Love Again (Cowboys & Angels 4)

“Do we have a name for the baby?” the nurse asked as she gazed upon us with a huge smile.

Jonathon and I looked at one another and then to Liberty as we answered the nurse.

“Yes. Liberty Grace Turner.”

Her hand covered her mouth, and she closed her eyes as she said, “Thank you. I love it so much.”

The doctor stood before all of us. “Looks like everything is finished up here. Liberty, once that epidural runs out, I want you up and walking around, but only with the help of someone, okay?”

She nodded. “Yes. I understand.”

I lovingly gazed back to my daughter. Her little blue eyes opened as she captured mine.

“Hello there, sweet baby girl. It’s Mommy and Daddy,” I said. Jonathon ran a finger down the side of her cheek.

“Welcome to the world, Liberty. Wait until you meet Patches.”

I started to laugh and wipe more tears away before handing our daughter to Jonathon. He took her like he was a pro at holding newborns. The way the two of them looked at each other had my chest radiating. It was the most precious moment I’d ever witnessed.

“Daddy loves you so much already. My beautiful baby girl.”

Just when I thought I couldn’t love Jonathon any more, he proved me wrong.

After the room had cleared and only one nurse was left, I turned to see Liberty sleeping. I had already fed our Liberty and Jonathon was holding her in his arms.

“I want Liberty to hold her before we take her to the nursery.”

The baby was staying until tomorrow and then we would be able to take her home.

Standing, Jonathon walked over to her bed side while I gently roused her awake.

She opened her eyes and smiled. The doula had been so helpful and had somehow gotten Liberty to rest and fall asleep.

“Do you want to hold her before we have to leave?”

Sitting up straighter, she chewed on her lip. “I don’t know. Would you mind?”

I smiled. “Of course not.”

Jonathon placed little Liberty in her mother’s arms. Her breath caught and her chin trembled.

“Liberty, we’re going to give you a few minutes alone. If you need us, we are right outside.”

“What?” Liberty asked in a shocked voice.

“If you don’t want us to go, we won’t,” Jonathon added.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

With a grin, I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Not at all. We’ll be right outside.”

Jonathon placed his hand on my lower back and guided me from the room. One peek over my shoulder, and I smiled when I saw Liberty looking at the baby’s toes.

Once we were out of the room, I faced Jonathon.

“I thought it would be hard to leave her with the baby, but it felt like the most natural thing.”

He nodded. “I can’t imagine how she feels.”

My arms wrapped around my chest as I tried to picture giving little Liberty up. It was unimaginable. The heaviness I felt for poor Liberty nearly suffocated me.

Ten minutes passed before Liberty called for us. As we walked into the room, I was taken at the sight in front of me.

A young mother, holding the child she had given up so that they would both have a better life. The child that was now mine and Jonathon’s. Our child. A little girl who would learn about the amazing young woman her birth mother was, who loved her baby so much she blessed us with becoming her parents.

“Thank you so much for giving me that time with her. It helped in more ways than you’ll ever know.”

I scooped the baby into my arms. “It was the least we could do.”

Her smile was tight and her eyes filled with tears. “You better head on out. I’m fine.”

A part of me didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay in that room…just the four of us. But I knew it was time.

“Thank you, Liberty. You’ll call us when you’ve decided on what you want to do?”

She nodded. “I promise, I will.”

I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “Thank you.”

Stepping back, Jonathon kissed her forehead. “You let us know if you need anything. Or you tell Wanda and Mick, okay?”

“Yes, I promise. Thank you both.”

As we turned to leave, I felt both excited and scared with a bit of sadness mixed in.

A nurse waited for us outside the room with a bassinet for Liberty. I placed her in it and followed the nurse as she showed us to where our baby would stay for the usual tests. She would be released after the pediatrician came by tomorrow to check her out.

“Y’all are more than welcome to come into the nursery any time you want. I believe your mother said you are staying at the hotel across the street.”

“Thanks,” Jonathon said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Yes, thank you, but I’m pretty sure we’ll crash in the waiting room all night,” I said with a chuckle.