Beth gasped, her hold on Rilla tightening.
Rilla could hear the tremble in her sister’s voice. Beth who was always cool, calm and collected was looking to her for assurance. Beth, who, prior to her maternity leave, had run the operating theatres at the General like a sergeant major for years.
‘Of course it is,’ she said confidently. ‘First baby labours take for ever.’ That was one piece of information she did remember in a brain that seemed to be suddenly frozen.
‘But it’s not my first baby.’ Beth grimaced as she clutched at her stomach.
Of course—it wasn’t. ‘It may as well be,’ Rilla said reassuringly. ‘Twenty-three years is a long time. We wipe the slate clean after a while. How long was your labour with David?’
‘Four hours,’ Beth said through gritted teeth.
Rilla tried not to look too alarmed when she glanced sharply at her older sister. ‘Let’s hustle,’ she said, kicking up the pace.
But the going was still slow. The contractions increased in frequency and length over the next twenty minutes, necessitating the need for numerous stops and Rilla was becoming more worried that they weren’t going to make it to the General.
The track remained deserted and their mobile phones still had no signal. All they could do was trudge on and hope the premature baby didn’t decide to make an appearance.
Rilla judged they were about twenty minutes from the car when Beth let out a cry and gripped hard to the arm that was supporting her.
‘What?’ Rilla demanded.
‘Oh, God,’ Beth panted. ‘I need to push.’
‘No. No, no, no,’ Rilla said, shaking her head wildly. ‘No pushing. It’s not far now.’
‘Ril,’ Beth said, leaning forward. ‘I think the baby’s right there.’
‘No.’
‘Yes,’ Beth said looking her younger sister straight in the eye. ‘It is. This baby is coming. Now.’
Rilla believed her. Oh, no! It was time to go to plan B. ‘OK.’ Don’t panic. Just do what has to be done. ‘I’ll get the picnic blanket out of the backpack. I think we need to take a look.’
Rilla’s pulse thundered as she spread the blanket on the track and helped Beth to the ground. This was Beth. Her sister. And her niece. The stakes couldn’t be higher and she was scared out of her brain.
‘Hurry,’ Beth bellowed loudly.
The loud groan broke into Rilla’s escalating fear. ‘OK, Beth, let’s take a look,’ Rilla said, forced to focus as the sound of her sister’s agony echoed through the bush.
Luca Romano was taking a walk down memory lane when he heard the cry of distress nearby. He responded immediately, pistoning his strong legs and arms hard to reach the source. Someone was obviously in trouble. The cry had been full of pain and panic. The bush grew eerily quiet as he headed towards the sound, as if it too could detect the urgency of the situation.
He burst from a side track onto the main pathway, locating the problem with a quick swivel of his neck to the right. He cursed under his breath. Two women were huddled on the track. What the hell had happened?
‘Everything all right here?’ he asked as he approached.
Rilla’s head snapped up. She may have had her back to the approaching man but she’d have known that sexily accented voice anywhere. It still haunted her dreams and stoked her fantasies. She turned. Of all the men in the entire world, their knight in shining armour had to be him?
‘Luca?’
Beth also looked up. ‘Luca?’
Luca stopped dead in his tracks. ‘Rilla? Beth?’
For a few moments no one did or said anything. The entire bush seemed to be holding its breath.
‘Rilla,’ Beth cried. ‘It’s coming!’
Rilla turned her attention back to Beth, breaking out of the twilight zone they’d entered. She looked down in dismay to find that Beth was right. The head was right there. Great!
She turned to look at Luca. There were seven years of silence and a jumbo load of baggage between them, but Rilla knew that they were in the worst possible place if the baby or Beth needed any emergency care. And estranged husband or not, Luca was an emergency medicine consultant—she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She could ponder the fickle finger of fate later.
She swallowed. ‘Luca, get down here. I need you.’
Luca knew she hadn’t meant need him need him, but it didn’t stop the quick flare of heat he thought had been extinguished long ago. He took a beat to mentally douse the flame before he responded to the obvious urgency of the situation. He moved closer, crouching down on the rug.
‘Is she full term?’ he asked. His gaze assessed the situation as his medical training came to the fore.
Rilla shook her head. ‘Thirty-six weeks.’
Luca nodded. Only just premature. And Beth’s belly certainly looked a decent size.
‘What do you want me to do?’ he asked. He knew Rilla was perfectly capable of delivering a baby hell bent on getting out and didn’t see any need to take over. Beth was in good hands.
‘Just be here.’ Things were out of their control and Rilla knew it. Babies that came as fast as Beth’s determined little one practically delivered themselves. All she had to do was catch. ‘Just in case.’
She could feel his presence looming beside her and felt strangely claustrophobic in the middle of the wide open bush.
On second thoughts… ‘Actually, go down the other end and give Beth something to lean against. Reassure her.’
Luca nodded. Good idea. As far away from Rilla as possible. He shifted around behind Beth, settling her back against his stomach in a supported semi-upright position. Her elbows dug into his thighs for leverage.
Luca looked down into Beth’s sweaty face purposely evading Rilla’s gaze. A fine film of grime had settled into the furrows of her brow as her face grew red from the effort of suppressing the urge to push.
‘You’re doing well, Beth,’ he said, and gave her a gentle smile. ‘Let’s just keep this bit slow and easy.’ He picked up her hand and gave it a squeeze.
‘Easy for you to say,’ Beth said, gritting her teeth, and Luca laughed.
‘She’s nearly crowned,’ Rilla said to Beth.
He glanced up, despite telling himself he wouldn’t, and caught Rilla’s gaze. She was on her knees, her left hand against the baby’s head to slow the delivery so Beth wouldn’t tear. And she was just as he remembered. Exactly as she was in his dreams.
Her hair was just as thick. As dark
