Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“Brooke, there’s a hose in the back. Could you fill a couple of pails?” Noah asked.
She went back to where he directed her and was so grateful that whoever was in charge of this place believed in organization and cleanliness. The metal pails used to feed and water the barn animals looked like they’d been cleaned and dried. She located soap and carried that back, too, along with the big roll of duct tape she found.
Nell wasn’t the only one who needed medical help. She had to keep Noah alive until Doc could get here.
Huh, someone had been shot. Doc knew what he was doing.
If he’d heard anything she’d said, Doc was likely trying to figure out what was happening. The first thing he would do would be to call Nate Wright.
She prayed Bay was still at the sheriff’s office.
“I need to put pressure on that wound,” she explained.
Noah hissed as he shifted but allowed her to do what she needed to do.
After she’d duct taped Noah together, she sat down for a moment and held Nell’s hand. “Just breathe, Nell. We’ll get through this. Tell me what you’re naming this baby girl we’re about to be blessed with.”
Lucy had Noah’s kit out, the two of them deciding what she could and couldn’t use.
“I was going to name her Justice Heart Flanders,” Nell said, sweat dripping from her forehead. Her face was red but she was handling it all with such grace. She laughed before her whole body went tense. “Henry hates it. I think I might change it if we survive.” She gritted her teeth and squeezed Brooke’s hand tight. “Noah, how is this possible? It took so long with Poppy.”
“All pregnancies are different,” Noah said, his voice a bit strained. “Often the second comes on much quicker than the first. Like your body knows what to do. Or baby Justice there really wants to be here.”
“Lucy,” Nell whispered. “I’m naming her Lucy. Lucy Brooke Flanders. She’s going to be my fierce warrior girl. I don’t know how I know this, but I won’t understand her all the time. She’ll be like her father. I dream about her. Poppy is mine but this one is…”
Brooke held her as she suffered another long contraction. “I speak for both of us when I say I’ll be honored and I’ll always help her. Always.”
“Me, too,” Lucy said, getting into position.
Nell sank back, her words coming out in a breathless sigh. “My mother always said we came from another place. From a faery world. I know. A little on the odd side she was, but maybe she wasn’t lying. She claimed I had a bit of what she called the sight. I never believed her until I started dreaming of my children. When I close my eyes at night, I see Lucy with a sword in her hand, and Poppy tends the gardens. My girls. In my dreams we live by a shining river like the one we do now, but we’re in a brilliant white palace with my kin from there. My girls are princesses of the realm. They have more power than anyone knows.” She touched her belly, stroking it. “She likes this name better. I can feel it. She’s Lucy Brooke, and she’s ready to be here. She won’t be a princess in this world, but she will move mountains.”
Lucy took a long breath and Brooke watched her calm herself, settling herself to take on the herculean task in front of her with grace and competence. “She is definitely ready. She’s crowning. All right. Brooke, make sure no one gets in. Let’s have a baby.”
Brooke gave Nell’s hand one last squeeze. “I won’t let anyone get in.”
Nell clenched her teeth as another contraction hit.
“All right, let’s do this,” Noah said. “Lucy, I’ll walk you through it. Nell, it’s going to be okay.”
Brooke moved into position, staring at the barn door.
She was ready to defend her people.
She prayed Henry saved Shane and that Bay stayed far away.
Chapter Sixteen
Bay sat next to Max as his old but beautifully kept Ford rolled toward the ranch.
“See, I should have punched Nate or something.” Max’s head shook as they approached the drive that would take them to the big house. “I could be having jailhouse sex right now.”
Nate had told Gemma that it was time to take a break the minute Rachel showed up and started yelling at her husband. Apparently she’d been having a lovely day when she’d been told her husband was in jail.
“Uh, she seemed real upset,” Bay pointed out. Rather like Brooke, who was having none of him when it came to jailhouse sex. That could be fun. He and Shane could pretend like they were prisoners and she was the prize in some kind of wicked game. He could come up with some fun scenarios.