joined in complete silence. Their breathing and the sounds of their lovemaking melded with the beauty and silence of the moment. Knowing she was close, she whispered, “I will love you for the rest of my life.”
He lifted away and stared down at her. “For the rest of our lives. You are my love, my heart.” He dropped for a kiss and held it as her body crested. The rhythmic pulsing constricted her muscles, and she moaned into his kiss. His hips sped up until he, too, climaxed and pushed deep inside of her, his shaft kicking as he released. Eden held him as he pulled away and they both gasped for air.
She held him until he rolled off her and tucked her up against him. With a smile, she held up her hand and stared at the ring. “It’s beautiful.”
He reached up and took her hand in his, tilting the ring so it glittered in the sun. “My grandmother left a note with this ring when I inherited it. I’ll let you read it. I have it in the same safe deposit box in Alabama where I stored her ring. It says that she would come back from the dead and tan my hide if I didn’t find a woman that would stick with me through the good times and the bad. She said, ‘Life isn’t easy; don’t go looking for a woman who won’t lean forward when you’re pulling hard.’”
Eden sighed, “Life isn’t easy, but it is a glorious bundle of excitement, stress, and happiness. I’ll share every day with you, together, by your side. I’ll be there with you, pulling hard.”
He kissed her temple and sighed. “For the rest of our lives.”
Chapter 23
A year and a half later:
“Are you all right?” Eden waddled up to him and he wrapped his arm around her. She was eight months pregnant with their son and he was a big boy who would be delivered via C-section in twenty-eight days—if he didn’t make his appearance sooner.
“I’ll be okay. I wish he’d told me before it came to this.” Jamison’s calls had lessened over the last year, but he and Eden had been so busy with their life that he hadn’t noticed. It turned out that his friend had been fighting a brain tumor and his wife called this afternoon, letting him know Jamison had entered hospice.
“You’re going to see him, right?” She sat down in his office chair and propped her swollen ankles up on his waste bin.
He sighed and shook his head. “Not with you being this close…”
Eden rubbed her stomach and eyed him. “Nope, not happening. You will go and say goodbye to your friend. I’ll be fine, Gen is here, and so is Zeke if anything goes wrong.”
“Zeke is not an OB doc.” Jeremiah crossed his arms.
“Look, you know and I know you will regret not seeing Jamison one last time. Go, tell him how much he has meant to you and then come home to me and… Galen?”
Jeremiah made an exaggerated shudder, “God, no. Veto.”
Eden sighed and patted her very round belly. “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll figure it out before you come. Your daddy is going to get online and buy plane tickets right now. Yes, he is.” She looked up at him. “Don’t make me a liar, go.” She shooed him toward his computer that he kept on another desk so he could talk to his patients without looking around a monitor.
“I don’t like it.”
“We don’t care. It is the right thing to do and you’re going to do it.” Eden lifted an eyebrow at him.
“Fine, but I’m making sure you have someone at the house with you at all times. Zeke can watch you at the clinic where you shouldn’t be working.”
Eden lifted her hands in exasperation. “I work half-days. I’d go out of my head sitting at the house watching the chickens all day. Babe, we’ll be fine. Please, go and see your friend.”
Jeremiah went to her and leaned over her, giving her a kiss before he dipped down and kissed her belly. “Your momma is the best woman in the world.”
Eden chuckled and extended a hand to him. “Doubtful, but the one thing that is certain is she needs to use the bathroom again.”
Jeremiah helped her out of the chair and watched as his beautiful wife and son toddled out of the office. He glanced at the computer and closed his eyes. The brunt of the problem was he really didn’t want to