as he went. Babies were a lot tougher than they looked.
Easy for him to say, he added silently. He got to be the grandfather, with only part-time responsibility. He had a feeling Chandler was going to be doing some soul-searching as he assessed his ability to be a father. Holding your child in your arms was a hell of a wake-up call.
He crossed to the hospital bed and smiled down at his sleeping daughter.
“I’m proud of you, baby girl,” he whispered before returning to Chandler. “I’m going to head home for a little while. You have my number if you need anything. And when these two can check out, just let me know and I’ll come get all of you.”
His chest tightened as he thought about what would happen after that. Now that little Elijah had been born, staying a few extra days would be out of the question.
“You’ll want to head back to Phoenix as soon as you can. You know, for the holidays.”
“Joylyn and I were just talking about that. We were wondering if we could stay with you through Christmas. Her mom has the boys running around, and a newborn might be a bit much when those three are so excited about their presents.” Chandler raised a shoulder. “Plus she’s been talking about how much she’s been enjoying her time with you. We’d like to stay—if that’s all right with you.”
Stay with him? For Christmas? Garrick had to clear his throat before he could speak.
“I’d like that very much.”
Chandler grinned. “Us, too.”
Garrick patted him on the back, touched his grandson’s cheek and walked out into the hallway. He’d barely gotten to the lobby when Alisha raced toward him.
“I just got here,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest. “Are they all right? Chandler called to say they were fine, but are they? I can’t believe I missed it. Our little girl, Garrick. She has her own baby.”
Garrick hugged her. “She’s doing just fine, and the baby is healthy and handsome.”
“Have they named him yet? We can’t keep calling him ‘the baby.’”
“Elijah.”
“Oh, I like that,” she said.
“Me, too.” He gave her the room number. “She’s sleeping, but I know she’ll want to see you.”
Alisha started for the elevator, then turned back to face him. “Did you stay with her while she was in labor?”
“I was with her until the baby came.” He thought about hanging on to his daughter’s hands and telling her she could do it. “I’d taken the classes with her, so I had a fair understanding of what was going on.” He chuckled. “The trick is not to look.”
Alisha laughed. “No, Garrick. The trick is passing something the size of a bowling ball.”
She stepped onto the elevator and waved.
He went outside and was surprised to see the sun was up. A quick glance at his watch told him it was just after nine. They’d left the wedding around five thirty last night, so they’d been in the hospital just over fifteen hours. He had a strange sense of being out of space and time.
The drive home was quick. As soon as he pulled into his driveway, Wynn burst out of her house and raced toward him.
“How is she? How are you? The pictures were beautiful. I can’t believe he’s here. How was it? Were you scared? Oh, Garrick, what a wonderful experience to share with your daughter.”
She threw herself against him. He caught her and held her tight, needing to know she was close to him.
“I missed you,” he said, surprising himself with the words. “I missed you a lot.”
She wrapped her arms around him. “I was thinking about you all night. How did you do?”
“I hung in there. Joylyn did the work.”
They walked into the house. Wynn started coffee while he leaned against the counter and tried to process his emotions.
“I thought she would be a wreck,” he said. “She’s been so upset all the time, but she wasn’t. She was calm and just seemed to know what to do. It was incredible. I was right there when he was born.”
He thought about the stillness in the moments after the baby had entered the world and the collective sigh of relief when he’d started to cry.
“He’s healthy?” Wynn asked, turning to face him.
“Ten fingers and toes, along with everything else. He’s already started breastfeeding. Chandler got there about twenty minutes after he was born. Joylyn was so happy to see him.”
“Her family is complete,” Wynn said with a smile. “What an amazing couple