Page 92 of Sin and Redemption

I bent down to touch the wooden cross when something warm ran down my legs, soaking my pants, and the pain in my back radiated to my lower belly. I gritted my teeth and blew out a long breath.

“Sara?”

I sucked in a deep breath, then pressed it out slowly, counting to fifteen.

“Sara?”

I raised my palm.

Maximus fell silent as I breathed through the pain.

With Maximus’s help, I straightened when the pain subsided.

“I think I’m in labor,” I told him when I met his worried gaze.

“We need to return to the house!” He grabbed my hand as if to tug me along, but another

wave of pain radiated through my body. Less than two minutes apart. What was going on?

I focused on breathing and shook Maximus’s hand off like a bothersome fly.

During the next pause, I said, “I can’t walk.”

“I’ll carry you.” Maximus lifted me into his arms when another wave of pain wrecked my body. In his arms, I couldn’t breathe through it, and the pain was even worse. “Put me down,” I rasped, then screamed, “Put me down,” when he didn’t react fast enough. Bacon circled us nervously.

Maximus set me down immediately, and I grabbed his forearms, digging my nails into them to steady myself.

This was going fast. “I can feel her bearing down,” I whispered.

“What?” Maximus asked, confused, which infuriated me.

“I need to get on my knees,” I hissed.

Maximus stared at me, then at the ground. Why didn’t he understand? He removed his jacket and put it down.

“Help me undress,” I ordered.

He reached for my cardigan, and I almost lost it.

“My pants!”

I sounded like a fury, and I felt as unhinged as one.

Maximus tugged my pants and underwear down and helped me step out of them. I sank to the ground on all fours, alternating between breathing and screaming. Maximus got down on his knees in front of me, and I put my hands on his muscled thighs for better leverage than the slippery ground. My nails dug into his legs as the pain took hold of my body once more.

“Fuck,” Maximus muttered. “What am I supposed to do?”

I couldn’t speak, and if I had been capable, I would have said things I would have regretted later, so my muteness was a good thing.

The pressure got unbearable, and I tried to work with it, even if a part of me wanted to shove the baby back up. And then I felt it, the head bursting through.

I stared up at Maximus with wide eyes, breathing harshly. I reached under my body with one hand and felt a small head and lots of hair. I laughed, then worry gripped me. Even if my body didn’t give me any signals, I started pushing again. I wanted her out as fast as possible. “Hold me.” The words were barely audible, but Maximus grabbed my shoulders as I reached my second arm under me.

With a harsh scream, baby girl slid out and landed in my arms. I lowered her to the jacket, then stared at her. She opened her eyes wide and screamed at the top of her lungs, probably because of the drop in temperature.

“Oh man,” Maximus breathed. I sat back, shaking, and lifted her into my arms.

The moment I saw our baby girl, I knew my instincts had been right. Her eyes weren’t amber yet, but their brownish-blue hue held the promise of amber. She would have her dad’s eyes, I had no doubt. And even if she didn’t have his eyes, she was as precious as a gemstone to us, so naming her after amber seemed only fitting.

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