Page 3 of Luke

“Yes, ma’am. I’m a livestock agent.” He removed his badge from his belt and showed it to her, then put it in his pocket.

“That makes me feel better,” she replied with a small smile.

“I’m going to turn on the headlights in my truck so we can see what’s happening, okay? The interior lighting isn’t much help.”

“Yes, please. And we also need a couple of towels. There should be some in my trunk, but we’ll need to warm them up.”

“Why do we need towels? Aren’t the blankets enough?”

“We need one to rub the baby’s back after it’s born, to help it cry, and we’ll need to clean up the baby.”

“Got it. I’ll put one on the vent and turn up the heat.”

Luke ran to the trunk, found some towels, and then hopped into the driver’s seat of her vehicle. He placed the towels on the dashboard, turned up the heat, and then got out. He jogged back to his truck, turned on the high beams, and returned to her vehicle. With better lighting, he could make out her features. To say she was beautiful would be an understatement. Even with sweat streaking down her face, her black hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. Her pert nose sat above full lips that looked incredibly kissable, and her blue eyes were filled with tears. He knew she was scared, so he reached for her hand.

“Don’t worry, Bryce. We’ll do this together. You can scream,yell or punch if you need to, just no kicking.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” she promised.

“Please do. If you kick me in the, uh, family jewels, I’ll be rendered useless and you’ll have to handle things on your own,” he joked with a grin.

She chuckled. “Got it.” She gasped as another contraction hit her. “I have to push.”

“Do what you gotta do. I’ll be right here.” He quickly removed her pants and underwear, dropping them to the floor.

“Oh, God,” she cried out as she sat up, gripping her stomach and bearing down.

Luke watched as the baby’s head emerged with a grunt and push. He stepped back, took a deep breath, then moved closer and held out a towel. When the baby was somewhat clean, he rubbed its back with the warm towel and heard it hiccup before crying. Gently holding the newborn in his arms, he wrapped it in a blanket.

“Welcome to the world, little one,” he said quietly.

“Is it a boy or girl?” she asked.

“Don’t you know?”

“No, I wanted to be surprised.”

“It’s a girl.”

“A baby girl,” she whispered with emotion. “Oh no, I have to push again.”

“Again?” Luke felt like he was going to pass out if there was another baby coming.

“The afterbirth,” she explained as she pushed once more.

“What about the umbilical cord?”

“It’s fine for now. It can stay attached until we get to the hospital.”

“Is that safe?”

“Yes, sometimes they delay cutting it until later in the delivery room. We’ll both be okay. As long as that ambulancegets here soon.”

“I can hear the siren so it shouldn’t be much longer.”

Luke leaned into the car and carefully placed the blanket wrapped baby on her chest, then covered her with another blanket. She smiled at him as she cooed and talked to her daughter, who let out a loud cry.

“Sounds like she’s got a powerful set of lungs.” Luke chuckled, watching the baby squirm in her arms.

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