Page 88 of Between a Rock and a Hard Cowboy

Eva glanced up guiltily. “Um. Linc.”

Olivia broke into a smile, which would have been more encouraging if she wasn’t still rubbing her belly and continuously readjusting herself in the bed, as if she were really uncomfortable. “You two are so cute together.”

“Cute. Great. Thanks. That’s exactly what I was going for.”

“I can’t believe all three of us ended up with brothers. It’s like serendipity.”

“Yup. That’s what it is.” Or it could be the six of them were the only available, attractive, age-appropriate singles in the tiny hole in the wall town of Bitter End.

Olivia made a face and Eva leaned forward. “You’re cringing. Why? Are you in pain?”

“No. It’s not pain. It’s just a feeling. But I wasn’t cringing over that. I’m worried about what will happen if you know who comes back. That all feels…unfinished.”

Eva snorted. “It’s finished. I promise.”

Olivia eyed her suspiciously.

“Do you trust me?” Eva asked.

“Of course.”

“Then trust me when I tell you John T’s old will and the snake are not a threat to the Wilders anymore.”

“Okay. I believe you.”

Relieved to put an end to this conversation, Eva said, “Good.”

“But, Eva?”

“Yes?”

“I think my water just broke.”

Oh, shit.

It was obviously past time for Eva to take control and do something. But what?

“Where’s Poppy?” she asked, hoping Olivia didn’t hear the panic in her voice.

“With Darcy and William. Out in the barn with the pony.”

Okay. She could do this. Phone up again, she typed in a text.

Get back to the house!! Baby is coming!!!

She’d used more exclamation points just today than the sum total of every text she’d ever sent in her damn life. Of course, she’d never faced the horror of the possibility of her best friend giving birth with no one but her there to help before.

A string of emojis that only a Gen Z would understand was Poppy’s reply to the text but Eva took that as a sign she’d gotten the message and the urgency of it and was on her way back.

The following hour passed in a whirlwind.

Apparently an ice storm had hit while she’d been all cozy in the bedroom with Olivia, followed by the freezing rain that was falling now.

Wyatt had called the doctor at home, and as only would happen in a small town, she’d decided to come straight to the mansion to check Olivia before they tried to make it down the mountain to the hospital with her.

Meanwhile, Eva had barely ever heard her soft-spoken friend raise her voice before, never mind scream. But as the contractions started to come, increasingly closer together, there was plenty of screaming. Which scared Darcy into hysterical crying.

William took the girl to Linc’s lodge to wait out of hearing range of Olivia’s extremely powerful lungs.

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