Rowena gave his arm a squeeze. “Thank you.”

He forced a smile. At least if Austin was there they could talk to him.

Chapter 38

CHAPTER

38

The dual cab bumped through a large pothole and Paula sucked in a breath. Dan was washing her lovely black Audi, ready to drive Rowena to the church, so Paula had been forced to take the larger vehicle into town. Another bump sent another twinge across her back.

She used to be much fitter and more agile. Now her body felt like it was falling apart. The books all said her ligaments and muscles would begin to loosen in later pregnancy. She grimaced. Any looser and the baby would just fall out. She eased her grip on the steering wheel slightly, practised the deep breathing exercises and willed her body to relax.

It surely wouldn’t be a bad thing if the baby did just slip out. Now that she was getting closer to her due date, the actual physical act of giving birth was occupying her thoughts more and more. She’d read several pregnancy and childbirth books, listened to many stories from other mothers all too willing to share every detail and mixed it all with any movie she’d ever seen involving childbirth. Paula’s imagination worked overtime. She wasn’t sure how she would manage the pain.

She pulled the heavy vehicle up by the house gate and sat with the motor running for a moment. She’d had an early start to be at the hairdresser’s but the north wind had already been blustering as she drove into town. The overnight temperature hadn’t dropped much and the house hadn’t cooled from the day before. Now the wind whirled dust around the yard. At least it was cool in the car.

Paula jumped at a tap on the window. Dan was beside her, already dressed in his suit and tie, minus the jacket. She lowered the window a little.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Keeping cool.”

“Rowena’s been on the phone. She wants me to go over to her place now.”

Paula glanced at her watch. “I didn’t realise the time. The hair-dresser took longer than usual.” The wind instantly blew away the cooling effect of the air conditioning and undid some of the hair-dresser’s good work as soon as Dan opened the dual cab door.

“Austin is getting dressed,” Dan said. “You can drive with him to the church.”

Paula stopped. “Can’t you wait a few minutes? I won’t take long.”

Dan followed her through the gate. “Experience tells me you’ll be more than a few minutes getting ready. Besides, Rowena was sounding anxious and Austin’s acting a bit funny too.”