Page 329 of By His Vow

“Is Lewis ready?” Tatum asks.

“Yes,” I agree.

“And the hospital bag is?—”

“In the trunk like it has been for weeks now. We’ve got this, baby.”

“Go—FUCK.”

“They’re getting closer,” Miles points out.

“You fucking think?” Tatum hisses as we hit the ground floor.

He fumes behind us, not liking being chastised by his little sister. I get it. But honestly, he needs to learn when to shut up.

“Lewis, have you ever delivered a baby?” Tatum asks the second we have her inside. Lewis wasn’t waiting by the door; instead, he’s already behind the wheel with the engine running ready to go.

Even in the rearview mirror, I see him pale at the question.

“Um…no, Ms. Tate. I haven’t. Could today be the day I do?”

“If you don’t put your foot on the gas, it may just be.”

“You really think he’s coming that fast?” I ask, horrified.

“I do.”

The second Miles closes the door, Lewis does exactly as she suggests and floors it.

By the time we pull up outside the hospital, Tatum’s contractions are scarily close.

What happened to all the stuff I read about a woman’s first baby usually taking a while? Trust Tatum to be the exception to that rule.

Thankfully, a midwife is waiting for us with a wheelchair. The second we open the car door, she takes over making all the demands, leaving Tatum to focus on her breathing and not giving birth in the parking lot.

We race through the hospital and into the maternity ward.

“I need to push,” Tatum cries through her wails of pain.

“Okay, sweetie. We’re almost there. You see that door at the end of this hallway? That’s your room. That’s where your baby is going to be born.”

“Hurry, please,” Tatum whimpers.

“Dad, you need to come with us,” the nurse demands as we approach the door.

“Here, take the bag,” Miles says, thrusting it at me. “I’ll be right out here.”

I glance back at him before following Tatum into the room.

He’s pale and looks as terrified as I feel.

“You’ve got this, man. Look after my sister and nephew, yeah?”

“Always, bro. Fucking always.”

Rushing into the room, the door falls closed behind me and I swear someone hits fast forward on my life.

I help the midwife get Tatum onto the bed before she quickly examines her and tells us what Tatum already did.