Page 98 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“Ahh!” I was sure that my scream would finally be heard by someone. Carter took a wide stance and held out his arms three feet away as if the baby would somehow fall into his arms.

“You gotta get under my skirt!” I pushed again. The pressure was greater than before. I concentrated on my breathing and on the baby making its way down the birth canal.

He hesitated but finally lifted my skirt and looked between my legs just as I felt the baby’s head pop out.

“Jesus, Jo. You look like a truck slammed right between your legs.”

“Not what I wanted to hear right now. Ahh!” I pushed again.

“Come on, little baby. Come to Uncle Carter.”

“I like that,” I said, in between the contractions.

He looked up. “Really? Can I be the uncle?”

“You deliver this baby, and I promise you’ll be the number one uncle in this baby’s life.”

“Cool. Okay, Jo. You can do this. Push.”

From far away, I heard Betsy as she let out a long and painful moo. With Carter’s better coaching, I pushed again and felt the baby come out, right into Carter’s hands. He wrapped it in his shirt and, grateful for his quick thinking, I smiled and made a note to buy him a few extra shirts. It seemed that I had a knack for ruining them.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Congratulations, Mama. You have a beautiful baby girl.”

I broke down crying as he passed me the baby with the umbilical cord still attached. Mesmerized by my daughter, I didn’t notice when Carter stepped away and waved down a passing car. It was the vet going to Mrs. Gladstone’s farm.

“She just gave birth,” I heard Carter say. “We need help.”

“Okay, let’s see.”

The vet called for Doctor Burke before tending to the baby and me. He cleaned her up with a few of the sterile supplies he had in his car, and when Doctor Burke arrived, the vet left to help Betsy.

“I’ve already called the hospital. The ambulance is on its way, but it will take some time.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Yes, she is.” He clamped the cord, made sure that my baby’s nose and mouth were cleared, and then said, “I need to get the placenta. Can you give me another push, Joelle? Not too hard.”

I nodded before tensing a little.

“Perfect.”

“So, what are you going to call her?”

I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t told anyone that I’d been secretly waiting until the last moment, hoping that Nick would still show up and we could name our baby together. So I hadn’t picked a name.

“I always liked the name Mackenzie,” Carter whispered under his breath, sort of to himself.

“Did you hear that, Mackenzie? Your Uncle Carter just named you.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes. You did a great job, Carter. Thank you.”

“Well, I can officially say that we’ll never be that close again.” He extended his arm and made an imaginary circle with his flat palm. “Especially in that area.”

But at this moment I wasn’t paying attention to him because my focus was only on my daughter, Mackenzie.

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