Page 21 of Theirs to Have

After Callan returned with breakfast,which they ate in bed, they both helped her with a shower and then ordered her back to bed. When she tried to sneak down the hall to see the nursery, Cash pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her. He had taken pictures of the room, and she thought it was probably the sweetest thing ever. She climbed back into bed studying the pictures and imagining herself there holding their baby.

A few hours later, her grandmother showed up with poor Joe in tow. Mercy felt just awful that they cut their honeymoon short because of her. Although Joe was sweet enough to lie and tell her that was just not the case. He went on about his back acting up from those damn hotel beds and wanting to get back home to hisbed. Mercy was grateful to him for trying to make her feel better. When Joe moseyed off to find the guys, her grandmother started to fuss over her, confirming her suspicions about why they had come back from Vegas early.

“Gram, you didn’t need to cut your trip short, I’m fine.” Her grandmother made her lie back and covered Mercy with her blankets like she used to do when Mercy was just a girl. “Please stop fussing over me, Gram. Both guys have been doing that all day and I’m tired of being taken care of. I don’t think I will be able to stand two weeks of this.” Her grandmother smiled at the mention of the guys taking care of her. Mercy knew that she was fighting an uphill battle, and her grandmother was only hearing what she wanted to hear.

“Nonsense darling, you are about to give birth to my first great-grandchild, and I wanted to be here.” Mercy giggled.

“Gram, this baby won’t be here for another three weeks. I think you would have made it back in time for the delivery.” Her grandmother sat on the edge of the bed and laid her hand on Mercy’s belly.

“No dear, this baby is going to be here in a few days, and I wanted to make sure that I would be back in time. A grandmother knows these things.” Mercy saw the determined look on Gram’s face and knew there would be no arguing with her.

“Okay, Gram. Whatever you say.” Mercy took the bottled water that her grandmother handed to her.

“I have a little secret to tell you, and I will probably need to follow it up with an apology Mercy.” Her grandmother looked worried, and Mercy sat up, propping a few pillows under her back. “I pushed you into their arms.” Her gram admitted and Mercy could only gather that she was talking about Cash and Callan. Mercy laughed. No one had to push her in either of their directions. She willingly leaped into their arms, and she woulddo it all over again. Being with them both felt right like she found her place in the world.

“Gram, you didn’t push me into Cash and Callan’s arms. Being with them was my decision and I’d make it again,” Mercy admitted.

Her grandmother smiled, “When I told you that Joe wanted to move in with me and he wanted his privacy and that you would have to move out—well, I lied. Joe was fine with you living with us and I was too. I knew that if I let you stay you’d never let those boys back into your life.” Her gram rubbed her belly, “And that would have been a mistake,” she whispered.

Mercy knew that her grandmother would never put her out on the street with nowhere to go. Honestly, she was grateful that Gram gave her a push towards the guys. She was being a stubborn ass, and she wouldn’t have willingly gone to them otherwise. Asking them for help was the hardest thing that she ever had to do. Gram telling her that she had to move left her no choice but to swallow her pride and go to them.

“Can you forgive me?” Gram asked and Mercy nodded without hesitation.

“Of course, Gram. There is nothing to forgive.” Mercy pulled her grandmother in for a hug and froze when she felt a gush of wetness between her legs. “Um, I think that something might have just happened,” Mercy squeaked.

“Well, I’d say your water just broke, honey. Let’s give Emily a call and let your guys know that they are about to be daddies.” Mercy wanted to smile at the way her grandmother so willingly accepted both guys into her life but honestly, she was terrified of what was about to come next. All she could do was nod her head as her grandmother sprang into action. She was about to become a mommy, and she was scared to death.

Callan

Callan called Emily and she told him that she was on her way. He didn’t miss the concern in her voice when he told her that Mercy had started having regular contractions and he was worried that Emily wouldn’t get there in time. She assured him that she would be there before he knew it and that first-time pregnancies took longer to deliver. He was worried that their baby might have other plans, everything about the whole pregnancy seemed unconventional. He didn’t believe that their kid would follow everyone else’s rules especially now when he or she was about to make a grand entrance into the world.

He went back into their bedroom, not missing the look of concern on Mary’s face. “I think we should call an ambulance,” Mary said. She was stroking Mercy’s back while she panted her way through another contraction. “They are too close together.” Cash nodded to Callan, and he knew that things were progressing much faster than anyone planned.

Joe took Callan’s cell from his hand and stepped into the hallway. “You should be with your family right now. I will call for an ambulance and wait out front for it to arrive.” Callan nodded.

“Thanks, Joe,” he whispered. He wasn’t quite sure what to do until Mercy reached for him. He got onto the bed with her on the opposite side of Cash and he held her hand. Cash held her other hand and the worry on his face nearly did Callan in.

“Oh, you boys, women have babies every day. Our Mercy will be just fine but I’m afraid that this little one will be here before the ambulance.” The thought of the three of them having to deliver their baby scared the shit out of him.

“I need to push,” Mercy panted.

Mary shook her head, “Okay, I’m going to deliver my great-grandchild and you two are going to help me.”

“Have you ever done this before?” Callan was almost afraid to ask.

Mary smiled, “I had four children, and I think I remember how things work,” Mary said. Mercy growled, effectively stopping their conversation.

“This baby is ripping me in two. She wants out,” Mercy cried.

“So, it’s going to be a girl, little one?” Cash asked. Callan knew that Cash was trying to distract their girl, and he had to admit he was grateful. With everything happening around them at top speed, he felt useless.

“Mercy, I’m going to need you to help me,” Mary moved some of the bedding and got onto the bed. “I know that you can talk us through having this baby and what we need to do for you both.” Mercy nodded.

“This is a lot different than watching someone giving birth at the hospital,” Mercy complained. “We need blankets to wrap her in and the ambulance needs to hurry the fuck up. I’m going to push.” Cash ran out of the room and came back seconds later with clean towels. Callan felt helpless as he held Mercy’s hand, telling her what a good job she was doing. Mercy screamed, gripping his hand so tightly that his fingers turned blue. The baby’s head appeared, and Mary said she was crowning. Withinminutes and a few more pushes, their daughter made her way into the world, squawking and screaming her way into his heart.

Callan wiped his face, not ashamed of the tears that now freely fell down his cheeks. “She’s so fucking beautiful, baby.” Callan kissed Mercy’s forehead as Cash took their daughter from Mary who wrapped her in some of the towels that Callan had grabbed.

“Callan is right, little one. Our daughter is gorgeous, just like her mama. But what he needs to remember is that this little girl can hear him cursing and we need to watch what we say.” Cash’s sing-song voice almost made Callan want to laugh but he knew that Cash was right. He would do just about anything for his new little family, even give up swearing.

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