Karla’s heart ached for her missing baby. Even though she had two here with her, knowing she’d carried the three of them for almost nine months inside her body only to have them separated now physically hurt.
She stroked Paxton’s cheek as Adam lifted the blanket higher over the babies. She was now the mother of three children. Reality probably wouldn’t set in for a long time to come.
Dear Lord, keep my babies safe and healthy.
Karla hoped everything was okay with their other daughter. She wished Mom were here. She worked as a nurse for a pediatrician and could calm Karla’s fears. Perhaps she could even glean more information about the baby’s condition. Karla looked up from the two babies.
“What’s wrong, Kitten?”
She blinked away the tears. “I miss her. Not knowing how she’s doing is going to drive me crazy.”
Adam cleared his throat and squeezed her arm. “I know, hon. I’ll run down and check on her again in a minute.”
“That would make me feel better.”
Paxton let out another wail for no apparent reason, bringing her focus back to the two beautiful babies on her chest.
“Hey, son, what’s all the fuss? You don’t know how good you’ve got it there on your mommy’s breast.” She grinned as she listened to Adam trying to reason with him about why he really had nothing to cry about.
Tears stung her eyes again. Would the waterworks never end?
Ian had been on her mind so much lately. Was it because she had hoped for a namesake to carry on in his absence? No one would ever replace her own big brother, but having him remembered in his nephew’s name would keep his memory alive. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents.
“Any word from Mom or Daddy?”
“Damián texted me that he would pick them up and bring them here first thing. They should be be here any time.”
“Is there anyone in the waiting room?”
“No, I told them to go home and come back later today. I wanted to keep the babies to ourselves a little longer—and give you time to rest.”
She smiled. Always so protective. Paxton finally stopped crying and blinked at his daddy, taking his measure. “Pax, your daddy is the best daddy ever, so you go easy on him.”
Adam placed a kiss on her lips again before pulling away to whisper to the baby, “Your mommy isn’t so bad, either, if you ask me. Don’t you give her as much trouble as I did my own mom.” He sobered. “What are we going to do, Kitten?”
“Do about what?”
“We have three babies? I still can’t believe it.”
“We can do anything we set our minds to, Adam.” But she blinked as the enormity set in once more for her as well. She let out a laugh but only to keep from screaming in panic at the daunting thought. “And, no, I can’t believe it, either.”
A whimper from Kate drew her attention, and she watched the little one squirm and start rooting for her breast. Oh, no!
“Adam, how will I be able to feed all three of them?”
The door swung open, and a nurse entered. “Oh, don’t you worry about that, sweetie. Your body will provide what those babies need. We’ll keep an eye on their weight gain, and you can always supplement as needed. Our bodies are really an amazingly efficient system. Their demand results in the right supply once it gets regulated.”
After pressing hard on her abdomen until Karla wanted to scream, the nurse said she was doing fine. “We can return the babies to the NICU tonight if you would like to get some rest, but anytime you want to visit with one or both or need anything else, just press that call button.”
Karla placed a protective hand over each baby’s back. “No, we’d like to keep them here.”
The nurse nodded. “Just letting you know your options. We’re here for you and the babies and will help however we can.”
The nurse moved Kate up to Karla’s bare breast. When she latched onto her nipple and started to suck, Karla felt her womb contract. “Let’s put your son to work over here, too. The sucking sensations of nursing will help get your uterus back in shape naturally.”
“I felt it contract. But are they getting anything?”
“Your milk won’t come in for a couple more days, but we want them to enjoy the benefits of that good colostrum. Antibodies and all kinds of healthy things are in there to ward off some of the nasties in the coming year.”
After the nurse left, Karla glanced over and witnessed the awe in Adam’s eyes as they experienced this latest miracle of life. They both watched as Paxton’s lips worked feverishly to extract whatever he could from her. When she returned her gaze to Adam, tears traced down his face that only led her waterworks to start again.
“Isn’t this totally unbelievable, Adam? To think that the night before last we were just sitting in our new home relaxing, and now our household has grown from two to five.”
He nodded, but didn’t try to speak. “I’ll be right back.”
Karla wasn’t sure where he was headed, but assumed he needed time to compose himself. He didn’t like to show tears in front of her or anyone else. But she knew he shed them when deeply moved. How could he not cry on this, the happiest day of their lives so far?
She cupped the back of Kate’s head. Both wore tiny knit caps to keep in their body heat, but they also drew heat from direct contact with her skin. Mom said breastfeeding made her feel like an earth mother or something. Karla hadn’t expected motherhood to be so primal for her this quickly, but now understood what her mother meant.
Paxton’s insistent sucking grabbed her attention again. A voracious little man. Could she really feed all three of them this way?
Fifteen minutes later, Adam walked back into the room smiling. “We still need to name our Sleeping Beauty in the NICU. She didn’t seem too worried about her nickname when I told her.”
God, she loved this man. “Thanks for checking on her. So she’s still sleeping?”
“Far as I can tell. They have her eyes covered because of the bright light.”
Worry clawed at her chest. “Are they worried about jaundice?”
“The NICU nurse said it’s just a precaution. That it’s normal for the tinier ones to need more sleep, but that all babies sleep most of the time their first few weeks. She did let me stroke the baby’s feet. She squirmed around a little. Maybe she’s ticklish.”
Karla hoped they would let her out of bed soon to go check on the baby herself. Being separated was like having a piece of her heart ripped out. Her third baby was so far away.
Kate let out a wail of discontent before latching on again, and Adam chuckled. “I guess Sleeping Beauty applies to only one of the two girls.”
“Don’t get too attached to that nickname, Adam. It won’t go over very well when she goes to kindergarten. Well, maybe in kindergarten it would make her the cool kid, but definitely not in the board room or wherever she wants to be when she grows up.”
“What about Aurora then?”
She turned to Adam and quirked a brow. “You want to name her after Aurora, Colorado?” Where on earth had that come from?
“No, not the suburb. The movie. I watched Sleeping Beauty the other day with Marisol for like the fifth time.” He shrugged and grinned. “The name’s sort of stuck in my head. It means ‘dawn.’ Anyway, would that be a good name?”
She smiled. He was going to be such a good daddy, watching endless kids’ videos and spending time with his children just the way he did with his granddaughter, Marisol. Karla had been watching the movie with them, too, but had been too preoccupied making lists—of things they needed to add to the nursery, buy at the grocery, and accomplish before she went into labor—to pay attention to the video. Of course, she’d seen the movie as a child.
“I think Aurora would be perfect. Marisol will have a special connection with her auntie when she finds out. But it’s a mouthful. Maybe Rori for short?”
“Sounds good.”
“Any ideas for her middle name?”
“I’ll leave that to you, Ki
tten.”
“What do you think about Casandra?”
“After Cassie?”
She nodded. “She only uses one ‘S’ in her formal name, well, when she used it. But she’s as close as any sister could be to me.” If only she would warm up to Adam. The two of them had clashed from the beginning, due more to Cassie’s hesitance around men than Adam’s doing anything to upset her intentionally.
He seemed to mull it over a moment then smiled. “Aurora Casandra Montague is beautiful—in name and in person.”
“They’re all named! That wasn’t so hard. Maybe we’re going to handle this parenting thing just fine.” Wait! Karla’s smile faded. Which girl had been born first? Everything had happened so quickly, already the memory of the delivery was fading. What kind of mother forgot something like that? Tears stung her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Kitten?”
She sniffled. How could she admit to something that horrible? “Nothing.”
“Kitten.”
Ka-thunk!
His stern tone of voice and Dom stare told her she needed to ’fess up. “I can’t…I can’t remember the birth order of the girls, only that Paxton was third.” She sniffled again.
“Kate was first, then Aurora.”
“You noticed.”
“I didn’t have as much work to do as you did. I thought I was handling everything pretty well until Paxton showed up.” His smile lit up his eyes. “Yeah, I noticed.”
A tech wheeled in her equipment. “Time to check your vitals.”
Karla winced as Paxton suckled with more persistence on her sensitive nipple. “When you need a break, just place your pinky finger in the corner of the baby’s mouth, and you’ll break the suction.” Karla followed the tech’s instructions and moved Paxton higher on her chest to give her sensitive nipple a break.
“They’re going to become sore fast with three tenacious mouths to feed, even using the pump to help keep up with demand. But they’ll toughen up soon enough. We’ll bring you something to help, though.”
Karla couldn’t keep from grinning and glanced over at Adam who had a rather sadistic grin on his face. Hmmm. Planning some nipple torture to aid in the process, Sir? Now that she could handle.
When the tech left after checking her vitals, Karla’s doubts assailed her once again. “What if I don’t do it right or can’t provide enough milk?”
“They’re Montagues. Finding a source of food that works for them won’t be a problem.” His words didn’t give her the assurance she needed. “Stop worrying, Kitten. You need to pace yourself. You’re catching on quickly. If there are problems, we ask for help and, if necessary, go on to plan B.” He smiled and leaned closer. “You’re the best mommy ever.” Adam kissed her until Kate squirmed and tried to push him away.
Adam jumped back as if burned. “Did I hurt her?”
Oh, dear Lord. And he thought Karla had it bad. They were quite the basket case of jittery parents. She hoped they would be able to adapt to parenthood without a hitch once they got the hang of it.
A light faded in his eyes, and he looked back down at Paxton now fast asleep on her chest. She wondered if he was thinking about his boy growing up and going off to war to defend his country. Adam had sacrificed so much in his twenty-five years as a Marine. Karla didn’t want her son to go through that, but wouldn’t stand in his way if that’s what he wanted to do.
Karla shuddered. Nowadays, women were warriors, too, so her daughters might even be the ones wanting to protect and defend their country. Little Kate already displayed signs of being a guardian and protector of her brother the way her little hand stretched out over his shoulders.
They’d just brought three innocent, defenseless babies into such a scary, unsafe world. How were they going to be able to keep evil away? Suddenly, the thought of what they’d undertaken hit home.
* * *
Adam stared at his sleeping son lying on Karla’s chest. Would Adam’s mother have worried about him if she’d known he joined the Marines a couple years after running away from home? His father had gone through hell in Vietnam. Adam didn’t truly appreciate his father’s sacrifices until going through it himself. Hearing the ’Nam stories from his friend Jerry Patterson on Adam’s many visits to the crusty veteran’s kink club in LA brought home a lot of understanding, too. Jerry had served in ’Nam during the same time and probably under similar conditions as Adam’s father, although the club owner was a Navy man.
Would he want a military career for his own son? Adam had seen the bowels of hell himself on more than one occasion. His mom’s family had a long history of serving in the Marines, back to the Civil War. When Adam had run away at sixteen, he’d changed his name to her maiden name because he respected the hell out of that tradition. But would he be able to send this little fella off in eighteen or nineteen years if Paxton wanted to serve as badly as Adam had? Hell, what about his girls? They could join the Marines or any other branch, as well, and be sent into combat zones.
Fuck that. His girls probably wouldn’t want to do anything like that, although Marisol sure asked him a lot of questions about what it was like when her daddy was in Iraq.
Adam and Damián had served willingly, but would future generations have the luxury to choose?
Why the fuck are you going down this path right now? This kid didn’t even know how to wipe his ass yet. Hell, didn’t even know he had an ass. Adam would make sure his kids grew up strong with a deep pride in the country of their birth. If they chose to serve in the military, fine. If not, they’d give back by serving in other ways.
When the nurse came back again to press on Karla’s belly, she asked if they wanted to put the babies back in the bassinet now.
Karla’s eyelids drooped. “Sure. I think I need a little nap, too.”
The nurse asked Adam if he would like a lesson in swaddling Paxton. Adam left the bed with more than a little trepidation and stood beside the nurse, staring down at the tiny boy. He froze, unable to pick him up. What if he dropped him or did it wrong?
After she spread baby blankets over the bassinet, she stepped aside. “Go on. You won’t break him.” When he remained motionless, she shook her head, lifted Paxton, and placed him in his little bed. After changing his diaper, she had him swaddled again within seconds. Next was Kate’s turn. When the kid wouldn’t let go of the nipple, Karla broke the suction as she had been taught a little while ago.
Alligator clamps had nothing on what his kids could do to Karla’s nipples.
The nurse placed both on their backs and snuggled against each other in the bassinet before giving Karla something for her sore nipples. Now, toughening up tits was something he could help with. Sounded sexy as hell, too. He’d missed one of their favorite kinks. He was a bit of an expert in that area, too.
He just didn’t know a thing about babies despite all the reading he had done.
“Your lactation nurse will give you all kinds of advice on how to make the most of your breastfeeding experience.” The nurse prepared to leave after seeing if Karla wanted anything else. She was almost asleep already.
The babies barely filled the tiny bed. Two would definitely fit in the larger one at home. Aurora might not be home for weeks, so they would be fine sharing until they could arrange for something bigger. He’d talk with Luke.
Kate opened her eyes and seemed surprised to find Adam leaning over her. He stroked her downy-soft cheek, but she looked like she was expecting his finger to be her mommy’s tit the way her little mouth opened up and started rooting around. Finding nothing of substance, she scrunched her face up to protest. Not wanting to wake Karla or Paxton, he wheeled the bassinet to the other side of the bed. She seemed to enjoy the movement because she calmed down. Paxton slept through it all as Adam wheeled them around in circles in the free area of the room. “You like going for a ride, baby girl?”
He continued to move her around and to speak softly to her. She calmed down surprisingly fast. Was it the motion or his voice? He hoped
she remembered him talking to her all those nights and mornings while still in Karla’s belly. He’d made that a ritual the past six months or so, hoping what he thought at the time was one baby would recognize his voice when they finally met. Ever since they found out there were twins, though, he pictured two little ones listening to their daddy’s voice. Who knew there actually were three all this time?
Soon she was fast asleep again.
A sense of accomplishment washed over him. “I can do something right at least when it comes to the babies.”
His phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket to answer Jenny’s call as quietly as possible. They were at the airport. “Great. Damián Orlando will be giving you a ride to the hospital. Karla and the babies are sleeping right now.” They still didn’t know about the triplets, but were expecting to meet twins.
One of the babies began crying, and he said goodbye. Adam checked and found that this time it was Paxton. He tried wheeling them around the room again, but his son wasn’t as easy to console as his big sister was.
“Bring him to me.” Adam wheeled the bassinet toward Karla, dreading the moment when she’d ask him to pick him up. Luckily, the nurse came in and returned the boy to the place he liked best—Karla’s breast.
“Would you bring Kate to me, too?”
Even though Karla had asked him, Adam turned to the nurse in a panic. The woman shook her head with a tsk-tsk, but smiled her understanding and placed Kate in Karla’s outstretched arms. Soon she was rooting around on her other breast until she latched onto her swollen nipple. The sight of Karla with two of their babies at her breasts nearly made him come undone.
So beautiful. So perfect.
God, he would never have her all to himself again. He regretted all the time he’d lost with her during the pregnancy. He could have had his bride’s undivided attention all this time.
Man, did you ever blow it.
Whoa! If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was jealous of his own kids’ time with their mommy.
Kate began to fuss as if frustrated she wasn’t getting whatever she expected. Adam reached under the blanket to stroke her soft skin.
Nobody's Dream (Rescue Me Saga #6) Page 23