Page 35 of Silver Linings
“Besides get her to the hospital?”
“Yes, smart ass. Besides that.” Gia rolled her eyes at him.
Lily let out a guttural moan that had Gunner’s blood running cold. When she gasped, his hands tightened around her arms.
“My w-water just broke,” she cried.
“Okay, okay. Just breathe. Let’s get you to the truck.” Gunner lifted her as gently as he could. “Gia, I need you to grab Lily’s hospital bag. It’s in her room by the closet. And get a couple of towels, too.”
“Got it.” His sister disappeared down the hallway just as quickly as she had appeared in the living room.
“I don’t want to ruin the truck’s seats. You’ll have to pay so much to the rental company.”
“I don’t give a shit about that, Lily. You can sit on a towel if it will make you feel better, but I want to have some in the car in case Sprout decides she can’t wait for us to get to the hospital.”
“God, I really hope she waits.”
“Me too.”
“Oh, Gunner, the baby’s car seat,” Lily gasped. “This hurts so much.” Her hands went around her belly and she crumbled against him.
“I installed it earlier while you were in the shower.”
“Y-you did?”
“Yeah, Lil. I knew something was up, figured it was best to just get ahead of things in case it was the big show.”
“God, I’m sorry, Gunner. You must be exhausted. Your mom’s memorial and then this on top of everything. I was going to take a taxi before things got out of hand but you can just drop me off and…oh—” she turned in Gunner’s arms and leaned into him.
“Shhh. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving my wife to bring my daughter into the world all alone.”
“But I am…” she moaned.
“No, you are not. You’ve got me and you’ve got Gia. Soon you’ll have Sprout, too. That’s a hell of a lineup.”
Once Lily’s contraction subsided, Gunner started moving them towards his truck. Fuck, why did it have to be so high off the ground? He should have opted for a fucking minivan. She would have been more comfortable in that. Maybe he could trade in the rental before he had to bring her and the baby home.
“Gunner?”
“Yeah,” he helped her up and began stretching the seat belt over her belly.
“We need to hurry.” The panic in her eyes scorched every nerve in his body.
“You got it, boss.” He’d hoped that would make her laugh, and as the smile stretched across her face, he breathed the tiniest sigh of relief into his lungs.
“I think Sprout is about to get that designation.”
He put his hand on her belly, noticing immediately how she stilled under his touch. “Listen here, Sprout. Your mom and I need you to behave just a little while longer. You heard her, right? This truck is a rental and I don’t have that kind of insurance on it, okay?” Lily smiled again, and he couldn’t help but press a kiss to her cheek before shutting her door.
“Here, Lily’s bag. I’ll be right behind you, okay?”
“Thanks, Gia.”
“Good luck, Dad.”
Fuck. That title nearly barreled him over.
Gunner slid into the driver’s seat and started the truck. With one hand on the steering wheel, he slid his other hand back over her belly, grimacing as the muscles became hard when another contraction rolled through her body.