“Jade Thomas I am so disappointed in you right now. You wanna act like a man and then when you have to be a man you get scared and now what?”
“No, No, you got it all wrong. I couldn’t be happier. But you see, I don’t know what Sara will think when she wakes up and we have to tell her. What if she doesn’t want any kids? What is she wants to get rid of him or her?”
“Now, now, I don’t wanna hear no such thing. Sara has always wanted a family. I do believe she wanted a boy first, to name after the father and then a girl second. But she never made a decision on a girl’s name. Guess you to might have to come up with one together.”
In that very moment, Jade had never felt more happiness and joy in his life other than the night he married Sara. Jade leaned down and kissed the now exposed cheek of Sara’s. The wounds were healing and the dressings were beginning to get smaller and smaller. They would have been completely off by now, but infection had sat in and they had to do more surgery to debride her wounds.
He sat down by the bed and began talking to Sara. Marie quietly excused herself so she could hurry outside and call everyone and tell em the good news. Jade continued to caress Sara’s fingers and talk with her as if she could hear everything he was saying. Jade felt her hand move slightly. He stood up, ran outside and was yelling for the nurse. Every nurse and doctor available was in there within seconds. Marie was crying as they watched the doctors examine Sara.
“Sometimes they move involuntarily. We will just have to wait and see what happens.” The young doctor no sooner got those words out his mouth, when Sara reached up and then sat her hand back down.
“Sara, can you hear me? If you can hear me, raise your hand again.”
To everyone’s amazement Sara raised her hand.
“Very good, I want you to listen to me. I want you to hold your hand up while I am talking to you, so I know you can hear everything I am telling you.” Sara slowly raised her hand. “You are in ICU at the hospital. You’re going to be fine. Your husband and mother are here with you. You have a breathing tube in your throat so you won’t be able to talk. I can take it out for you if you want me to or we can wait until the morning. If you want to wait until the morning then lower you hand.”
Sara’s hand stayed still gesturing she wanted it out now. The doctor politely asked everyone to leave. After carefully removing the dressings and removing the tube, Sara coughed a few times. The doctor explained that she shouldn’t strain herself to talk. The doctor cleaned the only wound she had left which was the last almost healed surgical wound and went to redress it when Sara caught his hands.
With only a whisper, she asked to see them. The doctor nodded to the nurse and she handed her a mirror. Sara slowly raised the mirror only to be surprised. She was bruised, banged up, swollen but the only scars and wound she could see were by her hair line just above her ears. One on each side.
“You look really good. This is the outcome we were all hoping for.”
“I want to see my husband.” Her whisper wasn’t clear but the doctor definitely had understood husband and stepped out to get him. When Jade walked in, he froze. Sara started crying slightly. He walked up and kissed her with the upmost tenderness in fear he would hurt her.
“I look pretty rough huh?” She struggled trying to get the words out.
“You look beautiful.”
Over the next few days Sara regained her voice pretty well. Jade and everyone was all sitting around laughing and cutting up. Sara had just ate breakfast. There wasn’t a worry in the world. Sara stiffened and reached for the trash can. After losing her breakfast, and everything else a stomach could contain, she laid back and Jade handed her a wash cloth.
“I wonder why I keep getting sick. I thought I was supposed to be getting better.”
“Jade, honey, don’t you think it is time to tell her?” Marie questioned.
“Tell me what?”
“Yeah, tell her what?” Jade was just as confused as Sara. Marie and Emmy Jean looked at each other while the men smiled on. They knew all too well why she was sick. After all George had been through it 3 times and Rick had seen it once.
“You know about the secret that sometimes can do this.” Emmy Jean hinted.
“Oh, yeah, do you think now is the time?”
“Hello, don’t I have a say in this? If you know something you better tell me. You are legally required to tell me Jade Patrick Thomas.’
“Son, when they use the middle name, you best go on and tell em. It only gets a lot, a lot worse if you don’t son.” George was serious and with Rick nodding in agreement. Jade reached down and took her hand.
“You promise you won’t run again. No, you got to promise me you won’t get up. Do you?”
“Ok, Ok, what is it?”
“Well, apparently we started working on a family quick. You’re pregnant.” Jade stood there waiting for something to happen, some kind of reaction.
Relief hit her face and she started laughing. “Ok, ok, you got me. I kinda already knew. I got to adding up days, and then symptoms and asked the nurse yesterday if there was anything I should know. She told me. I just didn’t wanna tell you like this, I mean, me in here. Don’t be mad. I didn’t know however it could cause me to be sick like this. But I’m guessing by what everyone just said, this is morning sickness, or food sickness cuz I can’t keep anything down. Are you mad?”
“Not even. You couldn’t be any further away about how I feel. So it’s a Jade Patrick Thomas the 2nd or if it’s a girl I have been thinking a lot. How about Emma Marie Thomas?”
“It’s perfect.” Jade kissed her tenderly as everyone slowly stood and quietly left them alone. “Some birth control you have there.” He smiled before putting his lips back to hers.
Chapter Eleven
“All rise, the honorable James Mastersend presiding.”
The entire court room did as they were instructed.
“Be seated.”
“William Davis, you have been found guilty of assault in the first degree and guilty of attempted murder by a juror of your peers. You will now be sentenced. The crimes you committed are not forgivable acts. You are a disgrace to the badge you wore. You used that badge in unlawful ways. You are hereby stripped of your privileges to where such a badge. In the matter of assault, you are hereby sentenced to ten years in a maximum security prison without the chance of parole. In the matter of attempted murder, you are hereby sentenced the maximum sentence allowable by the great state of Texas, to 25 years without the chance of parole. Deputy take this piece of scum out of my court room.”
The court room erupted into joyous sounds. It was finally over. The most surprising event out of all of this was when Sara and her family walked into the court room. There behind the prosecution table, sit the same men, decked out in their finest that had sat behind him the first time. This time they were backing Sara all the way. That alone was enough to make Sara sigh with relief.
They stood at the deputy cuffed Davis. Sara made his way to him. Jade hot on her heels.
“I just have one thing to say to you Mr. Davis. Now, you will never forget me. But I will not spend one more minute thinking of you.” And Sara walked away.
Emmy Jean was hugging George. Marie still sat where she was. She was stunned. She couldn’t believe it. It had been almost nine months since he attacked her baby for the second time and it was finally over. Rick sit down next to her. He gently took her hand. “It’s over. Are you ready?”
Marie looked up at Rick and smiled. “I have never been more ready?” They both stood and everyone was walking down the stairs outside the courtroom. Sara stopped. “Sara what is it?” Jade questioned.
“I don’t know. I just felt something.”
Then there was a gush of fluids that made Emmy Jean and Marie belt out in joy. “Come on boys, we are gonna be welcoming a new one to this family. Rick get the car and hurry.” Rick took off. George was trying to fill in Jade, but he was stunned. “How could this of all days be the
day?”
“Son, we can spend our time asking all kinds of questions. Or you can pick up that lovely wife of yours and we can go to the hospital and we can welcome your child into the world.”
Jade looked at his Dad almost as if he was scared little boy. “I don’t know what to do?”
George laughed, “None of us did. It’s one day at a time.”
Jade went to Sara and put her in the car. Rick took off like a bat out of hell.
“Rick, if you don’t slow down, we aren’t never gonna make it. You do as you’re told.” Marie was ordering Rick to slow down but it didn’t seem to faze him any.
“Marie, as much as I know I am going to pay for this later, I don’t want a repeat of what happened when Sara came along. If she is anything like you, we won’t make it to the hospital.”
Marie smiled at him when Jade yelled out to speed up. “That’s what you should do scare him more than he already is.”
“Momma, something is wrong.”
“What is it Sara? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t think I can wait.”
“Hang in there honey, we are almost there.” Jade was rubbing Sara’s head and trying to wipe the sweat from her brow.
“If you don’t stop petting my head like I’m a dog, I’m going to strangle you before you get to meet your new edition.” Sara was screaming.
Jade froze. Hell. He didn’t know what to do. If he touched her she screamed at him. He didn’t know how to comfort her without touching her.
“I gotta push, Momma.”
“Oh no you don’t. Just breath honey.”
“Everyone quit calling me honey. I can’t do this. I want drugs. I want lots of drugs. Jade, I can’t do this. I can’t.”
“Yes you can and you are. You can do this.”
“Jade, you gotta look. See if you can see the baby.”
“Oh no I don’t. You look.”
“Then get out of the way.”
The car came to a screeching stop outside the ER and Rick was gone. Within a matter of minutes Sara and Jade were in the ER and Rick, Marie, Emmy Jean, and George all sit outside waiting. About thirty minutes went by when Jade came out. “It’s a boy. I don’t believe it, it’s a boy.”
The room erupted into laughter and cries. The day had started out in total and complete dread remembering what had happened the last time and ended in the birth of Jade Patrick Thomas II.
Other Titles By This Author
Swept Away: The First Bloodline
Together By Chance
Together In Lust
Seducing Peaches
Coming Soon
Southern Heat
Southern Charm
Together In Battle
Love Swept: The First Bloodline ( book 2)
Finding Peaches and Crème
Teaching Bailey
Southern Romance Page 14