Page 130 of Not Mine to Rescue

“Ew, no. You’ve got grub dust under your fingernails.”

“All right, but please let me hold your elbow.”

“I’m perfectly able to walk on my own.”

No sooner than she said that, she grunted.

I snatched the pie away before it could fall. “You were saying?”

“Shut up.” She breathed heavily.

“Babe?”

“Wombat...” she warned me about using that nickname through gritted teeth.

“I know, it’s all my fault. Braxton Hicks again?”

Her face was pale when she looked up, panting. “I don’t think so.”

Wait... what? My skin went cold. “Lemon!” I didn’t wait for her to answer. “Sonnet!”

“What are you bellowing for? We’re right here.” Sonnet approached first. But Lemon rushed to Honor’s side.

“Is it time?”

Honor blew short breaths through her mouth. “I think so.”

“Hot damn! I’m going to be an aunt!” Sonnet danced in a circle.

“Knock it off. Call Sierra, call the hospital, and go back to Honor’s and get the suitcases in the hall closet.” I shoved a set of keys into her hand and followed Lemon to her SUV.

“Why aren’t we taking the Beemer?” I asked.

“Do you really want her water to break on four-thousand-dollar leather seats?”

Put that way, no. “You sure this isn’t another false alarm?” I said it carefully because we’d been back and forth at least a dozen times in the last two months.

Lemon glared at me. “Her aura is green dipshit.”

“What does that mean?”

Dad slapped his hand on my shoulders. “Trust the process, son.”

“Yeah, hi to you too.”

Hal was almost as excited as Sonnet. “Do I get to watch?”

“No!” More than three adults voiced that dissent, including me. Of course Dad was the lone voice of stupid.

“You should watch.”

“Dad!” Sonnet took Honor by the arm Lemon hadn’t commandeered. “Honor barely wants Wombat there, and he’s the one who put her in this predicament.”

Their circus followed us to the hospital. I sat at Honor’s side as the doctor on call and the nurses checked heartbeats, blood pressure, and hooked her up to machines. I felt a little light-headed despite their calming assurances that everything was normal.

What did me in was when the nurse pulled her wet gloves free and announced, “seven centimeters.”

My ass slid to the floor.