13. Knox

Chapter 13

Knox

The baby came on a Tuesday. Just a random, ordinary Tuesday, except a full month before my due date. I was on what I promised Luca would be my last work trip until the baby was born. Luca was growing increasingly anxious when I went out of town, especially to these remote places like where I was that day, miles and miles from any kind of hospital.

I held my cellphone up to the sky, hoping for bars. Nothing. I winced and leaned against the truck as another pain shot through me. Something was definitely wrong. This was too early. Fuck. I climbed into the truck and turned around. I'd have to interview this rancher another day.

I pressed the gas pedal down and sped back toward the highway. With one hand on the wheel, I spread my map of Montana out with my other hand. I scanned the roads, trying to discern where the closest town was. Another pain gripped me and I doubled over. The truck skidded and I slowed to a stop, facing sideways on the road. I looked at my phone. Still no bars.

Suddenly I remembered the satellite phone. Luca had packed an emergency box. God, I loved him. He was always looking out for me. I reached into the back seat and dug through the box until I found the phone. He picked up right away.

"Knox?" His voice was urgent, he knew I was calling him from the satellite.

Just then another pain swept over me. They must have been contractions, but they were sharper than I expected. I couldn't talk for a moment as I breathed through the pain. Luca was shouting my name.

"Luca, Luca, I'm okay. The baby's coming."

"What?"

"The baby. I think. Something's wrong. I need to get to the hospital."

"Knox, where are you?"

I doubled over in pain again. It was getting worse and I couldn't respond to Luca's shouting until the pain passed. "I don't know. Somewhere off State Road 24."

"Okay, listen. Turn on your GPS locator. Can you drive?"

"Slowly."

"Get on the highway and start heading toward Billings, okay? If you need to stop driving, stop driving. I'm calling an ambulance for you. Knox, I love you, and you're gonna be okay."

I could hear the panic he was suppressing in his voice. We hung up, and I dug through the emergency box until I found the GPS unit, then turned that on. It beeped reassuringly beside me. I reached back in the box to see what else Luca had put in there. I pulled out snacks, water, emergency blankets, warmers, waterproof matches, flashlights, batteries, then my hand felt something smooth and oddly shaped. I picked it up. It was the conch shell Luca had found in the Virgin Islands. There was a post-it note on it and he'd written, "I'm always with you."

I held the shell up to my ear and listened to the ocean waves. I breathed and remembered my training. The hours and hours I'd spent in the ocean, learning to withstand cold and pain and fear. I breathed in and out, and rode the next contraction. I had a feeling that what was up ahead was gonna be worse than any Navy SEAL training I'd gone through, but the difference was I didn't have Luca back then. I had Luca now, and I felt him with me, and that made me feel strong.

I got in the truck and slowly drove until I reached the highway. I checked the map and turned right. It wasn't long before I saw the lights ahead, flashing blue and red. I pulled over and waved out the window. The pain had become so bad I was on the brink of passing out. I lay down on the seat, which was soaked in blood. My baby… My baby…

I heard the sound of a helicopter and felt hands lifting me from the truck. I was laid on a stretcher. The world was a gray pinhole, surrounded by black. I turned to the sound of the helicopter. I felt the air from the spinning rotor and saw Luca running toward me. Luca. He'd brought his helicopter. Of course he had. I smiled at him and closed my eyes.

Next thing I knew, I was flying through the air with medics on either side of me and my head in Luca's lap. Luca stroked my hair, making soothing noises and kissing my forehead to distract me.

I couldn't stop crying. "It's too soon."

"Hey." Luca pressed his lips to my ear and then pulled back slightly. "You think our baby's not a fighter? Come on, look at us. It's not too soon."

I clung to his confidence like a lifeline. When we got to the hospital, they rushed me into an operating room and Luca followed a few minutes later in scrubs and a mask. Then I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in a bed with light streaming through the window and Luca beside me, rocking our baby and smiling. I started crying again and reached for him…for both of them.

Luca stood up and gently placed our sweet baby in my arms. "We have a son."

For some reason, that made me cry harder. I peered at his little face, sleeping peacefully. He had a blue knit cap on his head and was swaddled in a striped blanket. "He's so tiny."

"Yeah. He's just a little guy." Luca kissed my head. "You did so good, Daddy."

I turned and kissed him, laughing as silly tears streamed down my cheeks. "I can't stop crying, but it's because I'm so happy."

There's a point when you stop thinking of life in terms of where you're going and how to get there, and you realize you're there. This was where you'd been trying to get to. You have everything you need and you've found your people.

I held our baby close and breathed in his scent. "What should we name him?"

Luca reached down and stroked the little cap, then kissed my cheek. "How about Henry?"

I laughed. "Henry. That's so serious."

Our baby screwed up his face into a grumpy expression and we both laughed.

"Are you our little Henry?" The baby's face changed into a smile. "I think he likes it."