Page 58 of A Soldier's Return

She must have drifted off while watching the storm. She wasn’t sure how she could have slept in the midst of the weather’s intensity. Wind whined outside, fiercely hurling raindrops at the window.

Her phone suddenly rang and she had the feeling it wasn’t the first time. It wasn’t an alarm, but someone calling.

Skye!

Still trying to push away the tangled remnants of sleep, she scrambled for her phone and found it glowing under the throw blanket she must have tugged over her in the night.

“Hello?” She hardly recognized her own raspy voice.

“Melissa? Is that you?”

“I... Yes.”

Not Skye, and not Cody. Some of her anxiety eased and she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders against the chill of the night and the storm.

“It’s Julia Garrett. I’m so sorry to bother you, but I tried to call the clinic’s emergency number and the phone lines must be down. I didn’t have Eli’s cell number and thought you might.”

Her friend’s words seemed to push away the last vestiges of sleep, and Melissa came fully awake. A hundred grim scenarios flashed through her head. It must be something serious for Julia to reach out at 1:00 a.m. in the middle of a storm.

“Are you all right? Is it one of the kids?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Was that amusement she heard in Julia’s voice? It hardly seemed appropriate, given the circumstances.

“I’m in labor.”

Shock washed over her. “In labor. Now? Are you sure? Your cervix was only dilated to a one, eight hours ago when you left the office!”

“I’ve done this enough times, I’m pretty positive. I’ve had contractions all evening. I thought they were only Braxton Hicks, but in the past hour they’ve become much more regular.”

“How far apart?”

“I’m down to about three minutes now.”

Some of her wild panic subsided and she relaxed a little. “Okay. That’s good. There’s still time to make it to the hospital in Seaside.”

“We thought so, too, but there’s a problem. That’s why I’m calling you. We were packing up the car and Will heard on the radio that the road is closed. The storm has knocked several big trees and power lines down between here and there.”

Her voice cracked on the last word, and she started to breath heavily and regularly into the phone, obviously in the middle of a contraction. Melissa was already looking for her shoes by the door.

“That one was less than three minutes.”

A new voice spoke into the phone. Julia must have handed the phone to her husband. Will was usually one of the most calm, measured people Melissa knew, but now he spoke briskly, his voice edged with the beginnings of panic. “I’m not sure what to do. Should I call for medevac?”

She wasn’t at all prepared to make this sort of decision for the couple. “Let me call Eli and Wendell and see what they suggest. You told me you had a completely natural childbirth with your two youngest, with no complications. Eli may want to just have you meet us at the office.”

“The only problem,” Will said, “is that one of the downed power lines I heard about is apparently blocking the road between our place and Doc Sanderson’s office. The only way I could figure out to get there is to walk, which I don’t feel good about in this wind and storm, or to head down the beach on the four-wheeler.”

“We’re not doing either of those things,” she heard Julia declare.

“Stay put,” she said, shoving on her raincoat and her boots. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes. I’ll get in touch with Eli and see if we can come up with a plan. If I can’t get through, I’ll stop and bang on his windows until he wakes up. Meanwhile, breathe, both of you. And don’t let her have that baby yet.”

“I’ll do my best, but you know Jules. She can be pretty stubborn,” Will said.

“I heard that,” Melissa heard Julia say in the background.

Despite her own efforts to grab a flashlight and rush out the door, Melissa had to fight a smile. Will and Julia were a darling couple, overflowing with love for each other and their children. She adored both of them.

“Hang tight. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

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