Special Delivery (A Valentine's Short Story) Read Online Free

but hurry. Safely, I mean.”
    “You just sit tight and breathe like we
practiced. Remember?”
    That was easily said from the coaching end.
Amanda winced, steeling herself against a new bout of cramping. She
spoke between measured breaths. “I can’t…find…my bag.”
    “In the closet, with your coat. You put it
there so you wouldn’t forget.”
    “Right.”
    “Just get yourself together and bundle up
warm. I’ll be there in a jiff.”
     
    Ten miles down the road, Luke checked his
pilot’s watch and gauged that he’d be home soon. The snow was
coming down in droves, covering the cars passing them by in both
directions. Tammy was taking it nice and slow, and that was okay.
Better safe than sorry. Jocelyn snoozed in her car seat, the teddy
bear hat on her head drooping. And even Logan appeared to be
nodding off up front. It was no wonder. Tammy had it as hot as
blazes in here, with the heat cranked way up and the defroster
going full blast. Luke stared through the blurry windshield and
thought he spied something up ahead. Something dark bolting onto
the road, its silhouette illuminated by headlights in the cascading
snow. It was a buck! An enormous one, darting straight into the
lane in front of them.
    “Tammy!” Luke called out to her, “Don’t—”
    She saw it at the same time and did just what
he was going to advise against.
    She hit the brakes.
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
    Amanda struggled to pull herself together,
pausing periodically to breathe through her contractions. She was
excited but scared to death. She’d never had a baby before! Then
again, billions of other women had been in this position and
happily lived through it. By this time tomorrow, Amanda would be
holding her brand-new baby girl or boy. Oh! Lightning-bolt-like
cramps tore around her body, squeezing her like a vise. She waddled
into the living room, steadying herself along the furniture as she
went. Through the double French doors, snow was pounding outside.
She hoped the roads weren’t bad and that Katie wouldn’t have
trouble.
    Something fierce wrenched in Amanda’s chest,
and she brought her hand to her heart. Without warning, she thought
of Luke. Her eyes burned, though she didn’t know what was wrong. It
was as if she had sixth sense he was in danger. But that was crazy!
She’d just Skyped with him last night, and he’d assured her he was
well out of harm’s way… She was probably just worried about the
baby or afraid of going through this alone. But she wouldn’t be by
herself. Katie would be with her. She’d arrive any minute. All
Amanda had to do was put on her coat and wait.
     
    The SUV spiraled into a turn, spinning around
and around as headlights flashed and horns blared around them.
Logan snapped to attention and grasped the wheel to keep it steady,
despite the fact that Tammy’s white gloves still gripped it
fiercely. Their vehicle careened out of control. Luke’s heart
hammered harder as he sat there helplessly, his outstretched arm
bracing the wailing baby. She’d awakened too and was now screeching
at the top of her little lungs. The seconds spun out like hours as
their SUV turned in slower and slower revolutions. Gradually, the
landscape around them came into focus, and the SUV scraped to a
halt.
    Luke realized with sudden horror they’d
crossed the center line and now faced the other way—straight into
oncoming traffic. A huge semi was headed toward them, its
headlights gleaming through slivers of blinding snow. The breathing
in the SUV was so loud it was audible. But they would get out of
this; he knew they would. Luke had to help them. Amanda and the
baby depended on him. He quickly judged the distance from where
they were to the side of the road. There wasn’t much of a shoulder,
but there was about five feet of ground between them and a large
stand of trees. If Tammy didn’t panic, they could make it. “Tammy,”
he said, just as calmly as he could. “Ease on the gas and steer to
the