Page 35 of The Forever Formula
“Lincoln.” I repeated his name, and that’s when I noticed that for some reason, Noah was standing in the doorway. The sight of him caught me off guard.
“They’re right in here,” he was telling someone in the hallway as he stepped aside, revealing two paramedics.
“She’s four minutes apart, ten centimeters,” I told them.
“Make some room, please,” the female paramedic told everyone. “Except you. Are you a doctor?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “RN.”
“Good. You stay.”
I didn’t have time to tell her that I had no idea what I was doing. She and her partner worked fast, taking Tahlia’s blood pressure and pulse. All her vitals were good, but the contractions were now clearly just three minutes apart. There was no time for them to load her into an ambulance now. It would be too dangerous to be flying down a freeway at seventy miles an hour.
Working together, the three of us readied ourselves, coaching Tahlia while Lincoln held her hand tightly.
Luckily for her, the delivery went quickly. It didn’t take her more than five rounds of pushing before the baby slid out easily and began wailing.
“It’s a girl!” the paramedic announced, placing the baby on Tahlia’s chest.
She and her partner wiped the baby down while Tahlia and Lincoln gazed at their daughter in wonder, both of them now crying. It was the most miraculous thing in the world to witness. My heart was so full, I was almost crying right along with them.
Instead, I switched into professional mode and watched how they cut the umbilical cord and tended to Tahlia. I took mental notes on how they swaddled the baby and checked her blood pressure again, just in case I was part of any more deliveries out here. It was all so fascinating.
Since the birth had been so smooth, they waited for a bit before loading her into the ambulance, baby in her arms, to take them both in for monitoring.
As the stretcher left the living room and I watched them load her up, I turned to Noah, who’d been sitting in the living room keeping Mr. Davis calm.
“She going to be okay?” Mr. Davis asked, his brow still worried into a knot.
I patted his shoulder. “She did great. Congratulations, Grandpa.”
He smiled big. “I’m so glad you’re home now, Rachel. We need more good people like you around here.”
An unexpected wave of emotion at his words flooded through me. My throat tightened, and I nodded at him.
We said our good-byes after that, and Noah drove me the short distance home.
“How did you find me?” I asked curiously.
“I tracked my truck on my phone and got Logan to drive me over.”
Huh. I didn’t even know that was a thing. Then again, I’d only ever driven an ancient car.
“So, was CJ okay?” I asked, cocking a brow at him. “She seemed mad.”
“She’s just a friend,” he said defensively.
“Like how we’re friends?” I asked.
He let out a long, slow breath. “So, here’s the thing about me, and you may already know this ... but I tend to speak first and think later. So, when I answer your questions honestly, just be sure you’re ready to hear the answer.”
“I’m ready,” I told him. As far as I was concerned, honesty was always the best policy. I didn’t want him censoring the truth to spare my feelings. I would rather know.
“She and I used to hook up once in a while, but no, she and I aren’t friends like you and I are.”
It stung a little to hear about their history, but I did appreciate his honesty. I also noted that he spoke in past tense. Theyusedtohookup. “What do you mean?”
We’d pulled into my driveway then and Noah cut off the engine, turning to me. “We have a deep friendship. Hell, Rachel, you were my first love. I’m not sure that’s even something a person ever gets over. CJ’s a casual acquaintance. That’s it.”
