by Ranae Rose
“You okay, sweetheart?” Jack pressed a dry cloth to her forehead, tentatively wiping her brow, fighting the light sheen of sweat that seemed to be a permanent part of her now. She could feel the occasional bead of moisture trickling down her temple, tickling her jaw. After so much pushing and deep-breathing, she was hot despite the fact that it was flurrying outside and the cabin had been dusted with a light layer of snow – she could see flakes dancing past the bedroom windowpane if she turned her head. “Sweetheart?”
She did her best to nod, unable to speak. Each contraction tore the air right out of her lungs and made breathing a challenge, let alone speaking.
Poor Jack. The birth of his child had temporarily overshadowed his alpha status, putting him at the bottom of the short chain of command in the birthing room – which was their bedroom, temporarily transformed by Clarissa into a suitable facility for a very natural birth. Not for the first time, Mandy wondered what it would be like to have an epidural. Like liquid magic zooming through her veins, probably. Too bad she wasn’t human; she’d just have to endure this the way nature intended.
Mother Nature was cruel.
“You’re almost there,” Clarissa said, her voice clear and steady. “It’ll all be worth it Mandy, I promise.”
Mandy didn’t have a hope of returning Clarissa’s smile. Instead, she managed another nod. When the contraction finally ended, nothing seemed to have changed. Mandy breathed a sigh that was part exasperation and part exhaustion. “It seems like I’ve been pushing forever.” Between contractions, the pain eased, allowing her to talk. It was like standing in the eye of a hurricane, knowing you’d be swept up again in a matter of minutes.
“You’re doing great,” Jack said, squeezing her shoulder lightly. “Do you want some ice chips?”
He sounded so desperate to help somehow that she nodded.
By the time he returned from the kitchen with a cup of chipped ice, the next contraction had seized Mandy, causing her belly to ball up, tense and impossibly hard.
“Good, good, good…” Clarissa said, standing at the end of the bed, watching intently as if she expected the baby to emerge at any moment. Hopefully, that was exactly what would happen. “You’re doing great, Mandy. Can you push any harder?”
Mandy didn’t have enough breath to spare for an exasperated sigh. As Jack settled beside her, an ice-filled tumbler in hand, she bore down with all her strength.
“The baby is crowning!” Clarissa declared, her brown eyes gleaming.
The contraction ended, leaving Mandy right where she’d started, or so it seemed.
“This next one might be it,” Clarissa said. “I caught a glimpse of dark hair. Jack, we might have a little carbon-copy of you on our hands in a minute.”
Mandy smiled. A little boy, a miniature Jack, would be adorable. A girl would be too – a daughter with his thick, dark hair, and maybe his golden eyes, too.
“If the baby’s lucky, she’ll have her mama’s eyes,” Jack said.
“She?” Mandy asked as her smile widened.
He shrugged. “Well, I didn’t wanna call our baby an ‘it’, and I’ve always kinda imagined havin’ a little girl that looked like you.”
“Well, whether it’s a girl or a boy, I hope our baby looks like you.” They’d waited for nine months – why did these last few moments feel so long? She couldn’t wait to find out if they were having a son or a daughter, if she’d be buying tiny dresses or someday struggling to get a little boy to wear a shirt in the summertime instead of running around in just jeans all day like his daddy.
Jack held up his cup and rattled it lightly. “Ice chip?”
She agreed and let him press one to her lips. It quickly melted, cooling her tongue and trickling down her throat. It had barely made its way to her stomach by the time the next contraction began, startlingly strong. This was it – it had to be. Unfortunately, she couldn’t say so – she could only push.
“The baby’s crowning.” Clarissa looked ready to cradle a slippery little newborn. “I think we’ve got it this time. Mandy, you’re—”
For a moment, it felt as if everything below Mandy’s waist had burst into flames. Then the pressure was gone and she felt the baby emerge, headed for Clarissa’s capable hands.
Mandy collapsed against the pillows, every ounce of her energy evaporating. She was vaguely aware of the pressure of Jack’s hand squeezing hers.
“It’s a girl!” Clarissa said. “Congratulations, you’ve got a daughter. Jack, do you want to cut the cord?”
“I reckon so.” He stepped forward, took the scissors Clarissa handed him and snipped the cord where she indicated without even flinching.
In her current position, Mandy couldn’t get a good look at the baby, but she could see Clarissa hurrying to pat it down with a clean white towel and then bundling it in a receiving blanket.
A fresh surge of energy hit Mandy as her baby was placed in her arms. Wrapped in a blanket, only a round face and one chubby little fist were visible. Big, dark blue eyes blinked up at Mandy as she finally locked gazes with her daughter.
“She’s beautiful,” Jack said, leaning over Mandy’s shoulder and reaching around her to pull down a layer of the receiving blanket, uncovering their daughter’s tiny chin. “Just like you.”
She smiled as he pressed his lips against her temple, his kiss feather-light.
“Ella?” he asked as he pulled away, his eyes meeting hers.
Mandy nodded. That was the name they’d chosen together for their child if it was a girl. “Here, you hold Ella.”
Jack scooped Ella out of Mandy’s arms, so careful he might’ve been handling glass. “This is the first time I’ve ever held a baby. Am I doing it right?”
“Really?” Mandy’s heart skipped a beat as she watched him cradle Ella protectively, his large arms draped in the printed cotton blanket. “You’re doing fine.”
Ella managed to kick her wrappings loose and when one of her little feet emerged, he tucked it back inside and adjusted the blanket. Maybe there would be a few things he’d have to learn, but he looked like a natural at caring for their daughter. When he pressed a gentle kiss against Ella’s forehead, Mandy’s heart melted, and she’d never been more glad that she’d decided to stay for good in the Great Smoky Mountains.
About the Author
Ranae Rose lives on the US East Coast and is an avid reader and writer who can’t resist a good love story, and the hotter the better. You can learn more about Ranae and her books, including the Half Moon Shifters Series, at: www.ranaerose.com
Ranae loves to hear from readers! She can be reached at: [email protected]
Connect with Ranae on Twitter: @Ranae_Rose