Practicing Parenthood
Page 24
“You’re going to keep reminding me of that, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yeah, for the rest of our days.” Collin laughed and Madison did, too.
She flung her arms around him. “I love you, Collin.”
“I just want to be with you, wherever that is.”
At that moment, Madison knew that he wanted to marry her for all the right reasons, not the wrong ones.
“I want to marry you,” she whispered.
Hope and excitement lit his face. “You do?” He frowned a little. “You’re not just saying that because I got shot, are you? Is this a pity proposal?” His eyes sparkled with playfulness.
“Hmm. Maybe it is.”
Collin pretended to consider the consequences. “Oh, well. I’ll take it. A pity proposal is better than no proposal.”
“Shut up, counselor,” she said and leaned down to kiss him. He kissed her back as she heard Mark calling for a medivac helicopter. “Wait. I’ll say yes on one condition.”
“Which is?”
“After you’re better, after the hospital, I want to adopt Teddy.”
Collin grinned. “I insist on it. That’s one fine dog.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Seven months later
MADISON SAT ON their new couch in their tidy beachfront condo in Miami. Outside, the sun had just set, splashing color across the clouds on the horizon, and she felt enormous as she rested her small bowl of ice cream on the huge mound of her stomach.
Collin slid in next to her, grabbing the remote and clicking on the news.
“Oh, here it is.” Collin turned up the volume on the local news as a picture of him in his dashing new suit appeared during a press conference. He’d put away a group of thugs who’d threatened to bomb a mosque. “I think I look fat.”
“You look fat? Seriously?” She fed him a spoonful of ice cream and he happily took it.
“Yes. I’ve gained weight, but when is my baby due?” He patted his own nearly flat stomach. He might have gained three or four pounds, but she felt like a house.
Teddy, now almost fully grown, whined at her feet. He sat at sharp attention, watching every bite she took. He lifted a paw and she nearly let him lick the spoon, but decided against it. The dog—all seventy pounds of him—took up enough space in their three-bedroom condo.
“Okay, Teddy. Stop the begging.” Collin rubbed the shaggy dog behind his floppy ears. “That ice cream is mine, anyhow.” He took another spoonful of ice cream, the final one, and sighed. Madison dropped the spoon into the empty bowl and her wedding band sparkled on her left hand. They’d had a small courthouse ceremony three months ago and Dave had actually officiated, and toasted them with strong drinks afterward at the bar where their relationship began. Now, she was officially Madison Reddy-Baptista. The honeymoon, however, would have to wait until after the baby was born.
Pain shot through Madison’s side. “Ow,” she said, holding her waist, nonexistent as it was.
“What’s wrong?” Immediately, Collin snapped to attention. “Is it another contraction?” He grabbed the spiral notebook he’d been using to log her pains. They’d started before dinner, but the doctor had said there was likely no rush in getting to the hospital, not for a first baby and not until the contractions came at closer intervals. They’d begun at a half hour apart, but now, as he glanced at his watch, he realized they were coming less than ten minutes apart.
He held up the notepad. “I’m going to call Dr. Goodwin.” Collin whipped out his phone and dialed. He told her the latest news. “All right. Yes, we’ll be there.”
He hung up and squeezed her hand. “She said we should go now.” He picked up the overnight bag they had ready to go as Madison put her now-empty ice cream bowl on the coffee table. He helped her up, a task that had become increasingly harder in the last few months.
“I love you,” he said. “With all my heart.” He squeezed her hand again as another contraction took hold and she sucked in a breath.
A few minutes later, they were both out of the apartment and at Collin’s car, parked in his underground parking spot.
She went still and froze, hand on the door, as a contraction gripped her.
“Are you okay?” Collin asked, wrapping his arm around her. His face was wrinkled with worry as he watched her, his eyes concerned.
“No, I’m not okay,” she sputtered, the pain making her grumpy. “I’m having a baby!”
“Well, I know, but...” Collin looked flustered, and Madison had to admit that seeing the normally cocky prosecutor so off-balance felt kind of...good. Things were completely out of his control with the delivery of this baby. This would be the ultimate test of whether or not he could really change, although even she had to admit he’d been much better lately. He’d let her choose their new home, where they were going to live together. He’d let her pick the ring she wanted to wear, taking back the one he’d bought. He’d even agreed to let Teddy sleep on their living room couch.
“I’m sorry,” she muttered now, realizing that he was trying hard. “Pain makes me say things I don’t mean.”
“Either that, or it makes you very, very honest.” Collin helped her into the front seat and shut the door. Then he scurried over to the driver’s side, got in, started the car—and cursed. “Your overnight bag!” he cried and hopped out of the car again. He’d left it sitting on the kitchen floor. He darted back to the elevator.
Madison shook her head. Collin was a nervous wreck, and she was the one having the baby. She tried to remember the calming breaths she’d learned in Lamaze class, but none of them seemed to work right now. She rubbed her enormous belly as Collin ran back to the car, red-faced. He turned the engine, threw the car in reverse and screeched out of the garage.
“We have plenty of time,” she cautioned.
“I just want to get you there,” he said, voice strained.
“Then let’s get there in one piece.”
Collin smiled at her and reached over to grab her hand.
“What about Teddy?” Madison asked, suddenly worried.
“I texted the neighbors, so they can let him out and feed him first thing in the morning.” They’d left Teddy sitting by the back door, nose pressed against the glass.
“They’ve been on call for weeks, so I hope they’re ready to take on Teddy,” Collin said as he hit the gas as they headed for Miami Hospital. It was only a ten-minute drive, and then they were parked and entering the main reception area. A fountain splashed in the lobby and gentle piano music hit their ears as they reached the maternity ward. The contractions were sharp and coming closer together now. Madison had to stop at various points and hold on to Collin’s arm, the pain making it too hard to walk down the wide tiled hallway.
“I need a wheelchair, please,” Collin asked the admitting nurse, who rustled one up. Madison sank into it gratefully, trying to calm her nerves. Granted, she’d never had a baby before. But it can’t be as bad as being kidnapped by Jimmy Reese. The killer had died on the way to the hospital, pronounced dead shortly after he arrived. Madison hadn’t been sorry. Even though the man’s cold blue eyes still haunted her dreams, she was glad such hate was gone from the world.
“Boy or girl? Do we know?” The check-in nurse wheeled Madison toward her delivery room. Collin followed, carrying the overnight bag and an armful of paperwork, looking more nervous than she felt.
“Boy,” Collin said with confidence.
“He claims to be psychic,” Madison joked. “We told the doctors not to tell us, but he still thinks he knows.”
“Is that right?” The nurse seemed skeptical as she wheeled Madison into her room. “Go ahead and get changed into that hospital gown on the bed, and let me know if you need anything, Mrs. Reddy-Baptista. Just ring that bell,” she added, pointing to the red button near the hospital bed. “The doctor will be in shortly.”
He tied the loose strands of the gown and embraced her. She hugged him back. She was so grateful he was here with her, so glad she didn’t have to do this on her own. In the last few months, they’d grown so much as a couple. She’d moved to Miami for his job, but only after her uncle reassured her that she could still work for his firm, and that he’d been thinking about expanding to Miami, anyway. The stars were aligning for them, and Madison felt it was all meant to be. Watching Collin in the prenatal classes, especially the class where he learned how to change diapers, showed her how far he’d come. Fatherhood was humbling him, and he was learning how to let go, little by little.
Dr. Goodwin came in, her honey-colored hair up in a tidy ponytail, as she bustled around and examined Madison. “You’re about five centimeters, so we’re getting there,” she said. Madison couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She’d thought, with all the contractions, they’d have been further along. She’d been in labor for hours already. It felt as if they’d waited until the last possible minute to head to the hospital.
Collin caressed her hand. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” He took off his sweatshirt, and the hospital room light shone on the small scar on his upper arm near his T-shirt sleeve. The bullet wound had healed completely, with no real damage.
“I love you,” Madison said, as another contraction overtook her.
“Let’s see how you feel in a few hours,” Collin joked, gently rubbing her wrist. “You do think I should name the baby, right?”
“No, I never agreed to that.” It had been the one sticking point. Collin seemed to cling to this idea that the father got to pick the name. “You’re giving the baby the last name, so technically, I ought to give him or her a first name.”
“Him. And that’s the father’s job.”
Madison felt the ripple of another contraction as it pulled at the muscles around her stomach and in her lower back.
“Mother’s,” Madison managed. “I’m the one delivering this baby.”
“How about we flip a coin?”
Madison frowned, the pain overtaking her again. “How about you leave this room before I hurt you?”
Collin chuckled. “Do they have shots of tequila at the nurse’s station? If they don’t, they should.”
* * *
SIX HOURS PASSED, and Collin was a nervous wreck. He hated seeing Madison in so much pain and hated feeling so helpless, but there was nothing he could do. He sat by her, he put a cold compress on her forehead, and he fed her an endless supply of ice chips. When it was finally time to push, the nurses and doctor came in, and Collin felt his heart sink down into his stomach. This was it. He prayed that Madison and the baby would be safe. He’d been staring at the monitors for both of them the entire time, panicking when they seemed to drop at all.
The nurses assured him repeatedly that both monitors were in the normal range. Collin sat and prayed and tried very hard not to stew in helplessness. Madison worked on pushing, and all he wanted was to do the work for her. But all he could do was be a cheerleader on the sidelines. But then she grasped his hand hard and he squeezed back.
“I’m here, Maddie. I’m right here.”
She sent him a grateful smile between contractions.
“Okay, Madison. Get ready,” the doctor instructed. “One last big push.” Dr. Goodwin crouched at her feet, sitting on a rolling stool, ready to catch the baby. Madison, sweaty and red-faced, had already been pushing for an hour and a half. Despite the birthing classes, Collin hadn’t really believed deliveries could take so long. On TV, they always happened in taxi cabs or in the blink of an eye. Madison was worn out, exhausted. This baby needed to hurry up.
“Ready? Now,” the doctor coaxed.
Madison shouted as she pushed and then, miraculously, a baby arrived, wrinkled and tiny with a thatch of dark hair.
The nurses cleaned the baby as Collin craned his neck to see. A boy. They had a baby boy!
“Congratulations, Collin and Madison! It’s a boy,” the doctor said.
Madison, exhausted, met Collin’s gaze. He had the good sense not to say, “I told you so.”
The doctor put the baby on Madison’s chest, and she began to cry tears of pure joy. Collin looked at his wife and baby and felt his whole body expand with love, flooded with gratitude and happiness. This was all he’d ever really wanted—a family of his own.
“Do we have a name?” a nurse asked Collin. He glanced up at the woman in pink scrubs. He could win the argument right here and jump in ahead of Madison, but after watching this powerful woman deliver his beautiful boy, he knew exactly what he needed to do.
“Madison is deciding,” he said. “The mother gets to pick the name.”
Madison smiled weakly at him. “No. We get to pick the name. Together.”
Collin kissed her hand. They were a family. He wasn’t alone anymore, wasn’t the one calling all the shots. And for that, he was glad. She squeezed his hand as tears rolled down her face. His heart filled with love and with hope for their future.
“Our baby boy is beautiful,” she said.
Collin couldn’t have agreed more.
* * * * *
If you enjoyed
PRACTICING PARENTHOOD,
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In a Heartbeat
by Janice Kay Johnson
CHAPTER ONE
TRAFFIC WAS A BITCH, as always. Nate Kendrick ended one call when he was halfway across the I-90 bridge over Lake Washington and resigned himself to making the one he’d been putting off. Sonja would be pissed.
Nothing new about that.
She answered immediately, her tone suspicious. The minute she heard what he had to say, she screeched, “You always do this! What’s your excuse this time?”
“I’m putting together a deal. It was supposed to be a go today, but one of the major investors got cold feet overnight. I have to find a replaceme
nt.”
The silence unnerved him, since it was unlike her. Still quietly, she said, “Do you know how many thousand times I’ve heard that?”
“You knew what I did when you married me.” Venture capitalism was high-risk, high-adrenaline and sometimes high-flying, like when a company in his portfolio went public in a big way or sold to an industry leader for a billion or more. You did not succeed in the business by taking a working day off to accompany a mob of six-and seven-year-olds to the beach. Or was it a river park? Nate couldn’t remember.
“Some of us want an actual life.” She sounded sad. Playing him. “I, for one, want my daughter to love me enough to come home for Christmas when she’s an adult.”
“Goddamn it, Sonja,” he growled.
“We’ll be fine without you.”
Call ended.
Of course they would be. He loved his daughter, even as he knew she’d been slipping away from him since the divorce. But being one of two partners in a venture-capital firm meant demands that were never-ending. Who’d put Molly through college, if not him? Certainly not Sonja, who lived on her settlement from him. The settlement she wouldn’t get if he crashed and burned.
Traffic opened up enough for him to merge onto I-5 for the short distance into downtown Seattle. By then he’d already taken the next call, obliging him to accept a no answer with outward amiability. But he and this guy would do business together again, so he ignored another incoming call to chat about the investor’s son, excited about starting at Stanford this fall. Molly was ten years away from making any college decisions, thank God. Long practice let him think furiously as he talked.
What was his next best possibility? Stu Gribbin? He tended to like start-ups better than on-the-ground manufacturing, but it was worth a try.
Exiting from the freeway onto crowded streets hemmed in by tall buildings, Nate decided to wait to make the next call until he reached his office. He’d long since jettisoned his daughter’s summer day camp field trip from his mind.