Spring in the Border Lands [Men of the Border Lands 16] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  Chapter Eight

  Benton looked down at the water on the floor then back up at his woman. Fear conquered the urge to pull her into his arms. He didn’t want to squeeze anything else out of her, but he desperately wanted to hold her.

  “The baby’s coming!” Travis yelled. “We need to get her to the table. I need to get the towels and the pan.”

  “Wait, guys,” Gail called out in a weak voice.

  “You go get everything ready,” Benton began. “I’ll hold her until you’re ready.”

  Travis ran off toward the kitchen then returned to race upstairs as if he couldn’t figure out where he was supposed to go. Gail shook her head and looked up at Benton. He smiled down at her but figured the smile wasn’t all it should have been.

  “You’re going to be just fine, hon. We’re getting everything ready for the baby now. We’ve talked about it and figured out what needs to be done. You’ll see. We’ve got everything planned.”

  “Don’t you think you should have talked to me about it? I can’t believe we didn’t all sit down and plan this.” Gail’s voice had begun to get shrill.

  Benton tried to calm her down by rubbing her back for her. She didn’t seem to notice. Instead she paced faster with him, stumbling in an effort to keep up while making sure she didn’t fall. The wolves stayed out from under their feet, but they were pacing right beside her. The damn things knew what was going on. He was sure of it.

  “Got the padding,” Travis said as he raced past them once more.

  “He’s going to kill himself if he doesn’t slow down,” Gail muttered.

  “Travis is just as excited as I am, but we’re worried about you. Usually the baby is close when your water breaks. At least the books say so. Do you feel any pressure like you need to push?” Benton asked her.

  She turned narrowed eyes at him. “The only thing I want to push right now is you. Down those damn stairs.”

  Benton winced. Yep, she had to be getting close. She was getting to the dangerous phase for men. The part where she cursed them and threatened bodily harm. They needed to get her on the table and in position soon.

  “What in the hell is Travis doing to the kitchen table?” Gail demanded.

  “He’s getting it ready for you, hon. We wanted to pad it for you so it wouldn’t be too hard on your back.”

  “Why can’t I get in the bed?” she demanded.

  “The books say that having a baby in bed can be hard without something firm underneath you.” Benton nearly took a step back at the look on her face.

  “I’m not climbing up on the fucking table that we eat on. No way, no how,” she yelled at him.

  “But, honey…”

  “Don’t ‘honey’ me. Take me upstairs. Get some of that plastic sheeting we got from the store and put it on the foot of the bed.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you planned to make me give birth on the freaking kitchen table. What if you let the baby slip out of your hands? He would have hit the hard kitchen floor. That is not happening.”

  Benton panicked. She was getting more and more angry by the second. He called for Travis.

  “Change of plans. Go out to the shed and get that roll of plastic sheeting. Carry it upstairs and tear off a piece to put over the foot of the bed and the floor. Then carry everything from down here to up there.”

  “What about the table?” he asked.

  “Don’t ever say that again,” Gail yelled.

  Travis jerked his eyes from her to Benton. He shook his head at the other man. Travis needed to get on board with the new plans before Gail hit him over the head with something.

  “Ow. Oh, oh. Damn this hurts.” She grabbed both of Benton’s hands, and squeezed them hard enough he winced, trying not to make a sound.

  “Try to breathe through it, hon. With me.” He tried to show her the panting he’d been practicing ever since he’d read over the baby book for the fifth time.

  The book, fuck.

  They needed to carry the book upstairs with them. He’d tell Travis to get it once he’d finished carrying everything to their bedroom. Until then, he walked with Gail until she was too tired to walk but didn’t want to sit on the recliner. He grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over the sofa cushion so she could sit without staining the material. They’d clean up the floor later.

  “I got the plastic and the basin. I’ll come back down for the towels next,” Travis called out as he raced past them.

  Benton rubbed Gail’s low back then her belly as Travis raced back and forth until he had everything situated upstairs. At least Benton hoped he had it set up right. For all he knew, the other man had just dropped everything on the floor and hadn’t even covered the bed with the plastic. Travis was just as nervous and worried as he. He had to relax so that Gail would. They both needed to.

  He looked over at the wolves and how they were sitting around, but weren’t pacing as if they were just as worried. Though he’d been against keeping them then once they’d grown and proved themselves to be protective of Gail, he’d been reluctant but accepting, Benton couldn’t help but approve of the way they’d stood by her and kept her company when he and Travis were out working. He had to admit that it had kept him from worrying nearly as much as he would have otherwise.

  Now, as he and Travis helped Gail off the couch, they stood, as well, ready for whatever they were going to do next. He wasn’t sure about having them in the bedroom during the birthing. He was afraid the blood would arouse some sort of feral instinct in them to attack.

  They helped Gail upstairs, having to pause midway while she fought through yet another contraction. They were coming every six to seven minutes now. It was time to get her on that bed.

  “How are you doing?” Travis asked as they reached the landing.

  “I’m hurting. How do you think I’m doing?” she bit out at the other man.

  “I’m sorry, babe. I’m so sorry you’re hurting.”

  “I know. I know. I can’t help but yell at you guys. This hurts more than I thought it would, and this isn’t even the worst of it.” Gail huffed out a breath before they walked with her into the master bedroom.

  To Benton’s relief, Travis had more than handled getting everything ready. Plastic sheeting covered the bed with several towels underneath and one towel on top of the plastic to make it more comfortable for Gail. The plastic extended down for about four feet across the floor where the edges all had towels to absorb anything that spilled over. There were towels where whichever of them finally decided to kneel there to catch the baby to help their knees.

  Sitting at the foot of the bed to one side was the little baby bed already decked out with towels so they could clean the baby up. The baby book was farther up on the bed where the other of them would be kneeling to coach Gail through the labor. He wasn’t sure who would do what now. He wasn’t sure what would be the more stressful position.

  “Here you go, babe. Let’s get you comfortable.” Travis held out his hand to Gail.

  Benton helped her climb up on the bed and roll over until she was in the center of the plastic sheet with her legs hanging off the bed. He unfastened her pants and, with Travis’s help, slid them down her body to pull them off once they had her shoes off, as well. Then Travis pulled her shirt off and draped a soft blanket over her chest. The book had mentioned that the mother wouldn’t want many clothes on because she’d get hot and sweaty and would feel restricted.

  “Let’s scoot you back some for now,” Benton told her.

  Travis got behind her and pulled as Benton helped him slide her farther back on the bed so that her legs weren’t hanging off it. Then he looked at the other man and realized he’d been designated as the doctor as far as positions went.

  Fuck.

  “Gail, bend your legs and spread them apart so I can check to see if the baby is crowning or not.”

  “What? Crowning?”

  “If the baby’s head is showing or not, hon. Bend your legs and let’s see w
here you are.”

  “Do you have any idea of what you’re looking for?” she demanded after spreading her legs.

  “Travis and I’ve both studied the book several times, honey. You’re going to be fine.”

  He bent over and spread her slightly but didn’t see anything. He knew that he should use his fingers to check her cervix, but wasn’t sure he’d know what he was feeling. He decided that the best thing to do was to wait until she had another contraction then see if he could tell anything with her bearing down.

  “I’m going to wash my hands. I’ll be right back. Then I’ll check to see if you’re dilated any,” he said.

  Travis nodded at him as he held one of Gail’s hands in his. The other man would do his best to help her through the labor. Benton just prayed there were no complications since he didn’t know the first thing about what to do if something outside of the book happened.

  Once he’d scrubbed his hands, Benton returned to kneel between her legs and lean in toward her spread legs. As many times as he’d been down there, this was so different. He almost felt like a voyeur, someone who shouldn’t be staring between her legs like he was. It was ludicrous, but he couldn’t help feeling that way.

  “Let me know when you start to feel a contraction coming on, hon. I’m going to check you while you’re pressing down.”

  Gail didn’t say anything. She was leaning back into Travis’s lap as he held both of her hands in his. Her eyes were closed as she seemed to rest between the pain. It didn’t last long.

  “Here it comes,” she managed to get out before groaning and clenching her teeth.

  Travis urged her to breathe as she squeezed her eyes shut. Benton entered her with two fingers and felt around, trying to figure out what he was feeling. He couldn’t tell anything at all, so he withdrew and wiped his slightly blood-tinged fingers on a bath towel to clean them.

  “What did you figure out?” she demanded once the pain had passed.”

  “I can’t feel the head, so you’ve still got a while before the birth. Let’s make you as comfortable as possible in between contractions,” he said.

  “Comfortable? Are you freaking kidding me?”

  * * * *

  Gail fought the urge to curse as the contractions grew closer together. So far, the pain hadn’t gotten any worse, just more frequent. It was wearing her down. She had a difficult time following the men’s directions to pant and breathe through the pain. They needed to have the kind of pain she was having and try to breathe through it. Maybe then they’d understand.

  She was so tired. She dozed between episodes only to come wide awake in an instant when one hit. Finally, after what seemed like days, Benton announced that he could feel the baby’s head.

  “You’re nearly there, babe,” Travis told her.

  He’d changed positions so that his legs stretched straight out on either side of her body as she leaned back against his front. He never let go of her hands unless she pulled them away to dig into the bedding with her nails. Then he’d wipe her brow with a wet cloth. At some point, he’d pinned her hair up to get it off her back. It felt so much better without the wet strands sticking to the back of her neck.

  “Move her down toward me a little, Travis. I want to be closer when the baby comes.” Benton slid his hands beneath Gail’s ass and pulled when Travis pushed. She moved about a foot before they stopped.

  “How’s that?” Travis asked.

  “Much better. I don’t want her to hang off the edge so the baby will be safe when he comes out. I just need to be a little closer.” Benton patted Gail’s thighs. “You’re doing great, honey. Just a little longer.”

  A little longer stretched into an hour. She was ready to quit now. She didn’t want to do this anymore. She was so very tired.

  The next contraction hit her, and she cried out. “I can’t stand this. Make it stop, Benton. Make it stop.”

  “I’ve got you, babe. Squeeze my hands and breathe.” Travis rubbed his face against Gail’s.

  “The head’s moving, hon. Push for me.” Benton’s voice seemed to come from a thousand miles away.

  She pushed. Her body didn’t seem to have the energy, but she did her best. She pushed until the contraction seeped away.

  “The head is right there, honey. Just push once more, and I bet it will pop right through.”

  “You push. I can’t do it anymore. I’m too tired, Benton. I’m just done.”

  The next contraction followed fast on the heels of the last. She all but sat up as pain burned around her middle. She groaned then bellowed out as she clamped down around her belly.

  “Just like that, hon. Come on, Gail. Push hard. The head is just about through. That’s right. I can see his face now. You got it!”

  Where were they, a damn ball field? She gasped and panted as she tried to catch her breath again. That pain had been far worse. She felt as if she had a basketball between her legs now that had come out of her.

  “Oh, God. I can’t do that again.” Gail squeezed her eyes shut as the next pain hit her.

  “He’s moving again. Push hard, Gail. Give him to me. Just a little more. Come on, hon. You can do it.” Benton’s urging voice barely reached her ears as the ringing in them out sang his words.

  “I’ve got him. I’ve got him, Gail.”

  She coughed as she struggled to take a clear breath. Her body burned down there, and her belly ached like a son of a bitch. She closed her eyes and sank back for a second until she heard her baby cry. Gail’s eyes snapped open.

  “Is he okay? Let me see him. I need him, Benton. Give him to me.” She reached forward with her arms but couldn’t make herself sit up. Her abdomen was just too tired to obey.

  “It’s a girl, Gail. You gave us a perfect little girl. Hold on. I’m cleaning out her nose and mouth so she can breathe properly.” Benton’s voice sounded shaky.

  Then he was laying her wet baby girl on her belly between her breasts as he rubbed a towel over her to clean her up.

  “Look at what you did, babe. She’s beautiful, Gail.” Travis’s voice was just as shaky as Benton’s had been.

  “Look at her little fingers. They’re so tiny,” Gail said as the baby’s hand curled around her pinky.

  “She has all ten of her fingers and toes,” Benton said. “I counted.”

  “I can’t believe she’s finally here. What time was she born?” Gail asked.

  “It was around two thirty in the morning, babe. I looked at my watch about the time Benton caught her.” Travis looked over at the other man. “What about the cord. Did you clip it yet?”

  “No. I just clamped it. I wanted to wait until I was sure the clamp was on right. I’ve got some twine in case we need to tie it off.”

  Gail cooed at her baby. The little girl was fussy, but not crying. She ignored whatever Benton was doing between her legs. She didn’t want to think about it. All she cared about was her baby.

  “So, did you choose between the names we agreed on?” Travis asked her.

  “Grace. She’s amazing Grace to me,” she said.

  “Perfect,” Benton and Travis said at the same time.

  “Let me finish cleaning her up, then you need to feed her, honey.” Benton reached for her little angel, and Gail reluctantly released the child into his arms.

  “We made a beautiful baby together,” Travis said.

  “Yes, we did. All three of us.”

  Chapter Nine

  Gail sighed as she felt one of the men lay Grace over her chest and helped her sit up so that the baby could feed. She leaned against one while the other one rubbed her already distended nipple over her baby’s mouth. The little tiger grabbed hold of it and began to suck as if she hadn’t eaten just four hours earlier.

  “Go on back to sleep, babe. We’ve got this,” Travis said.

  “I’ll be glad when she sleeps through the night,” Gail said with a mouth-stretching yawn.

  “Won’t be long, hon. We’ll all be happy when that happens,” he said
with a chuckle.

  “I’m sorry you guys keep getting up with her.”

  “Don’t be. Sometimes it’s just one of us, but we both woke up this time. We usually take turns, but it’s just about time for us to get up anyway,” Travis told her. “I’m going to go start the coffee then fix you something to eat before I go out to work in the garden.”

  “Let the wolves in for a second before you let them outside. I want to make sure they get used to Grace so they’ll protect her like they protect me.”

  “I’ll let them in for a few seconds. I don’t want them to hurt you by accident,” Travis told her.

  “They won’t. I think they’re still pouting because you didn’t let them in when I had her.”

  “I wasn’t about to have four wolves in here while you gave birth,” Benton said for the fifth time.

  “I know, I know. Still.” Gail still hadn’t opened her eyes. She was still sleepy.

  She heard the door open then the sound of nails on the floor near the bed. She felt the bed move as the wolves all propped themselves on the edges of the bed to sniff and whine at her and baby Grace. She opened her eyes a bit reluctantly but wanted to see her little wolves. They were all grown up now.

  “Their tails are wagging like they’ll fly right off. I think they’re just as proud as we are, Benton,” Travis said.

  “I doubt that. I’m so proud my chest hurts,” the other man said.

  “Yeah, me, too.” Travis whistled for the wolves to follow him.

  They jumped down as if reluctant to leave, but followed Travis out before he shut the door behind him. Gail looked over at Benton, who was stroking one finger down their baby’s back.

  “She’s so sweet. She only cries a little bit to get our attention, then she quiets the second we touch her,” Benton said.

  “I know. We’re so lucky to have such an easy baby. There’ll be plenty of times when she’ll scream her head off like if she gets colic or something. I’m just going to enjoy this for as long as it lasts,” she said.