“Is something wrong?” Austin asked as he quickly stood up and brought his lips to mine. “Did I hurt you?”
It took me a moment before I could gather myself together. I didn’t want to burst into tears in front of him. I knew he wouldn’t mind, but I felt so silly. “You treat me so well, Austin. I guess I don’t really understand it, but it makes me incredibly happy.”
Austin put his hands on the sides of my head and held it there while he wiped my tears away with his thumbs. “You mean so much to me, Shane. I don’t know if you’ll ever understand how much. I’ve spent so much time avoiding becoming involved in a relationship. Avoiding meeting anyone who I might be attracted to, or fall in love with. I know part of me was scared. I didn’t want to risk anything that would make me feel again. But I think there was another part. A part that was waiting.”
“Waiting for what?” I asked.
“Waiting for you. You are everything I have ever wanted, and I’m honored that you’re here with me. That you allow me to be your master.”
It suddenly occurred to me that maybe the person I viewed as my master and my mentor might look up to me as much as I looked up to him. I was flooded with waves of wonderful, tingly emotion as Austin kissed me. But that wonderful sensation was interrupted by a sharp stabbing pain.
“Holy shit,” I said as I gripped my belly.
“Are you okay?” Austin asked, laying his hand over mine. “Is it the baby?”
“I think so,” I said with a gasp. Then another pain shot through me. “Yeah, I think we need to get to the hospital.”
We had my bag in the back of the car, so all we needed to do was get to the clinic. We could have chosen any hospital or birth clinic in Portville but I really wanted to have our baby in The Sunnyside Clinic. I knew the doctors that worked there, a lot of them are friends with my old next door neighbors, Hank and Jason, and I met them when my house mates and I were over for backyard parties and barbecues. It made me feel safe knowing that such wonderful, caring guys would be taking care of me and our baby.
But because Austin lived so far out of Portville it was going to take forty-five minutes to get there. He had all the quickest routes memorized once we got into Portville, but there was only one road we could take to get there. And we were both horrified to find as soon as we got onto that highway that a truck had overturned and had spilled some sort of chemical fertilizer across all four lanes, blocking traffic in both directions.
Austin got out of the car and ran up to a police officer who was turning cars back around. He talked to him for a few minutes, then came back to the car. “The whole highway is shut down, in both directions. They’re sending in a special cleanup team because the chemicals that were spilled are toxic. We can’t get through.”
“Did you tell them I’m about to have a baby?” I asked.
“I did. The cop said the only thing they can do is radio for an ambulance, but that they’d be coming from Portville, and since all traffic is being rerouted through the hills around Woodland Park it’s going to take them at least an hour to get here.”
“An hour?”
“That’s what the cop said. They’re sending everyone South to a road that cuts through the forest. Either way it’s going to be more than an hour to get to The Sunnyside Clinic.”
“There’s no way,” I said. “I don’t think I can make it that long. Isn’t there a hospital out here we could go to?”
“The closest town with a hospital is another hour and a half in the other direction, so pretty much the same amount of time,” Austin said as he gripped my hand. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Let me call Alex. He knows the cops that live next door. Maybe they know of another way.”
I called a couple times but Alex didn’t pick up, so I gave Holden a try. He was my last hope. It didn’t look like an ambulance would do any good even if by some miracle we could get one out here in the next ten minutes.
“Hey, Holden. You won’t believe this, but I’m in labor and we’re stuck on Highway 30.”
“That’s crazy. I was seriously just about to call you to see if you knew anything about that accident. It’s all over the news. You’re not gonna believe this, but Brent is in labor too and I need to get him over to The Sunnyside Clinic.”
“Brent? Is he your mate?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you all about it later. It’s been kind of a crazy year and I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about it. So, the whole highway is closed? There’s no way to get through to Portville at all?”
“There’s an alternate route the cops are sending people to. But they said it would probably take an hour and forty-five minutes with all of the traffic that’s headed that way now. There’s no way I can wait that long, and I don’t want to have my baby in a car. At this rate we might as well go back to the house. I don’t know what to do.”
“I have an idea. Can you guys get to Collins Park?”
“Collins Park? Yeah, that’s just a couple miles back. Why?”
“That’s where my boat is parked.”
Chapter 14
Austin
“We’re going to Collins Park? Why?”
“My friend Holden has a boat he uses to sell ice cream and snacks on the river in the summertime. He parks and at a dock near Collins Park.”
“A boat?” It was an option that hadn’t even occurred to me. There was a large river that split Portville down the center, and that river ran right alongside this highway. “Yeah, that might be our only option at this point.”
I made a u-turn and headed back toward the exit for Sophie’s Island, where Collins Park was located. “Did you say there was someone with him? A mate?”
“I guess so. That was the first I’d heard of it. I saw Holden a few months ago and he didn’t mention anything about a new mate. Especially one that was pregnant. But it sounds like he’s trying to figure out how to get to The Sunnyside Clinic as well.”
“You mean we’re all going to the same place?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Shane said, laughing even though he was clearly scared.
I couldn’t believe how brave he was, heading to some boat on the Willamina River that would hopefully get him to a clinic so he wouldn’t have to give birth on the side of the road. I was beside myself that I couldn’t do something, anything, to fix this situation—other than drive. So that’s what I was doing. Driving as fast as I could to get my omega to his clinic.
“Holden knows all the doctors at The Sunnyside Clinic too,” Shane continued. “We all got to know them pretty well last summer. They’re really cool guys. You’ll like them.”
I sped around the curve as we exited the highway, then across a bridge to Sophie’s Island. It was actually the first time I’d been there in years, not since I was with my former mate. It was strange seeing all of the familiar scenery and the farms where we use to buy produce just about every weekend.
“We went there one spring,” Shane said as he pointed at one of the farms on the side of the road.
“They have good strawberries.”
“You’ve been there?” Shane asked, turning to look at me.
“Yes. I know I haven’t spoken about my former mate much, but he loved to come out here and pick fruit in the spring and summer, and somehow he always convinced me to come with him.”
“Wow,” Shane said with a smile. “I’d like to see that someday. You in some sexy jeans and a T-shirt. Ooooh! And some black leather boots!”
I couldn’t help but smile at Shane’s excitement. And I was also happy to notice that he seemed more distracted. His contractions weren’t coming too close together yet, and I was starting to feel like we might make it.
“We’ll see,” was all I said in response, but I knew without a doubt Shane would be able to get me to do anything. All he ever had to do was ask and I would get the moon and stars for him. And I’d wear jeans and a t-shirt and black leather boots doing it.
As we pulled up to the docks just past Coll
ins Park I saw two men standing in front of a very small motorized boat. It wasn’t what I’d pictured at all while I drove here, and I wasn’t even sure it was very seaworthy. But thankfully we were only crossing the Willamina River. Plus, it was all we had, so it had to be good enough.
I got out of the car and grabbed Shane’s suitcase, then helped him out. As we approached his friend and his friend’s mate I could tell they were having a tense conversation. But before we got to the boat the pregnant omega scrambled on board by himself and disappeared from sight.
“Holden, this is Austin Dylan,” Shane said. I looked at Shane and could see sweat dripping down his face and panic in his eyes, but he was still the perfect polite young man.
“We don’t have time for that,” I said, taking Shane’s hand and helping him onto the boat. “We need to get to the clinic, now.”
“No kidding,” Shane’s friend Holden said from behind me. “Let me just untie us from the dock, and we’ll be off.”
“Do you need me to do anything?” I asked. I wasn’t particularly familiar with boats, but I was having a hard time keeping still. I was so anxious about getting Shane to the clinic and I was willing to do anything to make sure that happened as quickly as possible.
“Nah, I got it.” Holden jumped onto the boat and started the engine. It was clearly a very old boat and took a few tries to start, but finally he got it running. Then he grabbed some blankets from under one of the bench seats and handed them to us. “Anyone hungry?” he asked with a grin. “Just kidding. I don’t have any food stored on the snack boat over the winter. I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
I laughed in spite of myself. I liked this alpha. He seemed like a good guy, and he was clearly doing everything within his power to get his mate to the clinic. The funny thing was, his mate seemed to be hiding, as if he didn’t want us to see him. There was a small, covered area on the boat that looked like it might be where the food was stored when this snack boat was fully functioning, and Holden’s mate was curled up under there.
“Can you take the wheel for a sec?” Holden asked when he caught my eye. “It’s no biggie. Just aim for the Bankcorp Tower. See it straight ahead there? Make sure we don’t drift too far off course and we’ll be fine. I’ll be right back.”
“No problem.” I glanced over at Shane, who was curled up next to me with his blanket over the top of his head. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said with a weak smile. “Go be the captain. You’re gonna look really sexy driving this boat.”
I laughed and got up to take the wheel. The waves on the river were much bigger than I had anticipated. It must have been the time of year, or the fact that there were a couple large cargo vessels moving up and down the river that were creating waves. I had to grip the wheel hard in order to keep the boat steady. I suddenly had a lot more respect for Holden. It wasn’t anyone who could climb on a little boat like this and attempt to cross a big river in the middle of winter.
I watched as he disappeared under the little alcove and within minutes he emerged with his mate. “You’re going to be a lot more comfortable out here,” I heard him say. “Besides, this way I can keep my eye on you.”
I didn’t feel comfortable turning to look around while I had my hands on the wheel, but as soon as Holden took over again I glanced at his mate, who was now sitting on the bench seat right next to Shane, and I realized I knew him.
“I guess we never did do introductions,” Holden said. “Brent, this is Shane and … Austin? Was that it?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s right.” I turned and looked back at Brent and smiled. He clearly knew who I was too, and seemed very uncomfortable.
“Hey, Professor Dylan. How’s it going?”
“I’m doing very well, Brent, how are you? Other than the obvious, I suppose.”
“I’m fine. I’ll be better as soon as we get to the clinic.” He gave me a weak smile, then turned to Shane. “I guess we’re both in the same boat.”
“Figuratively and literally,” I said. “Where’s your father? Is he waiting for you at the clinic?”
“You two know each other?” Shane asked.
“Yes, I’m very good friends with Governor Evans. I’ve known Brent for most of his life.”
“My dad doesn’t know I’m pregnant,” Brent said, staring at his hands. “I’m sure if he knew he’d just be embarrassed, and I don’t want to do that to him.”
“I can’t imagine he would be embarrassed of you having a baby, Brent. He would want to be there for you.”
“You don’t know my dad as well as I do. He’s made it clear that he expects certain things of me, and this is definitely not one of them. Not yet, anyway.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I have known Jonathan for a number of years, but the relationship between a father and son is different from one between two old friends. I still feel that he would be very sad if he missed this day, though. He might take the news better from me. Would you mind if I gave him a call?”
“I’d love it if you did. I’ve been trying to talk Brent into telling his father for months, but he won’t listen to me,” Holden said.
Brent was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, but I could see he knew we were both right. “Maybe wait until we get inside the clinic. I don’t want any reporters or photographers to get there ahead of us and take pictures. I just want a normal life and I want my baby to have a normal birth. I’m so tired of being the governor’s son.”
I was beyond thrilled that Holden had taken the controls back when he did, because as we got closer to the East side of the river a large vessel passed by and caused enormous waves. Shane gripped my hand hard as the tiny boat heaved and rocked, making its way to a rickety old dock. I was sure this part of the river hadn’t been used to dock boats in years, but it was probably the best place for us to stop and get out.
As we approached I got on my phone and tried to book an Uber, but the app kept telling me there wasn’t anything available for over an hour. “What the hell is going on?” I said out loud to no one in particular. “Has Portville completely shut down today?”
“What’s going on?” Shane asked, looking over my shoulder at my phone.
“I can’t get an Uber for at least an hour. This is crazy!”
“Wait, isn’t today the day of the big Christmas parade?” Brent asked.
“Oh yeah,” Holden said as he inched the boat closer to the dock. He’d been trying the same thing for about five minutes but the waves kept pushing us in the wrong direction. I could see he was having a hard time maneuvering, but he seemed almost nonchalant about it, responding to Brent like they were sitting at a table and having an everyday conversation. “I use to love going to that when I was a kid.”
“Let me try Alex again,” Shane said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. I was so impressed by the way he was able to keep calm. If I had been in his shoes—in labor and on a teeny boat crossing the Willamina River in the middle of winter—I would probably be having a meltdown right about now.
“Wow, okay, it looks like Alex is on his way to the clinic too. With Brian and Nate. Jason is driving all of them, and he’s going to radio his partner, Hank, and see if he can get us a ride,” Shane said, shrugging his shoulders like he was in total disbelief. “All of us are going The Sunnyside Clinic at the same time? This is insane!”
“No kidding!” Holden said as he inched his way closer to the dock. We were all cold, but I was sure he was probably freezing, with his bare hands gripping the wheel and the wind whipping against his body.
“You didn’t tell him I was on the boat, did you?” Brent asked.
“Well, I didn’t tell him your name,” Shane said with a sheepish look on his face. “But I did tell him I was with the governor’s son because I thought, you know, cops and all that. They might respond quicker if they knew. Sorry, I really just want to get to the clinic.”
“That’s cool,” Brent said. “I know what you mea
n. I really want this baby out of me.”
“I hear ya.” Shane and Brent shared it looked between the two of them that made me realize I would never understand what it was like to give birth to my own child. That was another thing that amazed me about my omega. He was about to bring a human being into the world, and to me that was one of the most honorable things imaginable.
Holden finally managed to pull the boat alongside the dilapidated dock, and he immediately jumped out and tied it down. I was afraid the whole thing would collapse, but it held up fine under his weight. “Okay, are you two ready to climb out of there?”
Brent and Shane looked at each other again, like what Holden was asking was impossible. And I could understand why. There was an old wooden ladder that came down into the water on one end, but it didn’t look like it could hold the weight of a small dog, let alone a pregnant man.
“Don’t worry,” I said to Brent and Shane, “I’ll carry you both out of here if I have to.”
With Holden pulling from up on top of the dock, and me pushing with my back from underneath, we managed to get both Shane and Brent out of the boat just as a cop car pulled up to the road at the end of the dock.
“Hank!” Shane yelled. “Thank god!”
“Holy crap, you two really are about to pop! Jason radioed me but I thought he had to be exaggerating. Let’s get you two to the clinic.”
We all squeezed into the car, Brent up front with Hank, then Shane, Holden, and me in the back. Hank flipped on his lights and siren and got us to the clinic within minutes, and just as we pulled up we saw another cop car with two pregnant omegas and two alphas spilling out of the doors.
“There they are!” Shane yelled. “I can’t believe it!”
Chapter 15
Shane
I’d like to say everything went smoothly once we got to the clinic. I mean, everyone was fine and all of the babies were eventually born and were absolutely perfect. There were just a few crazy moments, though, like Brent’s water breaking in the middle of the waiting room, Holden knocking over a table of full coffee cups, then backing into a nurse with a tray of metal instruments that scattered all over the linoleum floor.
Portville Summer Series: The Complete Collection Books 1-4: (MM Nonshifter Omegaverse) Page 28