| |
IT WAS OFFICIAL. KENNEDY was freaking out.
“We can’t deliver a baby out here in the dark in the middle of nowhere!”
Willow tried to shush her. “Of course we can’t. That’s why we’re going to take her to Roger’s truck and get her warm.”
“How do you expect to get her there? We can’t carry her that far.”
Willow raised her eyebrows. “You do know that women can walk while they’re in labor, don’t you? And that your water can break hours before you even start having contractions.”
Kennedy didn’t respond. When would she have ever learned that?
Willow wrapped her arm around Brandy. “Come on. The truck’s not far. If we’re lucky, we can drive you out of here. See how the roads are so we can get you some help. You’re going to be just fine. Have you felt any contractions yet?”
“I’m not sure.”
“It will be like cramps. Sometimes you only feel it in your back. And if you put your hand right here on your abdomen, it’ll get hard. There, that’s one now. Can you feel it?”
“A little.”
“Good,” Willow answered, although Kennedy couldn’t dream up a single thing that was positive about their situation. Stuck in the middle of the woods, aftershocks destroying everything around them, and now they had a pregnant woman who was about to deliver a baby.
“We’ve got to get there fast,” Willow was saying. “We don’t want that amniotic fluid to freeze to your skin.”
Kennedy didn’t even want to know what that would look like and prayed they’d get to the truck on time. God had protected them this far. He’d just have to keep on watching out for them because Kennedy knew there was no way they could survive all the way until daybreak on their own.
By the time they got to Roger’s vehicle, Brandy’s pants were frozen stiff.
“I was afraid of that,” Willow said and shined her flashlight around. A tree trunk had fallen across the back of the truck bed, and another one had flattened a four-wheeler that must have belonged to Buster. “Looks like we won’t be driving out of here any time soon.” She turned to Kennedy. “Can you look around for any blankets? I’ll see if we can at least get the heater running.”
“What about the keys?” Kennedy asked.
Willow chuckled. “This is the Alaska wilderness. Everybody leaves their keys in the ignition or on the dashboard. See?” She held up a single key on a chain and started up the truck.
Kennedy turned toward the cabin, feeling awkward on her uneven shoes. It wasn’t until then she realized Willow was wearing nothing but her sock. “Your foot,” she exclaimed. “I never gave you your boot back.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Willow’s face was drawn taut. “We were little busy back there.”
“Yeah, but what about frostbite?”
Willow was coaxing Brandy out of her pants. “Worry about that later. Now go get some blankets. Please?” she added as an afterthought.
Kennedy remembered where Buster’s body lay and made a wide circle to avoid him. She found the blankets without too much trouble and grabbed a few cans of spam, too.
“Any luck?” Willow asked when Kennedy returned.
“I got some blankets, but they’re already frozen stiff. I don’t know what good they’ll do.”
“Don’t worry about that. Come in, and close the doors. I’ve got the heat running. Here. You sit on top of the blankets and get them warmed up for us.”
It didn’t seem like much, but Kennedy was thankful for something she could do to feel useful.
“Ok, the contractions aren’t all that regular. It could be a while before anything starts to happen, and there’s a good chance by then we’ll have found some way to get help. Is this your first delivery?”
Brandy nodded. “Roger said he would take me to the hospital. He said everything would be ok.”
“He’s right. You’re going to be fine,” Willow assured her. “Kennedy, why don’t you pray for us. Is that all right with you?” she asked Brandy.
Kennedy’s rear end was freezing from sitting on top of the blankets, which could explain why she sounded so stubborn. “First, we need to look at your foot. You shouldn’t have been running around in just your sock.”
Willow shrugged. “Yeah, well, you don’t always think things through when you’re trying to stay alive.”
Kennedy tried to think of something that might lighten the mood but couldn’t. “Let’s just take a look.”
“I don’t know what it is you’re expecting to see.” Willow stretched her leg across Brandy’s lap and hoisted her foot onto Kennedy’s knee. “Here it is. See? It’s a foot.”
Kennedy felt it. The sock was frozen stiff. “Should you take that off?”
“Go ahead. You’re the one all worried.”
Kennedy aimed the flashlight. “I don’t know what I’m looking for,” she confessed. Willow’s toes were red, but other than that they looked just like toes. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Tiny black stumps where the cold had already eaten away the flesh?
“See? I’m fine.” Willow swung her leg back down and felt Brandy’s midsection. “There comes another contraction. You tell me when they get real uncomfortable.”
Kennedy still wasn’t ready to ignore Willow. “Shouldn’t you wrap it or something so it gets warm now?”
“Probably.”
Kennedy took Willow’s boot off her own foot.
“Here. Put this back on. I don’t need it anymore.”
Willow sighed. “Fine. But I’m only doing it so you stop worrying about me.”
As if Kennedy would ever stop worrying at a time like this.
She hugged her arms around her, wondering how long it would take for the truck to heat up, wondering how long the night would last, wondering what they would do if Brandy’s baby decided it was ready to be born before help arrived.