Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
“I can’t believe you did that. You went out there,” he says, searching both myself and Max for any visible injuries.
“I had to,” I say, “I had no choice. The door was open. I heard her calling for me.” My chest tightens as I replay the events in my head. “I had to,” I repeat.
King presses his forehead to mine. He grips the back of my neck and holds me to him as close as he can. “I know, baby. I fucking know,” his voice cracks.
Sammy bursts into the room and crashes his way into the family hug. For a few moments, we say nothing.
Thia comes into the room holding Nicole Grace.
“When did you guys get here?” I ask, finally able to catch my breath.
Thia frowns. “The house is underwater, and the club’s roof is gone. We took the boat and made it here just before the water rushed in.”
“I’m glad you’re all okay,” I say.
Thia smiles and looks at our family. Sopping wet in a pile on the floor. “Ditto.”
“Can I say a potty word mommy?” Maxie asks, tugging on my wet shirt.
I smile into her hair. “Sure, why not? Potty words seem a little silly after what we just went through, but just this once.”
She stares up at me, cupping her mouth with her hand, I bend as far as my big belly will allow to hear her better. “That lady is a real pee pee head,” she whispers.
King chuckles. Apparently, Preppy and I aren’t the only ones who need to work on our whispering skills.
I kiss her on the top of her wet curls. “Yeah, she is. She most definitely is.”
“Was,” King says, so only I can hear.
“Was what?” I ask.
“She was a pee pee head.”
I raise an eyebrow. “And what is she now?”
A soaking wet Preppy walks into the room, straightening his soggy bow-tie. “Dead.”
* * *
Max and Sammy wriggled free from our hold and are now playing with Bear’s kids in the corner of the room. Nicole Grace is asleep in Thia’s arms.
Preppy and King saw Tricia’s body floating face-first by the shed, and I can’t help but feel bad for her. She may not have really wanted to be a mother, but she did want to be loved, and she was willing to sacrifice anything or anyone to get it.
My stomach tightens, and I feel like I’m being ripped apart from the inside out. “Ahhhhh!”
King moves closer to my side and asks a silent question, concern and worry lining his face once again.
I nod because I can’t answer him. The pain is too great. And just as it ebbs, it starts a new. I feel a pressure like I’ve never felt before, and there’s no doubt about what’s happening.
King tells Thia to take the kids into the bedroom attached to the bonus room. Preppy appears with some blankets.
King puts his arms around my shoulders to lift me, but I shake my head. “There’s no time,” I manage to say as my entire body contorts from the pain as if I’m possessed by a demon.
I tap my hand against the maternity leggings, and King moves to swiftly to peel the wet pants and underwear down my legs.
“What do you need me to do?” King asks.
“Ahhhhhhhhh…” I scream as the pain hits me harder than any other wave before it. This time, I give in to the need to push and bare down as hard as I can until I feel a blood vessel pop in my eye. There’s this burning, tearing feeling between my legs, and it’s like being sliced and set on fire at the same time.
King looks down. “I see the head. You’ve got this, baby. You’re the strongest person I know. You’ve got this.” I focus on King’s eyes as another contraction sits on my stomach like an anvil. The pain is greater than I knew was possible, but even as it wreaks havoc on my body, my instinct kicks in, and as I push one more time and my vision turns to static, I reach down and feel for my baby.
King raises up on his knees and watches with both fear and wonderment as I deliver our new baby into the world. I pull her from my body and set her on my chest. King wipes her with a clean sheet, and although she’s not crying, I know she’s okay because bright blue eyes stare up at me in wonderment.
The pain is gone as if it never was.
King covers us both in a blanket, and I look up at my husband.
“Holy fucking shit,” Preppy says from the corner of the room. “Are you a fucking superhero or something because I feel like you should have told me a while ago, and frankly, I’m a little butt hurt about it.”
“Fuck yeah, she is,” King says, with pride in his voice that surges into my chest. He covers me and our new baby with another soft, clean blanket. “I can’t believe she’s here. I can’t believe what you just did.”