Surrender to Me (Boggy Creek Valley 4)

After the fling with Brighton last year, I hadn’t been with anyone. Mostly because Bella seemed to finally be coming out of her shell, and that little spark of hope inside of me was starting to catch fire once again.

Greer’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Nope, no baby yet.”

Everyone started to sit. There was a chair next to Brighton open, and one next to Bella. I made my way over to Bella. “Mind if I sit next to you?”

Her blue eyes lifted, and I could see them sparkle as she replied, “I don’t mind at all.”

I took the seat and started bouncing my leg. Bella reached over and placed her hand on my knee, causing me to instantly stop. The feel of her hand on my body sent a rush of heat through every inch of me, and I tried like hell not to think about how my dick jumped in my pants.

“She’s going to be fine. Take a few deep breaths.”

Of course, I was worried about my sister, but that wasn’t why I was nervous. I didn’t want to do anything to push Bella away from me again, and it drove me fucking mad that I still didn’t know the reason why it happened the first time. I glanced over at Bishop. I knew he was the only person who knew exactly what I was going through. A few years ago, Abby had lost their baby, and she’d ended up leaving Bishop—with no real explanation at all. They’d gotten divorced, but last fall Abby had moved back to Boggy Creek, and they were now married once again. I was truly happy for them…and a bit jealous, truth be told.

Bella reached for my hand and laced it with hers. I jerked my head to the side and looked at her.

She squeezed my hand and gave me that sweet smile of hers. “Stop worrying, Hunter.”

I nodded. “I’m not worrying about Willa.”

She grinned. “Of course not.” As if just realizing we were touching, she looked down at our joined hands and suddenly pulled hers away. She rubbed her hands down her jeans, looking anywhere but at me.

“How long does it take to have a baby?” Kyle asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

Brighton gave him a smug grin. “Aren’t cops supposed to know things like that?”

He shot her a dirty look. “No. Maybe a medic, but not a cop.”

The way those two argued, you’d think they were an old married couple on each other’s last nerve.

“It just depends,” Greer said, clearly attempting to stop the fight that was brewing between Brighton and her brother. “Since this is Willa’s second baby, I’d think it would go pretty fast.”

As if on cue, Aiden walked into the waiting room and everyone stood. He simply stared at us, not saying a word.

“Should someone slap him or something?” Candace asked in loud whisper.

Aiden shook his head and laughed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He met my gaze, then looked over at my folks. “Willa did…she did amazing.” Wiping tears from his face, Aiden took a deep breath and said, “We have a seven-pound, four-ounce baby girl.”

Kyle shouted, “I knew it!” while the rest of us broke into cheers.

I stood back while my folks walked up to Aiden first, followed by all of our friends. I was the last to walk over to him, frowning as I approached. “Dude, are you okay?”

Aiden slowly shook his head and looked at me. “No. I think I’m about to pass out.”

It was a damn good thing I was standing where I was because Aiden’s eyes fluttered and, true to his word, he fainted dead away.

Arabella

I slowly rocked my body back and forth, holding Ciara Megan O’Hara in my arms as I sat in Willa and Aiden’s living room. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I tried not to think about how much I wanted a child of my own. At nearly thirty-three years old, I wasn’t sure this was a dream that would ever come true for me.

“Arabella, are you all right?”

Willa’s voice pulled me from my somber thoughts.

“She’s just so beautiful,” I said, my voice cracking. “It makes me emotional.”

I glanced up to see Willa smiling as she looked at her daughter in my arms.

“She is beautiful. I love how babies smell.” Greer leaned in and drew in a deep breath of Ciara’s hair.

Giggling, I did the same thing and nodded. “I agree. If you could bottle this up, you’d probably make a fortune.”

“How are you feeling, Willa?” Greer walked over and sat next to Willa on the sofa. “I can’t believe you left the hospital so soon.”

Willa adjusted her body some and looked at Greer. “As long as everything is okay with the mom and the baby, you don’t have to stay nearly as long anymore.”