My sister is having her baby.A smile took over my face.
Over the headset, Hughes spoke, “We’ll be landing at New Winford Regional in about 25 minutes.”
“At the hospital?” I whipped my head to face Vic.
She nodded. “Yeah, no point wasting time by having you drive from the airport to the hospital.”
My brain tried to catch up. “But my car…”
“My driver is already moving it over to the hospital.” Vic squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
I leaned back in my seat. I only had 25 minutes to calm myself down enough to support my family. And luckily, Vic was trying to make that as easy as possible. As the helicopter put distance between us and the city, I looked out of the window one more time. Soaking in the view that I’d never seen before, I took a deep breath.
Vic leaned closer. “Rain check?”
“Obviously.” I smirked as I met her stunning hazel eyes.
Twenty minutes later the helicopter was descending on one of the helipads at the top of the New Winford Regional Hospital. I looked down at the flashing, red lights of the roof as the aircraft lowered.
I turned to look at Vic, my eyes scanning her face.
Once the plane touched down, she reached across the seats and held my hand. “Tell Zoey I send my best.”
Nodding, I kissed her. “I will. Thank you for all of this.” I gestured to the space around us.
Victoria sighed as she pulled her face away from mine. “I think you know by now that I’ll do anything for you, Sarah Greenwood.”
It was impossible to hit the blush that came to my face. But as the helicopter engine continued to roar, I knew I needed to get downstairs. I gave her one more kiss, pressed our lips together firmly before turning to open the door.
Vic slid across the leather and helped me down while staying in her seat. With the blades spinning violently, I wasn’t able to say anything else to her. Instead, I waved and ducked my head as I headed toward the rooftop door.
Vic watched me until the door closed behind me and I was left in a dingy hospital stairwell. The roar of the helicopter faded as I took each step, the daydream of a date fading just as quickly as reality sank in.
I followed the signs for the waiting room on the maternity ward. Before I knew it, I was pushing open the double doors to a mostly empty room; except of course for the gaggle of Greenwood’s huddled at its center.
“There she is.” My mom pointed as she rose from her chair, rushing toward me with her slight, old lady limp.
Wrapping my arms around her, I sighed. “Hi, mama.”
She held my shoulders and took a look at me, an eyebrow raising at my extravagant outfit. Before she could ask any questions, my babies came running over, swarming my legs.
I gave each of them a kiss on their head. “How are you guys doing?”
With his hands buried in his pockets, Jason smiled. “They were a little spooked by the ambulance but Aunt Robin did a great job keeping them calm.” Behind him, Liv waved at me. They were both in their pajamas, clearly having been woken up by the chaos.
“My brave babies.” I smiled down at each of them. Once they released my hips from their little hands, I looked around. “Can we see her?”
William grumbled from his chair. “Not yet. Robin came out and gave us an update a few minutes ago. Zo’s stable and the baby isn’t coming just yet.”
My shoulders dropped in relief.Thank god she’s okay.Knowing she was safe, my eyes started to well with tears. But I held them back, wanting to stay strong.
Everyone wandered back to their seats. But as they did, one more guest appeared. As soon as I saw her face, my heart started to race.
Noticing me stop in my tracks, Jason followed my gaze. He clicked his tongue. “Zoey insisted she be here.” He narrowed his eyes at me, a playful kind of scolding hiding in the hazel gaze.
Sure enough, there she was: Brianne Shaw in a pair of baggy gray sweats and a green flannel.
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