Page 80 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

“You totally are,” Taya confirmed. She cocked her head, narrowed her eyes slightly. “You look different, too,” she murmured. “I dunno. Content.” She nudged Schroder.

“She does,” he agreed absently, polishing off his burger loaded with an obscene amount of bacon as Summer smothered a laugh.

She glanced at Adam, shared a secret smile that the others didn’t seem to notice. Which was perfect because neither one of them was ready to share their news.

They spent the rest of the evening visiting with the other couples and by the time things began to wind down, Summer felt like she was part of the family.

After talking to the other girls for a while she went in search of her husband, found him talking with Tuck and DeLuca. When they got up and excused themselves she sat in Adam’s lap and looped an arm around her husband’s neck, then leaned down to rest her forehead against his. “Adam?”

“Hmm?” he murmured, hands resting protectively atop her still-flat abdomen and his lips nuzzling the side of her neck.

She was more than ready to go home and have him all to herself for the rest of the night. To get the message across, she leaned in and pressed her breasts against his chest. “Take me home.”

He gave a low chuckle and gathered her close for a slow, thorough kiss that left her breathless. “Anything you want, doll.” He got up, gripped her hands and helped her to her feet.

Hand in hand, she stole another glance at him as they walked up the lawn toward the patio, shared another smile with him. She knew exactly how lucky she was to have him at her side, to have him walk with her through the rest of this life.

They’d gone through hell but their marriage had survived it all and she’d been given the unexpected gift of a second chance with her husband.

And in doing so, she’d wound up falling in love with him all over again.

Epilogue

Seven months later

Okay, this hurt every bit as much as she remembered. No,more.

Summer whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as another contraction hit. They were coming so fast now, one right on top of the other with no break.

Panic and fear kept threatening to overtake her, her mind whispering that something might be wrong, that something mightgowrong. The labor had started unexpectedly last night around ten, two weeks before her due date.

Stop it. It’s not like last time.She wasn’t alone and the baby was fine. He or she had just decided to come a little early, that was all.

The pain just built and built with no letup, her uterus cramping like a vise. She gritted her teeth, gripped the backs of her knees and bore down, pushing with all her might. It felt like she was trying to move a concrete bowling ball out of her body, rather than a baby.

The pregnancy had come as a total shock. A month after returning from Jordan they’d started talking about the possibility of looking into the adoption process again, had decided they might start the paperwork later this year. Neither of them had even thought of using any protection since the doctors had told them years ago they would never get pregnant without intervention.

And yet here she was, against all odds, having a baby they’d conceived on their own.

And it freakinghurt.

“Adam,” she cried when she could breathe again. God, she didn’t know if she could do this, it hurt so bad. She was so glad he was here with her. He’d been a rock through everything, hadn’t left her side since they’d arrived at the hospital.

He shifted position, leaning closer to tighten his arm around her shoulders and released her left thigh to cup the side of her face in his hand. His pale blue eyes were full of sympathy. “I know, doll, this part sucks. But it’s almost over. You’re doing great and I’m so damn proud of you,” he finished, his voice slightly rough as he grabbed a damp washcloth and gently wiped her face with it, the coolness giving her the only shred of relief she’d felt over the past six hours.

She shook her head as another contraction began to build, but it didn’t stave off the inevitable. Things had progressed so fast, the medical staff hadn’t been able to give her an epidural and though they’d tried five times to get an IV into her, her veins had kept jumping all over the place. So once again, unfortunately she was doing this cold turkey.

“Don’t let go,” she panted. Two hours of pushing had all but exhausted her. She barely had the strength to lift her head.

“I won’t,” he vowed. “I’m not going anywhere.” His strong, solid arm gripped her tighter, his other hand sliding down to hook under her left thigh, pulling it back for her so that she didn’t have to waste precious strength.

Everything funneled out except the pain as her body twisted from the inside out. The terrible pressure was indescribable.

It was terrifying but there was nothing to do but get through this now and she just wanted it over as soon as possible. She could hear the steady blip of the baby’s heartbeat from the monitor they’d set up beside the bed, knew that at least it was still alive and well.

She gasped and panted, struggling to escape the pain and pressure. It felt like she was on fire down there, like she would be torn apart at the seams at any moment.

And then, with one final push, she felt something pop through. A high-pitched scream tore out of her as she felt her flesh tear.

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