“Okay. In the meantime, I’ll be outside.”
He put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Wait, shouldn’t you bring her in here?”
“No. She’s in Damian’s truck, and comfortable there. The way things look, it won’t be too long.” Kerry leaned closer. “Can you get me some clean bar towels?”
Gus reached under the bar, then handed her a stack of towels. “I have some more in the dryer in the back but take these for now.”
“I’ll also need scissors, twine, anything I can use to tie off the cord.”
She left a green-faced Gus rushing to do her bidding. Relieved that the music had stopped and the dance floor relatively clear, Kerry raced back out.
Damian had moved Bev to his truck, and had her settled in the back seat. His pinched features relaxed once Kerry hurried up to them.
“How can I help?” He directed his comment to Kerry as he kneaded Bev’s shoulder when she let out with another low moan.
“Gus is gathering supplies for me, can you go pick them up?” She grabbed his arm as he turned. “And see if you can find some antibacterial hand sanitizer.”
Kerry continued to coach Bev as the woman worked her way through contractions. She’d done this many times before, but never in the back seat of a truck.
She shook her head. There was a first for everything.
Within minutes, Damian hurried to the pick-up, his arms loaded with towels, a bottle of sanitizer wedged in the crook of his arm. “Gus is still searching for the scissors and twine.”
Kerry knelt on the floor next to where her patient lay on the seat, clasping her hand and murmuring. He grimaced as Bev gripped Kerry’s hand so hard he thought she would break every delicate bone.
When the contraction eased, she leaned back on her heels, and with a reassuring smile, slid the towels under the mother’s backside. His stomach rolled as she eased down Bev’s soaked panties, and dropped them on the floor.
“Damian, can you see if Gus was able to find scissors and string?”
After giving her a curt nod, he left the women. He’d attended hundreds of livestock births, but never a woman’s, and definitely not someone he knew. The thought left him a bit queasy. Bev had graduated high school with him, and while Damian had gone off to college and hit the books, she married her high school sweetheart and began producing offspring at an alarming rate. He wasn’t too sure how he felt about witnessing the birth of this newest addition.
Once he’d returned with the requested items, Kerry flashed him a grateful smile, then focused on the job at hand. She soothed the laboring mother, and ordered him to climb in behind Bev and rub her back in between contractions.
Damian was beyond impressed. Kerry exhibited professional confidence. Cool and calm, she encouraged Bev and praised her progress. Anyone watching would have thought she was about to deliver a baby in the best equipped delivery room in the finest hospital.
“Has anyone sent for Bev’s husband?” Kerry asked as she snapped on latex gloves from the box Gus had sent out with a curious young woman. The poor girl had glanced into the truck, paled, and backed up, returning to the bar in a hurry.
“Tex is generally on the road.” He pushed back the soaked hair from Bev’s forehead. “Is that where he is, darlin?”
Bev nodded and grimaced.
“Seriously?” Kerry grinned as she glanced at him. “Her husband’s name is Tex?”
Damian returned the grin and shrugged.
Kerry scooted in front of her patient, coaxing her to lie on her back, and then pushed her knees apart. After a quick look, she glanced up. “Hold her against your chest. Then take her knees and pull them toward you. I can see the baby’s head.”
Hands shaking and sweat beading his forehead, he moved into position. He was about to witness the birth of a child. No matter how many animals he’d seen emerge from their mothers, nothing would ever compare to this.
Damian watched mesmerized as Kerry laid her hand on Bev’s belly, her palm rippling over the giant lump.
“Push, hon.”
Her patient groaned, her face beet red as she bore down. Her eyes squished, and she fisted the towel underneath her.
“Good.” Kerry lifted Bev’s dress and examined the area again. “It won’t be long now. Maybe one or two more contractions.”
Gus hurried up to the truck and pointed toward the highway. “The ambulance just pulled up.”