Chapter 15: Chapter 15

“Throw them big ole things on up here, Sweet Girl.”

A whiny whimper came from Imara’s lips as she rested her feet on Sofia’s lap. “I’m enormous. My feet are so swollen. Well, I think they are; I haven’t seen them for months.”

The chunky redhead kneaded deep into the arch of her foot, making Imara roll her eyes up to the ceiling and moan like it was her wedding night. “It won’t be much longer, Imara. That moon was awfully bright in the sky last night; it should be any day now. So, have you picked out a name yet?”

As the cook’s calloused hands scratched her foot, the witch threw her hand to her chest, and the other slapped Sofia’s arm. “Listen to how precious this is. If it’s a girl, we’re calling her Eliza Mae, and if it’s a boy, we’re calling him Jason Dean.”

Her eyes closed as Sofia shook her head at the cuteness. “Oh, those are good names. You know, I crocheted a little bunny rabbit for the baby. It’s got giant floppy ears and a button for its nose, and a silk ribbon around its neck. Don’t forget to take it home with you this evening.”

A drunken smile crossed the pregnant woman’s puffy face as she enjoyed the last few moments of pampering. “Thank you, Sofia.”

With his arm resting along the sofa, Shaw leaned back to look at the clock as his hand patted out a rhythm on the wooden frame. “You about ready, Sweet Girl?”

“Sure, but you’re going to have to help me up.” After Sofia slid her shoe back on, Shaw grabbed Imara’s hands and pulled while Sofia placed her hand on her back and pushed.

On their way out the door, he threaded his arm through the handle of the basket of food on the table, then wrapped his arm around Imara. With the bunny tucked in her arms that crossed her chest, she looked up to Shaw. “Thank you for doing this every night.”

He climbed in the buggy and gave her his hand to pull her up. “No hardship at all.”

After he cracked the reins and the horse trotted down the lane, Shaw blew up into his eyes to dry them and cleared his throat. “I’m going to miss having you around all the time once that baby of yours gets here.”

His ripped arm wasn’t much of a pillow, but she rested her head against it. “I’m going to miss you too.”

Looking out across the cornfield at Ben’s farm, Shaw sighed, and his eyes scanned the landscape for some unknown danger. No one expected Imara to make it this far, and now that it was getting so close to the end, everyone was on edge.

The buggy turned down the lane, and Ben was waiting in front of the barn to meet it. After it stopped, he held her hand to help her down, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’ll be back soon, Baby. I just have to go drop off this load to the market.”

She poked her finger into his chest. “Well, I will be right here, waiting. I’m far too large to do much else.”

The wagon creaked under the weight of Shaw leaning over it as he pulled Sofia’s basket from the back while Ben drove off. The way she waddled, it didn’t take but a step or two to catch up to Imara, and he wrapped his fingers around hers to lead her inside the cottage. Once he helped her into a chair, he pulled some dishes off the shelf and set them on the table.

A cool puff of air blew from her pursed lips over Shaw’s arm as he set a glass of water in front of her. Her hand pressed into her back, and she whimpered just a little. “Dammit, I can’t wait for this to be over.”

He pulled his chair close before he sat in it and wagged his finger at Imara. “Watch your mouth.”

His hand rubbed tiny circles on her back, and her pouty face glanced over at him. “Everything hurts, I can’t breathe, and I can’t even see my feet.”

Shaw chuckled to himself and patted her back. “I’m pretty sure a Healer’s supposed to understand how babies are made, Imara. This was hardly a surprise.”

Just as he reached across the table to get her a chicken leg from the plate, Imara shrieked, and her fingernails dug into his forearm. “Oh, God. Shaw. Oh, go get Anna.”

His legs cracked like twigs as he dropped to his knees beside her. “What’s wrong?”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Imara held her breath while the first contraction tore through her back and around her belly. “Oh! I’m in labor, Shaw.”

“Come on, let’s go see Anna.” He took Imara’s hand, and as she tried to stand, another contraction tore through her back and wrapped her in its agony.

The shiver started in her teeth, and they clattered together while it spread throughout her body. She collapsed back in the chair and whimpered. The chair knocked against the floor as she pleaded with him between pants and tears. “It’s too late. Please, Shaw, go get her now.”

“I can’t leave you here all alone, Imara.” He was shaking as much as she was when he tried to wrap her arm around his neck. “Come on. I’ll carry you.”

Her wet forehead pressed against his, and she shook her head as she whispered to him. “You can’t save me, Shaw, but you have to save my baby. Go!”

Like a light switched on, Shaw nodded as he came to know that Imara understood everything and that she always had. He pressed his lips to her forehead, then as fast as a world-class sprinter, he was gone through the front door. “Anna! Help!”

***

The wolf inside him paced in his head, and his heart raced as Ben made the turn to his driveway. Imara’s little sniffles and whimpers in his ears became a stabbing pain, and he heard her screaming from the cottage. “Ben, help me!”

Before the horse even got to the barn, Ben leaped from the carriage. “Imara! I’m coming!” He froze in the doorway when he found her on the floor with Shaw huddled over her. The whispers in his head called out to him to notice, but he only heard his heartbeat until

Anna’s hand wrapped around his arm. His eyes rose to meet her, and her voice broke through the fog that surrounded him. “Ben, go wash your hands.”

***

Looking up at himself in the mirror of their tiny bathroom, Ben studied his face. He wondered if he looked any different now. Older or wiser? Because he certainly didn’t feel it. He was more afraid now than he’d ever been in his life.

Once he looked over his two most prized possessions sleeping soundly in his bed, he walked out to the kitchen and stretched his arms over his head. The half-open front door caught his attention, so he went to close it, but noticed Thorin standing on the porch.

He stepped outside, and Thorin nodded as he glanced over at him. “That girl of yours sure is a beauty.”

“She’s perfect.” Ben clicked his tongue as a smile rose under his cheeks and his face lit up. “Did you see her when she puckered her lips and smiled? Momma says babies don’t smile, but I know what I saw. My baby looked right in my eyes and smiled at me.”

Thorin grinned at Ben’s prideful boasting and kicked his foot against the rock at the edge of the porch. “I sure did see it. She’s going to be a real heartbreaker like her Momma.”

The weight of it all suddenly crushed him, and Ben pinched his nose between his eyes. His shoulders jerked under Thorin’s hand as he rubbed his back. “It’s alright.”

His back arched away as he took one deep breath, then he wiped his arm across his face. “I don’t know whether I should feel relieved or terrified.”

With his arms crossed, Thorin nodded and blinked away to the fields. “All we can do is stay vigilant and enjoy every day the Fates give us with them.”

He flipped back up to face Thorin and pushed his hands through his hair. “Do you think…”

“That the dangers over?” Thorin took a deep breath and shook his head from side to side. “No, I don’t reckon it is.” His eyes fell to the ground in front of him as the wind shifted and the grass bent the other way. “It’s always the anticipation that’s the worst.” He recalled sitting at the window with a shotgun, looking out into the darkness and wondering what was looking back at him. “Always having to be on guard, never knowing which direction to take.” Wiggling fingers tapped at his ear as his eyes moved back to Ben. “You always have that little voice telling you you’re missing something, but since we don’t know what or who is coming, there’s no way to prepare.”

His nose wrinkled as he sniffed his tears and wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. “I always wonder what kind of life Imara led in her past lives. Was there something she did to bring her this kind of punishment?” His lips pushed together as he shook his head. “I just can’t see it. My sister has the most beautiful heart. I don’t know; maybe my family’s cursed.” He slapped Ben’s shoulder before he stepped down onto the dirt path that led to the driveway. “Shaw and I will keep watch tonight. Get some sleep, Ben. Congratulations.”

After he closed the door behind him, Ben crept to the bedroom and leaned against the doorway. “On our wedding night, I told you that you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.” He shook his head and pointed at Imara. “I was wrong. This woman right here feeding my baby; she’s the most beautiful woman.” He carefully slipped down onto the bed beside her, then kissed her forehead.

Imara licked her hand and tried to tame the tall hair standing on Eliza’s head. “Oh, Ben, isn’t she just so beautiful? Look at all this dark hair.”

He pulled her hand off Eliza’s head and pressed it to his lips.

“Not even a year ago, I was just living my life, it was nothing special, and now I got you both.” Teary eyes batted up to her, and he bit his lip back. “I didn’t even know that I was missing out on anything, and I can’t…” He tapped his fist against the bed. “I don’t want to ever not have this again.”

Her fingertips fell down his chin, then lifted it to look at her. “No matter what happens, we’ll always come back to you.”