Ryder (Slater Brothers 4)

Ryder sat up, too, staring at me as I listened to Dominic.

“Yes, her water broke an hour ago while I was bringing Tyson on a walk. She waited awhile to make sure the water had stopped coming out of her, then showered and dressed herself and made us fucking dinner. She said she didn’t need to call me, you or anyone else because she was okay. She is so calm, Branna. What’s wrong with her?” he said, clearly frustrated.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Honey, women react in different ways. This is her reaction to her labour right now, her body is tellin’ ‘er to be calm, so that’s what she’s doin’.”

I heard Dominic practice Bronagh’s breathing tactics, and I wondered if I’d be taking care of him in the delivery ward as well as her.

“I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

Yep, I’m definitely going to be looking after him.

“Keep breathing, you’ll be fine,” I assured him. “Where’s me sister?”

“Why’re you telling Dominic to breathe?’ Ryder murmured.

“He’s freakin’ out,” I whispered in response making him snicker.

“She’s in the bathroom—oh, wait, here she is now.”

I heard him ask my sister if she was okay.

“Shit, Branna, she’s feeling contractions now, but they don’t last long she said. They’re hurting her though. What do we do?” Dominic asked, his voice raising a couple of octaves.

“Ask her does she want to head into the hospital now, or wait it out at home until the contractions get stronger, come quicker and last longer?”

Dominic relayed my question to Bronagh then to me he said, “She wants to go to the hospital. Is it normal that she is shaking? Because she is and I don’t like it.”

He was too bloody cute.

“Yes,” I replied. “She nervous, that’s perfectly normal.”

“Okay, right.” He breathed. “I’ll grab her stuff, we have her bag packed and ready to go. We’ll drive to the hospital, and you’ll meet us there, right?”

“Try and keep me away.” I stated.

I wasn’t on shift tonight, but I was going to be the acting midwife for my sister throughout her labour, and I knew no one on the ward would object to that.

“Thanks, Branna.” Dominic said, and I heard the gratitude in his voice.

“Of course, honey. We’ll see you soon.”

“Text everyone for me, tell them what’s going on.”

When I hung up with Dominic, I turned to Ryder and dove on him.

“It’s happenin’!” I squealed. “Bronagh’s waters have broken.”

We hugged then we jumped up from our bed, and rushed to put our clothes on. Ryder grabbed his phone and texted everyone as we hauled arse out of the room. I knew rushing was pointless because this could take a long time. I would slow down when my sister was in front of me, but until then, all my cylinders were on full blast.

Before Ryder and I left the house, he stopped me at outside our front door and said, “My baby brother and your baby sister are about to have a baby, sweetness.”

I smiled so wide it hurt my cheeks.

“They’re all grown up,” I said as my eyes welled with tears. “We done good with them, huh?”

“Yeah, darling, we done good.”

When he kissed me, I felt it deep in my bones. My body reacted to his like none other, and my heart did, too. I knew then, without a doubt, that this beautifully imperfect person owned me body, heart and soul. And I never wanted them back. They were his to keep—forever.

Ryder truly kept his promise; he made me fall in love with him all over again.

Three months later…

“Branna, she is gorgeous!”

“Look at ‘er chubby cheeks!”

“And ‘er mop of dark hair!”

“She is gettin’ so big now!”

I beamed with pride as my co-workers gushed over pictures of my three-month-old niece—Georgie Branna Slater. I still got teary eyed when I thought of her name. My mother’s name was Georgina, but she hated her name and only went by her nickname, which was Georgie. Her middle name was what surprised me the most. Bronagh and Dominic gave her my name, and it was a true gift. I was honoured.

My sister surprised me with the knowledge of her name shortly after she was born, and to say I was an emotional wreck was an understatement. I was already crying tears of joy for my little niece entering the world, and for her to be named after my mother, and me, caused a feeling of love and pride directed at my sister and Dominic, that I had never felt before.

It allowed me to feel nothing but happiness, which was an emotion I had experienced a lot over the last few months. Ryder and I were better than we had ever been in all our time together, and since we didn’t want to be separated, he would stay with me every night in Dominic and Bronagh’s house after Georgie was born.

We stayed with them the first month, and that was only because Dominic wouldn’t let me leave. Bronagh was an amazing mammy, and Dominic was an incredible father… but he was so overprotective that he drove himself crazy. My sister’s instincts took over the moment she laid eyes on her daughter, and she didn’t need my help with anything once Georgie latched onto her nipple and began feeding about twenty minutes or so after she was born.

Dominic, on the other hand, needed me for everything. Every high-pitched cry my niece made and he was screaming for me because he thought something was wrong with her. When he couldn’t wind her straight away he panicked that she would get tummy aches and would need to go to the hospital. When she didn’t feed for very long, he was convinced she would starve. It was, quite possibly, the best month of my life because I got to experience everything with them, and watch them grow as parents.

Bronagh is so chilled and natural with everything, and now Dominic is more relaxed, but probably even more overprotective because if he thought Bronagh had him wrapped around her finger, Georgie entering his world knocked him on his arse.