Page 83 of The Jackpot Screwer
“You can both do this,” she said softly. “I know my baby girl and she’ll be just great.”
“I know,” I breathed out shakily. “I’m just not so sure I will.”
“Honey, you came into this world triumphantly, screaming your lungs out—okay, you were covered in poop, but you were loud and strong. So, of course, you can do this.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I rolled my eyes and took a step away. “I need to get in there.”
“Give her our love,” Darcy replied. “And we’ll all be waiting. Hunter and Ellie are here too.”
Emotion prickled at my throat. Hunter was my best friend and even though I gave her shit, I loved my sister, to have them waiting helped ease my heart a little. As Mom turned to leave, I grabbed her arm.
“Mom, what if—”
She held her hand up and shook her head, biting on a quivering bottom lip. “Not gonna happen, baby. Now go be there for Bronte and bring our grandchild into this world.”
When I pushed back into the delivery room, Annalise gave me a bright smile and moved away from Bronte’s side.
“Just who she’s been asking for.” As I passed her, she gave my back a quick rub. “I’ll be just over here when you need me.”
Placing herself in a chair just away from the bed, I stood in her place and took Bronte’s hand in mine.
“You okay. Any pain?”
She nodded with a wince and a little whimper. “It hurts so bad.”
Fuck she blew me away. It hurt bad yet all she’d done was a tiny little cry. “You’re a warrior, Lollipop, you know that.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and plopped onto her gown. “I’m trying to be brave, for you and the baby, but it’s real hard.”
Blowing out a breath, I ran a hand down the braid that Annalise had put into her hair. As she looked up at me, I could practically hear my heart beating in my ears.
“I know what I can do.”
“What’s that?” she asked, through gritted teeth.
I cleared my throat and started to sing. “When your heart is black and broken. And you need a helping hand…”
‘Ten Storey Love Song’ by The Stone Roses was Bronte’s favorite song and as I sang it, badly, I finally got a smile from my girl.
There were no words to describe how I felt about Bronte. I thought I’d loved her before, but to watch her give birth to our son, only determined that the damn woman would own my heart forever. If I could have taken her place and suffered the pain for her, I would have. She was braver and stronger than anyone I’d ever met. No pain relief and the added worry that the baby would be taken from her pretty much straight away, didn’t faze her. She dropped her chin, gritted her teeth and was a fucking rock star.
As for my son. My boy. Fuck he was beautiful. He had my eyes and his mom’s nose and lips, and I was pretty sure he was going to be a heartbreaker. He was most definitely mine, the attention he was giving to his momma’s boobs was testament to that.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” Annalise said. “They’re going to have to take him now.”
Bronte had worried she wouldn’t take to motherhood, but she practically growled when the nurse reached for him.
“Hey, come on, he’ll be good,” I whispered against her sweaty brow. “They need to check him out.”
“He looks fine,” she protested.
She was right, he did. He was small, but still six pounds dead on the nail, so was a good weight. He really was a strong little guy and pretty impatient if his early arrival was anything to go by.
“I know, but we need to check those lungs.” The nurse smiled softly and held her arms out to take the baby. “You decided on a name, or shall I write Baby Maples for now.”
We’d discussed names and while we couldn’t fully agree there’d been one that we kept coming back to. I looked to Bronte and decided she could make the final decision—she damn well deserved the honor.
“Everett Carter Maples,” she replied, looking down and stroking his head. “Rett for short.”
