Page 29 of Brighter than the Boss
"Alright, Natalie. How are you feeling?" Cain moved back into the tight circle and took charge, hand on the woman's knee.
I couldn't help myself. Cain's natural ability to lead a group was freaking hot. I squirmed a bit from my position on the floor next to the cot, trying to focus on helping Natalie, but not able to rip my gaze away from Cain's forearms. They looked so strong, muscles flexing each time he moved. I wanted those hands touching me intimately, not this poor woman on the floor. Yes, I admit it, I was jealous of a woman in labor in the middle of a disaster. Could there be aworsetime to be turned on and jealous?
Mentally rolling my eyes at myself, I turned my gaze to Hessa as she read the steps out loud.
"First, hygiene. Cain, you better wash your hands as best you can. We'll also need clean, wet towels." Hessa was taking this seriously, her school teacher tendencies coming out as she instructed everyone.
"I'll go get some wet towels," Kai offered, jogging away from the group.
"Hold on, Hessa," Cain interrupted. "Ivan, I need you to keep watch on the rising tide. If it starts coming close, we'll need to move to the boat. Jax, I need you to move the boat on the trailer to directly outside the front doors. If we have to leave, we need that boat ready to go."
Ivan and Jax nodded and ran off, leaving us girls and Dean to help Natalie.
"Okay, now that we got the guys out of the way, let's have a baby, huh?" Cain gave Natalie a big smile. She gave him a shaky smile in return probably scared out of her mind that this was happening here, not in a hospital with professionals.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Dean folded his arms across his chest, not appreciating being grouped in with the ladies, I guess.
"It's a damn compliment to be lumped in with the Beach Squad, so shut your mouth, big man." Bailey crossed her arms too, always up for verbal sparring. Cain rolled his eyes and left the group to go wash his hands.
"Come here, Bae, give me a hug." Dean's face was split with a big grin and he made moves to put his arms around her, knowing all the right buttons to push. “Bae” was the name her boyfriend, Jack, used as a term of endearment. Little nicknames and group hugs were on Bailey's no-fly list, unless you were Jack.
"Back off, you ugly lummox!" Bailey darted around, trying to escape any possibility of mushiness. Jack threw his head back and laughed from his chair, watching his woman run from Dean.
Natalie's loud moaning interrupted the craziness and brought our attention back to her. "Hello? I'm having a baby over here!"
"That's right." Cain rejoined the group and soothed her with his gravelly voice. "Let's focus on your breathing and staying calm." He looked over at Esa. "Timing?"
"She's less than a minute apart." Esa didn't even move her eyes from the stopwatch, knowing that information meant Natalie was close.
Cain motioned Dave closer, the two of them working together to remove Natalie's underwear. Hessa moved closer to Cain, reading off the instructions she'd found on childbirth.
"So we're supposed to see if she's dilated." She looked up from her phone, her eyes wide. Cain's face went pale and I knew I would have to help him out.
I jumped up and ran to the break room, finding an extra box of latex gloves we used to stuff our first aid kits for the towers. Racing back, I tossed him a pair and he snapped them on, his hands only shaking slightly. He threw me a thankful look, his eyes warming when I gave him a reassuring smile. His gaze stayed on mine as he did what had to be done. He wasn't touching me, but the look was intimate, like we were sharing this experience together even though I was just standing there not contributing.
My mind couldn't help but jump miles ahead and think about being in Natalie's position, the baby I was about to have being Cain's. The thought calmed all the fears that tore away at my stomach ever since we got the tsunami warning this morning and the day had gone to hell. My imagination was also extremely presumptive. I'd have to have a stern conversation with her later. It was way too early for those kinds of thoughts.
"There's a joke here somewhere about Cain being exactly the right man for this job..." Dean was back to making jokes, turning his attention to Cain now that Bailey had run from him.
Cain jerked his head up and gave him a death glare. "Shut it."
Dean pretended to sneeze, "Manwhore!"
Cain narrowed his eyes. "Brinley. Control your man before he finds himself unemployed." Then he ducked his head and went back to delivering a baby.
"Okay, so I don't know how dilated she is, but I can feel the head."
Natalie started whimpering again and squeezed my hand so hard I thought I'd start groaning too. "I gotta push!" she shrieked through gritted teeth.
"It says to let the mother do what feels natural." Hessa said loudly over Natalie's moans and heavy breathing, still reading feverishly from her phone. I guess you really could find anything on the internet.
"All right. If you feel like pushing, go for it, Natalie." Cain used his arm to wipe the sweat that was beading on his forehead.
I moved around to help support Natalie's head, lifting her up a bit so she could bear down. Her upper body was practically lying on me as I sat straddling the cot, a human backrest.
"Cain! The water's covering the strand now. It's flooding the garage bays." Ivan slid back into the room, his look of alarm turning to curious horror as he took in the birth about to take place. He'd probably do better situated at the mother's head instead.
Cain's head snapped to Ivan and I could almost see the wheels turning in his brain. "She's too far along to move now. Jax is moving the boat to the front. If the water comes up here, we'll carry her to the boat and try to get out. Keep me posted."
