Maggie looked at him thoughtfully. “Michael told me once that something just clicked inside him when we met. That everything changed. Maybe that’s what’s happening to you, too.”
“Maybe, I don’t know. I can’t explain it, Mags. One second, everything was fine, life as usual. The next – hell, it was like a grenade went off. No, make that three grenades. One in my head, one in my chest, and one in my pants.”
“And what about her? Does she feel the same way about you, do you think?”
That’s what he loved about Maggie. No smart-assed comments, no words of doom or salvation. Just acceptance and genuine interest. He couldn’t conceive of talking to anyone else about this. His brother, Michael, was a smart – and very fortunate – man to have her.
He thought about it as he chewed a few more cookies, washing them down with a healthy swig of milk. Ah, whole milk. He knew she kept it around just for him and his brothers; she only drank soy herself. Maggie was the best.
He filled her in on the little bit he knew, leaving out the explicit details, but it was enough that she got the idea. Maggie blew out a breath and seemed to relax a little, looking at her watch. “Sounds like the real thing to me, Sean,” she said, sounding slightly winded again. “You owe it to yourself to at least find out.”
He nodded. “Except I think she despises me.” He probably shouldn’t have grinned when he said it, but damn, he liked the fire in her eyes and the way she challenged him. Nicki Milligan was definitely a woman who would keep him on his toes.
“There is a very fine line between love and hate, Sean. If I had to guess I’d say she’s probably scared stiff.”
“Yeah?” Fear was definitely not the first thing that jumped into his mind. Lust, maybe. Anger, probably. Defiance, absolutely.
“Yeah. I felt exactly like that around Michael when I first met him. Still do sometimes. When it hits you, it hits hard, and ... ” she paused briefly “... you just don’t even know if you can handle it.” She clenched her teeth and sucked in a breath.
“Mags?”
Sean reached out to her and she latched on to his hand as if it was a lifeline. His eyes widened as the realization hit him. “Oh, fuck, you’re in labor, aren’t you?”
She nodded, breathing through the pain.
“Maggie, we gotta call Mick.”
She shook her head vehemently. “First one... takes... forever. Rather be... here ... as long as... I can. Hate... hospitals...”
“Sorry, Mags. I love you, but...” Sean whipped out his mobile and hit the speed dial. “Mick, yeah, Sean. Listen... Yeah, I think so... Hang on...” He looked at Maggie. “Did your water break?” She nodded. “Yeah.” “When?” Maggie looked at the clock. “T-T-Ten... “
“Ten minutes ago?” She shook her head.
“Ten of eight...” she blew out.
The clock read nine-fifteen. “Holy shit, Mags! Mick, she says her water broke over an hour ago.” Sean was forced to hold the phone away from his ear; even Maggie could hear her husband cursing a blue streak. “Yeah... About two to three minutes, I think,” Sean said, his eyes sharp and accusing. “Uh-huh... got it.”
Sean pocketed the cell. “Oh, Mags, he is so going to paddle your ass for this one.”
She nearly collapsed in relief as the pain ebbed away and smiled weakly. “That’s what got me into this mess in the first place.”
Despite himself and the worry he felt for her, he smiled. “Come on, Mick’s waiting for us at the hospital.”
“I thought you were the nice one,” she complained in a breathless whoosh as he helped her to her feet. “I gave you cookies.”
Maggie struggled to walk on her own, but the next pain had her nearly doubled over. Sean slung her bag over his shoulder and scooped her up easily into his arms. “Sorry, babe. Common mistake – Shane’s the nice one, and I’m under strict orders here. Hey, you’ve got one hell of a grip, you know that?”
He got her settled into the car as quickly as possible, then took off like a bat out of hell.
“Have you thought about asking her to work at the garage?” Maggie said in between dog-like panting breaths as Sean drove expertly down the mountain roads at speeds that probably shouldn’t be attempted below ten thousand feet. He glanced over to see her gripping the dash with one hand and the door with the other.
It took him a while to realize what she was talking about. “Nicki? Yeah, I was thinking about it, even brought it up as a possibility to Nick, see what he’d think. If she’s really as good as Nick says, I’d be stupid not to. But I don’t know, there’s a lot of testosterone in the garage. I might have to kill one or more of my guys. And I really don’t know if it’s a good idea to work with someone I’d like to get involved with.”
“Yeah.... Could be a problem. Sean?”
“Yeah, Mags?”
“Hurry.”