Short Rides (Rough Riders #14.5)(39)

He kissed her forehead. “Yes. I got here as soon as I could.”


“I thought maybe you’d changed your mind.”


“About what? Being in the delivery room with you?”


“No. About us havin’ a baby.”


What the hell? “It’s a little late to worry about that now, don’t you think?”


“No. I can’t believe...” She sat up and started to cry. Blubbering so he couldn’t understand anything she said.


Then she flopped back into the mattress. Tears flowed down her face and she cried quietly. She wouldn’t even look at him.


Fuck. He could handle anything but her tears. He handed her a wad of tissues but she just balled them in her fist and didn’t attempt to mop up the waterworks.


Jack stood by the side of her bed, hands in his pockets, absolutely at a loss. He’d never seen Keely listless and weepy. Might make him masochistic, but he wished she’d take a swing at him. Or yell at him. Hell, he’d even be happy if she threw the pitcher of water at his head. “Buttercup. What can I do?”


“Take me home,” she whispered. “I don’t wanna be here.”


“As soon as we have this baby and everyone is all right, I promise I’ll take you home.”


Keely shook her head. “Can’t we just go home and we’ll come back and try again tomorrow? The baby isn’t supposed to be here for two more weeks. I’m not ready.”


“We’ve got a few hours to get ready.”


“I can’t do this.”


She really was in shock. He’d never seen that before. “You can. You have to.”


“You can’t make me.” She sniffled. “And if you’re gonna be like this then I want you out of my room.”


“Like hell.”


Keely tried to turn away from him and tune him out.


Jack hated to poke the bear, but pissing her off was the fastest way to snap her out of it. He got right in her face. “So how’d you end up breaking your water?”


She blinked at him. “What?”


“I’ve been gone for a week. What did you do during that time? Were you tearing around on the ATV or out joyriding your horse, trying to get this baby here faster?”


“No!”


“How’d it happen?”


“I was just sitting on the bed and it felt like I kept peeing my pants. Then it just gushed out—”


“So you just...what? Grabbed your keys, left the house barefoot, in your pajamas, without your damn cell phone—again—and just drove yourself to the hospital? Why didn’t you at least call your mom? Or AJ? Or one of the two thousand other McKays who always seem to be underfoot—except when you need them.”


“I don’t know why...” More tears flooded her eyes. “I just wanted you. I wasn’t thinking straight.”


“Damn right you weren’t. When did you intend to call me? Right, how could you have called me without your cell phone? I swear I’m tethering that thing to your wrist from here on out.”


A spark of defiance flashed in her eyes. “Try it.”


“I live for a challenge. Maybe I’ll take your car keys away too, so you’ll have to call someone when you need help because you won’t be able to go anywhere by yourself.”


“You wouldn’t dare.”


“I’d do it in a f*cking heartbeat. Sometimes your independent streak drives me insane.”


That got her back up.


Good. He kept hammering at her. “This is our first baby. I know you’re freaked out. I am too. Childbirth has come a long way, but there are still dangers—”


“For your information, buster, women have been havin’ babies all over the place since the beginning of time. I don’t need you to goddamn lecture me on what it takes to have a baby since I’m the one pregnant! You cannot just show up here and take over like you know what’s goin’ on when you—”


“So I’m just supposed to stand by and watch you fall to pieces? The baby is coming, whether you’re ready or not, whether or not you like it. So suck it up and deal with it.”


“Why are you bein’ such an *?”


“Me?” he asked innocently. “I’m never an * to you.”


She snorted. “That’ll be the day. But you have been less assholish the last few weeks. In fact, you’ve been downright mushy gushy with me lately…” Her eyes narrowed. “Hey. That was a trick, Mr. Know-it-all, storming in here, saying all that bullshit so I’d get mad.”


“Listening to you rant is a damn sight better than watching you cry.”


Her bottom lip quivered but she firmed it. “I hate you.”


“No, buttercup, you love me.”


“So? I still wanna punch your smarmy face, jerkwad.”


“I know.” Jack watched her settle and inhale a deep breath. He fought a grin seeing her hand was still balled into a fist. “But can we get back to the business at hand first?”