I helped Taylor change into a fresh pair of underwear, yoga pants, and one of my hoodies. Nothing she owned fit her very well anymore.

“This is so embarrassing,” Taylor groaned.

I ignored that and ushered her out of the room.

“Thank fuck this shit is almost over,” she muttered.

There would be a lot I would ignore today. Step by step, I helped her down the stairs, and Keira told us she’d drive over to the hospital in an hour or so. No reason for her to be there now. She’d just end up in the waiting room and probably wait there all day.

While squatting down to assist Taylor with her shoes, I pulled out my phone, called Dr. Thompson, and trapped the phone between my shoulder and cheek.

“You really know what you’re doing, don’t you?” Taylor gripped my other shoulder for support. “Fuck, here comes another.” She groaned.

I didn’t know what I was doing, but Pipsqueak had helped me put together a checklist. Hearing Taylor going through contractions was going to threaten my sanity, though. It took all my strength to stay focused. To keep my emotions bottled up, to remain robotic.

Dr. Thompson answered her call, and I informed her in a rush that we were on our way. Contractions were four minutes apart, which was approximately how long it took to drive to the hospital.

Thankfully, she was working tonight, so she didn’t have to leave her home in the middle of the night and drive all the way. She’d mentioned living in the Valley, and it was possible I’d been a little nervous about the distance. I mean, the Valley was a solid twenty minutes away from Ponderosa. Twenty minutes was an eternity.

Seventeen

Scratch that. Twenty minutes wasn’t an eternity.

Fourteen hours, however, was.

I paced the hallway outside the delivery room. By now, Keira had been joined by Pipsqueak and Mary in the waiting room.

I stopped every time I heard Taylor cry out.

She was right in there, on the other side of that door, with Dr. Thompson urging her to push.

I envied the nurses in the delivery room who could witness the birth.

Returning to my room, I fired off a text to Pipsqueak.

Didn’t I tell you not to skip school today?

The teacher in me was not pleased.

She responded.

You did. I’m glad I didn’t listen. Mom’s teaching me how to crochet. She’s making baby socks.

I didn’t know what to do with that information. In fact, it sort of just evaporated. My nerves were shot, my chest felt tight, and my head was a fucking mess. I slumped down in the chair and bounced my knee restlessly. Then Pipsqueak texted again.

She will be in your arms soon, Mister.

I released a heavy breath.

What a motherfucking year this had been.

If someone had told me in January that I’d wrap up this year in a postpartum room with an empty hospital bed, waiting to meet my child, I didn’t even know how I’d react. Laugh? Stare at them blankly? Snort? Shake my head?

I cocked my head as a faint sound reached my ears, and it grew stronger and stronger until it was unmistakable. I sucked in a breath and scrubbed my hands over my face, and then I was on my feet. It was a baby’s scream. She was here.

Holy fuck, I was a dad.

My stomach tightened painfully. The scream faded, and I wanted it back. I needed to hear her. Before I knew what I was doing, my hand was on the door, but I didn’t get very far. The door opened inward, causing me to stumble back. And the sight before me pushed my heart up into my throat.

A nurse offered a big smile as she wheeled in a tiny little bundle in a see-through crib of sorts.

“Congratulations, Mr. Becker.” She positioned the crib next to the bed and gave me an update—perfectly healthy, six pounds and six ounces, eighteen inches long—but just like Pipsqueak’s text, the information flew out of my head the second I’d received it. I couldn’t focus on anything other than that bundle.

Until the nurse asked, “Would you like to hold her?”

I swallowed hard and nodded once.

The emotions I’d kept on a tight leash rattled inside me, and I could sense I wouldn’t be able to control them much longer.

The nurse suggested I sit down on the edge of the bed.

Once seated, I mirrored the cradle of my arms, and the nurse gently placed the baby in my embrace. My vision blurred within a second. Fucking hell, she was so tiny. All bundled up in a blanket, and with a soft-looking cap covering her head.

I didn’t hear a word of what the nurse said after that, and eventually, I was left alone with the baby.

My daughter.

My daughter.

I let out a choked sound and shook my head, and I just stood by while the levees broke within me. I had to blink past the tears so I wouldn’t lose sight of her. This tiny girl who was all mine. She made little noises of complaint, which I probably shouldn’t find cute as hell. But they were. With her eyes closed, she squirmed and whined and got a hand free from the blanket.

Tags: Cara Dee Erotic
Source: readsnovelonline.net