Mine To Keep (Love By Design 7)

“I can if that makes this easier?” Giving her an out seemed like a better option.

“It’s all right. Hospitals aren’t really known for being restful, right? Besides, I have to figure this out before we go home, don’t I, little man?” She shuffled around and held Ethan close, uncovering his old man baby face.

We stared at the baby, watching his chest rise and fall peacefully, neither of us wanting to wake him up. I guessed this was what those cherished moments looked like.

Carefully, I slipped my phone out of my pocket and snapped a few pictures of the two most beautiful people I knew while they were caught up in getting to know each other silently. They let their heartbeats do the talking and held a conversation I ached to be a part of in their special little world. They spoke their own love language between a mother and a son. I pushed away the jealousy that had no place there. I could show her the pictures later, but for now I’d keep them for myself.

13

Remi

“Now that you’re a captive audience…” My closest friend in New Paltz held several decorative bags and balloons, which covered her face, but not the voice I knew. “We can finally have this baby shower,” she said with excitement I had trouble following.

Taylor Jane Bryant, soon to be Mrs. Hunter Hart, put the bags down and leaned over to hug me. The girls had been planning a shower once they found out, but when you go into labor early, plans sort of go right out the window.

“You might want to tie her down. Momma can’t seem to follow doctor’s orders or daddy’s.” A nurse, Paige, I think her name was, stuck her head in the door, ratting me out to the girls gathered in my room. Taylor Jane and I exchanged a glance.

I wasn’t touching the daddy comment with a twenty-foot pole. Evan had been in and out of my room with more frequency than the bar’s kitchen door. He’d been the perfect gentleman, and I was terrified that when he left, he wouldn’t come back.

Taylor Jane clucked, shaking her head disapprovingly, and I shrugged. Nobody wanted to be told how to mother their own child, and if I wanted to resume my life, I had to get up, get moving, and figure out the work thing before Andy and David were forced to fire me or evict me, good employee or not. They were incredibly generous, but I couldn’t let them down.

“But not before I get to hold the little man!” Kristen barged in, a tornado spinning out of control. I trusted her to hold my son because her eyes melted the second she spotted him. You couldn’t fake that kind of falling in love with a baby. You were either a baby person or not at all, and we didn’t need that kind of negativity in our lives.

I held him up and she cradled him like she’d done it plenty of times before. Ethan was fascinated by her and cooed while she held him against her chest. Barely a few days old and already a heartbreaker—just like his daddy, and the thought made me stop for a moment. It hurt in an unexpected way that he might already be influencing my son unknowingly. I watched them as they sat down in the room’s rocking chair while more people filed into my room.

Winnie Grey was a newcomer to town like me. She’d spent the summer pet-sitting and ended up with the town vet. She, along with Lia Faust, were closest in age to me, but I adored all the girls who came to see me and were so thoughtful. I could never repay them.

“Are you relaxed enough? Do you need anything? Can I get you anything? Here, I should probably fluff your pillow.” Winnie moved behind me and plumped the pillow up, helping me adjust myself in the bed. I didn’t know if it was hospitals in general or the smell of baby powder and newborns that sent her into a tizzy. Winnie would be a someday-baby person; clearly she wasn’t ready now, and that was okay.

“Relax, Win, Chase isn’t going to knock you up for a good while, so you can ease up on the baby anxiety.” Kristen teased her brother’s girlfriend, and the girls laughed because it was true. Winnie was constantly worried Chase would let his swimmers free to impregnate her now that she had finally found something she loved to do as a career. Not that I wanted to know this, but Winnie had confided in me over a girls’ night of mixed drinks and a flash back to the eighties night at Easton’s Pub. It seemed her and I had condom fiascos in common.

“Can you imagine it, though? You two would make gorgeous babies with your almond-shaped eyes and Chase’s hair. Holy moly!” Kristen said dreamily.

“Yeah, yeah, I prefer to remain baby-free. No offense, Remi.” Winnie winked at me.

“None taken.”

It felt good to be surrounded by a tribe of women who supported me during my pregnancy instead of tearing me down. I’d had enough of that in my life and being a single mom was about to bring an entirely new set of challenges.

“You, uh, don’t feel any different do you?” Winnie bit her lip nervously.

“Besides having my girl parts threaten to fall out when I go to the bathroom? Yeah not much.” We chuckled awkwardly; they would all learn these wonders of motherhood soon enough on their own. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin the mystery.

“No, I meant since…you know…” Winnie leaned in, whispering.

Kristen glared, hissing. “Winnie, my almost sister-in-law! I’m going to forget you said that!” Kristen looked up from holding Ethan. Her anger made my baby wiggle and scrunch his face.

“What do you mean?” I asked. I wondered what I missed while I was recovering in la-la land.

“Oh she’s just worried because Damien donated blood, and she thinks you might turn wild from his hemoglobin.” Kristen waved off the answer, clearly ann

oyed.

Winnie stood her ground, though, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking out her long black-brown hair. “What? Like no one was thinking it?”

“Okay, that’s enough.” Taylor was the voice of reason, but even I could see Winnie’s concern, strange as it was. Damien was pretty wild. I wondered if my new blood would a repellent of sorts for one hot cop I now couldn’t get out of my mind.

“No, I haven’t sprouted a devil tail and horns, but if I start to speak in tongues, you can stake me like Dracula,” I joked.