Page 63 of Shine On Oklahoma

She’d dashed out the door of the shack, andleft her poor father behind, not knowing if he would die because ofit. She’d had no choice. She’d taken off at a dead run—which in hershape, was more like a headlong wobble. As she went deeper into thewoods, she was mentally calculating the fastest route to Edie andWade’s gorgeous A-frame and angling in the direction she thought itwould be.

She hadn’t gone very far when the tighteningsensation came again. It hurt, and she didn’t think it should, notthis soon. Labor took a long time. Especially for first-timers.Every female in Big Falls who’d managed to reproduce, and most ofthose of those who hadn’t, had told her so.

She pressed her back to a tree until thepressure eased, and while she waited, she listened. But she didn’thear anyone giving chase. Not yet. Maybe Caine didn’t care. God,she hoped her father was okay. That was damn heroic, what he didback there. He had to have known the risk.

Who knew he had it in him?

She had to get to a house, to a phone, toRob. She had to find a safe place to have her baby, and send helpback for her dad. She wished she’d told him. She should have toldhim. He was going to be a grandfather. He wasn’t all bad. Hemight’ve given his life for her baby’s back there.

She loved him.

As soon as the contraction eased, she tookoff again, as fast as she could, and then she stopped again to letthe pain pass, and then she ran again. This went on right up untila twig snapped while she was moving, which made her run even fasterwhile looking back over her shoulder in terror.

And then suddenly, there was nothing underher feet, and she was falling. She hit the sloping side, scrapingand banging over dirt and stone and continuing to plummet. She kepther arms around her belly as best she could, and prayed for it toend.

When she finally came to a stop, every partof her screamed in pain. And she laid there, panting, hurting,terrified.

She pushed herself up a little, just enoughto see her baby bump and run her hands over it. “Move,” shewhispered. “Move, Diana. Show Mamma you’re okay.”

Another contraction came. It was so powerfulshe yelped. But Diana hadn’t kicked.

She tried to breathe through it until itebbed. She ought to be timing them, but she’d left her damn watch…oh, God, why didn’t I grab the watch from the outhouse when Ileft? They could’ve found me. God only knows where I am.

She licked her lips and looked around her,praying for something familiar.

And it floated back to her. This wholethingwas familiar. God, why didn’t she remember sooner? Howcould she go running off the edge of the world in the same exactspot twice?

Another contraction came. “No. It’s too soon.They’re too close.” She held on for dear life and blew puffs of airthrough her lips.

#

Kendra stopped in her tracks as she heard hersister scream.

Dax charged past her, running like the herohe was. “Dax don’t! There’s a—” Too late. He’d vanished. She heardhim grunting as he tumbled. “Drop-off,” she finished, lamely.

She ran to the edge, then skirted it untilshe found a slightly less vertical slope, and scrambled down,sliding, falling, catching herself, and eventually reaching thebottom. Dax was right where he’d landed, his leg bent at animpossible angle underneath him. Kiley lay not far from him, herback against a tree, her face wet with tears, her breaths comingtoo fast.

“You okay, Dax?” she asked as she ran to hersister and fell to her knees beside her.

He said, “Yeah. Kiley?”

Kendra brushed her sister’s hair off herface. “I’m here, Kiley. I’m here. Everything’s okay now.”

“I’m in labor,” Kiley whispered. Kendrathought her heart stopped. “Is Dax okay?”

“I’m all right,” Dax said. He was making hisway to them, dragging himself along the forest floor. Kendra couldsee the strain on his face. He was hurting. “I lost the damn radioon the way down. Still got the gun, though.”

“Gun?” Kiley asked, wide-eyed, terrified.

“I’ve got my cell.” Kendra yanked it out,held it up. No bars. “Dammit.” She scanned the slope for thewalkie-talkie, but then Kiley cried out again.

“I want Rob!” There were tears in her voice.“The baby’s coming, Kendra. She’s coming!”

Kendra looked at Dax, who’d braced himself upagainst an adjacent sapling. “Dax, what are we gonna do?”

“We’re gonna help your sister have a baby,”he told her. And he said it so calmly she almost believed him. Hetook off his coat, wincing every time he moved. She looked at hisleg. It was bent in a way shin bones should not bend. Her stomachlurched. “Hey,” he said. Then he tossed her “Turn it inside out andlay that underneath her. “Then go wash your hands in the stream. Iwish we had some damn soap.”

Kendra hurried to obey, helping Kily lift herhips up and sliding the coat underneath. Then she ran to thestream, nearby and thrust her hand into the icy cold water. It feltgood. She heard Dax talking softly to her sister, easing Kiley’spanic as she hurried back. She tried to quell her own fear, or atleast keep it hidden. She took off her own jacket, covered hersister with it.

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