Page 60 of A Soldier's Return

“She shouldn’t be out in the storm, but you and I both know we can’t stop her, especially since Julia is a friend of hers.”

“We just saw Julia in the office yesterday. She was barely dilated, but of course babies have their own opinions about when they’re going to make an appearance.”

“Oh, yes. They love showing up when it’s least convenient for anyone. You can take my emergency kit if you need it. I already pulled it out earlier in the evening and set it by the door. It should have everything you need.”

He had his own emergency kit he kept stocked with supplies in a backpack, but he was touched his father had survived enough storms around Cannon Beach to make sure Eli, as his designated representative, was ready for anything.

“Thanks. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Take care of Julia. I know you will. You’re an amazing doctor.”

He wasn’t as convinced, but his father’s vote of confidence warmed him through. “I’ll try.”

“And take care of Melissa, too. She shouldn’t be out in this storm.”

“Exactly what I told her,” he said. He didn’t have time to tell his father how very much he yearned to take care of Melissa forever, to walk through all the storms of life together.

He grabbed his father’s case and his own backpack, and headed out into the wind and lashing rain.

Melissa somehow beat him to the Garretts’ house, but he suspected she hadn’t been there long. Her hair was drenched, despite the raincoat she was taking off, and she looked cold.

He wanted to kiss the raindrops off her cheeks and hold her close to warm her up but knew both of them needed to focus on the crisis at hand.

“Thank you both for coming out in this crazy weather,” Will Garrett said as he let Eli inside. “I’m sorry we had to call you in the middle of the night, but when we heard the roads were closed, we weren’t sure what else to do.”

“You did the right thing,” Eli assured him.

“Trust Julia to make things more exciting,” he said ruefully. “She’s never content with the ordinary.”

“You’ll have a great story to tell this little one,” Melissa said, her voice calm. She had so many strengths, but that was one he appreciated most: the calm that seemed to radiate from her.

“How do you have lights?” she asked.

“We have a whole-house generator. I put it in a few years ago. Believe me, I’ve never been so grateful for anything in my life,” Will said gruffly.

When Eli pushed the door open, Melissa close behind him, they found Julia Garrett, dressed in a pale blue nightgown, sitting on the edge of the bed. A pretty teenage girl who had to be one of her twins sat next to her.

“Hey, Julia. Hi, Maddie.” Melissa greeted both of them with more of that calm.

Julia managed a smile in response though her features were taut and strained. “This isn’t quite the way I planned this.”

“What is it with babies, deciding to make their appearances in the middle of the night in the worst possible weather?”

“Inconsiderate little stinks, aren’t they?”

She smiled at them and then caught her breath, pressing both hands over her abdomen.

“That one was barely a minute since the last one,” Maddie said, eyes huge and frightened in her pretty face.

“We’re okay,” Julia said, reaching out a hand to give her daughter’s arm a reassuring squeeze. “The cavalry is here now. You and Will won’t have to deliver your baby sister.”

“Whew,” the girl said, vast relief on her face.

Eli considered his options quickly. “How do you feel about a home birth? I don’t think we have time to call the air ambulance and have them here in time for the delivery, and I’m not sure they can fly in this wind anyway. We can have them on standby in case there any complications.”

“Women have been giving birth at home forever,” Julia said. “As long as she’s safe, I don’t care how she gets here.”

He had plenty of colleagues who would have disagreed and would have insisted a hospital was the only safe place for a woman to give birth, but Eli’s experience in war zones and refugee camps had told him that women could be incredibly resourceful. Under the circumstances, this was the safest possible place for Julia to have her baby, not in a helicopter or an ambulance trying to make its way through the storm.

---