Elusive Echoes Read Online Free Page B

circumstance. "I'm having this baby. You. Have. To. Help.
Me."
    Right. A baby. It suddenly occurred to him
that the result of his sister-in-law's nine-month gestation would
be a little person. He didn't move, just kept staring at her, part
of him thinking if he put off doing anything, the ambulance would
get there.
    Then her face twisted again and she moaned,
long and low. Spurred into action, he went to the storeroom and
snagged a debridement kit. Then he stepped into the laundry room
and grabbed some clean towels and a couple of blankets.
    When he returned to the kitchen, he
hesitated. "Don't you want to be in a bed or something?"
    She shook her head. Sweat beaded on her
forehead and streamed in little rivulets down her temples. Her dark
hair was plastered to her head. "No time." She panted. "I don't
think I can walk anyway."
    He set the medical kit and towels on the
kitchen table. "Sandy, I don't know what to do."
    Except panic. He appeared to be pretty good
at panicking.
    Sandy fisted a hand in his shirt. "Pretend
I'm a dang cow. You've delivered baby cows, haven't you?"
    Actually, he had pulled his
share of calves when the mothers couldn't get the job done. But he
wasn't certain now would be the time to tell her what that entailed. Or that
sometimes the outcome for the mother cows wasn't all that
great.
    "I don't—think I can do—Sandy, you're my
sister." He could feel the heat of embarrassment in his face and
wished he could be a little more worldly about the whole thing. But
she was his brother's wife! There were all kinds of lines here he
wasn't interested in crossing.
    She moaned again and her face became ashen.
"Oh, for crying out loud, I'm asking you to help me deliver my
baby, not have sex with me." With a grunt, she squeezed her eyes
shut and breathed through the contraction. "If you'd have sex with
Melanie, you'd know the difference by now."
    Sean's choked response echoed back at him
from across the room. His head snapped up.
    Mel stood just inside the kitchen, her eyes
wide, twin patches of fire staining her cheeks. "I brought the
final partnership papers. The door was open," she said weakly.
"What's going on?"
    Sandy panted through another
contraction.
    Another knot twisted in Sean's gut. "She's
having the baby. We're waiting for the ambulance."
    "Oh, no, we're not." Sandy
rubbed her belly and blew out a long, slow breath. "Can you help me,
Mel?"
    Mel dropped her purse on the floor, crossed
the distance to the kitchen sink, and began washing her hands.
    "Go get me an old shirt," she said. When
Sean stared at her in confusion, she snapped. "Go!"
    Up in his bedroom, Sean
grabbed the first shirt he came across in his closet. It wasn't old
but he didn't care. She could tear it into strips and make bandages
out of it if she wanted. All he cared about was not delivering this baby. He took the
stairs two at a time and bounded toward the kitchen. He stopped
short in the arched doorway.
    Sandy was finishing with yet another
contraction. "Really, really wanting to push here."
    Mel laid the blankets on top
of the table. She'd taken off her pink sweater and stood in just
her jeans and a skimpy bra with a brightly colored pattern of . . .
Sean squinted . . . rainbow-colored frogs
and pink hearts? Curves mounded over the
edge of the satin fabric like luscious muffin tops. Sean knew he
was staring but couldn't tear his eyes away. He didn't think he'd
ever be able to look at another frog anywhere without thinking of
Melanie Mitchell's underwear.
    His steps slowed as he entered the kitchen.
Erotic visuals tumbled inside his head, screwing up his thought
processes. He knew he should say something but muddled as his brain
was, the only thing he could think to say was, "Here's a shirt." He
shook his head. Yeah, that was a profound statement.
    Melanie slid her gaze in his direction and
smiled, which had the effect of further screwing with the
libidinous part of his brain.
    "Good. Thanks." She took the shirt and
slipped her arms