Her eyes implored Montana to understand. ‘I didn’t think the baby would come today. I wish I hadn’t come out.’
‘Hey. No more self-blame. If your baby comes today then so be it. It was your baby’s decision. Let it come with you happy to see him or her. OK?’
Emma nodded and then she flinched at a rustle in the bushes. ‘What was that?’
Montana frowned and tried to see in the gloom. There was still some light but it was too early for the moon and they were under trees. ‘It’s not a big noise so it isn’t Andy. Probably a little creature frightened by us invading its home.’
The rustle came again and then suddenly, from the bush, a mobile phone rang briefly and then stopped.
They both froze and Montana pulled her phone from her pocket and stared at it. No call had been missed and she hadn’t felt any vibration. ‘Have you got your phone, Emma?’
Emma’s voice shook. ‘Not with me.’
The phone rang again from the bush next to them and they both stared. Then a sweet, melodious warble drifted from beneath the leaves and a small brown feathered bird strutted out to stare at them with its long lacy plumed tail dragging behind in the twilight.
It stared, strutted, and lifted its plume until feathers stood up behind him like a miniature silver harp, just like a small brown peacock on show.
‘It’s a lyrebird,’ Emma whispered.
‘He’s gorgeous.’ Montana couldn’t believe they’d been so lucky.
As if satisfied that homage had been paid, the bird turned and with a shimmy of feathers it strolled back into the bush and disappeared.
‘It was the phone. That’s awesome.’ Emma’s hand slid down to her belly and she sighed again. ‘Here comes another one.’
Montana rested her hand on Emma’s shoulder. Not rubbing, just resting there to give her strength. ‘Don’t be afraid.’
Emma’s voice sounded distant. ‘Strangely, I’m not.’ She smiled at Montana. ‘Any more.’ Then the pain came again.
A
NDY
found them ten minutes later, his arrival preceded by the sudden silence of the evening creatures. Tommy followed and as they entered the clearing Emma turned her eyes to Montana.
‘It’s too late,’ she said. ‘I’m scared.’ And pushed.
Montana wasn’t as philosophical about the impending birth as she’d like either, and she wasn’t sure why, but was fervently glad Andy had arrived in time.
‘Don’t be scared. You’re safe.’ Andy’s calm voice settled over all of them and even Tommy lost his end-of-the-world face and stopped muttering.
Andy patted Tommy’s back as he moved closer to Emma. ‘Nice and easy, Emma. What more could you want? Tommy, Montana and I will cheer you on and your baby will be fine.’
Montana listened with relief. It was funny how she could handle the thought of her own birth in the bush, but for Emma she was suddenly very frightened.
Andy had brought the emergency delivery kit and at least they had the bare essentials and Montana’s rug. But she was very glad Andy was with them.
The next pain built and as the evening deepened the first signs of the baby could be seen.
Montana loved this moment and she glanced across at Andy, who had his hand resting on Emma’s shoulder as he gently encouraged her.
Tommy held Emma’s hand and as night descended, Grace Isobel Victoria was born as crickets chirped and night birds called and to the sound of a distant mobile phone.
Baby Grace entered the world into Montana’s caring hands and shortly after her first cry, another baby echoed from the bush.
‘What was that?’ Tommy’s head twisted from side to side and Emma and Montana laughed softly.
‘Later,’ Montana said softly, and dried Grace quickly with the small towel Andy had brought with the kit. She laid the newborn gently skin to skin on her mother’s breast so that she could stay warm with Emma’s heat and hear her heartbeat.
‘A girl. We’ve got a daughter,’ Tommy whispered for all of them, and he squeezed Emma’s hand and kissed her forehead and Montana felt relieved tears prick her eyes as she ensured that Emma’s third stage of labour was complete.
Andy listened briefly to Grace’s lungs and pronounced all well as Montana tucked the blanket over mother and baby and sat back on her heels.
She stripped off the gloves Andy had given her and glanced across to catch Andy’s eyes. She found him watching her.
His eyes seemed darker in the evening light and his smile seemed a little strained, but he spoke warmly to Emma. ‘You were fabulous, Emma. Well done.’
He looked at Montana. ‘Let’s give them some space. Emma and Tommy should be fine for a minute while we give them a moment alone with their daughter.’
‘Of course,’ Montana agreed.
Andy paused before stepping away. ‘We could go higher and use the phone to call in reinforcements if you like, Emma, or do you want us to wait?’
Montana frowned and hesitated and, as she’d hoped, Emma spoke up from where she lay. ‘I don’t want to think about moving just yet. Can we wait a few minutes, please, Andy?’
‘Of course,’ Andy said.
‘Emma might want to walk herself out, Andy,’ Montana said quietly. She smiled at Emma, who was gazing dotingly down at her daughter. ‘She looks much better now she’s given birth.’
Emma nodded, and Andy looked surprised at how quick she was to seize that idea. ‘I can walk now, can’t I, Montana? I really don’t want a rescue party and my brothers roaring in here. You said women carry their babies to their rooms after giving birth.’
Montana nodded. ‘Of course you can, especially with the inducement of a hot shower at the end for the aches and pains.’
‘I guess it’s not that far.’ Andy looked uncomfortable with the idea, though, and Montana grinned.
‘Women are pretty tough, Andy.’
‘So I have been noticing lately,’ Andy acknowledged ruefully.
‘Tell me about it,’ said Tommy, with awe. ‘I wouldn’t walk for a week if that happened to me.’
They all laughed and Andy and Montana stepped away to give the new parents time with their daughter.
They climbed the hill a little and watched the moon rise from the east.
‘Thank you for arriving on time, Andy. I’ll admit to last-minute nerves. I was really glad to see you at the end. It’s a bit different if it’s someone else who is having the baby in the wilds and not me.’
Andy smiled reminiscently. ‘You can say that. I guess I should thank you for the litany in my head as I jogged up here. I kept saying Montana was fine. Emma will be fine.’
She peered up at him in the gathering dark. So solid and calm and wonderful. ‘You were just as unruffled and supportive as you were at Dawn’s birth. You are an amazing man.’
They turned back, not wanting it to get much
darker before they walked out, if that was what they were going to do. ‘Emma is the amazing one. Poor old Tommy will take a while to get over it, I think.’
Andy slipped his fingers around Montana’s and covered them with his other hand before he let her go. ‘Now all I have to do is capture your heart and we’ll be home free.’ He turned away and preceded her down the path towards the new parents.
Emma was the first inpatient in the new Lyrebird Lake maternity unit, even though she technically didn’t give birth there.
Both sets of grandparents had struggled with the shock of Grace’s unexpected birth but had settled down when they’d held the new member of their family.
By nine o’clock that night Montana had decided all the students in town had filed through to see the new baby as well as most of their parents.
Andy shook his head. ‘You’d better think about a contraception class on the school bus. It takes an hour to get to the base high school and you’d have a captive audience.’
Montana agreed. ‘I’ll bring Emma and she can tell them about sleepless nights and crying babies. That should help just as much.’
They both laughed as Sara arrived to take over Emma’s care for the night and Andy left Montana to her work.
After an extended handover report, because Sara wanted to know all the details of the bush-baby birth, Montana went in to say goodbye to the new parents.
‘It seems you’re famous on the school bus,’ Montana said, and Emma shook her head.
‘Infamous.’
‘I think you are amazing.’ Tommy stood beside the bed with his new daughter in his arms and stared with awe down at Emma. He turned to Montana. ‘How amazing is she?’
‘Who? Grace Isobel?’ Montana teased, and Tommy looked up in confusion.
‘Of course she’s amazing, too, but I meant Emma. I could never be as brave as she was today.’
‘You did your job, too, Tommy. You three are a family now. Be kind to each other.’ She leaned over and kissed Emma’s forehead. ‘Try and sleep when Grace is asleep. I’ll see you tomorrow. It’s a big day tomorrow when you take her home.’
‘That’s scary.’
‘Remember, I’ll visit every day for the first few days.’
Emma caught Montana’s hand. ‘Thank you.’
Montana squeezed Emma’s hand back and each knew she and this young mum would always be close. ‘Thank you, Em. I was the lucky one to be a part of Grace’s birth. You were wonderful.’ Montana squeezed her hand and smiled. ‘Goodnight, you three.’
Montana walked away and she should have been exhausted but she doubted whether she’d be able to relax just yet. It had been a huge day.
As she walked across the grounds towards the house she realised that Andy had waited for her, leaning against a tree.
‘Hello, there,’ he said, and stood, tall and caring in front of her, and it seemed so right to rest her head against his chest and close her eyes for a second.
‘Were you waiting for me?’ she mumbled into his shirt.
‘It seems to be something I find myself doing a lot of,’ he said, and his voice rumbled in his chest under her cheek. Even that vibration was healing to Montana.
‘I don’t mind,’ Andy said. ‘It’s always worth the wait.’
She stepped back and looked into his face. ‘Thank you, dear Andy.’
He took her hand in that way he had of cradling it between both of his and she knew she would always love it when he did that.
They stood there silently for a few minutes before he let her go. ‘Would you like to walk around the lake with me for a little while instead of going straight home?’
That sounded like heaven. Just to clear the clutter she’d accumulated from the stresses of the day. ‘How did you know?’
‘You look a little wired.’ She could hear the humour in his voice and it drew an answering smile from her.
‘That’s an apt description of how I feel.’ Already, being with Andy, she’d begun to relax. When he tucked her arm in his and fell into step beside her she knew this was where she wanted to be. By Andy’s side. Or in his arms.
They walked in the dark and their eyes became accustomed until they could see their way by reflected starlight off the lake.
The tranquillity seeped back into Montana and she didn’t know if it was the peace of their surroundings or the peace of being with Andy. She suspected the latter.
‘So are you here to stay?’ he asked.
‘Yes. To stay,’ she said softly, and the conviction in her voice made him tense beside her.
He stopped and turned to face her and she could just make out the planes of his face and the brilliant smile that lit up his face. ‘For ever?’
The devotion on his face brought tears to her eyes. How could she have been this fortunate? ‘If you’ll have me.’
He drew her against him gently as if afraid she’d change her mind. ‘I love you, Montana. I’ve loved you from the first moment on the mountain. I love everything about you and I want to be a part of your and Dawn’s lives.’
She squeezed her arms around his waist. ‘I love
you, too. I’m sorry I was so slow and fought so hard against falling in love with you. But it didn’t do me any good resisting because I do love you. Very much.’
He kissed her gently on the forehead and pulled her against him so she could feel his chest against her. It felt like home.
‘You had things to work out. I understood that,’ he said into her hair.
She stepped back and tipped her head back to look into his face. ‘I think that was what I was afraid of,’ she said slowly. ‘That I wouldn’t be able to separate you and Douglas.’
Her voice strengthened. ‘That’s not the way it is. I truly loved Douglas, and thought I’d never find love again. And if I hadn’t found you then I would have thought I’d loved enough.’
She shook her head as she gazed into his wonderful face. ‘I can see that’s not true because you are my future and I love you with all my heart. And it will be a wonderful future that we will share together with Dawn.’
He pulled her into his arms and this time when he kissed her there was less patience and more power and a lot more persuasion tightly leashed. Then he kissed her as if she were the most precious gift in the world. ‘Marry me. How soon will you be my wife, darling Montana?’
She leaned up and kissed him back. ‘As soon as possible, my love.’
Then she smiled mischievously. ‘It would be
hard to teach contraception if I was already pregnant before we were married.’
Andy laughed. ‘And there is a huge risk of that, let me assure you. We can’t let that happen.’
T
HE
wedding was held on the newly built wooden jetty that had been crafted by the townsfolk in only one week. The working party had been led by Emma’s dad.
The white railed platform looked out over the water and was the first structure on the beautiful block of land at the end of the lake Andy had bought for the future. Now the future was here.
A laden arch of lavender-coloured roses from Clare’s garden adorned the raised temporary stage built so all the townsfolk could see the happy event.
Montana, every inch the bride, was resplendent in a pale ivory gown that whispered against her ankles and bared her shoulders. Her handsome groom stood tall beside her as they listened to the words of the ceremony and every few minutes their gazes would drift towards each other and their smiles excluded the world.
Ned played the bagpipes to lead them out after the service and the strains of the pipes soared glo
riously over the water and startled the waterbirds into a swirling formation that should have been doves but it was close enough.
The reception was held in a huge white marquee at the edge of the lake with white-clothed tables and children playing.
Emma, a beautiful bridesmaid in pale lavender to match the roses on the tables, held hands with Tommy, who had a sleeping Grace tucked against his chest in a sling.
They discussed their own wedding the next year and took notes so that it could be as perfect as this one had been.
Andy could feel Montana’s hand in his as she talked to his sister, and he could see the smiles and sincerity in the people around him.
He was home. He had his friends and his work. But most of all he had his adorable wife who completed his world in a way he had never imagined would happen.
Montana, too, was at peace. The time ahead was for her and Andy, and for all of Dawn’s brothers and sisters to come in the future.
On top of the wedding cake, a gift from Ned, a beautiful silver lyrebird oversaw the festivities.
And later, long after Ned had retired, Montana heard the strains of distant bagpipes drifting out from the bush.