Page 93 of Just One Kiss

Her mother smiled back. "Thanks for letting me." She paused. "It's almost Christmas, and I have a good feeling about this year. I think Kelly will come home and for the first time in a very long time, we'll be a family again."

"I hope so."

Chapter Twenty-One

Hannah triedto hang on to her hopeful feeling, but as she neared the cabin, her stomach churned, and anxious thoughts ran through her head. The temperature had dropped another ten degrees, and the snow was coming down at a steady rate, blanketing the trees and road in powdery white. She didn't know if it was the incoming storm or the fact that it was Christmas Eve, but the highway around the lake was nearly empty, and when she turned off onto the narrow road leading down to the lake and the four cabins at Wicker Bay, there wasn't a car in sight.

When she arrived at the cabins, there were no vehicles parked in front of any of the buildings. She pulled into the short driveway and turned off the engine. Then she made her way up to the porch. She unlocked the door and walked inside. It was very cold in the living room, which wasn't unusual since the property manager turned off the heat in between rentals.

Everything looked the same as when she'd left it. She saw a few drawers pulled out in the kitchen and some pillows knocked off the couch, but that was probably from when the police had gone through the place.

She walked over to the sofa and picked up two pillows and put them back. That's when she heard a noise.

Her heart began to pound. She walked down the hall. The bedroom door was closed, but there was light coming from beneath the door.

Someone was in the bedroom.

Her breath came short and fast.

Should she leave? Go back and get her purse and then call 911 from the car?

She was still debating when a scream rang through the air filled with pain and fear and a tone of familiarity.

She opened the bedroom door. A woman was sprawled on her side across the bed, her blonde hair falling over her face as she writhed in pain, her hand pressing against her abdomen. She'd taken off her jeans and panties, a long black sweater falling to her hips. And that's when Hannah saw the blood on her thighs. The woman turned her head.

Kelly!

Shock ran through her, even though she'd known it was Kelly from the second she'd opened the door. But meeting her sister's gaze…it was familiar and different at the same time.

Kelly was older now, but it wasn't her age that bothered Hannah the most; it was the bruises on her face and the muscles in her face contorted with pain.

"Hannah," Kelly gasped. "Thank God! The baby is coming. I'm bleeding. I don't know what to do. It's too early."

She put every question out of her head and immediately went into nurse mode. "It's going to be okay," she said, moving to the bed.

"I'm scared."

"I'm sure you are."

"You must hate me."

"Right now, I just want to help you. I'm a nurse, Kelly."

"I know. I've been following you online."

That comment shocked her, but she needed to focus on the immediate crisis. "Let's see what's going on with the baby. Can you roll onto your back?"

Kelly gasped and groaned as she shifted onto her back.

Hannah did a quick check, her anxiety tripling when she realized the baby was breech. This wasn't going to be an easy birth, but there was no way she could get Kelly to the hospital now, which meant she had to deliver the baby. She hadn't done that in several years, and only once had she dealt with a breech birth. But she could do it. She would have to do it unless she could get the ambulance out here before the baby came, but that appeared doubtful. Kelly was already fully dilated.

"What's wrong? Something's wrong," Kelly said, fear in her eyes.

She met her sister's panicked gaze. "The baby is turned the wrong way. It's coming feet first, Kelly." She put as much calm into her voice as she could. "I'd like to try to turn her and see if we can get her into the right position."

"Okay," Kelly said.

"But first I'm going to grab my phone and call 911."

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