Free The Midwife's Christmas Miracle by Jennifer Taylor Page B

couple of days but I assumed they were Braxton Hicks’contractions. I wanted to visit the Christmas market tonight, so we drove over here from Ulverston, but as we were walking back to the car, my waters broke.’
    ‘And how long ago did that happen?’
    ‘About ten minutes,’ she began, then groaned as another contraction started.
    Max checked his watch, needing to know how frequent her contractions were. He also needed to examine her, although he was loath to do so with all these people watching. He was just trying to work out how to afford her some privacy when he heard someone calling his name and glancing round he saw Lucy pushing her way through the crowd.
    ‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded, feeling his heart squeeze in an extra beat as she crouched down beside him.
    ‘I just got off the bus and saw the crowd. Somebody said that a woman had gone into labour, so I came to see if I could help. I take it that someone has phoned for an ambulance?’
    ‘I did,’ Alison’s husband told them anxiously. ‘It’s taking ages to get here, though.’
    Max bit back a sigh. With the amount of traffic on the roads that night it could be a while before an ambulance arrived. In the meantime, he and Lucy would have to deal with the situation. He turned to her, trying not to notice how pretty she looked in the light from the streetlamp, but that was like trying not to notice if the sun was shining. Every cell in his body seemed attuned to her as they crouched side by side on the pavement and his racing heart seemed to race that little bit faster. It was hard to appear the calm professional when his emotions seemed intent on doing their own thing.
    ‘We need to examine her but not here with everyone watching. Can you find somewhere close by which would give us some privacy?’
    ‘Of course.’ She looked around then pointed towards a row of shops across the road. ‘I’ll see if anyone has a room they will let us use.’
    ‘Great. Thanks, Lucy.’
    ‘No problem.’
    She gave him a quick smile as she stood up. Max let himself bask in its glow for a second before he turned his attention back to Alison. There was a time and a place for everything, he reminded himself sternly, although maybe that wasn’t the best advice. He was trying to avoid getting involved with her, not staving off the moment until a later date!
    Lucy could feel her heart racing as she hurried across the road and sighed. It wasn’t just the adrenalin rush from dealing with this situation that was causing it to happen. It was being with Max that made her feel so keyed up. Maybe she didn’t intend to get involved with him but it was proving harder than it should have been to stick to that.
    She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she hurried into the first shop she came to, which happened to be a sweet shop. The shop keeper, an elderly woman, had been watching what was happening through the window and came hurrying to meet her.
    ‘Is that young woman all right? I’m on my own in here, otherwise I’d have gone out to see if I could help.’
    ‘She’s fine, or she will be if we can get her somewhere a little more private,’ Lucy explained. ‘She’s having a baby and the pavement isn’t the best place for that.’
    ‘Good heavens!’ the old lady exclaimed. ‘A baby? Really?’
    ‘Yes. I know it’s a lot to ask but do you have a room we could use? An ambulance is on its way but it could take some time to get here with all the traffic. It would be better if she could wait somewhere a little less public.’
    ‘Of course, dear. You can use the storeroom.’
    The old lady opened a door and showed her the storeroom. Although it was full of boxes, it was warm and clean and would be perfect for their needs. Lucy thanked her and hurried back to tell Max the good news.
    ‘We can use the storeroom in the sweet shop. It’s ideal for what we need.’
    ‘Good.’ He lowered his voice. ‘I don’t think this baby is going to wait for the