“Dad killed the cat we had before mom and I left him” Dixon said matter-of-factly. “Even mom said that’s not what happened, but I know.”
“Dixon come inside, sweetie. We can talk about getting you another kitten, okay?” Melanie shot us a look.
I grabbed Reggie’s arm and pulled her down the steps. I was pretty sure she was angry with her dead ex and not us, but it was me and Reggie that were in her sights. I knew better than to stand around waiting in the path of a mama bear about to charge.
“Hey,” Reggie protested.
“Come on, we need to go.”
Chapter Seven
“You don’t really think Olivia killed her neighbor, do you?” Reggie asked as we drove back toward Coventry.
“I don’t want to believe it, but I don’t know her well enough one way or another,” I said.
“We’re going to talk to her, aren’t we?” Reggie asked.
“Do you have somewhere else you have to be?”
“We should go check on the shop,” she offered.
“Well, that gives us a good reason to be back in the square. We’ll check around for Olivia first, and then we’ll go to the shop,” I said.
“Do you really think she’s still there?”
“If she’s not, then we can find out where she went. Was her house okay? Or do you think she had to go to the shelter?” I asked.
“I can’t remember,” Reggie said. “All of that is kind of a blur.”
“Maybe they are all still hanging out at the Brew Station,” I said. “That will make things easier.”
“It’s only been an hour,” Reggie added. “They might still be there. Or over at the library.”
And then I got a cramp.
Except it was unlike any cramp I’d ever experienced in my life. My entire abdomen seized like I’d been hit with an electrical current, and I nearly fell over.
“Are you okay?” Reggie asked as she instinctively shot out an arm to steady me.
Water pooled at my feet.
“I think my water just broke,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “Either that or I peed myself.”
“That’s impossible, Kinsley. You’re not due for a couple of months,” Reggie said as her eyes went wide with horror.
“Well, you tell the baby that, and she’ll get back to you about her schedule,” I said with another nervous chuckle. My attempts to keep things lighthearted and prevent myself from panicking were making me sound deranged.
“What do I do? Where do we go? I should call your mother,” Reggie said. “Aren’t you doing this at home? We should go there.”
“Well, given that this isn’t supposed to be happening and also the state of magic lately, I’d say the hospital,” I answered. “Something’s off, and I need to go to the hospital.”
Before Reggie could say anything, the tornado sirens went off again. Just under the blaring sound of the sirens, I could hear my phone ring.
Again…
I couldn’t remember hearing them before. I told myself it was because the tornado was too loud, but I didn’t know.
In the middle of that thought, another contraction hit me like a train. My knees buckled, and I almost fell over. Reggie held me up until it was over.
“I need to call Thorn,” I said.
“You need to get in the car. I’ll call Thorn and tell him to meet us there,” Reggie said.
I wanted to argue, but I didn’t feel right. My stomach felt like a sinking stone, but my head was light. My pulse pounded in my temples, but it felt like it was a million miles away.
“Something isn’t right,” I said softly as Reggie waited for Thorn to pick up.
“Thorn, she’s in labor. Something’s wrong. I’m taking her to the hospital. You have to meet us there,” Reggie said and then was silent for a moment. “No. Absolutely not. I can handle it.”
“What is it?” I asked, but she just patted my arm.
“Okay fine,” Reggie said. “Fine. I’m serious, Thorn. I promise I’ll wait,” she said and then hung up.
“What’s going on?” I asked. My head was swimming and the siren felt like it was drifting away.
“Thorn said the sirens are going off prematurely. They just got them back online. Apparently, there was a glitch or something. Whatever. Anyway, there is a tornado, and it is close. The storm is moving into a position between here and the hospital. He said he’d be here as fast as he could, and he’s driving you there.”
“Reggie, I don’t feel very good,” I said and crumpled to the curb.
My pants were already wet, so I didn’t mind sitting on the damp pavement. The fact that my feet were in a puddle several inches deep wasn’t exactly pleasant, but since I was at least sitting down, I didn’t mind.
“Let’s get you up,” Reggie said.
She started tugging under my arms trying to help me stand. “No, I want to sit for a while. I’ll get up when Thorn gets here.”
Reggie tried to lift me again, but I didn’t move. “I should have called an ambulance,” she said.
“Thorn will get here faster,” I said.
“Do you have any healing magic you can use?” Reggie whispered to me. “Anything at all?”
“I can’t,” I said. I felt so drained, and then another contraction hit me. All I could do was grip my belly and try not to scream too loudly. We’d already attracted a small crowd. “Meri,” I said.
He came sprinting down the street. Apparently, he’d wandered off to investigate something. Probably trying to figure out how close the tornado was. That’s what I told myself.
Wordlessly, he pressed himself against my back. The pain lessened a bit, and I felt strong enough to stand up.
As Reggie helped me to my feet, Thorn’s cruiser pulled up and its tires squealed to a stop. “Get her in,” he shouted when he was halfway out of the car.
He rushed around and helped Reggie get me in the car. As soon as they had my feet inside, Thorn buckled the seatbelt across me.
“I’m coming with you,” Reggie said.
“No, it’s
