Everybody was ready. They just needed the babies. And Meg was very ready to have her body and her life back. She had a one-year-old and that was quite enough baby for her.
“Here comes a big one,” she warned.
Meg tried to focus on her breath, but the pain was too intense. She started to cry—until a voice in her ear whispered, “You’re strong, my love. You can do this. Slow and easy. Focus.”
Henry. Her rock.
And thanks to Mia, she and Henry were, now, legally the adoptive parents of JJ, Annie, Bravo and Mystic. Meg’s heart swelled to the size of a pumpkin every time one of them called her mommy.
The kids had followed her pregnancy with age-appropriate interest. Annie read books to Meg’s belly and called her future cousins by name. “I love you, Nina. Bravo wants to play with you, Royce.”
Royce after Ryker’s late father, Martin Roy Bensen.
Meg couldn’t remember where the name Nina Colette came from, only that it was the first and only girl’s name mentioned when Ryker and Mia joined her in the exam room for the ultrasound.
Twins.
Twice the pain, apparently.
Meg was in active labor by the time Mia and Ryker rushed into the hospital’s pseudo-bedroom-looking delivery room. With Henry at her back and the new parents on either side, Meg actually felt cradled by love.
She felt another presence, too. Laurel, the gentle soul Meg referred to as her muse. When Meg got stuck on a scene in her book, she’d close her eyes and open her mind to help. Was the female essence in Meg’s imagination Henry’s late daughter? Her scientist side insisted, “Not possible.” But her writer side ignored the pragmatism to err on the side of who cares if it works?
“How are you doing, honey?” Mia asked. “More ice chips?”
Meg shook her head. She was in the zone—a racer headed for the goal line. She could do this.
And five minutes later, Royce came out. A beautiful dark-haired head, followed by a whoosh of shoulders, body and fluids.
As Mia and the attending nurse saw to him, Meg prepared to do the whole painful process again. Luckily, Nina was a tiny little thing. She popped into the world with two quick pushes, which was about all Meg had left in her.
Nina’s daddy was there to catch her and the two bonded in an instant.
Meg knew her parents were in the hospital, waiting. Probably with a couple of the older grandkids. Maybe Austen and Paul were present, too. Meg didn’t care. She just wanted to sleep.
She’d accomplished what she set out to do, and in the process, she gained a life she never could have imagined. She had four beautiful children and the best husband in the world. The lone wolf had her pack, and the future looked very bright indeed.
As she closed her eyes and drifted toward sleep, warm, blissful sleep, a beautiful white light appeared to welcome her. She sensed a familiar presence just beyond the aura.Laurel.Meg was tempted to move closer to the radiance, but she sensed another entity.
Jacob. The man Henry spoke so highly of.
Meg realized in a flash of awareness that the two souls hovering on the edge of eternity weren’t there to usher her home. They’d come to say goodbye.
“No,” she murmured. “Don’t go. Wait.” There was so much she wanted to ask, the mystery beckoned. The scientist in her edged closer to the beautiful abyss, curious, questioning.
“Meg?” a familiar voice called, drawing her back. “Are you okay, honey? Nurse, I think she’s in trouble. Meg?”
*
Meg opened her eyes. The shimmering beauty of her vision was gone, but when she closed her eyes she still felt the deep, profound peace Laurel and Jacob had left in her heart—a gift to share with the family they loved in life and beyond.
She looked at Henry’s worried face and smiled. “It’s okay, my love. I’m right here. And I’m not going anywhere…until you take me home.”
He let out a shaky breath, then turned and gestured for the others to join him. Her sister and brother-in-law and the new babies crowded close, their joy pushing the last little bit of sadness from Meg’s heart.
Life was for living and the Zabrinskis did that with flair…and love.
The End
If you enjoyed Montana Maverick, you’ll love the other Big Sky Maverick stories!
The Big Sky Mavericks Series
Book 1: Montana Cowgirl
Buy now!
Book 2: Montana Cowboy
Buy now!
Book 3: Montana Darling
Buy now!
Book 4: Montana Maverick
About the Author
Former award-winning newspaper journalist Debra Salonen is a nationally bestselling author with 26 published novels for Harlequin’s Superromance and American lines and one single title release for Harlequin Signature. Several of her titles were nominated for “Best Superromance,” including Until He Met Rachel, which took home that honor in 2010.
In 2006, Debra was named Romantic Times Reviewer’s Career Achievement “Series Storyteller of the Year”.
Debra lives in the foothills near Yosemite National Park in California with her husband and two dogs. Luckily, her two children and three grandchildren live close by to keep Debra connected to the real world. Visit her website at www.debrasalonen.com.
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