“I’ve been thinking,” Kellen said as he sat down in one of the visitor chairs in Addison’s office. “There’s an opening in Blaze’s department. I’m going to talk to him about it.”
“Sales and marketing? Is this something you really want to do?” she asked.
“I am willing to do whatever it takes to save my marriage,” Kellen answered. “You and our child are more important to me than any job.”
“You would really do this for us?”
“I love you, Addison. More than I have ever loved anyone, and I’m not going to lose you.”
“I love you, too, but I just don’t think you’re going to like being in sales and marketing,” she stated. “This is what you love doing. Look, I don’t have to go to Seattle. I’m sure I can find something here in Los Angeles.”
He shrugged in nonchalance. “I’m not going to have you leave ADDG. I wouldn’t do this to my father.”
“Are you really sure about this?” she asked, pushing away from her desk.
Kellen nodded as he rose to his feet. “You and our child are important to me, and I can’t risk losing you. I’m going to talk to Blaze about it tomorrow.”
She looked as if she were seeing him with new eyes. “I can’t believe you’re willing to sacrifice your own happiness like this.”
After a moment he added, “I will be happy in any job that will help me keep my family together.”
Chapter 25
“Did I just hear you correctly?” Blaze asked. “Did you just say you want to work in sales?”
Kellen nodded. “Addison and I have decided that it’s not such a good idea to work together.”
“Having trouble separating your work lives from your personal?”
“Something like that,” he uttered. “I love her so much, Blaze. I don’t want to lose her.”
Blaze sat up straight in his chair. “Things okay between you two?”
“Yeah. It’s just that she’s pregnant and I don’t want anything to stress her out. Her pregnancy is high risk, so it’s important that Addison stays calm.” He paused for a moment and then said, “We’ve been arguing a lot at work.”
“All you’ve ever wanted to do was architectural engineering, Kellen. Have you considered working for another firm?”
“I want to stay in the family business. Addison was offered a job in Seattle, but that’s definitely not an option. She offered to leave ADDG, but I think Dad would probably kill me.”
Blaze nodded in agreement.
“You know I have sales experience. Remember when I worked at the car dealership while I was in undergrad?”
His brother broke into a grin. “I do remember that. However, this is very different from selling cars.”
“I can sell sugar to a salt dealer and you know it.”
Blaze laughed. “You’re right about that.”
“I have to do this,” Kellen stated. “I am not going to lose my wife.”
“I admire your dedication to Addison and your child, little brother. If you want the job—it’s yours.”
He smiled. “Thanks.”
Kellen stood outside his brother’s office. He had just given up his career for the woman he loved. What he felt was anything but relief.
* * *
Addison knew that Kellen wasn’t happy with his new job and planned to talk to him once she arrived home. He was usually home before her.
He had cooked dinner for them.
“Something smells delicious,” she said when she entered the condo.
Kellen greeted her with a kiss. “I hope it tastes good. I made roast chicken.”
“How was your day?” she inquired.
“It was okay,” he responded. “How was yours?”
“Good,” Addison replied. “We just got this new project...” Her voice died at the expression on Kellen’s face. “Let’s not talk about work.”
He didn’t respond.
“I’m going to change into something comfortable.”
“Dinner will be on the table by the time you come back,” Kellen told her.
When she returned ten minutes later, Addison sat in the chair he held out for her. “Thanks, sweetie.”
She noted that he was unusually quiet during dinner. Addison wiped her mouth on the edge of her napkin and said, “I know that you are not going to like this, but I really think I should leave ADDG. I don’t think it’ll be hard for me to land a position somewhere else.”
Kellen shook his head. “No, I don’t like that idea at all.”
“You don’t want me to take the position in Seattle. You don’t want me working for someone else at all. Our marriage is suffering. What do you want me to do?” She hated seeing him look so miserable, although he was trying hard not to show it.
“Try having some faith in me,” Kellen responded. “I can do this. Working in sales isn’t all bad.”
She wiped away a lone tear. “But I can tell that you hate it. Honey, it’s written all over your face.”
“I’m not crazy about the job, but I wouldn’t exactly say that I hate it.”
“I know you,” Addison stated. “You don’t like this sales position at all.”
She shifted in her chair. At eight and a half months pregnant, it was difficult to find a comfortable position.
“The baby is almost here,” Kellen said. “You’ll be on maternity leave and I’m taking some time off, too—we can talk about our next steps.”
“I want you to know that your happiness is very important to me, Kellen. I worry that you’re going to resent me.”
“I’m not going to resent you, sweetheart.”
Groaning, Addison suddenly doubled over.
“What’s wrong?”
“That was a strong kick...” she said, although she wasn’t really sure what it was. “I think that’s what it was.”
Kellen pushed away from the table. “Was it a contraction?”
“I don’t know.”
Addison was fine one minute, and then the next minute, she was moaning. “Oooh...”
Kellen helped her up from the table. “I don’t think the baby’s kicking. You’re having contractions.”
Intense contractions hit her in a single wave.
She doubled over once again while he rubbed her back.
Before Addison realized it, she was on all fours, moaning. She’d had some back pain off and on throughout the day, but what she was feeling now was agony. She’d had no idea contractions were this painful.
After the next wave Addison managed to get out the words, “Call ambulance.”
“I can take you to the hospital.”
She shook her head. She was hurting too much to speak.
“Water...” Addison muttered after a moment. “Water broke.”
“You’re in labor,” Kellen said. “I need to get you to the hospital.”
“It’s too late,” she panted.
He looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean it’s too late?”
“The baby’s coming.”
* * *
Kellen called 9-1-1. “My wife is in labor and we need help. Get someone over here quick, please.”
“Sir, I need you to listen to me, okay? I want you to support the shoulders and hold the hips and legs firmly. Remember the baby will be slippery, so don’t drop it, okay?”
Kellen said a quick prayer as he reached in, palms facing up, prompting a moan from Addison. “It’s going to be okay, honey.”
He slowly guided the baby out, while trying to keep Addison calm and listening to the operator.
“You’re doing great, sweetheart,” he encouraged.
When Kellen saw that the umbilical cord was snaked around the baby’s neck, tightly
, his heart started pounding even faster, and his adrenaline went from overdrive to supersonic.
The baby’s eyes were shut and Kellen saw no sign of breathing.
“Wrap the baby in a clean cloth or towel...tie a shoelace tightly around the umbilical cord...”
He stopped listening to her. Kellen was focused on the neck. “Oh, my God, the baby’s not breathing,” he said. “Breathe, baby, breathe.”
Somewhere in the depths of his mind, he heard Addison crying.
“The cord is around the baby’s neck. What do I do? What do I do?”
“Don’t tie the umbilical cord just yet,” the operator advised. “The paramedics should be arriving any moment. Carefully unravel the cord from around the neck.”
“My baby...” Addison moaned. “Nooo...”
Kellen placed the baby down on the towel after he removed the cord from around her neck. The baby was so fragile with a small, purplish-reddish body.
“Let me give you CPR instructions,” the operator offered.
Miraculously, after he stroked the baby gently a couple of times, she opened her eyes, began to breathe and move.
That moment—the eyes opening—was not about joy or a celestial choir suddenly singing from heaven. It was hope. Kellen had hoped that his baby would live. It was something he thought died with Dreyden.
The baby started to cry.
He had never heard anything so wonderful as his daughter’s first cry.
Kellen used a shoelace to tie off the cord just as the paramedics arrived.
He handed the baby to Addison and ran to the door to let the paramedics in.
While they tended to his wife, Kellen held his baby daughter.
Delivering his own child was an incredible experience—the experience of a lifetime. Kellen felt as if he now had a unique connection to his daughter. It was one that he would feel throughout his life. The first sound his daughter heard upon emerging from her mother’s womb was her father praying and begging her to breathe.
For him, it reinforced the powerful feeling that all fathers wanted for their families—the feeling and security that they will take care of them, protect them and provide for them.
Professionally, it was easy to get lost in his ambition, Kellen realized, but in that moment of delivering his daughter, the game of life called success no longer existed. Having a child wasn’t part of that game. It was something real, immediate and primal, the very stuff of what actually mattered—love.
Chapter 26
From the living room she heard Kieran’s baby voice and Kellen’s manly one. He was giving his daughter a sponge bath in front of the fireplace. The diapered baby lay on a quilt, tiny legs and arms bicycling for all she was worth. Her round face was alive with interest as Kellen, on his knees beside her, carried on a one-sided conversation.
“Are you Daddy’s angel girl?” he asked, leaning over her.
Kieran cooed in response and slammed one little fist against the side of his face.
Kellen laughed and nuzzled the rounded belly, an action that sent Kieran’s arms and legs into fast motion. Suddenly, he scooped the child into his hands and lifted her overhead, waggling her gently from side to side.
Kieran’s toothless mouth spread wide, and a delighted gurgle filled the dimly lit living room.
Addison felt a catch beneath her ribs at the pleasure father and daughter found in one another. There was something beautiful and pure in that kind of love.
Tears pricked at her eyelids. A deep, tearing need took her breath, and she turned back toward the bedroom.
When she returned to the living room, Kieran was dressed in red footed pajamas, her face shiny from the bath and her dark hair neatly smoothed. Cradled in Kellen’s arms, eyes wide and earnest, she eagerly sucked down her supper.
Addison settled into the easy chair opposite Kellen’s, curling her legs beneath her. “You’re a good father.”
It was true. She’d rarely seen a man so attuned to his child.
“I’m trying.” Kellen slid the empty bottle from the baby’s mouth and lifted her against his shoulder for burping. “I made a lot of stupid mistakes before Kieran came along, but I want to be a better man for her and for you.”
* * *
Tiptoeing, Addison made her way to the bassinet in the center of the floor. A Winnie-the-Pooh nightlight provided just enough illumination for her to make out the tiny baby stirring in the crib.
Kieran.
As always, her heart melted at the sight of her beautiful two-month-old daughter.
How did I ever get so lucky?
What had been a scary, unplanned pregnancy turned into the greatest joy of her life. Not a day passed that Addison didn’t thank her lucky stars.
“Hey, there, honey bear.” She bent and reached into the crib.
Lifting Kieran, she put the baby to her shoulder, kissing a crown of soft, curly hair as she did.
“Are you hungry?”
In response, Kieran wiggled and mewed and made sucking noises with her tiny mouth.
“Let’s go, then. Why don’t we visit with Daddy while you eat? What do you say about that?”
Kieran wiggled some more, snuggling close.
Addison walked down the hall to the office she shared with Kellen.
He looked up and smiled when they entered. “What’s going on with you two?”
“I brought your daughter in here to spend some time with you while she has her bottle.”
Kellen pushed away from his desk. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to feed her. I’ll wash my hands and be right back.”
“Grab her bottle off the counter,” she told him.
Addison sat down in the overstuffed leather chair and swiveled to face the window. Kieran was a good baby, a blessing from heaven.
Kieran gave a fussy cry.
“Daddy’s coming, sweetie.”
“I have it right here,” Kellen said as he walked briskly into the room.
He picked up the baby and carried her back to his seat behind the desk.
Kieran sucked greedily, prompting laughter from her parents.
Balancing Kieran in his lap, Kellen rubbed the baby’s back and waited for a burp.
When the infant showed no more interest in her bottle, he sat it down on the desk. “I guess she’s full.”
“She looks so content in your arms,” Addison stated. “I can tell that she loves her daddy. She just lights up whenever she hears your voice.”
“I’m crazy about her,” he responded with a smile. “I never knew I could love someone so much.” Kellen raised his gaze to look at her. “Addison, you and Kieran are the two most important people in my life. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I know that you’re unhappy, Kellen.”
“Let’s not do this again,” he said. “I don’t want you and my daughter living in Seattle.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Addison interjected quickly. “That’s not what this is about. Kellen, I talked to your father and he agrees with me. I think we’ve found the perfect solution.”
“Am I getting fired again?”
She smiled up at him. “More like a promotion.”
“To what?” he asked.
“You are perfect for a newly created position in Mike’s department. It’s an intermediate design architect position. You will specialize in hotel projects in all design stages.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “It’s perfect for you.”
“I think so, too, but what does my dad think?”
“He agrees with me,” Addison responded. “Honey, your father has a lot of faith in you. I have faith in you.”
Kellen rose to his feet and walked around the desk to where she sat. He bent down
and placed the baby in her arms before kissing her. “You did this for me?”
“It was either that or quit working, and I don’t want to do that,” she confessed. “I love our daughter, but I don’t just want to be a mother. I want my career, as well.”
“I understand that,” Kellen responded. “I would never ask you to give up your job.”
“Will you feel this way if we have more children?” Addison questioned.
“Even then,” he answered as he leaned against the edge of his desk.
She planted a kiss on the baby’s forehead. “Actually, I’ve been thinking that it would be nice to have on-site child-care facilities for the staff. I never realized how much mothers sacrifice when working until now. At least with child-care on-site, they can spend breaks with their children every day.”
He smiled. “I like that idea. You should put together a proposal and submit it to Dad.”
“I think I will.”
After she settled a sleeping Kieran in her crib an hour later, Addison stopped in her tracks in the doorway, pulled up by the sight of her husband sitting on the edge of the bed. “What are you doing in here?” she asked. “I thought I left you in the office working.”
“I figured since Kieran is sleeping, we might as well take a nap, too.”
Addison broke into a grin. “Are you sure napping is what you have in mind?”
“Come to bed, wife. Whatever happens after that...”
In his gaze was a promise of forever...and happily ever after.
* * * * *
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