Alpha Hero - Hope Ford Page 0,29

his neck and pull him down to me. “I love you, Terry.”

He smiles then. A big smile that takes up his whole face. “I love you too, honey.” He picks me up and swings me around before setting me back on my feet. His hands go to my face, cupping my cheeks and I look up at him with love shining in my eyes.

“Five minutes. We’re staying five minutes so I can show off my beautiful wife, and then I’m taking you home and showing you how much I love you.”

I smile because it all seems to be coming together. He kisses me before grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the others.

As we’re walking hand in hand, I’m happy, but in that instant, I know there’s something wrong too. I barely get the word out, “Terry” before I fall to my knees.

He’s right there. Right beside me, checking me out. It isn’t long before I’m surrounded by firemen, paramedics, and policemen. Zach comes out of nowhere, driving one of the four-door trucks owned by the fire department through the grass. He runs around the truck, opening the back seat. “C’mon, put her in.”

Terry doesn’t hesitate. He lifts me up and puts me into the truck, sliding in beside me.

The front door opens and a pretty woman jumps in, hitting the dashboard. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

Zach asks her, “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m a paramedic. If she goes into labor, you going to deliver that baby?” she asks him hotly.

Terry’s concentration is completely on me, but he still hollers out, “Hell no, he’s not getting anywhere around my wife’s legs.”

Zach takes off toward the hospital and the last thing I remember is Terry telling me over and over how much he loves me.

9

Terry

My head is in my hands. Zach’s already given up on me. Well, I shouldn’t say given up, but he’s walked to the other side of the waiting room and is staring at an empty wall. Shannon, the paramedic that rode here with us, is still here somewhere. I keep seeing her pop in and out, wanting to make sure April’s all right, but not wanting to intrude.

Every time the door opens I want to jump to my feet. Our daughter is a month early and because they were worried about her and April, they are doing a C-section. Once things got critical, they got me out of there. So here I sit, unable to do a thing. They had trouble with the epidural, and then had to get the baby out so they had to give her general anesthesia. I may not be a doctor, but I know that this is dangerous for the baby and April.

The door opens and in walks Shannon. She looks at me with pity and then walks over to Zach and sits across from him.

I stare at the door, willing the doctor to tell me everything is okay.

Minutes go by, and when it’s been forty-five minutes, I finally get up and start pacing. No sooner do I get up than the doctor comes out.

He holds his hand out. “Congratulations, Dad. Mom and daughter are fine. Mom’s in recovery, but your daughter is calling for you.”

I nod my head, looking over at Zach and Shannon. He’s looking at me wistfully with a big smile on his face. He gives me the thumbs-up sign and I follow the doctor down the hall. He takes me to an empty room and before I can say anything a nurse is wheeling in a baby in a bassinet. She’s crying, and her face is purple. I’ve thought about this moment for so long now. How will I do as a dad? What if I’m horrible at it? And I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve often wondered if I will be able to love another man’s baby.

I walk up to her and she’s so tiny. Her eyes are clenched shut and her whole body is shaking from crying. I lean over and pick her up, holding her to me and pressing her to my chest. “It’s okay, I’m here. Daddy’s here,” I whisper against her head, immediately falling in love with her. I have so many things to say to her. How she can always depend on me. How I’ll always love her. The list goes on and on.

She instantly stops crying and snuggles against me.

The doctor and nurse watch us. I whisper to him, “When will my wife…”

He smiles at me. “They’ll bring