The Rocker That Savors Me(67)

I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. “Her water broke. Layla’s taking her to the hospital right now…”

Drake stepped off the sidewalk and right into the line of traffic. The taxi driver blew his horn but Drake just opened the door and slid in the front seat while the rest of us took up the back. I told the man where we were headed and then tossed him a bunch of big bills to get us there as quickly as possible.

It was lunch time and traffic was a bitch, but the driver, either scared by the menacing why Drake glared at him or the incentive from the big tip I had already given him, got us there in record time. The car hadn’t even come to a complete stop in front of the Women’s Center when Nik opened the door and jumped out.

He was almost incoherent when we stopped by the information desk. I pushed him aside and told the woman why we were there. The little old woman in the pink jacket gave us a smile, obviously having dealt with scared, crazy daddies on a daily basis. She gave us directions up to labor and delivery and told us that Emmie was already being prepped, whatever that meant.

The elevator ride up to the fourth floor felt like it took forever. I thought Nik was going to start climbing the wall and was glad when the door opened. We stepped off the elevator and found a nurses’ station right in front of us. Every nurse was running around. Working fast and talking faster. I stopped by the desk. “Can anyone tell me where Ember Jameson is?” I called out.

Several heads turned in my direction. “Are you family?” A nurse demanded.

I didn’t even hesitate. “She’s my sister.” I told the woman.

She gave me a skeptical look but nodded her head. “Down the hall. Room 403. We’re prepping her for surgery.”

Nik was already running down the hall before I could even turn around. Drake and Shane right behind him. He pushed a door open down the hall, and I followed them in. Emmie was lying on a little bed, an IV in one arm. There was a heart monitor on her, and I was transported for a second back to the night she had been so sick. Fear gripped me even harder, and I stood there just taking her in for a long moment.

She looked pale, her big green eyes standing out in her pretty face. Nik held her against his chest, whispering something to her, and they were both shaking. This was scary. Terrifying! I wasn’t ready for this to be happening. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The doctor had set us all down during Emmie’s last appointment and explained in detail what would happen, but this wasn’t it.

This was rushed. There was a doctor and three nurses trying to get Emmie ready while we stood there.

A soft hand touched my arm, and I looked down to find Layla standing there. She gave me a small smile. “It’s going to be okay, Jesse,” she promised me.

I wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her hair. “Are you sure? She looks scared as hell and that is scaring the shit out of me.”

Layla cupped my face in her hands. “I’m sure. She looks scared because she’s in pain. She’s having regular contractions, and the doctor said she was already dilated to a six when we got here. That’s why everyone is rushing.”

“Jesse?” Emmie’s quivering voice made me raise my head. She looked so tiny in that bed.

I crossed to her side in three big strides and wrapped her in my arms. “I love you, Jesse,” she whispered in my ear, and I couldn’t help but hold on tighter. “I wish you all could come into the operating room with me.”

So did I. But we all knew that only one person could go in with her. Nik was already putting on the scrubs that a nurse had handed him. I brushed a kiss across the top of her head. “You’re going to be fine, sweetheart. Nik will be with you.”

“We’re ready, Miss Jameson,” the doctor said, and I reluctantly stepped back as the nurses stepped up to the bed and unlocked the wheels.

Tears poured down Emmie’s face as the nurses pushed her away from me, and I felt like my heart was being ripped from me as she was taken from the room.

“Love you!” She called to us and I had to turn away so that she wouldn’t see my tears as they spilled from my eyes.



Layla

The past hour felt surreal. It couldn’t have all happened that quickly. It just didn’t seem possible. One minute I’m laughing with Emmie about all of Shane’s laundry, and the next I’m driving like some Indy racer down the highway with a screaming woman in the passenger seat.

I had never been so terrified in my life as I was when I had seen all that water pool at Emmie’s feet. The way she had started screaming had nearly made me start as well, but I knew that one of us had to be calm or we were in trouble. Somehow, I had been able to call Emmie’s doctor and let him know what was going on.