need to get you to the hospital. Do you have a bag packed?” Wasn’t that what women did to prepare for the birth? It seemed logical.

“In the hall closet,” she said, holding on to her stomach again. “Light blue. On the floor.”

I went to the closet and retrieved a Nike athletic bag. Frankie followed my every move, pushing her nose against my leg, and I realized she posed a problem that had to be solved in the next two minutes. “Can we leave Frankie alone? Is she trained?”

“I already arranged for Gina to watch her when the baby came. Just go knock on her door.” Soledad reached for the bag, but I swung it over my shoulder.

“Who’s Gina?” I asked.

“Your neighbor,” Soledad said, shooting me a quizzical look. “Don’t you know her?”

I shrugged. “Never bothered much with the neighbors.” The house wasn’t technically mine. It belonged to the McCallisters—my cousins. They’d grown up here, but after their dad died and they’d inherited the place, they’d realized they didn’t really need it. It so happened that that was right around when my oldest brother, Zach, left the Navy and was looking for a place to stay in the area. Our cousins offered it up to him to stay in—rent free—for as long as he liked. He lived here for a stretch before moving in with his now-wife. My middle brother, Colin, also used it for a while when he left the Navy after adopting a baby—but it wasn’t long before he decided that he and his daughter needed somewhere new. After that, the only one staying here was me, when I wasn’t deployed. It wasn’t fancy, but it felt like home, and I liked having a place that was just mine.

Well, mine and Soledad’s, apparently. Just how long had she been living here? Long enough to know my neighbors better than I did.

“Which side?” I needed to meet my neighbor and dump the dog on her pronto if I was reading this situation correctly.

“I’ve got it.” Soledad pulled out her phone and dialed. “Hi, Gina. My water broke, so I’m going to the hospital. Can you come get Frankie?”

Soledad listened for a few seconds before speaking again. “No, I’m fine. Alex just arrived home, so he’ll take me. I appreciate it.” She clicked off and turned to me.

For a brief moment, I wondered if I’d suffered some sort of memory loss. Had I known about all this? The pregnancy? The dog? Had my relationship with Soledad ended differently than I remembered? Had I somehow suppressed vital information about us during my last mission?

“Oh, God. Another one.” Soledad doubled over with a contraction, bringing my thoughts back to the immediate issue.

“Hospital. Now.” I took her arm when she was able to stand up, calculating that I had a few minutes to get her in the truck before another contraction hit her. An older woman I supposed was Gina was striding across the lawn toward us when I got Soledad outside. “Dog’s in the house.”

“I’ll get her and lock up. Good luck, sweetie,” Gina said to Soledad.

I didn’t take time for the niceties. I could formally meet and thank my neighbor later. I keyed in the code for the garage door and got Soledad into the truck, reaching around to buckle her in before going to the driver’s side.

Thankfully, the truck started right up. As I backed out of the driveway and planned the fastest route to the hospital, my mind spun with another concern. The one I hadn’t let myself fully acknowledge until then. Was this baby my child? I did some quick math. Highly likely, I decided, considering Soledad and I had dated exclusively for several months prior to my last deployment.

Later I’d ask the questions and figure it out. For now, I sped toward the hospital, hoping for light traffic and a string of green lights. Soledad made a call to her obstetrician’s office to let them know she was in labor. Other than that, she said nothing on the drive, but I could hear her trying to manage the pain by breathing through the contractions. She was making the sounds I associated with birth scenes in movies, but this wasn’t a movie. This appeared to be my life.

With the ruthless concentration I’d learned as a SEAL, I controlled my emotions and focused on the task at hand. After the ten-minute drive, I whipped into the driveway of the red brick structure and pulled up to the emergency room entrance. An orderly came out with a wheelchair for Soledad. By the time I parked and jogged in, she was at a reception window. Her face was covered with a sheen of sweat as she huffed out rapid breaths, but she was safely at the hospital. My job, at least for now, was done.

I glanced toward the waiting room, expecting to remain there, but the nurse talking to Soledad waved me over and soon let me know that she had a different idea.

“That’s right. Just breathe. You’re doing great.” The steely-haired woman with a name tag that read “Marge” turned to me. “I have a few questions. What was she dilated to at her last appointment, and when was that?”

I stared at the woman, wishing I knew the answers, but this was a language I didn’t speak.

“Three,” Soledad grunted, “and it was on Tuesday.”

“History of high blood pressure?”

“No,” Soledad said.

“Complications with the pregnancy?” Marge asked, checking off boxes on a clipboard.

What is it with the questions? I wanted to demand. Just take her to a room before she has the baby right there.

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