The Mountain Man's Secret Twins(35)

But the truck didn’t make it far. It spun its wheels quickly before bounding down the mountain, losing traction. Bryce stabbed his foot on the brake, making the back end of the truck lurch forward. The snow was still coming quickly, the windshield wipers unable to keep up. Kenzie didn’t scream, but she felt like it. The truck was sideways on the road, and the hospital was over a 30-minute drive away.



“What are we going to do?” she cried, wrapping her arms tightly around her babies. “We should have stayed in the city this week. We’re not going to make it.”



Kenzie’s fear made her think terrible thoughts, reminding her of all the things that could possibly go wrong during a birth—especially a botched home birth.



Bryce didn’t speak for a moment. He needed time to think. He pressed his lips together, gripping the steering wheel. After what seemed like nearly forever, he burst from the driver’s seat, bounded through the snow, and got Kenzie from the passenger seat. “We’re going back to the house. I know someone who can come help.”



Kenzie allowed Bryce to help her back to the cabin. She lifted her exhausted legs high, her knees cresting over the snow, having to stop only once to breathe through her contractions. She reached the house after what seemed like a small eternity and collapsed on the couch, still in her massive coat.



“What’s your plan, then?” she asked Bryce, her weary eyes turning toward him.



“The widow I used to work for,” he said, pacing. “Laurie Smith. She was also a midwife for a long time. She helped give birth to many of the people who still live in the town at the base of the mountain.”



“You think you can get to her?” Kenzie asked weakly.



“She lives only a mile down the mountain. I’ll walk down and grab her, bring her back up with me. I promise, we won’t be any more than 40 minutes. Do you trust me?” He clung to her tiny shoulders, gazing into her eyes with those big, blue irises. Kenzie couldn’t imagine trusting anyone else more.



“Go now,” she whispered. “Another contraction’s coming on, and I want to practice my scream.”#p#分页标题#e#



Bryce kissed her nose and fled the cabin, shoving his hat back on his head. He bounded past the window and into the trees, the very portrait of a mountain man. And as he fled, Kenzie’s contraction intensified, alerting her that the babies were on their way; they were coming soon.



After the contraction passed, Kenzie tried to distract herself from her fears. She rose from the couch and placed another log on the fire, grateful for the licking flames. Bryce had been gone only 25 minutes at that point. Time was moving slowly.



When Kenzie had imagined the birth, she’d imagined white-coated doctors, nurses telling her to push, and then she and Bryce kissing beneath the fluorescent lights of the hospital, holding their babies in their arms. Now, she didn’t know what to imagine. Pain, certainly. Suffering, absolutely. But at least Bryce would be there to hold her hand.



After nearly an hour—something Kenzie would nag Bryce about, teasingly, for years to come—Laurie Smith and Bryce appeared in the doorway. Kenzie was sweating, wearing only a thin nightgown, her shoulders slumped in fear and pain. Her eyes were wild, like an animal’s. “Bryce,” she whimpered. “What took so long?”



Bryce bounded toward her, placing his hand behind her neck and dabbing at the sweat. “It’s okay now. Laurie knows just what to do. She told me on the way here she’s delivered almost 40 babies, all of them healthy.”



Kenzie eyed Laurie tentatively, noting she was nearly 90 years old and had probably struggled through the snow. The woman was bone thin, with a crooked nose and flashing eagle eyes. She unwrapped her scarf and laid it on the dining chair, moving with her bag toward the kitchen sink.



“She’s going to wash up her equipment and then prepare you for delivery,” Bryce explained. “Remember, she’s done this a million times.”



“Only forty,” Kenzie corrected, looking lost. Another contraction barreled through her, and she clung to Bryce’s hand, making his fingers striped with red and yellow.



Mrs. Smith approached her then, wearing a long sweater dress she’d obviously knitted herself. She still wore her boots. Her face was stern, but kind and sure. “Kenzie, I need you to come to the floor. We’re going to create a little area for you, near the fire, so you can stay warm and comfortable.” Her words were succinct, without any emotion.



Mrs. Smith and Bryce set several pillows down, along with newspapers, and then helped Kenzie to the new setup. Kenzie felt that the babies were already really low, pushing toward the outside world, ready to break out.