Page 25 of Hard To Love

“Auggie, I promise. If I feel anything at all, I will call you.”

“You promise?” My heart sighed happily.

August’s kind of love was beautiful. I’d always known it by the way he treated those around him—friends, family, co-workers, me.

But being the one who owned his heart? To be the one who was his number-one priority was on a whole other level of beauty. I never thought life could be so beautiful.

He liked to tell me that I was his home, but honestly, it was the other way around. I looked at the new house and smiled. It was finished. The last nail had been put in a day before my due date. Everything was set up and gorgeous. The nursery was a beautiful space filled with yellows and greens.

I had no idea how he and his team had managed to get the addition to the cabin done the way they had and manage everything at the ranch, but they made miracles happen. Much like the worrywart who was on the line.

“Sandy? Angel?”

“I’m here. I was just looking at the house,” I shared happily and heard him exhale with relief.

“Our home,” he whispered my thought out loud. “How about we order takeout for dinner and cuddle up and watch—" I didn’t hear whatever he suggested because I yelled.

“Ow!” I exclaimed loudly, suddenly feeling like I was close to doubling over in pain. My belly tightened, and so did my back. The pain and pressure were too much. So much, I found it hard to catch my breath.

“Sandy? Baby, talk to me.”

“Honey,” I whispered, but then something else happened.

Something that made my heart drop to my belly then the floor. Warmth and liquid hit between my legs. I looked down at my lap and blinked. It looked like I’d wet myself. Like I’d had an accident, but I hadn’t.

“Auggie—” Before I could tell him I thought my water broke, another shot of pain hit my lower back and I groaned.

“I’ll be right there. Stay on the swing, baby. Don’t try to get up. Pop! It’s time.”

“Shit,” I heard Kyle curse in the background.

“Stay on the phone for me, beautiful. I will be right there before you know it.”

“August, I’m scared,” I confessed.

Part of me had been glad I’d been overdue. I’d thought maybe I was a little bit of a masochist because I was terribly uncomfortable, irritable, and completely exhausted. Sleep hardly happened because I was so big. But now I knew why I had been okay with passing my due date.

I’d been terrified.

Terrified of going through childbirth, of becoming a mom, of the extraordinary way my life was going to change.

“Honey, it’s going to change for us,” he answered, making me realize I was freaking out, out loud.

But Auggie was my best friend.

My rock.

My everything.

There was no denying he knew me better than I knew myself a lot of the time. This was one of those moments when life liked to remind me I was in good hands. “You’re not alone, angel. I can see the house from where I am,” he shared.

I tried to look up, but it hurt to even lift my head. “Next time I drive up to our home, we’re going to be a family of three, Sandy. Can you believe that? You will be inside safe and sound, holding our sweet little cupcake, waiting for me to come home.”

“Or stud muffin,” I gritted through my teeth. The pain was coming on too quickly and too strongly. “Auggie,” I sniffled as the pain ebbed slightly.

“I’ll be right with you every step of the way. You’re not alone. Never, ever alone.”

“I love you.” My lips wobbled. I could hear the engine of one of the work trucks. I heard the door open, and just that sound alone had me breathing easier.

---