Page 64 of What A Croc
When the contraction eased up, I gave Aiden a shaky smile, that probably resembled more of a grimace. “I’m okay. Can you find my phone for me, please? I think I left it in the bedroom.”
“You don’t want me to keep watching for Daddy?” His voice showed his own stress. He might not know exactly what was happening, but he knew something wasn’t right.
“You can keep watching after you bring me my phone.”
He took off down the hallway in a flash, returning quickly with my phone. His eyes got even rounder when he took in the wet patch on my sweatpants. “Did you pee? It’s okay, if you did. Accidents happen.”
Chuckling, I told him, “No, but my water broke. That’s something that happens when you have a baby.”
“Well, it looks like you peed,” he told me matter-of-factly, still looking a bit dubious at my assurance that I hadn’t wet myself.
Holding the phone up to my ear, I agreed with him. “It does, doesn’t it.”
The call connected just as headlights turned into the drive, and Aiden yelled, “Daddy’s home!”
Nodding that I had heard his announcement, I relayed my information to Finn’s answering service, then hung up. They would reach him and he would call me back. In the meantime, I was going to change my clothes. And I needed to pack my bag. I should have done it already,but I kept thinking I would when I was closer to my due date and then I sorta forgot about it.
The door from the garage opened and Aiden took off running, yelling, “Robert peed himself, but it’s okay because he’s having a baby!”
Face palming, my laugh turned into a gasp that morphed into a moan. I barely heard the sound of something hitting the ground, and then Jackson was there. Waving my free hand at him to give me a second, my other hand gripped the couch until my knuckles were white.
Jackson, not listening to my silent hand commands, instead grasped my flailing hand in his. Which, okay, was so much better, and gave me something to squeeze.
“Breathe with me, sweetheart,” he crooned softly, “just like in Lamaze class.”
“Fuck Lamaze, and fuck your breathing,” snarling, I nevertheless panted along with him, until the pain eased up.
Straightening, I started to waddle down the hallway. “Where have you been?”
Jackson followed right behind me. “I stopped at the store. I noticed your ice cream was running low, as were a couple other things you’ve been craving.”
Well, dammit, that took the wind from my sails, because I had finished off the last of my ice cream earlier today. “Oh. That was nice of you.”
Aiden came running into our bedroom, holding out my ringing phone. Taking it, I thanked him with a smile. Seeing it was Finn’s number, I took the call, answering his questions. Yes, my water broke a few minutes ago. Contractions were about seven minutes apart and getting really uncomfortable.
While I was on the phone with Finn, Jackson started the shower, then I heard him talking on his own phone. He must have been on the phone with Wyatt, based on the bits of the conversation I overheard, in between trying to concentrate on what Finn was asking me.
“Okay, we’ll head there now,” I told Finn, when he said we should go to the hospital.
Jackson finished his call and effortlessly managed to strip me out of my wet clothes, along with his, and get us both into the shower. “Wyatt was still at the daycare. He’s going to leave and come pick up Aiden.”
Without fanfare, he squeezed some body wash on a cloth and gently washed me.
Bracing my arms against the shower wall, I let the hot water cascade over my lower back, trying to relax my muscles. Jackson made quick work of getting me cleaned up, and out of the shower. Wrapping the towel around me, he sat me on the closed toilet seat. Pointing a finger, he ordered, “Sit. I’ll bring you some clothes.”
“We need to pack Aiden’s bag,” I nibbled on my bottom lip. “I’m three weeks early. We aren’t ready.”
Returning with a bundle of clothes, Jackson knelt at my feet and got my feet into another pair of soft, warm sweats. For the last month, I hadn’t been able to stand certain fabrics on me, or anything that felt too tight.
“Sweetheart,” Jackson assured me with a smile, tugging one of his sweatshirts over my head, “I have a bag packed for Aiden. I have for two weeks. Your bag is packed and by the door. Another bag is ready with stuff we might need while you’re in labor, and the outfits we picked out to bring the baby home. Everything is ready.” Placing a soft kiss on my lips, he assured me, “We’re ready.”
We had opted to not find out the sex of the baby, but Aiden had started calling my belly Hudson weeks ago. Since Jackson and I hadn’t hated it, we had landed on it for a boy. I didn’t know what we would do if we had a girl, since we couldn’t agree on anything. He liked Giselle, which I argued sounded too much like gazelle.
What if she’s an actual gazelle, I had argued.Giselle the gazelle? Hard pass.
“What if I’m not ready?” I whispered. “We were supposed to have three more weeks. And why are you so on top of things?” Waving a hand in the air, I whined, “You have all the things ready, and I’m just over here falling apart.”
Swinging me into his arms like I weighed nothing, which I knew wasn’t true because I had a mirror, Jacksoncarried me into the bedroom. Sitting on the bed, he cuddled me in his lap.
