Mackenzie gave the operator the address.
“Sending an ambulance to that address now. Can you stay on the line please?”
The back door slammed and Mackenzie stuck her head into the hallway. Thank God! Joel and Liam barreled toward her.
“It’s okay,” she told the operator. “My friend has just arrived. He’s a paramedic.” She disconnected the call and turned to Liam.
“Have you called an ambulance?” Liam asked as he dropped to his knees on the tiles.
“Yes. They’re on their way.”
“Righto. Joel? Come here and look after your wife. She’s going to be fine. Mackenzie, go find some towels and sheets. Sorry Kate, they’re probably lovely wedding presents but they’re going to be ruined after this.”
Kate groaned as another contraction hit. Joel gently wiped her hair from her face and spoke soothingly in her ear.
“Do I need to boil the kettle or anything?” Mackenzie asked. She had to do something.
“Just grab the towels.”
Mackenzie ran down the hallway to the linen cupboard. She yanked open the doors and was greeted with empty shelves. Damn! Kate had already packed everything for the move. Dashing back into the hallway Mackenzie shoved aside boxes until she found one labeled in Kate’s neat handwriting. Linen. Thank goodness Kate was so organized.
Tearing at the packaging tape, Mackenzie was rewarded with a whole box of clean fluffy towels. She grabbed armfuls and returned to the bathroom, flinging them in Liam’s direction. She heard Kate’s labored breathing and her knees almost buckled. What was wrong with her? She was used to working under pressure in ICU and ED. But this was different. Kate was one of her closest friends and she was having a baby!
“Kate, we need to get you into the bedroom. It’s a bit cramped in here. I need to be able to examine you properly,” Liam said calmly.
Kate glared. “I’m not bloody moving anywhere! And you’re dreaming if you think I’m letting you examine me!”
“You can’t deliver here, sweetie,” Joel said, as he gently rubbed his wife’s back. His panic-stricken face filled Mackenzie with fresh fear. “Come on, love, let Liam and Mackenzie help you.”
“Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is having my brother-in-law see me like this?” Kate growled.
“Oh love, now’s not the time to be worried about that. Be thankful that Liam and Mackenzie are here. At least they know what they’re doing.”
“I’ve never delivered a baby,” Mackenzie whispered in Liam’s ear.
“Neither have I. And I don’t intend my first one to be my sister-in-law’s baby.” He must have seen the look on her face. “We’ll be fine. We just have to stop Kate from pushing until the ambos arrive.”
At least Liam sounded confident.
“There’s a first aid kit in my car. Mackenzie can you go and grab it?”
Joel had managed to get Kate on her feet. Supported by the two men, Kate waddled from the bathroom to the bedroom. She shot a look in Mackenzie’s direction and smiled wryly. “I didn’t exactly plan on a home birth. At least you and Liam are here. Between the three of us medical professionals surely we can work it out.”
Mackenzie forced a smile. “You’re not going to have this baby here if we can help it. The ambulance is on its way. You’ll deliver at the hospital where they’re all set up. Do you want me to call Nathan? Or your mum?”
Kate didn’t reply as another contraction forced the air from her lungs. She grimaced and beads of sweat broke out across her forehead. “I need to push.”
“Hang on, love,” Joel begged.
In the distance Mackenzie heard the welcome sound of the ambulance siren. The cavalry was almost here. At least they wouldn’t need the first aid kit.
Kate cried out again.
“Contractions are less than two minutes apart,” Liam stated. He still hadn’t managed to get Kate up on the bed to examine her. She’d made it as far as the bedroom, but was back on her knees, her head resting on her arms at the end of the bed. Mackenzie lay towels on the carpet and then stood back as two female paramedics burst into the room.
*
Fifteen minutes later, as though in slow motion, a head appeared. The paramedic guided one shoulder out and then lifted the baby slightly so she could deliver the second shoulder. In a gush of fluid and blood, the rest of the little body slipped out into the medic’s waiting hands. It was just after eight o’clock. Mackenzie and Liam stood to the side, forgotten by everyone else in the room.
The baby’s puckered little face made everyone laugh. She wasn’t impressed with the speedy delivery either. Sucking in a lungful of air, she let out a healthy cry and Mackenzie released the breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding, tears streaming down her cheeks. One of the paramedics vigorously rubbed the little girl’s body with a towel and her large eyes blinked rapidly in confusion. Mackenzie laughed.
Joel wiped Kate’s face and pushed her damp hair across her forehead, tears running down his own face. He kissed Kate’s flushed cheek. “Honey, we’ve got a little girl. A perfect, healthy baby girl.”
“Is she okay?” Kate asked, her face still red from exertion.
“Very okay.”
Liam turned to Mackenzie and grinned. They remained silent as Joel and Kate shared a private moment. Kate unwrapped the towel and looked down in wonder at the little baby, her face scrunched, her pink body covered in vernix.
“We’ve got a girl,” Kate whispered.
“What are you going to call her?” Liam asked softly.
“Annabel.”
“I like it,” Mackenzie said.
A lump formed in her throat as she looked at the scene. Kate looked serene as she snuggled her baby to her chest. Mackenzie sighed. One day it would be her turn to bring new life into the world.
Would it be with Nathan?
*
They almost had to drag Kate off to hospital. She was adamant she was well enough to stay home, but in the end she acquiesced, on the provision she didn’t have to travel into hospital via ambulance. Annabel was carefully loaded in the car seat, which Liam and Mackenzie hastily took out from its box and installed.
“Can you let me tell Nathan first?” Kate asked Mackenzie, as she climbed gingerly into the car.
“Of course. It’s not my news to share.” She omitted telling Kate she wasn’t talking to him anyway.
“We’ll call him after Mum and Dad.” Kate rolled her eyes. “Oh man, he’s going to be so ticked off I came early and he’s not here.”
“He’ll get over it.”
Joel climbed into the car and turned the key.
“Thanks for being here, Kenzie and doing such a great job of keeping Joel calm. You and Liam were amazing.”
Minutes later Joel drove his precious cargo slowly down the driveway, headed for town. Mackenzie watched the red glow of taillights until they disappeared into the distance.
“Wow.”
Mackenzie spun around. She’d forgotten Liam was still there.
“What a day,” he said.
“You can say that again,” Mackenzie said, exhaling heavily. She closed the front door more firmly than she intended and pushed past him in the narrow hallway.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Liam touched her arm gently, but she jerked away. “I’m fine,” she snapped.
“You don’t sound fine. You did a great job today. Are you thinking you did something wrong?”
“It’s got nothing to do with the baby.”
“What’s wrong then? Trouble in paradise?”
“Maybe.” She did not want to have this conversation with Liam.
Liam’s brow furrowed.
Ignoring him, she walked through the house, surveying the mess. She gathered up the stained towels. Should she bother washing them or just throw them out?
“Mackenzie? Are you all right?”
He followed her into the laundry. She stuffed the dirty towels in the machine, filled it with powder and t
urned it on. She wished Liam would get the hint and go home. She needed space. And she needed to be alone with her bad mood.
Headlights flashed outside. A car came to a stop and a door slammed shut. Had Joel forgotten something?
“Has something happened between you and Nathan?”
“Yes.”
She walked toward the front door. Liam trailed behind her and she stifled her frustration. “We’ve had a bit of a misunderstanding,” she said. Her hand was on the door handle as the brass knocker banged against the wood. She yanked the door open. “And I’m pretty sure he must hate me.”
“Trust me, I definitely don’t hate you.”
Nathan stood in the doorway, lines of weariness creasing his face. Mackenzie was rooted to the spot in shock. Liam magically disappeared.
“Can I come in?”
She nodded, speechless. How had he gotten there so quickly?
“I chartered a flight,” he said, as though reading her mind. He was so good at doing that.
“That must have cost a fortune.”
“I didn’t care about the cost. I needed to get home to you.”
“To Kate?”
Nathan frowned. “No. To you.”
Mackenzie took a tentative step forward and then rushed toward him. He caught her against him and buried his face in her hair.
“I’m so sorry, Nathan.”
She sobbed until there were no more tears, amazed at the comfort flowing through her as he held her tight. Eventually she stopped and Nathan smoothed his fingers down her wet face, wiping away her tears.
“Where is everyone?”
Mackenzie pulled back and stared at him. “Haven’t you spoken to Kate?”
He shook his head, confusion pulling his brows together.
“She’s had the baby!” The words escaped before she remembered her promise to Kate. She gasped before clamping her hand over her mouth.
Nathan’s mouth hung open in disbelief. “What? When?”
“Tonight. Just now. You probably passed the ambulance on the way to hospital.”
“Ambulance?” Nathan’s eyes searched hers. His face had turned white.
She squeezed his arm. “Everything’s fine. Kate had the baby at home about an hour ago.”
“The baby? Kate? Are they okay?”
“All fine. She had a little girl. Annabel. She’s perfect.”
“Is that why Liam was here?”
“Yes. We were all here.”
Nathan’s mouth curved down. “Except me.”
*
While Nathan reheated some leftovers he found in the back of the fridge, Mackenzie filled him in on the afternoon’s events. When she’d finished with the small talk, she realized it was time to talk about what had happened between them.
It was stuffy inside the little house. She held out her hand and they moved as one to the back step. A full moon bled through the clouds, bathing the backyard in a ghostly glow. The dogs ran over for a quick pat before going back to chasing bugs in the dark.
“I’m so sorry for not trusting you.”
Nathan stroked her hair. “Ah Kenzie.” He sighed heavily. “I think we’ve gotten to know each other very well this past year and in all that time have I ever lied to you or done anything which would make you think I didn’t love you?”
Doc had asked the same question.
She shook her head and cleared her throat. “No.”
“If we’re going to make this marriage work, honey, you have to trust me when I tell you I love you. All of you.”
In all the years she’d spent wishing for love and marriage, she never in her wildest dreams imagined she’d find someone as special as Nathan Kennedy.
He wasn’t finished. “You’ve wasted all these years thinking you’re not good enough and it has to stop now. You are good enough. You are perfect. Perfect for me.”
She found herself nodding as tears pricked her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
He squeezed her tight. “And you have to stop saying you’re sorry. How about we just move on?”
She exhaled in a rush. “I’d like that.”
They sat in companionable silence, watching clouds play hide and seek with the moon.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said eventually.
Nathan stroked her arm. “I’m here now and I’m never ever going away again.”
He kissed her on the mouth, softly at first and then with more intensity. She kissed him in return and moaned as he ran kisses up the side of her neck, sending shivers shooting down her spine.
“I could get used to this,” she whispered.
It felt like they’d been apart for months instead of weeks. Mackenzie kissed him before snuggling against his side. His arm came across her shoulder and she breathed in. She loved the feel of him, the smell of him and the love she saw in his eyes. She couldn’t for the life of her imagine why she’d had any doubts at all.
Nathan stood and held out his hand. His eyes sparked as he tugged her slowly toward the bedroom that would soon be theirs.
Chapter 34
Four months later Mackenzie sat in the hairdresser’s chair facing the mirror. Her sisters out-voted her five to one when Mackenzie announced she wanted to do her own hair and makeup. In the end, she allowed the hairdresser to fluff and tease, spray and fuss, and now a mass of chocolate brown ringlets cascaded down her back. Even she had to admit, the effect was sensational. It looked like her dream of being a princess bride was going to come true.
Back at the house, Mackenzie pressed tissues against her skin to remove some of the excess bronzer. The makeup artist was a bit heavy-handed and Mackenzie worried she looked like she’d spent a week in the solarium.
Bailey poked her head around the door as Mackenzie was reapplying her lip gloss. “Would you like me to help you get into your dress?”
Mackenzie nodded. For a change it felt nice to have someone fussing over her. She remembered her sisters’ weddings and the jealousy she’d experienced, wondering if it was ever going to be her turn. Bailey unzipped the heavy plastic cover off the gown and eased the cream silk dress off the hanger. Riley entered the room as Mackenzie untied her robe and dropped it to her feet, standing in her brand new Victoria’s Secret lingerie – matching of course – on which Kate had convinced her to spend a fortune.
Riley touched the satiny fabric of the wedding gown, rubbing it gently between thumb and forefinger. “They sure knew how to make dresses in those days,” Riley said.
“I know,” Bailey agreed. “As soon as I saw it I wondered if Mum’s old dress might fit Mackenzie.”
After spending weeks searching unsuccessfully for the perfect dress, Mackenzie had been about to give up when Bailey approached her with a suggestion. Their mum’s wedding dress had been found hanging in the back of their dad’s wardrobe when they’d cleaned out the house – he’d never been able to throw it away – and Bailey was convinced she could make the necessary alterations to make it fit Mackenzie. Bailey had painstakingly pulled apart and remade the dress and it now fit Mackenzie perfectly. Mackenzie had no idea Bailey was such an incredible seamstress and she was absolutely thrilled with the result.
“I wonder if he was keeping it for you?” Riley asked, touching Mackenzie on the arm.
Mackenzie swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I guess we’ll never know. But I like to think Mum is looking down on me today and she’d be thrilled I’m wearing her dress.”
“I reckon Dad is probably looking down on you today too,” Bailey said.
“Yeah, I reckon you’re right.”
“He’d be so proud of you. And so disappointed that he can’t walk you down the aisle,” Riley added.
“It’s okay,” Mackenzie said. Her sister’s thoughtfulness was touching. “I’m all right walking on my own. I’m just going to follow each of you.”
“You could have asked one of Dad’s brothers to accompany you.” Jordan had walked in the room and heard the tail end of their conver
sation.
Mackenzie laughed. “You think so? They’re old men! I think Robert’s ninety-two and uses a four-wheelie frame to get around. John’s no better. He can’t even leave the nursing home these days.”
“True,” Bailey said with a giggle. “I keep forgetting Dad was so old.”
“You’d better get dressed,” Jordan said. “That’s if you don’t want to be late.”
“I’m not going to be late!”
“Yeah sure,” Bailey laughed.
“I can’t believe how relaxed you are,” Riley said. “This would have to be the least stressful Jones girl wedding, that’s for sure.”
“Remember Taylor’s wedding? The groomsman was so nervous he fainted face-first onto the minister’s feet in the chapel.”
“And at my wedding it rained so much the wedding cars got bogged.”
“At least you didn’t have a burned-out wedding reception like Cameron and Ned.”
Mackenzie joined in the laughter, remembering the other family wedding disasters. Her sister was right. She was very relaxed. But there was nothing to be stressed about.
Mackenzie stepped into the dress and shimmied it up across her hips and breasts. Bailey and Riley worked together, pulling and tightening the new creamy ribbons of the corset at the back of the dress.
“How’s that?” Riley asked when they’d finished. “Not too tight? You still have to be able to breathe.”
Mackenzie sucked in a lungful of air and exhaled, placing her hands on her now flat stomach. Since moving to Iron Ridge and then to Birrangulla she was the slimmest she’d ever been. She would never rival her sisters’ tiny frames, but she was finally happy with her figure.
“It feels perfect,” Mackenzie said. “How does it look?” She turned her head to the left, trying to see over her shoulder. “Do the sleeves cover the tattoo?” She’d run out of time to have it removed.
“You can hardly see it, Kenz.” Bailey adjusted the straps of the gown. “You look amazing.”
Taylor entered the room. “Oh wow, you look incredible! Something old, something new, something borrowed—” Taylor stopped, looking first at Mackenzie and then at the others with a shocked expression. “What’s Mackenzie’s something blue?”
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