Page 1 of Joy Ride

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Joy had never been in so much pain in her entire life.

She screamed.She writhed.She cursed God and the men who had done this to her.

Then she clenched her teeth as she fought another excruciating spasm despite the way her vision dimmed on the edges.Was this what it felt like when you were dying?

Thanks to her stepfather, she couldn’t even go to a hospital.Instead, she had to suffer.

Just when Joy thought she couldn’t bear a single moment more, the agony relented.The soft, calming voice of her midwife penetrated her dark thoughts as the woman crooned encouragement in her ear.“Almost there.Be strong for your daughter.You’ll meet her soon.”

Of course, Joy couldn’t comprehend the specific words so much as the tone they were uttered in.Her mind kept panicking and her exhausted body had long ago resorted to functioning off of adrenaline and instinct.She sagged against the edge of the inflatable pool that was supposed to make for a peaceful birthing experience.

My ass.

If it wasn’t for the baby she’d felt growing inside her for months now, even as her own love for the child blossomed, she would have given up.Let the blackness take her.Sometimes she wondered if it was smart to bring an innocent child into the world.Especially a daughter.

What if she ended up as powerless as Joy herself?No.She would find a way to give her child a better life.Maybe she could even improve her own in the process.

Joy hated the men who’d put her in this situation.

Her stepfather.

His dirty right-hand man, Clive.

And especially whichever of the two guys she’d slept with who’d been the one to get her pregnant before abandoning her…yet again.

Strike that.On general principle, she hatedbothof them, regardless of which had knocked her up.

Another contraction wrung her midsection as if her own body was calling her a liar.Hadn’t it already proven she’d never be able to resist either of them?

Worse, she hated herself for falling in love with them both even though she’d known neither of them would stay.How much different would this moment in her life have been if Dane or Walker or both were here to hold her hand and promise everything would be okay?

Joy couldn’t help it.She began to weep.Normally she would shut those tears down, refuse to shed them or acknowledge how deeply Walker and Dane’s rejection had cut her, but right then she used the excuse of her physical pain to mask the impact of the far deeper emotional wounds she bore.

“No, no.You’re doing fine.This should be it.You’re going to birth her head this time.Ready?”The midwife helped Joy focus on what was important.The future, not the past.

The rest of her labor was a blur as pain threatened to blot out her elation.But in the end, when the midwife guided her into bed and handed Joy her precious baby, it was rapture that won out.

In that moment she knew…all of it had been worth it.

Every bit of discomfort—today and for years before—her heartbreak, and even being left behind by the two men she had always longed for.Every hurdle she’d cleared had brought her to this moment.

“I swear I will love you like no one has ever loved me,” Joy promised as she traced her daughter’s cheek with the tip of her index finger.

Her child would never have reason to doubt that.

And if she had to prove it by fighting for them both to survive, that’s what she was going to do.

As soon as she took about a three-day nap.

“Rest now.I’ll stay until you’ve recovered enough to care for her on your own.”The midwife took a seat, smiling at both Joy and her baby as if she was proud of them.Joy wondered if that’s what it would have been like to have a mother who gave a shit about her daughter instead of only herself.

She would never be selfish when it came to her baby.

“Thank you,” Joy whispered, annoyed when her eyes fluttered closed, stealing the sight of her child from her.

“What’s her name?”the midwife asked.

“Arden.”Joy hadn’t planned to say that, but when she pried her eyelids open for one more glimpse at the baby in her arms, she knew it was the right answer.

Now if only the rest of her problems were so easy to fix, she’d be set.

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