by Josie Kerr
“She’d probably like it. I know my mamá and her sisters always had a party. When’s she due?”
“Ah, that’s the thing. She was due last week.”
“Well, you better get moving, man.”
“I don’t know where to take her.”
“Call Rory, Colin. He’ll know of some place spectacular, or hell, he’ll do whatever connection voodoo that he’s got and conjure something up.”
“I didn’t even think about Rory. He finagled that whole bachelor/bachelorette party thing on short notice. Yeah, I’ll call Rory.”
Chapter Thirteen
Saint Patrick’s Day
Bailey tried not to panic. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Oof. Damn these Braxton-Hicks. She’d been having twinges for a few hours, but no biggie.
She was ready to not be pregnant anymore, that’s for sure, but having a real, live person to take care of all the time was scaring her senseless. Oh my Lord, how on earth am I going to be able to take care of a baby all the time? I could barely keep up with Emily for a few hours.
Emily was a good baby, too. They played and Bailey gave Em and Mick’s little girl a bath while her parents went to go see Skankin’ Janey Mac perform for Saint Patrick’s Day. By the time it was time for Emily to go to bed, Bailey was ready for a nap. Who knew babies could be so wriggly?
Mick and Em arrived home to find Bailey on the couch, looking stunned.
Always perceptive, Mick pulled Bailey up and hugged her. “You’ll do fine, Bailey. You’re going to be a fantastic mother. Don’t worry, girlie.”
Bailey sniffled and patted Mick’s chest. “You always know what to say, Mick. Thank you.”
“Do you need Mick to give you ride back home? You look awfully tired. Or you could stay upstairs tonight.” Em peered at Bailey. She didn’t look great.
“No, I’m just sick and tired of being pregnant. I’ll be fine, but thanks so much for offering. That’s very sweet.” Bailey kissed her friend’s cheek and patted Mick’s arm. “I’ll call you when I get home, okay?”
Em nodded. “Okay, Bailey. Just be sure to call or I’ll come over there and then you’ll be in real trouble.”
Bailey laughed and waved and headed out the door.
Once home, after she called Em, Bailey realized that she was truly exhausted, but hungry. She was always hungry these days.
Bailey looked in her refrigerator, hoping that something had magically appeared since the last time she peeked inside. Of course, it hadn’t. And of course, she didn’t want anything that she had on hand. She didn’t want to order take-out, and she didn’t want to put on pants to go somewhere. Not that any of her pants would fit. She closed the refrigerator door with a sigh.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Who could that be?” she muttered looking at the time. Dear Lord, it wasn’t even nine o’clock!
She looked out the peephole and saw Colin standing on the stoop, a bouquet of flowers clutched in his big fist. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and she could see him chewing on his lip. What in the world…? He knocked on the door again.
Bailey opened the door and peeked at Colin, whose face lit up in a smile when he saw her. “Hey, Bailey.”
“Hey, Colin. What are you doing?”
“Um, I was wondering, if you hadn’t eaten yet, if you’d like to go get some dinner, and if you have eaten, if you’d like to go get some dessert or something.…” He had started shifting back and forth again.
“Why are you so nervous, Colin? It’s only me. Come in here.”
Colin grinned, and stepped through the door, his big body seeming not so large tonight. He held the flowers out.
“Are those for me?” Bailey asked. No, Bailey, you dummy, they’re for some other woman.
“Yeah, they’re for you. I thought you might like some flowers to brighten up your living room. Not that your house needs brightening up.” Oh God, Colin. Now you’re babbling.
Bailey grinned at his nervousness. “That’s really sweet of you, Colin.” And that’s the thing. It was sweet. He was sweet beneath that quiet, gruff exterior. Why in the world had she shut him out?
“Well, you’re in luck, because I was just trying to figure out what I was going to do for dinner. So we can go get some dinner, and maybe even some dessert.” And maybe some ‘something’ afterwards. “It needs to be a place where I can wear flip-flops, because my feet are too swollen to fit into anything else.”
“That’s fine, Bailey. You probably need to put on a skirt or pants or something, though. Not that I don’t like you wearing just my t-shirt.” He looked a little bit pleased.
Oh, crap. Bailey looked down at herself. The night before Mick and Em’s wedding, she had put his t-shirt after he had made her come an incredible four times in thirty minutes, and had conveniently forgotten to return it. She blushed and said, “I’ll go throw on something else. Be back in a second.”
“Do you have a vase? I’ll put these flowers in some water while you change.”
Bailey told Colin where she kept her vases and he busied himself with that while she changed.
His eyes ran over her body when she emerged from the bedroom.
“Wow, you look prettier than ever,” he said, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.
She smiled shyly, tugging on the top of her blue dress, which was just a teeny bit too snug for her taste.
“You ready to go?”
“Sure.”
After he helped her into the car, he made his way into Midtown. “Where are we going, Colin?” she asked, practically vibrating with excitement. She hadn’t been out on a date, if that’s what this was, in what seemed like years. Sure, they had gone to get dessert that night, but it wasn’t a date. This felt like a real date.
“It’s a surprise, Bailey.”
“I love surprises. Oh, this is exciting!”
Colin looked very pleased with himself as he pulled into a parking deck. He opened Bailey’s door and helped her out of the car, then motioned to the elevator, walking next to her with his hand on the small of her back. Bailey looked at him, brimming with curiosity, as the elevator climbed to the rooftop. A small smile played across his lips. When they elevator stopped, he motioned for her to step out.
“Oh!” Bailey exclaimed softly. “What is this, Colin?”
“This is dinner, Bailey. I wanted to do something special for you before the baby comes.”
The makeshift rooftop dining room was lit by a multitude of small café lights. The park and the botanical gardens stretched out below them and they were high enough that the traffic sounds were muted. A small, square table was set with candles and china, and instead of chairs, there was a wicker settee for seating. Soft music wafted from hidden speakers. Bailey clapped her hands over her mouth.
“How did you do this? Have you been planning this for a long time?” she asked, eyes big, taking it all in.
“Actually, you should thank Rory. He worked some of his magic.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow.” Colin looked around the rooftop. Yeah, this was perfect. “Are you ready to eat?”
She nodded yes, still almost at a loss for words.
He pulled out two thermal bags and a cooler, and, with a smug grin, produced two giant hamburgers from the bags, and two milkshakes from the cooler. Bailey clapped her hands in excitement.
“Are those from where I think they’re from?” she said excitedly.
“Yep! It’s no Whataburger, but they’re the closest thing around. Shall we?” He gestured for her to sit.
They ate dinner and talked, then sat on the settee and just enjoyed the view and the night air. Heaters were situated around the rooftop, keeping the cold at bay.
“Colin, I don’t think I’ve ever had anybody do something so perfect for me,” Bailey said, her body nestled into his side.
“I’ve never wanted to do anything like this before,” Colin replied.
His fingers traced small circles on her upper arm.
She sighed with contentment and leaned her head on his shoulder. He kissed her hair, then nudged her chin up to kiss her on the lips.
“Bailey, you know you can tell me anything, right? If you need me for anything, anything at all, I’ll be here.” Bailey sat up and looked at Colin, his face serious in the soft light.
“I know, Colin. I know that.” She settled back into the crook of his arm, and they sat on the rooftop, listening to music, until just after midnight.
Bailey stretched luxuriously in the big bed. She hadn’t slept so well in months.
She rolled over and laid her hand on Colin’s chest. At her touch, he shifted in the bed, and patted near her body as if searching for her. When he made contact with her hip, he pulled her to him and curled himself around her. Bailey let out a small giggle.
“Morning, babydoll,” Colin said sleepily, his eyes still closed.
“Hey, Colin,” she said, reaching up to stroke his head. His hair was just a teeny bit longer than it was the last time she had woken up with him. Probably long enough to give a good tug.
Bailey flushed and when she looked up at Colin’s handsome face, his eyes were open and she saw him trying to suppress a smile. He gave up and grinned, and then kissed her on the cheek.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, I slept really well. Did you?”
Colin didn’t say anything but kept grinning at her. Did I sleep well? Hell, yeah, I slept well.
“Yeah, I slept well, really well.” He caught a curl in his fingers. “I had a nice time last night.”
“I did, too. Thank you, Colin. That was really perfect.”
Colin kept grinning. He knew he looked like an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. He scooted nearer to Bailey and kissed her on the forehead.
“But…” Bailey’s face was serious, and Colin was instantly on alert.
“But what, Bailey?”
“You need to be careful, Colin. I can’t believe you carried me from the car to the house. I hope you didn’t hurt yourself. I’m not exactly light these days.”
“Honey, I can deadlift close to 400 pounds. I can definitely carry a little pregnant woman.”
“I don’t feel so little,” Bailey said with a cringe.
“You’re just perfect,” he said as he cupped a big hand around her bottom. “And I have to say, I like you in my t-shirt.”
“Yeah?” she said with a grin.
“Yeah. And those are some sexy spankypants that you’ve got on.”
She laughed. “‘Spankypants’? You mean my granny panties? You think they’re sexy?”
“Hell yeah, I think they’re sexy,” he said, lifting up the hem of the t-shirt to check her out.
“You are not right in the head, Colin,” she said, still laughing.
He shrugged, but grinned at her broadly. He turned to his side to look her directly in the eyes. “So, Bailey, do you want to fool around some?” he asked, eyes twinkling.
“You have really nice manners, Colin. Your daddy taught you well.”
“That he did.”
“I might want to fool around a bit.”
Colin scooted closer to her. “What might you want to do?”
“Maybe kiss a little?”
“Like this?” Colin asked, kissing underneath her chin.
“Ooh, I like that,” Bailey said.
“And maybe like this?” He placed a kiss on the soft spot behind her ear.
“Ooh, I like that, too.”
Colin chuckled.
“I think I might like to do this as well,” as he kissed her on the mouth, exploring her as he gripped one round cheek of her bottom.
“Oh, I think I like that best of all,” she said, out of breath.
“What part did you like best?”
“The way you grabbed my tush, Colin.”
“Like this?” And he squeezed her bottom again.
“Yes, like that.”
She scooted as close to him as her belly would allow. “Dangit, this is probably not going to work.”
He chuckled. “Face-to-face barely worked a month ago. You’re a bit bigger than you were then.” He rubbed his hand over her belly. “You wanna do...stuff?”
“I thought we were just gonna kiss.”
“I never said that, Bailey. But if that’s all you wanna do, that’s fine with me.”
Bailey grinned. “I think this is gonna fall under the header of the ‘Something’ portion of the date.”
“I do believe you’re right. I wanna feel that rump of yours against my cock.”
“Colin!” Bailey laughed, halfway shocked at his dirty talk but all the way turned on.
He shrugged and grinned impishly. “Well, I do.” He kissed her again.
She turned around and settled into his arms, the back of her body pressed against his chest and hips. She wiggled her bottom against his groin, and he bumped her a bit. She could feel his long, hard cock in between her cheeks. She wanted him closer, so she reached back and squeezed his ass as she wiggled back into him. Colin groaned and began kissing down her neck, starting at the little space behind her ear and ending at her shoulder.
Colin dipped his hand under her belly and fluttered his fingers against her mound. Her breath hitched.
“Oh, do you like that a little?” he breathed in her ear. Bailey answered him with her own moan and a roll of her hips.
“Fartblossom.” Bailey turned over on her back and squeezed her eyes shut. “Yeah, I do…ah!.”
Colin bolted upright. “Bailey? Bailey, babydoll, what’s going on?”
Bailey hissed through her teeth, “Just a Braxton-Hicks contraction…ah!”
“Bailey, baby, talk to me.” Colin scrambled to sit up next to her. When he put his hand on the bed, it was soaking wet. “Bailey?”
“Colin, my water just broke. We need to go, now.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next few hours were a blur. It seemed to Colin that one minute he was quickly but carefully driving Bailey to the hospital, and then next moment he had on scrubs and was telling her to breathe and push.
By the time Bailey’s official labor coach, Em, showed up, baby Maude was resting on Bailey’s chest after having nursed for the first time, Bailey was snoozing, and Colin was sitting in a chair, a look of shock and wonder on his face. He got up from the chair and motioned Em out to the hall.
“What happened, Colin?” she whispered with a quiet laugh. “Y’all just called me half an hour ago.”
“Well, it turns out that Little Miss Stoic had been having contractions since about noon yesterday. She thought they were Toni Braxton Hicksville whatever...”
“Braxton-Hicks contractions.”
“Yeah, those. She thought they were those contractions and kind of ignored them. We got here and they checked her out in the triage area and all of a sudden all hell broke loose. They put me in scrubs and she was cursing at me and squeezing my hand so tight I thought she was going to break it. Girl has a grip, man. And then the nurse was all ‘Push’ and Bailey did, four times, and it was done. It was intense and scary and beautiful, Em. It really was. Also? Really bloody.” Colin still looked amazed. “The baby’s really beautiful, but her head’s kinda smushy, do you know what I mean?”
Em laughed at his still shocked expression and his babbling. Colin was generally a man of few words. “Her head’s the size of a softball and she came out an opening the approximate size of a lemon. Your head would be smushy too.”
“I never really thought about it that way. Huh. But she’s really pretty, Em. She looks like a smooshy version of Bailey.” Colin leaned against the wall and sighed. “They kept calling me ‘Daddy,’ Em. ‘Daddy, rub her back. Daddy will hold your hand while you push. Daddy, do you want to cut the cord?’ It was a great feeling.”
“Oh, Colin.” Em placed her hand on his shoulder. He gave a weak chuckle and
exhaled forcefully, blinking back tears.
Mick came jogging down the hall, a thermal bag in his hand. “What’s wrong? Is something wrong? Why are you and Em out in the hall crying?” Mick babbled frantically.
Em put her hand on her big husband’s chest. “Nothing’s wrong, sugar. The baby came really fast. She’s already here.”
“What? That’s nuts.” Mick looked at his younger brother. “You’re wearing scrubs? Did you not make it to the hospital and have to deliver the baby?”
“Thank goodness, it wasn’t that fast. Holy shit. Helping in the hospital was stressful enough.” Colin leaned back against the wall again and blew out a chuckle. His brother good-naturedly clapped him on the side of the head. “What’s in the bag, Mickey?”
“Oh, it’s for Bailey. I know how much she likes those fancy burgers, and I remembered how hungry Grace was and how angry it made her to have terrible hospital food, so I stopped by the place and got her something to eat.”
“You, Mickey, are brilliant. After little Maude nursed once, they brought Bailey the saddest-looking pasta thing that I’ve ever seen. I was just going to go pick something up and sneak it in when Em got here.”
“Honey, no offense, but you didn’t look like you were in any shape to be driving anywhere. Mick, Colin looked like he had just been hit by a two-by-four.”
Colin shrugged.
They heard a small mewl from the room and Colin peeked inside. Bailey was sitting up in the bed, baby Maude at her breast. She grinned at Colin. “Hey, you,” she said, quietly.
“Hey, you, too,” he grinned at her. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He leaned down and kissed her, first on the cheek and then on the mouth. “You need anything, babydoll?”
“I need a real meal, Colin. I’m starving,” she laughed. “Birthin’ babies is hard work.”
Em and Mick peeked in the room. “I think Mickey can help you out with that.” Mick held up the bag of food.
“Oh! Is that what I think that is?” At Mick’s affirmative nod, Em exclaimed a soft “Yay!” They passed around the baby while Bailey ate her hamburger. “Thish ish the besht thing I hab ever tashted,” she said through a mouthful of food. She sighed happily.