The Rebel – Bonus Scene

Josh

“If you’re not ready in five minutes, we’re going to be late.” I called up the stairs, knowing full well it would be at least twenty before Effie was ready. I could already imagine her clenched jaw and hard stare as a heated blush flushed her cheeks. 

Riled up Effie had its perks.

I took the stairs two at a time and when I pushed through our bedroom door, I caught a flying piece of fabric as it sailed past my head. 

“Stupid. Fucking. Dress.” Effie’s growl from the closet tugged a smile across my face. 

I peered in to see Effie sitting in the middle of the floor with nothing on but a bra and panties. Her smooth, very round belly covered her to nearly mid-thigh. 

I held the discarded purple dress in my hand. “What’s up, baby girl?”

Effie’s huge cerulean eyes peered up at me and filled with tears. Pregnancy hormones were a bitch these days. “Nothing fits! I look like a whale.” One tear spilled over the lower lashes.

I joined my gorgeous wife on the floor of our walk-in closet. My legs wrapped around her, my hands smoothed over the expanse of her swollen belly and I rested my chin on her shoulder.

“But you’re my whale.” I teased.

That got a much-needed laugh from her and I kissed the smooth skin on her shoulder, then the side of her neck. “We don’t have to go.” My kisses made a trail of promises that I would be all too happy to continue.

Effie hummed in approval. Third trimester hormones meant massive mood swings but they had also meant some of the hottest––albeit creative––sex we’d ever had. After all this time I still couldn’t get enough of my Effie Laredo.

“It’s Gemma’s bridal shower. We can’t miss it.” Effie was already three days past her due date. Even walking made her breathless, but she had a point.

“Why am I going to this again? I thought those were for the women.”

Effie rolled her eyes at me and I smiled. “You are so old-fashioned sometimes. The men go to those now––everything’s a joint celebration.”

“Lucky us.” I shook my head and took in Effie’s gorgeous figure one more time.

Loyalty for our dear friend warred with the desire to sink deep into my wife and make her forget her troubles. The doctor even commented it could help the baby come sooner and ease her discomfort. But before I could let my hard-on win, I ran my palms across Effie’s shoulders and kneaded the tense muscles there. She groaned in appreciation.

“Come on,” I said, untangling myself from behind Effie and helping her to her feet. My fingers flipped through the hangers on her side of the closet.

“What about this?” I pulled a simple navy blue dress from the rack. I remembered her getting several compliments around town the last time we’d gone out to dinner and the jewel tone picked up the dark flecks in her blue eyes. 

Effie toyed with her lip. “I do like that one.”

“Perfect.” I kissed the tip of her nose and left her to finish changing while I went back downstairs to snag a bottle of wine and the extravagant gift basket Effie had put together for Gemma. 

When Effie plodded down the stairs, I paused. That woman still took my breath away. “Stunning,” I said, mostly to myself but she’d caught it anyway and her previous scowl was replaced with a wide, white smile.

This pregnancy had been hard on Effie but she was a trooper. She never once complained about the waves of nausea that seemed to come out of nowhere or the times she woke up at midnight to be sick. I hated the helpless feeling and made it a point to stay awake with her as long as it took for her to settle back to sleep. 

But goddamn. She’s tougher than I’ll ever be.

“Effie, Aikaterini. Let’s hit the road, ladies.”

Effie’s eyes rolled. “We are not naming her Aikaterini.” 

I feigned shock as I balanced the gifts in my arms while still holding out an elbow for Effie to grip. “What? Why not? It’s a beautiful Greek name.”

Effie patted my shoulder as we walked to the truck. “It’s a mouthful. Veto.”

We’d been sparring back and forth for weeks, trying to find the perfect name for our unborn daughter. Effie had mentioned she wanted something vaguely Greek to honor her father’s heritage. I had taken it upon myself to research every female Greek name under the sun––the more obscure the better.

After I set the gifts in the back seat, I rounded the tailgate to open Effie’s door and help boost her into the truck. When I got in the driver’s seat, Effie huffed a breath and shot me a look. I smiled and leaned over her, pulling the seat belt across her belly and securing it for her. 

Minutes later, we were rolling down the highway toward Chikalu Falls for Gemma’s bridal shower. 

At a four-way stop, Effie placed her hand on my knee and squeezed. “Josh. Go left.” 

I glanced at my wife but focused on the highway in front of me. “I know how to get there.”

“Josh,” Effie’s determined but breathless voice had my eyes slicing back to hers. “Go. Left.”

My eyes went wide, knowing straight down the highway would lead us to Chikalu Falls but left would circle back around and toward the county hospital. 

Effie glanced in her lap. “Either my water just broke or I accidentally peed in the seat.”

* * *

Definitely not pee. 

Effie’s water had broken and was streaming down her legs with every contraction. They seemed to be one on top of another and it was difficult to keep my rising panic at bay.

My heart galloped as the twenty minute loop back to the hospital dragged. In that time, Effie’s moans grew more impatient and garbled. My foot stomped the pedal as I tore down the quiet highway.

“Josh, I’m scared. Something doesn’t feel right. I feel . . . ” Effie cried out as another contraction tore through her. “I think she’s coming. Like, right now.” 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

My mind raced and I snatched my cell phone from the seat between us. I called the emergency medical number and after only seconds, I gave them my approximate location and the dispatcher assured me that an ambulance and police escort were en route.

“Pull over! Please, Josh, pull over.” Tears streamed down Effie’s face and my heart cinched.

Acid rose in my mouth. If I hurried, we might make it to the emergency room where doctors and nurses were waiting for us. If I pulled over, there was a very real possibility I was delivering a baby in the front seat of my truck.

On a plea, Effie gripped my forearm. “Please!” 

I jerked the truck to the side and threw it in park. I was to the passenger side of the truck in seconds and tore open the door. 

“Lie back. As best you can.” I helped Effie settle back across the bench seat. 

“Josh, I’m scared.”

“I’ve got you. Both of you. I won’t let anything bad happen.” I adjusted the hem of her skirt and peeked to see Effie was likely only a few pushes from delivering our baby girl. 

A hard, determined line deepened on my forehead as I focused my scattered thoughts. “I’ve got this. I’m a stockman. I can deliver a calf in my sleep.”

Effie’s head shot up. “Call me a fucking cow again and I will end you––.” Another contraction ripped through her and cut her threat short.

I tore my button up shirt off my body and prepared to deliver my child on the side of a dusty highway in near darkness. 

Three strong pushes and my queen of a wife delivered a beautiful baby girl. Her hearty, healthy screams bounced around the cab of the truck and as I openly wept. 

One hand never left Effie as I continued to assess my wife to ensure she was also safe and healthy. 

Effie tried to sit up on her elbows and I rubbed her calf. “You did it,” she said through a watery laugh. “You saved us.”

Mere seconds after I had helped deliver my newborn, an ambulance came screaming down the lonesome highway. I stepped aside as they examined my wife and baby daughter. 

Adrenaline coursed through me. 

I walked to the back of the ambulance where they’d gotten Effie and our baby somewhat comfortable. Dirt and sweat and Lord knows what else stained my white undershirt. My throat was raw but as I took in Effie’s tired eyes, the way she gazed at our perfect baby girl, still swaddled in my button down, with such love. 

I fell in love with her all over again. 

“They’re lucky to have you.” A paramedic handed me a plastic bag with what looked like folded scrubs. “This could have turned out a lot differently tonight.”

I nodded, but couldn’t let myself think about his meaning. 

“You can ride in here or follow behind so you don’t have to abandon your vehicle,” the paramedic said.

“I’m not going anywhere.” I stripped off my shirt and discarded it on the ambulance floor. “I’ll send someone for the truck.”

After a quick jog back to the truck to get my phone, I confirmed there was little possibility of cleaning the front seat. I added Buy a new truck to the mental list I was running and locked it up. After climbing beside Effie, I peered down at them. 

The paramedics’ initial assessment assured us that the baby appeared healthy and Effie held her to the bare skin on her chest while a paramedic worked around us. 

My hand gently encircled Effie’s ankle and her clear blue eyes looked at me. “You did this.”

A knot tightened in my throat. “We did.” 

I sat beside Effie and looked down at our baby girl in awe. “What about Selene? I read it means Goddess of the Moon.” I swallowed past the gravel in my throat. “Effie, you are my whole world and she’s a perfect part of that.”

Effie’s eyes watered again as she looked down on our peaceful baby girl. “Selene.” She smiled then lifted her arms. “Meet your daddy.”

I carefully tucked Selene into the crook of my arm. 

Effie was my world and Selene was the moon. I gazed down at the perfect pert bow of her tiny lips as I swayed back and forth. “Hi, beautiful girl. I’m your dad. I see you.”