She broke off, a puzzled expression covering her face as she felt a little snap inside. Heard it, she
realized. Like a soft, echoing ping.
Then water pooled down between her legs.
Harper made a sound of his own, like that of a man whose words were strangled off somewhere in his throat. He sprang to his feet, babbling as Hayley stared down at the floor.
'Uh-oh,' she said.
'Urn, that's okay, that's all right. Maybe I should... maybe you should ...'
'Oh, for heaven's sake, Harper, I didn't just pee on the floor. My water broke.'
'What water?' He blinked, then went pale as a corpse. 'That water. Oh, God. Oh, Jesus. Oh, shit. Sit. Sit, or... I'll get—'
An ambulance, the marines.
'My mother.'
'I think I'd better go with you. We're a little early.' She forced a smile so she wouldn't scream. 'Just a couple of weeks. I guess the baby's impatient to get out and see what all the fuss is about. Give me a hand, okay? Oh, Jesus, Harper, I'm scared to death.'
'It's fine.' His arm came around her. 'Just lean on me. You hurting anywhere?'
'No. Not yet.'
Inside he was still pale, and half sick. But his arm stayed steady around her, and when he turned his
head, his smile was easy. 'Hey.' Very gently, he touched her belly. 'Happy birthday, baby.'
'Oh, my God.' Her face simply illuminated as they stepped outside. 'This is awesome.'
* * *
She couldn't actually have the baby, but Stella figured she could do nearly everything else—or delegate it done. Hayley hadn't put a hospital bag together, but Stella had a list. A call to David got that ball rolling even as she drove Hayley to the hospital. She called the doctor to let him know the status of Hayley's labor, left a voice mail on her father's cell phone, and a message on his home answering machine to arrange for her own children, and coached Hayley through her breathing as the first contractions began.
'If I ever get married, or buy a house, or start a war, I hope you'll be in charge of the details.'
Stella glanced over as Hayley rubbed her belly. 'I'm your girl. Doing okay?'
'Yeah. I'm nervous and excited and ... Oh, wow, I'm having a baby!'
'You're going to have a fabulous baby.'
'The books say things can get pretty tricky during transition, so if I yell at you or call you names—'
'Been there. I won't take it personally.'
By the time Roz arrived, Hayley was ensconced in a birthing room. The television was on—an old Friends episode. Beneath it on the counter was an arrangement of white roses. Stella's doing, she had
no doubt.
'How's Mama doing?'
'They said I'm moving fast.' Flushed and bright-eyed, Hayley reached out a hand for Roz's. 'And everything's just fine. The contractions are coming closer together, but they don't hurt all that much.'
'She doesn't want the epidural,' Stella told her.
'Ah.' Roz gave Hayley's hand a pat. 'That'll be up to you. You can change your mind if it gets to be
too much.'
'Maybe it's silly, and maybe I'll be sorry, but I want to feel it. Wow! I feel that.'
Stella moved in, helped her breathe through it. Hayley sighed out the last breath, closed her eyes just
as David strode in.
'This here the party room?' He set down an overnight case, a tote bag, and a vase of yellow daisies before he leaned over the bed to kiss Hayley's cheek. 'You're not going to kick me out 'cause I'm
a man, are you?'
'You want to stay?' Delighted color bloomed on Hayley's cheeks. 'Really?'
'Are you kidding?' From his pocket he pulled a little digital camera. 'I nominate myself official photographer.'
'Oh.' Biting her lip, Hayley rubbed a hand over her belly. 'I don't know as pictures are such a good idea.'
'Don't you worry, sugar, I won't take anything that's not G-rated. Give me a big smile.'
He took a couple of shots, directed Roz and Stella to stand beside the bed and took a couple more.
'By the way, Stella, Logan's taking the boys back to his place after school.'
'What?'
'Your parents are at some golf tournament. They were going to come back, but I told them not to worry, I'd take care of the kids. Then apparently Logan came by the nursery, ran into Harper—he's coming by shortly.'
'Logan?' Hayley asked. 'He's coming here?'
'No, Harper. Logan's taking kid duty. He said he'd take them over to his place, put them to work, and
not to worry. We're supposed to keep him updated on baby progress.'
'I don't know if—' But Stella broke off as another contraction started.
Her job as labor coach kept her busy, but part of her mind niggled on the idea of Logan riding herd on
her boys. What did he mean, 'put them to work'? How would he know what to do if they got into a fight—which, of course, they would at some point. How could he watch them properly if he toolt them
to a job site? They could fall into a ditch, or out of a tree, or cut off an appendage, for God's sake, with some sharp tool.
When the doctor came in to check Hayley's progress, she dashed out to call Logan's cell phone.
'Kitridge.'
'It's Stella. My boys—'
'Yeah, they're fine. Got them right here. Hey, Gavin, don't chase your brother with that chain saw.' At Stella's horrified squeak, Logan's laughter rolled over the phone. 'Just kidding. I've got them digging a hole, and they're happy as pigs in mud and twice as dirty. We got a baby yet?'
'No, they're checking her now. Last check she was at eight centimeters dilated and seventy percent effaced.'
'I have no idea what that means, but I'll assume it's a good thing.'
'It's very good. She's breezing through it. You'd think she had a baby once a week. Are you sure the
kids are all right?'
'Listen.'
She assumed he'd held out the phone as she heard giggles and her boys' voices raised in excited
argument over just what they could bury in the hole. An elephant. A brontosaurus. Fat Mr. Kelso from the grocery store.
'They shouldn't call Mr. Kelso fat.'
'We have no time for women here. Call me when we've got a baby.'
He hung up, leaving her scowling at the phone. Then she turned and nearly rammed into Harper. Or into the forest of red lilies he balanced in both hands.
'Harper? Are you in there?'
'She okay? What's going on? Am I too late?'
'She's fine. The doctor's just checking on her. And you're in plenty of time.'
'Okay. I thought lilies because they're exotic, and she likes red. I think she likes red.'
'They're extremely gorgeous. Let me guide you in.'
'Maybe I shouldn't. Maybe you should just take them.'
'Don't be silly. We've got a regular party going on. She's a sociable girl, and having people with her is taking her mind off the pain. When I left, David had the Red Hot Chili Peppers on a CD player and a bottle of champagne icing down in the bathroom sink.
She steered him in. It was still the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and David turned his camera to the door to snap a picture of Harper peering nervously through a wonder of red lilies.
'Oh! Oh! Those are the most beautiful things I've ever seen!' A little pale, but beaming, Hayley
struggled to sit up in bed.
'They'll make a great focal point, too.' Stella helped Harper set them on a table. 'You can focus on
