Page 86 of The Jackpot Screwer
Nine days after giving birth, it was finally the day that we started the new chapter in our life. Everything had been great with Rett’s lungs and all the other tests came up negative too. Which was why when his weight and temperature dropped overnight, the NICU doctors wanted to keep him in. For three days Rett’s weight dropped each day and I had never been so scared in my whole life.
Carter was amazing. So strong and dependable. If I’d ever worried about his ability to be a parent or whether he was committed, he’d certainly proved me wrong over the last nine days. He’d held me, he’d soothed me, and he’d listened to everything the medical team told us when I was too much of a wreck to take it in. He was a total rock.
Finally, Rett’s temperature went up and his weight climbed over the next four days, stabilizing enough for us to take him home.
“You got everything?” Carter asked, making one last sweeping look of the room that my dad had paid for me to stay in so we could be near to our baby.
“Yep,” I replied, feeling a buzz of excitement rushing through my veins. “All set.”
Carter grinned at me, his eyes shining with anticipation as he then turned to Rett in his baby carrier.
“Hey, little dude. We’re going home now.” Softly dropping a kiss to Rett’s head, I heard him draw in a shaky breath.
“You okay, baby?” I asked, rubbing a hand down his back.
He looked at me over his shoulder and let go of the air he’d inhaled. “Yeah, just can’t believe we finally get to take him home.”
Both our gazes strayed to Rett and just as we’d done for many minutes and hours over the last nine days, we simply stared and marveled that he was ours.
“We are so lucky, Carter.” I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “Things could have been so much worse.”
His hand came to rest on top of mine on his shoulder, and he gave my fingers a squeeze.
“Yeah, I know. They weren’t though and now it’s time to go home.” He checked the straps, for the fourth time and then picked it up, holding out his other hand to me. “Okay, Lollipop, let’s go home.”
* * *
“What the fu-flip are they doing here?” Carter groaned as we pulled into the parking lot of the apartment block.
I could see at least four vehicles that I recognized. It appeared that pretty much the whole of our combined family had turned up to welcome us home.
“I told Mom we’d call when we were settled.” He turned the engine off and slammed the truck into park. “Stay here, I’ll go get rid of them.”
As he moved to get out, I pulled on his arm. “Baby, it’s fine. They’re excited is all.”
They hadn’t seen Rett apart from in pictures, so it was no wonder they’d all turned up to welcome us home.
“I wanted to get you alone.” Carter pouted and looked up toward the window of our apartment.
“You do know I’m not really able to have sex yet, right?” I winced at the thought of him even pointing his mammoth penis in the direction of my vagina.
“What do you take me for?” He turned on me, looking totally pissed.
“I could maybe manage a blowie, or a hand job,” I offered.
A huge smile broke out on his handsome face. “You think?”
I slapped his arm. “No, I don’t.” Narrowing my eyes on him, I then leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Maybe tomorrow, baby.”
He sat up like a little puppy and practically wagged his tail. “You really think?”
Rolling my eyes, I unbuckled my seatbelt and looked into the back where Rett was fast asleep. The love in my heart for him was immense. I felt like I had a balloon inside it that was getting bigger and bigger, pushing it out of my ribcage and forcing the air from my lungs.
“You ready for the rest of our lives?” Carter asked, leaning in close to me and watching our son too.
“Yes, I most definitely am.”
He pulled me into his side and kissed my temple, breathing me in and I knew I would never want to ever be anywhere else, other than with this man.
