But they were both fine. Shelby would recover, and my daughter, although tiny, was healthy, and I would take them both home soon. Where I knew she would be greeted happily by a loud little boy who, no doubt, was driving his nan crazy, wanting his mummy.
I wanted her home, too.
As soon as she was well again and able to travel, we would return to England and build a life there. The house was ready, and so were we. We wouldn’t need the security that surrounded us here. We would both relax. Ryan and Lesley would stay on at the house in LA with Thor. They were taking over the third floor that had been Shelby’s, and the rest of the house would stay our home for when we were here in the country. It didn’t seem fair to drag the cat back and forth with us, and Thor had taken a great liking to Ryan, his broad shoulders the perfect place for Thor to perch on. I knew he would be well looked after.
Thanks to Mum’s help, we’d found a wonderful woman who would aid Shelby with the children once we got to England. We had met Joanne last time we were there, and she had come over a short time ago to help us on this end. Adam adored her, as did Shelby, and I knew Joanne would be a great friend to her as well as a big help. She was a kind, loving person and exactly what we all needed in our life. Her soon-to-be husband was now the groundskeeper at the house, and they lived nearby in a cottage of their own—it was perfect for us all.
After finding out Shelby was pregnant again, I only accepted smaller parts since The Highlands. Ones that kept me close to home and my family. Douglas put off the project we had been discussing, but we were now revisiting the idea since he planned on filming in England again. It would work well for me. The part excited me enough to consider taking on a bigger role again. The Highlands had won huge at the Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director for Douglas, Best Actor in a Leading Role for me, among other awards. Shelby had been so proud and excited that night, I’d been afraid she’d go into labor right on the spot. The bookshelves in the den now held three golden statues, gleaming symbols of my career, and yet their importance was diminished compared to the health and happiness of my family.
As I watched her sleep, I made a decision. This pregnancy had been too hard on her. Through it all, she remained cheerful and upbeat, but it had been a struggle, and watching her had been difficult for me. We had been blessed with two healthy children, for whom I was grateful, and they were enough. With all the research I had quietly done, I knew I didn’t want Shelby back on birth control pills; the side effects were simply too frightening to me for that. I was going to tell her I was getting a vasectomy. I had spoken with my doctor about it, and he told me if I wanted, I could freeze some of my boys in case we changed our mind in the future. But I was sure after everything she had gone through, Shelby would agree. We’d both said we would like two children, and no matter how I teased her about a third, today had been too scary for me even to contemplate it. I only had to convince her to let me be the responsible one and have the procedure. I chuckled to myself. People were still getting used to the idea of me being grown up. My days of Peter Pan were long behind me—for the most part anyway.
Slowly, I caressed her hair, smiling as she sighed in her sleep. The change was because of her. She made me responsible. Her love gave me the strength to grow up and become the man I was supposed to be. I was still a git, and I would forever mess things up and say the wrong thing at the exact wrong moment, but Shelby insisted it was part of my charm. My mum insisted it was my dad’s contribution to my DNA. But as long as the two most important women in my life loved me, I was okay with it. Thank God they both had large capacities to forgive my constant cock-ups.
The door opened behind me, and another important woman in my life was brought in. Eagerly I stood and accepted Olivia from the nurse. I pressed a soft kiss to her warm cheek, pushing back the pink bonnet that covered her hair. The almost white wisps glinted in the light, and I grinned. Shelby said she wanted our daughter to look like me. She may have gotten her wish.