Stitch by Jaime Lewis (inspirational books to read .TXT) 📕

Alex.  Again, Mia saw that dawning look in Alex’s eyes.  She would definitely need to drop a hint to her brother to get his ass in gear and marry Alex.

“The pregnancy test was for one of the patients at the clinic. Well, it was for his wife. They have some financial issues at least until he can get his benefits and pension straightened out, so I bought the test for them and some groceries. I dropped the groceries off but forgot about the test.”

Bailey clapped her hands together. “This is so exciting!  Well, go pee on that stick,” she told Autumn.

A few minutes later, Autumn came back. Her face was unreadable.

“Well?” Tenley questioned as she shoved another forkful of home fries in her mouth.

“I think I need to have Frost rework the addition on the house because he’s going to need to build a nursery,” Autumn said that part with a little squeal and was smiling ear-to-ear as she held up the stick that showed pink lines.

Everyone jumped up, were hugging and congratulating her, when suddenly Tenley doubled over and clutched her stomach.

Alex was right by her side.

“Tenley, what’s wrong?”

“The babies…” She took another deep breath and exhaled.

“Ten…what about the babies? What’s going on?”

“I think the babies are ready to escape.”

“Seriously?”

“Oh god, my water just broke.”

Mia looked down, and judging from the slight puddle forming around Tenley’s feet; she told the truth.

“Alex, you need to call Potter. I need Potter,” Tenley said in between breaths, and Mia couldn’t help but be both excited and worried.”

“Should I call for an ambulance?” Bailey asked.

“No, let’s call Potter and see how fast they can get here. Tenley, let’s get you over to the chair.”

“No! I’ll ruin Stitch’s chair.”

“Honey, Stitch isn’t going to care about the chair. If he does, I’ll buy him a new one.”

“At least get a trash bag that I can sit on.”

Mia wanted to laugh at Alex’s subtle eye-roll.  She ran and got the trash bag from the kitchen so Tenley would sit down.

“Mia, can you run out front and let the deputy know what’s going on? That way if we need to get Tenley to the hospital before the guys get back, he could take her.”

Mia nodded and headed outside. It was cold and dreary outside. She heard Stitch say this morning that there was a chance for snow later in the day.

As she started down the porch steps, she caught a whiff of smoke, and she looked around. Not seeing anything, she walked around to the side of the house, and she gasped when she saw a shed near the back of Stitch’s property on fire. The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

She took off and ran toward the deputy’s patrol car. As she approached, the window was half down, and she saw the Deputy was slumped against the steering wheel. His eyes were closed, but she knew on instinct that he wasn’t asleep on his own doing.

She covered her mouth, spun around, and sprinted back to the house.  She didn’t even bother looking around to see if anyone was near. She was almost to the front door when a bullet struck the house just left of the door.  She stumbled through the door, slamming it and locking it.

“Was that a gunshot?”  Alex questioned, getting up and coming toward Mia.

Mia was too stunned to speak.  She felt herself shaking.  She had to warn the others.  Someone was out there.  Oh, god, that poor deputy, she thought to herself.

“Mia, what’s wrong? You’re shaking like a leaf.”

Mia looked at Alex.  God, she wished she had the strength that Alex had.

Mia was nodding her head when she found her voice. “Someone shot at me. The Deputy is knocked out or something, and Stitch’s shed is on fire.”

Suddenly, an explosion occurred nearby, and Alex ran to the kitchen window. When she returned, she started closing all of the window blinds and pulled the curtains closed.

“Bailey, did you get a hold of the guys?” Alex asked, and Mia stood there for a minute in awe as Alex took control of the situation. She reminded her of her brother when he was in commander mode.

“No, I keep getting a busy signal. It’s weird. I can’t even get through to 911.”

“Okay, since we don’t know who or what we are dealing with, our best option is to hunker down here. Autumn, help me get Tenley into the bathroom. Mia gather some blankets and pillows and brought them into the bathroom.”

Just as Mia crossed the living room, the huge picture window shattered, and Mia screamed as she fell to the floor.

Alex came crawling out of the bathroom.

“Mia!”

Mia shook even harder than before.  She couldn’t move.  Alex came up beside her.

“Mia?  Mia, look at me.” She took a few seconds to process Alex’s words. She also saw that Alex had her gun in her hand. Mia needed to be strong and brave. She got through the ordeal back in New York alive.

She went to say something when they heard men talking just outside on the front porch. They said something about going around the back.

Mia’s eyes widened. “Alex, the back door is unlocked.” Before Alex could say anything, Mia leaped up and sprinted for the back door. When she got there, she knew she had to do something.  She gasped when she recognized Claus, Elijah’s employee standing to the right at the bottom of the porch stairs.

She had to protect the others. She wasn’t sure how many bad guys there were out there, but if she could draw some away from the house, it would help Alex and the others. She eyed the woods that led to the trails. With her body still recovering from the incident in New York, she wondered how far she could make it before they caught up with her. Her main concern was her ankle. As long she could run, she could endure the other aches if it meant saving her friends' lives. She tested her ankle by putting