Touch by Touch (Riggins Brothers #4) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,86
families an update about her progress, minus the baby. I had him tell them that there were no visitors allowed while they were extubating her, other than me—they knew I refused to leave. It’s true. No way am I leaving her, but it bought me some time for the OBGYN to come in and see her and our baby.
They brought an ultrasound machine, and I was able to see our baby for the first time. The flicker of his or her little heartbeat was flashing on the screen. The doctor assured me the baby was perfectly healthy, and there’s no reason to be concerned.
I hate she missed this moment. The tech who was assisting the doctor printed me lots of pictures and even handed me a DVD, which had me tearing up. Now, not only can I show Aspen, but our family too.
I’m going to be a father.
“I love you,” I say from my spot next to her bed. The tube is out of her throat, and she’s doing well, breathing on her own. Her vitals look good, and now we just need her to wake up. “I never got to tell you that.” My eyes are glued to her belly, where our child grows. “I was so afraid you would run if I did. This taught me a valuable lesson. Say today what you might not get to tomorrow. Never again will I go a single day without telling you how much I love you. How much I love our baby.”
“Baby?” a raspy voice asks.
My head jerks to her, and I blink hard. Once, twice, three times to make sure I’m not seeing things that aren’t really happening. She’s awake. “I missed you,” I say, leaning in and pressing my lips to hers. Pulling back, I offer her a sip of water.
She drinks greedily. “You said baby.”
I nod. “Did you know you were pregnant?” I ask.
Tears well in her eyes. “No. Is—” She stops, getting choked up.
“The baby is fine. You’re going to be fine. Do you remember what happened?”
“I woke up to the smoke alarm and lots of smoke. I couldn’t see, and the heat…” She shivers.
“You’re safe.” I lean in and kiss her again. “You and our baby are safe.”
“Conrad, I-I didn’t know.”
“Now we do. Starting today, we focus on our forever.”
“I could feel you. I could hear you, but I couldn’t say anything back.” She swallows hard, and I offer her another drink of water. “I focused on the feeling of your hand in mine.”
“I need to call the doctor and let them know you’re awake, but first.” I reach into the bedside table and pull out the ultrasound pictures. “This is our baby,” I say, pointing out the heartbeat. “They said you’re about seven weeks along. So, our night together at the cabin.”
“I’m on the pill, and we used protection. I don’t understand?” Except that one time.
“It’s the magic, baby. It doesn’t matter how or why. All that matters is what is. We’re going to have a baby.”
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you.”
Reaching over her head, I call the doctor to come and check on her before our families come in. “I’m going to text Aurora and tell her that you’re awake. I didn’t tell anyone about the baby except for Marshall. He was in here when the doctor told me.”
“Can we tell them all at the same time?”
I think about the two people at a time rule that we’ve been breaking all day and decide I don’t give a fuck. The worse that they can do is kick everyone back to the waiting room. I’ll never deny her anything. “Yeah. I’ll make that happen.”
For the first time since she was admitted, I step out of her room and across the hall to the waiting room. All eyes land on me, and I smile. I can see the tension leave every single one of them from that simple act alone.
“She’s awake. They just checked her out, and she’s doing well. They’re going to keep her overnight, just as a precaution.”
“Can we see her?” her mom asks.
“Actually, I’m going to need all of you to sneak across the hall as quietly as you can.” I glance around. Layla and Sawyer aren’t here, but that’s okay. They’re where they should be at home with their babies. I’ll be sure to have Royce and Owen call them before we make our announcement. I don’t want them to miss out on this.