I exhaled hard. “Yes.”
“She needs you.”
“She’s really all right? The baby is early.”
“Babies come early all the time, Richard. With all the books you’ve read and the questions you’ve asked, you know this can happen. Katy is young and healthy. You also know I would never hold anything back from you.”
I relaxed a little hearing the honesty in her voice—and she was right. I had read a ton of books, and asked endless questions. Suzanne had always been honest, blunt, and to the point with us. She wouldn’t tell me Katy was okay unless she was, indeed, all right.
“Okay. I’m good. Can I see her now?”
She grinned at my impatience. “Yes.”When I entered Katy’s room, she was lying down, with Laura sitting beside her. I hurried over, dropped a kiss to my wife’s mouth, then drew back.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
She smiled up at me, clutching my hand, her eyes clouded in pain. “Hi. I’m glad you’re here.”
“I got here as fast as I could.”
Laura grinned and stood up. “That’s my cue. I’ll go sit with Graham and give you two a little time alone. Come get me if you need me.”
“Graham is here?”
“He didn’t come with you?”
“Um, no, he didn’t . . . Oh, shit.” I shrugged my shoulders with a grimace. “I forgot him.”
I left Graham behind in the restaurant. I ran out without telling him what happened or where I was going. Right in the middle of a pitch to a new client, as well.
Laura began to chuckle. “I left my phone in the car. I’m sure he’s been calling.”
I pulled out my phone from my pocket, seeing I had missed several calls and texts. I handed it to Laura. “Use mine. I owe him an apology. Or ten.”
She took the phone, shaking her head. “I’m sure he’ll understand.” She paused beside me to give me a quick hug. “She needs you, Richard. She’s scared, but trying to be brave,” she whispered.
I nodded and quietly thanked her. That was my Katy. Brave and silent. My gaze followed Laura’s departing form with gratitude. She was a positive force in both our lives and the closest thing to a mother I had ever truly known.
I sat beside Katy, holding her hand in mine, and looked at Suzanne. “Well?”
“We thought maybe it was Braxton Hicks, but Katy’s water broke, and her labor is progressing at a steady pace. I think you’re going to meet your child today if things keep moving forward like this.”
I lifted Katy’s hand to my mouth, pressing a kiss on her knuckles. “Today,” I repeated, meeting her anxious gaze.
“We’re going to monitor Katy, and we’ll move her when it’s time. Meanwhile, I need you to remember everything you learned in your classes. Help her with her breathing, keep her comfortable, and let her lean on you.” Her gaze went to Katy. “You can walk if you want to—in fact, I recommend it. There’re ice chips and water here. Are you certain no epidural?”
Katy shook her head. She was adamant on that subject, no matter how I pleaded with her to change her mind.
Dr. Suzanne smiled at Katy and patted her hand. “You can change your mind, if you want, but we can’t leave it too long. There is a point we can’t go back.”
“I know. I want to do this without drugs.”
“Okay, you two. Settle in. I’ll be back shortly.”
She left, and I bent over and kissed my wife, meeting her worried gaze steadily. “I’m here, sweetheart. You’re going to be fine. I won’t leave you for a minute. And later, we’re going to meet our child.”
“It’s so overwhelming,” she admitted in a shaky voice. “I’m scared.”
I was relieved she said the words aloud. I pressed another kiss on her head.
“What do you need?”
“You to hold me.”
“You never have to ask.”
She shifted to the side, and I sat beside her, wrapping my arms around her body, spreading my hand wide across her stomach, and rocking her gently until I felt her relax.
“Someone is anxious to meet you.”
She hummed softly. “Meet us. It’s your voice he or she reacts to the most.”
I smiled, dropping a kiss to her hair, then stroked her swollen belly.
It had felt odd the first time I talked to her stomach. I felt like an idiot, lying beside her with my hand on her skin, muttering about silly things. Except, I liked it. I started reading books, humming music, talking about how much fun we were going to have when he or she was born—anything to connect myself to the life growing inside Katy. The first time I felt the push of a hand or foot against my skin, I actually wept. And for the second time in my life, I knew I was in love. Boy or girl, I would love and protect this child with everything in me. Knowing I would hold them in the next few hours made my chest ache with a sweetness I still wasn’t used to feeling. I glanced up at Katy, who was watching me with tender eyes.