The breath whooshed out of him and all he could do was stare up at the guy.
Joe cleared his throat. “When a family’s waiting to hear about a loved one, maybe you shouldn’t open with ‘I’m sorry.’”
The doctor looked startled. “Of course. My apologies.”
“My name is Kevin. Kevin Kowalski. How’s Beth?”
“Stable. No serious injuries, thankfully. Bumps, bruises, some lacerations from the glass.”
He crumpled into his mom’s embrace, unshed tears of relief blurring his vision. “And the baby?”
“Vital signs are stable. As sometimes happens, the trauma kick-started the labor process, though, and since the baby’s full term, we’re going to let it progress naturally. Once the baby’s delivered we can give Beth some pain meds. Are you the father? Her labor partner?”
Holy shit. “What?”
“Yes, he is,” Mary said.
“You need to come with me, then. You’re about to become a daddy.”
The world swam for a few seconds and then went dark.
Chapter Nineteen
Kevin came to on the waiting room floor with his head in his mother’s lap. She shouldn’t have been sitting on the cold, dirty tile floor like that, so he struggled to push himself up.
Mike grabbed his arm to help. “Take your time, Scarlett.”
“Screw you, Mikey.”
“Hey, it’s not every day I get to see one of my brothers swoon.”
“Swooning implies some kind of feminine grace,” Joe said. “That was more like watching a cement truck blow a hairpin turn and fly off the side of a mountain.”
“Assholes.”
“Boys,” Mary snapped. “Enough.”
The doctor cleared his throat. “This isn’t uncommon for new fathers, especially considering the circumstances. We’ll get you some orange juice and you’ll be good as new.”
He felt about as good as a newborn foal, trying to stand on wobbly legs. “I’m good. I just want to see Beth.”
“You just sit here,” the doctor said. “We’ll get her moved upstairs and in a few minutes the nurse will bring you up.”
“I’m having a baby.” Kevin sat down and leaned his head back against the wall. “Holy shit.”
“Okay,” Mary said in her mom voice. “You’re all going to go to Beth’s. Kevin, does she have a bag packed?”
“I…don’t know. The spare keys are kept in the safe in my office. Paulie’ll give you the one to Beth’s apartment.”
“Theresa, Lisa and Keri, you look for a bag and if you don’t find one, pack one up. Michael and Joseph, you’ll bring the bag and Kevin’s Jeep back here while the girls make sure the apartment’s ready for a new mother to come home to. Your father and I will stay here.”
“It could be a while, Ma.”
“I do know something about childbirth, dear. But if you need a break or you…go crashing through the guardrail again, I want to be here so Beth isn’t alone.” Kevin squeezed his mother’s hand, willing to ignore the shot at his manhood because she cared that Beth had family with her. “After the baby’s born I’ll make some casseroles to divide up and freeze. But for now, that’s all we can do. I’ll call you others if there’s any news.”
Everybody but his parents filed out of the waiting room just as a nurse appeared with a cup of orange juice and a couple of cookies. He consumed them under his mother’s watchful eye and then the nurse brought them upstairs. After much hugging and a few maternal tears, he left his parents in the waiting room and—finally—got to see Beth.
She looked small and pale and scared in the middle of the bed, with scratches and some bruises on her face and arms. But she was awake and okay and she even smiled when she saw him in the doorway.
“Kevin. You’re here.”
“Of course I’m here.” He dragged a chair close to the bed so he could sit and hold her hand. “I’ve been here. Jonesy came and got me in the cruiser and my whole family showed up and I passed out so I had to have orange juice and cookies before I could come up. But I’m here now.”
“A ride in a police car and a snack. Sounds like a fun field trip.”
He laughed, but only for a second because she sucked in a breath as her grip on his tightened so much he thought he felt his bones grinding. “Breathe, honey. It’ll only last a few seconds.”
The longest few seconds of his life, but he knew it was only going to get worse. So very much worse.
When the contraction ended, she had tears in her eyes. “I didn’t even get the sheets on the baby’s crib yet. I didn’t want them to get dusty.”
“You don’t need to worry about that right now.”
She gave him a weak smile. “Don’t tell me. Your entire family left here and went to my apartment.”