When We Fall

When We Fall

When I Break - 3

Kendall Ryan

Chapter One

Knox

I knew I needed to stay calm and assess the situation, but McKe

Think, Knox.

I checked on McKe

Knowing I was seriously out of my element, I grabbed my cell phone and dialed my neighbor, Nikki. She had a baby; surely she’d know if this was false labor or the real thing.

“Nik, yeah. Hey, my friend Amanda thinks she’s going into labor, but she’s not due for another several weeks—”

Nikki cut me off, saying something about a guy named Braxton Hicks and timing contractions, but before I could hear the rest, Amanda let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“I’m peeing, I think I’m peeing! Am I peeing?” She squatted on the floor, her pants growing darker with a wet stain.

What the fuck? I cursed under my breath and crossed the room to give her a hand.

Nikki, overhearing the entire thing, laughed. “Her water just broke. Get her to the hospital. This baby’s coming early.”

Christ. “McKe

“Sorry, I’m out of town at my mom’s,” Nikki said.

“All right. Gotta go, Nik.”

“Good luck.”

I hung up the phone and helped Amanda remove her wet pants and underwear, then gave her a pair of my sweats. I’d worry about cleaning up the puddle of water on my floor later. In all the commotion, Tucker had come upstairs and was now peeking around the open doorway. “It’s okay, Tuck, you can come in.”

He ventured inside the room slowly, looking around at the two women, his eyes as big as saucers. McKe

“Ke

Amanda let out a low moan and sat down on the bed next to McKe

A few minutes later I heard sirens and ran downstairs to meet the paramedics. One man and one woman rushed inside and followed me and a wide-eyed Tucker up the stairs to my attic bedroom.

They assessed Amanda and determined that she was in active labor and got her ready for transport. Then they turned their attention to McKe

“Hey, angel.” I leaned over her on the bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“What happened?” she asked, pushing up on her elbows to sit up.

Tucker edged himself closer, nearly climbing into her lap. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who’d been worried about her.

“Tuck, give her some space.”

McKe

“You came in and saw me and Amanda, and you passed out,” I explained.

Her gaze shot over to where Amanda was sitting on the sofa with the paramedics on either side of her. “Oh my God, is she okay?”

“She’s in labor. They’re go

McKe

“Sir?” One of the paramedics called me over and I kissed McKe

“How is she?”

“She’s doing great but progressing quickly, so we need to get going.”

Amanda grabbed my hand. “You’re coming with me, right?”

I hadn’t pla

“I need someone,” Amanda insisted. “I can’t do this alone. Can either you or McKe

Shit. Amanda was right. And since McKe

While the paramedics brought Amanda downstairs and loaded her into the ambulance, I explained to McKe

“Will you be okay here with Tuck?” I asked her. “The guys should be home soon.”

McKe

Unable to stop touching McKe

Chapter Two

McKe

I’d imagined the worst when I heard the feminine moans coming from behind Knox’s closed bedroom door. My heart had shattered and crumbled into a million pieces as I came to the conclusion I’d lost him in the weeks I’d spent away. I’d chosen to go to Indiana and stay there while my friend Brian recovered from his car accident, but the second I heard what I thought was sex happening on the other side of that door, and that I’d lost Knox for good, I wanted to take back every moment I’d spent at Brian’s bedside.

Knox being in his bedroom with a laboring Amanda was the last thing I’d expected. And I knew that said something about the level of trust I had in him. If I wanted to be here, and see where things could go with us, I needed to work on my trust issues. But one thing at a time. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and tested my weight on my shaky legs.

“Should we go downstairs?” I asked Tucker. He nodded, taking me by the arm and helping me up from the bed. “I’m okay, buddy. I promise.”

He was so sweet and chivalrous, and just eight years old. It was an adorable combination. “Do you want to watch the new Spiderman movie? I got it for Christmas.”

“Sure, buddy. You get it started, I’ll be right down.” I wanted to throw the wet towels into the washing machine, figuring that the amniotic fluid currently soaking into the hardwood floors should be cleaned up before Knox got home.

After starting the wash, I met Tucker in the living room. He’d made a big nest of pillows on the couch for us and had the movie all cued up.