by Marla Monroe
“How’s my favorite woman doing?” he asked, bending over for a kiss.
“Fine.”
“She’s grumpy,” Garrett said.
“Hmmm,” Jeremy said. “Why’s that?”
“It’s her go-to mood whenever I mention resting,” Garrett said.
“I see.”
“I’m tired of resting, but I can’t seem to do anything else,” she said.
“Come on. Let’s get something to eat, and then you can go to bed and I’ll give you a foot massage,” Jeremy said.
“You need the massage, not me. You’ve been working all day,” she said.
“I can handle a little foot massage. Garrett can massage your back for you while I shower,” Jeremy said.
“I can do that. Let’s get you inside, babe,” Garrett said.
She let each take a hand and haul her up from the chair. She was going to be so glad when she didn’t need their help to simply get up from a chair. It was ridiculous. She hated feeling helpless.
“We’ve got squash and tomatoes and peas for dinner,” she said.
“Sounds great. No wonder your feet are swollen. You’ve been up cooking all afternoon,” Jeremy said, narrowing his eyes at Garrett.
“Don’t get mad at him. He did most of it. I directed from the chair,” Amanda said.
“It sounds delicious anyway,” Jeremy teased, winking at her.
“Fuck off. You can fix your own food.” Garrett grabbed a plate and began filling it with squash and peas.
He set the plate in front of Amanda before going back to fix his own plate. They quickly ate, and then Jeremy left Garrett to put away the food while he helped Amanda up the stairs to the bedroom. He undressed her then had her get comfortable on the bed before he settled her feet on his lap and began to gently massage them.
“God that feels so good. They ache,” she confessed.
“They’re really swollen, hon. I’m worried about you. Your legs are swollen all the way up to your knees, and you’re still having those headaches. Has Garrett talked to you about staying in bed?” Jeremy asked.
“Not you, too. I’ll go crazy if I have to stay in bed for the next month, Jeremy. Please don’t make me,” she cried.
“I’m with Garrett on this, Mandy. I don’t want to lose you or the baby. Think about the baby. If something happens to you, we lose the baby, too. You can stay on the couch sometimes and up here in bed sometimes. How about that?” he asked.
Amanda blinked back the tears. She knew it was her hormones, but she hated that she knew they were right. She felt horrible. The headaches were bad, and her body ached all the time.
“Okay,” she said in a watery voice.
“I’m sorry, Mandy. It’s just until the baby is born. You’ll see. You’ll be okay after that.”
“But it’s another month away,” she said.
“I know, but we’ll keep you entertained,” Jeremy promised.
“Unless you’re going to do striptease dances on a pole for me, you’re not going to hold my attention,” she said, frowning.
Jeremy burst out laughing. “Honey, if it would help you any, I’d try it, but all that would do is stir us both up, and neither one of us would get any relief from that.”
Ever since she’d started swelling, she hadn’t been able to have sex. Her body was too sore all over to handle it. The men had been more than understanding, but she knew they were suffering just as much as she was from the lack of intimacy. They assured her that they were fine with waiting until later. She had no doubt they were jerking off in the long showers they took, but that didn’t bother her. She would make it up to them once the baby was born and she’d healed up from it.
“Ready for that back massage?” Garrett asked as he walked into the room.
“I’m hitting the shower while you take care of her back,” Jeremy said.
“Roll on your side, sweetheart,” Garrett said.
Amanda did as he asked and curled around her baby as he began to slowly massage the ache in her back for her. It felt so good she moaned. It was almost better than sex. He moved up her back to massage her shoulders then used his thumbs on her neck before moving back down her lower back. It wasn’t long before she was almost asleep. Then the baby began kicking the ball again.
She groaned and rolled over onto her back once more.
“What’s wrong?” Garrett asked.
“Baby’s awake.”
Garrett shook his head and smiled. He bent over and spoke at her stomach. “Listen, tyke, you’re making it hard for your momma to get any rest. Get your days and nights straight. It’s nighttime now. Go back to sleep.”
“He’s not listening to you,” she said with a sigh.
Garrett laid his hand on her belly and gently rubbed soft circles on it until the baby settled down. For once, when the baby had settled down, she couldn’t sleep. She blew out a breath and sighed. Her mind raced with all the things that could go wrong with her delivery and the baby. Though she hated being on bed rest and not being able to walk around, she knew it was what was needed for the safety of the baby. Still, she hated being flat on her back.
Even now she was wide awake and stuck between her two men with nothing to do but think. She thought about the garden and how one of the men stayed with her at all times while the other slaved away in the heat working the garden. How one of them would be working in the kitchen putting away the vegetables while she lay flat on her ass doing nothing. It was depressing to her.
Amanda rubbed her belly while thinking when her baby began moving around again. It soothed her to massage it. The baby settled again, but she somehow knew it wasn’t asleep. She imagined it was absorbing her attentions when she rubbed and liked how that made her feel like a good mom. She’d do everything in her power to be a good mom. She might be young, but she’d learn.
I remember Mom and how she’d hold us when we had bad dreams. I want to be a good mom like that. I want to always comfort my baby when he or she has bad dreams or hurts themselves.
Amanda vowed to be a strong and caring mom and treat her children like her mom had treated her and her sisters. She thought of all the ways her mom and dad had taught them as they were growing up before the disasters and smiled as she lay there wide awake.
* * * *
“I’m sick of reading,” Amanda said, rubbing her protruding belly. “I’m sick of lying on this couch, of lying in the bed, of doing nothing all day long. Can’t I get up for a little while? I’m bored.”
“No. Your legs and ankles are finally going down, and you haven’t had a headache in days now. We’re not taking the risk that it all comes back. You’re probably going to have the baby in another week or two anyway. You can handle staying in bed that long. You’re lucky Garrett is letting you come downstairs at all,” Jeremy said.
“He’s a tyrant. I don’t know why I put up with him anyway,” she said.
“Because you love him.”
“I’m rethinking that.”
“He’s worried about you, Mandy. You’ve read the books. They all say you need to stay in bed.”
“My back hurts from sitting here all day,” she whined.
“Want to try one of the recliners?” he asked.
“Can I? Maybe it won’t hurt as bad.” Amanda immediately rolled to a sitting position on the couch and held out her hands for Jeremy to help her up.
It still bothered her that she couldn’t get up by herself. She’d gotten so big the last month. She was sure it was from doing nothing but lying around. She’d never get rid of the weight.
Jeremy helped her up and over to one of the recliners. He eased her down then reclined it for her. She sighed. The relief was instantaneous.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“Perfect. Thanks.”
“Want your book?” he asked.
“No thanks. I’m just going to take a nap.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen. Just call out if you need me.”
She waved him away and
rested her hand on her belly then closed her eyes. It had been hours since she’d felt this good. Her back wasn’t hurting, and the baby was quiet for once. She swore that when he got going there was an entire football team playing in her belly. Sometimes they could even see the footprint outlined on her belly when he was kicking. The guys got a kick out of that. She? Not so much.
She’d drifted in and out of sleep for a good two hours when the pain came back. It radiated around to her belly now and had her squeezing her eyes shut against it. Amanda tried to adjust her weight in the chair, but with it reared back like it was, she couldn’t move in it like she could on the couch or in the bed.
“Jeremy,” she called out.
“Coming.”
Several seconds later he walked into the room. “What’s up, Mandy?”
“My back is really hurting again. I need to move. Can you get me out of this thing and back to the couch?” she asked.
“Sure.” He frowned. “Is it just your back, or are you hurting anywhere else?”
“It’s mostly my back, but every once in a while, it hurts in my belly, too.”
“Do you think you’re in labor, hon?” he asked.
“The pain doesn’t really feel like contractions. At least I don’t think so. I’ve never had contractions, so I guess I don’t know.” Amanda groaned as the pain gripped her back once more.
“Let’s get you upstairs and settled in the bed.” Jeremy helped her up then guided her up the stairs.
By the time they reached the bed, she was exhausted and nearly collapsed on the bed. Jeremy helped her undress and climb beneath the sheet. He peeled back the other covers and folded them at the foot of the bed.
“Want me to massage your back for you?” he asked.
“Please. It hurts so bad,” she said.
Amanda moaned in relief as he ran his hands over her back with practiced ease. She loved it when they rubbed her back. They seemed to know just where to apply pressure and where to rub that relieved the pain. After a few minutes she felt much more relaxed and was able to drift off again. She knew Jeremy had gone back downstairs to tend to things in the kitchen. She lay there praying that nothing started hurting again when her bladder let her know she needed to get up.
Why now? I’m finally comfortable. If I get up now, I’ll start everything all over again.
If she didn’t get up, she’d pee all over herself though. Finally, she couldn’t wait another second and slowly rolled to a sitting position on the edge of the bed and used the bedside table to help pull herself up to waddle into the bathroom. She did her business then washed her hands at the sink. She was just about to return to the bedroom when her water broke, drenching her legs and the floor.
Chapter Twelve
“Jeremy!”
“Coming.” She heard him call out as she stood statue-still in the bathroom, holding on to the sink for support. She heard him when he walked into the bedroom.
“What are you doing out of bed?” he asked.
“I had to go to the bathroom, but that’s not what’s wrong. My water broke,” she said, unable to stop the tears from falling.
“Okay. Just calm down. Everything will be fine, hon. Let me get the bed ready. Are you okay standing there for a few seconds?” he asked.
“I’m scared to move,” she admitted.
“Do you need to sit on the toilet lid?” he asked.
“No. I’m fine right here. I’m just scared.”
“We’ve got this, Mandy. Just breathe,” he said.
She forced herself to take slow breaths to calm her racing heart. She wasn’t alone. Jeremy was there, and he’d get Garrett. They’d make sure everything was fine. If Holly could do it, then she could, too. She was going to have a baby. Once again her heart rate picked up and her back started aching again.
“Jeremy, hurry. My back is really hurting again.”
“Just about ready,” he said.
They’d come up with the idea of putting a shower curtain over the mattress then a sheet to keep the mattress clean when she had the baby. He was readying the bed for her to go into labor. She guessed that was what she was doing now. Going into labor. That was what all the pain in her back had been all this time. Why hadn’t she recognized it for what it was? The books had said that sometimes labor came in back pain.
“Here you go, Mandy. Let’s get you in bed. I’ll clean you up then go get Garrett. We need to time the contractions to see how far apart they are,” he said.
“I don’t know how. They aren’t like belly contractions. They’re mostly in my back and curl around to my belly,” she said.
“That’s okay. We can do it. We’re having a baby,” he said with a huge grin lighting up his face.
“I’m having a baby. You’re having a party. Go get Garrett,” she snapped as her back began hurting again.
Jeremy instantly lost his smile and bent over to kiss her. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll be right back. Garrett will need to shower before he can help with the baby. I’ll be right back.”
Amanda stopped trying to hold back the tears when the next pain hit her. It circled around and attacked her entire lower belly, making her cry out with it. She rubbed her hands over her abdomen, trying to ease some of the tension in it, but it didn’t help much at all. The baby seemed to be hiding since he hadn’t been very active all day. More than likely he wasn’t too excited about leaving his safe little world anytime soon.
She counted two hard contractions before Jeremy returned with Garrett hard on his heels.
“Hey, babe. I’m here. How are you doing?” Garrett asked, kissing her forehead.
“Ready for this to be over with. It hurts, Garrett,” she said.
“I know. I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I’ll be out to help you. Jeremy will be right here with you, okay?”
“I know.”
“We’ve got everything ready, hon. The baby bed, the towels, the blankets, everything the books said we’d need. All that is missing is the baby now. That’s up to you,” Jeremy said.
Another pain hit her, but this time, it started in her lower abdomen and moved up and outwards. She cried out, and Jeremy was instantly there holding her hand and telling her to breathe through it.
“Come on, Mandy. Pant. Pant. Pant.”
“I’m trying,” she said, breathing out.
The next four hours were hard. She swore she’d never let them near her again if this was what the result was going to be. She cried and screamed at them and begged for it to all be over with. The next two hours she learned to curse and taught them some new words as she suffered through the contractions that didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
Finally, Garrett said he saw the head crowning when he looked between her legs.
“You’re there, Mandy girl. Don’t give up now. When you need to, push this next time. Give it all you’ve got and let’s do this,” he said.
She wanted to tell him to pop out a baby out his ass then but refrained, as she’d already said way too much over the last few hours. They were never going to look at her the same way after this. She was too tired to fight the pains anymore. It hurt so badly, and she was so tired.
The next pain that hit her was almost too much. Jeremy coached her to push. He held her hand and urged her to bear down.
“Come on, Mandy. You can do this. Push hard. Just like that.”
“Head’s out. You did good, Mandy. Next contraction you’ll have a baby, sweetheart. Hear me? You’re about to have this baby. Rest then push with the next one, and it’s the last one you’ll have to do,” Garrett said.
“Too tired,” she breathed out, closing her eyes.
“One more push,” Garrett promised. “That’s all you need to do.”
She was sure she’d fallen asleep when the next one hit and both men yelled at her to push. She didn’t want to but felt the urge too hard to resist and began to bear down.
“That’s it. Almost out, Mandy. A little more. You can do it,”
Garrett coached from between her legs.
Then the pressure was gone, and she panted as she tried to catch her breath. The cry from below had her smiling despite her exhaustion.
“It’s a boy, Mandy girl. You gave us a healthy boy. Ten fingers, ten toes, a healthy set of lungs, and a dangly bit between his legs,” Garrett said.
She couldn’t help but laugh at his pronouncement. She held out her hands as Garrett wiped him down with the towels. He placed the wrinkled little baby on her chest at her breast. She held him, marveling at his cute little nose and tiny mouth. He looked up at her, and she forgave him all the pain he’d caused her. He’d been worth every bit of it.
“Let me take him and clean him up and get him dressed for you,” Jeremy said. He held out his arms for their son.
“God! Why am I still hurting?” she cried out as another contraction hit her, stronger than the last one.
“Garrett?” Jeremy asked.
“I’m not sure.” Garrett was back between her legs with a confused look on his face. “The books didn’t say that the afterbirth would hurt like giving birth to the baby would.”
She groaned as she relaxed once more, and then another one hit and she screamed with it.
“Fuck, there’s another baby. That’s the head,” Garrett said. “She’s having twins!”
“Aw hell. Mandy, girl. You were hiding something from us,” Jeremy said as he scooted the baby bed closer to the bed so he could hold her hand while keeping a hand on their little boy at the same time.
“Push, babe. Push hard. You can do it,” Garrett said.
“I can’t,” she cried out.
“Yes, you can. Push. Jeremy.” Garrett looked over at his friend. “Get her to push.”
Jeremy climbed up in the bed behind her and held her up slightly so that she was in a reclined position. He panted with her, and then, when the next contraction hit her, he growled into her ear.
“Push. Push. Push. You have to, Mandy. Push hard.”
“There you go. I’ve got the head. One more after this and you’ll be through,” Garrett said.
“That’s what you said last time,” she barked out.
“I know. This time for sure. You can’t have a third one in there,” he said.