Page 126 of Sweet Madness

And it is.

The little baby in my belly is the product of the purest love, and I’ve longed for so long to meet him or her.

“Okay, Mrs. Banning, I need you to push,” the doctor says, peeking her head from beneath the blanket between my legs. “It’s time.”

It’s time…

I turn to Shaw, who looks down at me with love and pride shining in his eyes. “This is it, moonshine.” He lifts my hand to his face and kisses it.

“We’re going to be parents,” I choke out, overwhelmed with love and happiness.

“You’ll be the best mom,” he says in awe.

“And you’ll be his or her world,” I beam.

Shaw’s eyes are misty yet reassuring.

And that’s all I need. His calm helps steady my nerves, and that’s all I need.

The room seems to hold its breath as I push with all my strength, Shaw whispering words of love and encouragement in my ear with each contraction.

On my last push, and what feels like an eternity later, our baby enters the world kicking and screaming.

“You did it, baby.” Shaw peppers my face with kisses as I collapse back against the pillow, tears of exhaustion and bliss streaming down my cheeks.

“Mr. and Mrs. Banning, meet your baby,” one of the nurses says, holding my child in her arms.

“Fuck…” Shaw whispers, making me look away from the nurse and the baby in her arms to him.

“What is it?” I manage to gasp out, my voice trembling with emotion and curiosity to find out if I brought a little boy or a little girl into the world.

“I need to get myself a shotgun, moonshine,” my husband says with the biggest smile on his face.

The nurse approaches us, smiling warmly and holding up the baby for us to see. “Congratulations! It’s a beautiful little girl,” she announces softly. I can’t help but laugh with joy as I watch my little girl.

A little girl, and she is all mine.

And my husband’s, of course.

Our baby girl lets out a loud cry, a sound that fills our hearts with an indescribable sense of completeness and joy. Shaw gazes at our daughter with awe and tenderness, and in that moment, I feel an overwhelming rush of love for both my husband and our perfect baby girl.

The nurse places our girl in my arms, and I quickly count her fingers and little toes, making sure everything is okay. Then I kiss her little nose.

“Hi, baby girl. I’m your mommy,” I whisper as my daughter opens her eyes briefly, as if sensing her mom is there. “Hi!” I laugh. Then I lean to my side toward Shaw. “And this is your daddy, and he loves you so much! You’re one lucky little girl because you have the best dad.”

My husband, overcome with emotion, wipes away a tear and tries to hide it. Thank you, lucky stars, for this beautiful man and this beautiful life we created.

Shaw extends his arm and takes our daughter’s small hand in his. “I promise you,” he murmurs softly, his voice tinged with emotion, “I will be the best father to you. I’ll never give up, and I’ll always fight for you.” He chokes up.

I know he is promising our baby what his mother couldn’t do for him.

My heart, although full of love, aches for him.

I turn my gaze from our girl to the love of my life, my eyes shimmering with tears of joy and exhaustion. I reach up, touching his cheek tenderly. “I know you will,” I whisper, my voice filled with unwavering faith in him. “You’ll be a super dad.”

Shaw’s teary smile widens at my words. He leans in to kiss my nose gently and then drops a kiss on our daughter’s head.

Our baby girl stirs in my arms, a tiny yawn escaping her lips, as if sensing that she is safe between the two people who will always have her back.

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