MacKenzie knew Aviva wouldn’t be able to bear both their weight against the strength of the wind. Bracing herself, she did her best to support her own weight as another contraction decided that was the exact moment to make itself known.
As pain shot through her, MacKenzie winced in awareness; this was the worst one yet. All her thoughts deviated from her smaller friend and honed in on the pain shooting through her as her stomach tightened. Aware she was about to cause Aviva, herself and possibly her baby harm, MacKenzie attempted to focus her mind in order to protect them all.
One moment she was bracing herself, and the next she became aware that the warmth of Aviva’s body had been removed. In its place was a larger frame that held her safe. One hand gently supporting her while the other pushed against the door that had caused so many problems. In an instant, the power of the wind was eradicated.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
Still overwhelmed and in the throes of her latest contraction, MacKenzie was unable to respond. Sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she maintained eye contact with Jake and blew through her nose in short sharp breaths.
Seeming to instinctively know what she was going through, Jake held onto her, his gaze unwavering, lending her strength as she rode her pain.
Gradually her discomfort retreated. Relieved the contraction was at an end, she lowered her eyes. Somehow this man always seemed to be around when she was at her lowest ebb. MacKenzie didn’t like that Jake was the one to support her, his silent empathy showed him in a light she had never seen before. As the thought passed through her mind, MacKenzie knew she was lying to herself. A more honest thought was that she had deliberately refused to acknowledge Jake for the man he was.
Following directly behind that thought, and totally unrelated was the realization that her baby was coming. She was actually going to have a baby. Terror seized her, even as she accepted that it was way too late to back out of giving birth.
Gripping both Jake’s arms, MacKenzie shook him, her eyes reflecting her anxiety. “I’m going to have a baby!”
“Yes, I know,” was Jake’s simple reply.
“It’s snowing!”
“Umm... yes, it is.” Jake agreed, uncertainty the predominant expression on his face.
“You have to get me out of here. I have to get out, now!” MacKenzie shouted in his face as she continued to shake him.
“Kenzie, honey, please try to calm down,” Aviva spoke in a placating voice as she broke away from Jason, who had come to her rescue.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, you calm down. Don’t you people get it, I’m going to have a baby, and this house is holding me captive!”
Giving Jake a shove for good measure, MacKenzie grew even more annoyed when the big lump didn’t even budge at her assault.
“MacKenzie, Aviva’s right, you need to try to–”
“I don’t want to hear it, Jacob! The only thing I want to hear from you is how you’re going to get me out of this hostage house, and to the hospital.”
“MacKenzie, there’s a blizzard going on outside. There is no way to get you to the hospital.”
“Are you an obstetrician, Jacob? What about you, Jason, hmm... I’m not even going to ask you, Miss Aviva because I know for damn sure you don’t know shit about delivering babies.”
“You’re right; I’m not an obstetrician, and I also can’t control the elements. That said, we’re going to have to deal with this situation the best way we can.”
“We, what we? I’m the one who has to deal with this. This is only the beginning, and it already hurts like hell! Did someone at least try to call for an ambulance?”
“Yes, I did when I first noticed you were in pain,” was Jake’s response. “There’s nothing going on in that department at the moment.”
“I need to get out, please get me out of here. Jake, do something about this storm, make it stop!” MacKenzie said, bursting into tears.
“What is going on out here?” Jackson demanded as he emerged from the sitting room.
It fell on Jason, who was finding the whole situation more than a little surreal, to satisfy his father’s curiosity. “It would seem MacKenzie has just realized that she is going to have a baby.” At Jackson’s raised eyebrow, Jason continued. “Yeah, I know, I thought the same thing. She also believes the house is holding her captive, and that Jake should stop the storm so she can get to the hospital. I think that about sums it up.”
Shaking his head, Jackson muttered under his breath, “I see it’s going to be a long night.” Squaring his broad shoulders, he made steady progress towards Jake and MacKenzie.
“MacKenzie?” Jackson called.
“What?!” Her shriek was so loud it even startled her. When she realized who had called her name, MacKenzie was mortified. She had just snapped at the distinguished gentleman whose manners always reminded her of how royalty would behave. He always seemed so in control and well... polite.
“Sorry, Mr. Kingdom,” MacKenzie said, her tone of voice markedly changed. It was all she could do to stop herself from dropping a curtsy to add weight to her apology.