by Taylor Hart
There was nothing more to say, so they just held each other and cried.
After what felt like forever, but had really only been an hour, the doctor came out. “Addison’s okay. She’ll be coming out of recovery soon.” His words were reassuring, but his frown wasn’t.
Jace felt like an elephant was crushing his chest. He had to grab the back of a chair for support. “The baby?”
“The baby was distressed. She is stabilized now.”
“What does that mean?” Jake cut in.
The doctor took a long breath. “It means I’m hopeful. She’s in the NICU. The cord was wrapped around her neck, cutting off her oxygen for a while.” He sighed. “I’m hopeful.”
Hopeful. Hopeful. Hopeful. The word echoed through Jace’s mind. He sucked in a breath.
He felt his mother reach out to support him. “Jace?”
“When can we see Addison?”
The doctor nodded. “Soon. I’ll have a nurse come get you once she is settled.”
Jace managed to wait until the doctor had left before he did something he’d never done, even after Stacy had left him. He broke down.
His father held him as he collapsed in a heap onto the floor. “Jace.”
“No.” Jace’s mind was spinning. He could only think of that little baby. The baby he’d had his hand on beneath her belly.
The baby who’d practiced MMA moves on him.
The baby he’d sang to.
Nothing in the world felt more important than her and Addison.
Chapter 26
“Addison.” Addison felt herself follow the voice to reach for consciousness.
“Adds?”
She opened her eyes and saw Jace. Pain filled her lower abdomen—well, numbed pain. “The baby?”
“Do you hurt?” he asked, concern on his face. “The doctor said you should push this button if you do. It’s hooked to painkillers if you need them.”
She felt another stab of pain. “The baby?” she asked again.
“Lila is in the NICU.” He put a warm hand on her forehead.
“The NICU!”
“Yeah. The cord was wrapped—”
“Oh no!” Her words wouldn’t come as loud as she wanted. Her mouth was desert dry.
“They were worried when she came out.”
Tears budded into her eyes and fell rapidly, but she couldn’t find the strength to wipe them away. Her vision blurred.
“The doctor just came in and talked to me.”
“Stop rambling and just tell me!” She pushed the words out though they still didn’t feel loud enough.
Jace took her hand. “Shh, the doctor said she’s fine. His exact words were ‘you are the father of a perfectly healthy little girl.’”
Relief washed over her, and she closed her eyes. “I want her,” she said simply.
Jace mopped the tears on her face with a tissue. “Don’t worry, they’ll be bringing her in to nurse in just a few minutes.”
“I want her.” She demanded again, opening her eyes.
The bed began to move as Jace pressed a button.
Pain surged through her. “Ah.”
The bed stopped moving. “Are you in pain?”
She nodded, feeling the pain more now that she knew Lila was okay.
“I’m pushing the magic pain button for you.”
She closed her eyes but heard him push the button, and the pain dissipated a few seconds later. She didn’t know if it was placebo or not, but it felt real, and she felt relief.
In a flash, she remembered everything else, but it was so hazy. “Thirsty,” she whispered.
She felt the bed start to move, and she opened her eyes again.
Jace pushed a button next to the bed. It started moving her to a sitting position. “Let’s get you a little water.”
She took the water and sipped. The cold water felt heavenly. Then she remembered even more. “We’re engaged.”
He smiled. “Yep. You agreed to be my wife, so don’t be trying to get out of it.” His cool lips kissed her forehead.
She closed her eyes again. The baby, their baby, was okay, and she was engaged. Life was better than she ever could have thought possible. “Thank you,” she whispered as more tears fell down her cheeks. “My hero.”
He kissed her gently on the lips. “No, Adds. I’m impossibly grateful for you. You’re my hero.”
Chapter 27
Addison sat on the swing in her backyard, but unlike all those weeks ago, when she’d been thinking about having a baby and what it would be like, she now gazed down at beautiful Lila.
Lila Sharon Harding.
It had just felt right to give the baby Jace’s mom’s name for a middle name. After all, Jace’s mom was more of a mother to her and more family than she’d had in a long time.
Well, at least she would be Harding after today. They’d already filled out the papers for adoption and were just waiting until after the ceremony to make it official.
Staring down at her Lila, she couldn’t believe how amazing it was be to be a mother. Better than she’d ever imagined. Granted, everything was better with Jace at her side.
“Hey.”
Addison heard the sliding door shut and pictured Jace coming toward her. Was it silly that she still had butterflies in her stomach every time she saw him? It’d been two weeks since she’d had the baby and they’d gotten engaged.
But it had been a strange two weeks. Since she’d had to have a cesarean, she hadn’t been able to do a lot. Jace’s mom had come to stay that first week, so her home had felt very full. Honestly, Addison didn’t know what she would have done without her.
Jace got to the swing, and she took a quick breath. He looked gorgeous in his tux.
He stared at her with his beautiful hazel eyes. “Hello Mrs. Almost Harding.”
It thrilled her to think she was about to marry him. “Hello,” she said.
“You look beautiful.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against her forehead then gently took Lila out of her arms. “Come here, sweetheart.” He softly kissed her forehead too.
Addison blinked tears out of her eyes.
Turning to her, he shook his head. “Hey, you can’t start that already. We talked about this.” He waited, putting out a hand for her. “No crying until after the ceremony.”
Standing, she took his hand. “You’re just the perfect father.”
He beamed. “Thank you.” Tugging her in, he kissed her lips and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in closer, deepening the kiss.
For a second, she felt off balance. Then steadied herself against his solid frame. His strength was something she’d started getting used to.
Pulling back, he smiled. “You ready to do this?”
“More than ready.” She hesitated, but asked the question that had been on her mind all day. “Do you wish you would have signed with the California Wave?”
He shook his head. “Nope, I want to stay right here.” He hesitated. “Home. With you.”
Joy washed over her.
His mother had insisted they get married out at the ranch, and it felt perfect. All of it.
Staring deeper into her eyes, he took her hand. “Don’t you know that I’m still grateful for you, Adds? You and Lila are all that matters now. Don’t you know that?”
Happiness surged within her. “Yeah. I do. I’m grateful too.”
He kissed her again.
“Well, that and the end zone matter, right?”
Tugging her closer, he kissed her again. “You’ll always be my end zone.”
Warmth filled her. “No, you’ll always be mine.”
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efighter Romance….Keep reading for a sneak peak of Damon Freestone’s love story!
Rescue Me: A Park City Firefighter Romance
Damon Freestone stared down at the five-mile trail run he’d just done. It had been fun. As fun as Damon could deal with at the moment. Truthfully, he hadn’t even felt it. All he’d known when he’d gotten off his first full forty-eight-hour shift at Park City Fire Department was that he needed to do something to get his mind off everything.
Sucking in air, he pulled the water bottle off his hip and took a long drink. Honestly, it hadn’t been that bad of a shift, considering it was his first one since he had come back from Boston. And he had been demoted to a truckie.
His mind flashed to his first day as captain six months ago in Boston, to the burning building. At this point, he usually clamped down on the memory and refocused his thoughts. At least, that was what he’d been taught to do by the stupid shrink he’d been forced to see for weeks on end after it had all happened. The one who told him none of it was his fault. After all, he’d followed protocol. Squeezing the bottle between his fingers, he crushed it and then tucked it back into the water holster at his hip. Forget the shrink.
His mind opened to that day—his first call as the captain at Boston Fire. He’d done everything right. They had vented the building first and then sent in the truck crew to make entry and start search and rescue.
They’d pulled out twenty bodies.
The fire was moving fast. He could hear his men clearing the rooms. He could see it in his mind as easily as if he’d been in there himself. They were good men, trained properly. His mind was clear as he barked out orders. Everything was going down perfectly.
Until he heard Trev call out. “Chief, she’s hurt!”
At that point, it was like lightning struck his heart, and he instantly knew who Trev was talking about.
Jamie. The candidate. The new girl who had only shown up a week ago.
Without thinking, his feet went into motion.
“What the—!” He called, running to the truck and donning his air mask. He’d already had turnouts and SCBA on before they even arrived.
Corey was by his side as he moved toward the building. “Cap, you can’t go in there. You have command. We need your eyes out here. There are still ten guys in there.”
But come hell or high water, Damon was going in there. Time lost all meaning. He barged through the burning doors, sucking air from his tank and trying to see her, trying to feel her. He keyed his radio. “Trev, where is she?”
“I … part of the wall has fallen up here, I can’t get her out.”
Climbing the stairs quickly, he rushed straight to where he’d sent Trevor. The smoke was awful, and he could barely see through it. The hungry flames snapped at him as he made his way to Trev who was trying to figure out how to get her free. Springing into action, he rushed to the beam that had fallen, using all his force to push it off, but it wouldn’t budge.
On the radio, he heard the battalion chief. “Freestone, what are you doing? Get your butt out here.”
He ignored it, struggling to find a way to free Jamie.
The battalion chief ordered everyone to abandon the building then started calling out his crew one by one, telling them to get out. Air horns blared long blasts of four tones, the symbol to evacuate. The fire had burned long enough that either this thing would flashover soon or the whole building might come down.
Even though Damon could feel the blow was coming, he couldn’t leave yet. He scrambled to get another board and make a lever to push the beam.
Trev stayed by his side without asking and helped him push the lever.
“Freestone! Clark!” The battalion chief barked, calling the two of them.
Damon pointed at Trev. “Get out!”
Trev shook his head. “I’m staying with you, Cap.”
The battalion chief’s voice pierced the radio. “Then you are both fools that are going to lose your jobs.”
They pushed and levered the wood until Jamie’s leg came loose. Damon picked her up and carried her out of the apartment, down the stairs and into the pandemonium outside.
The building had the decency to not flash until both he and Trev were out. Flames tumbled over their heads and the pressure forced Damon down to his knees. He climbed to his feet and ran toward the medics.
As he laid her body on the stretcher, ambo crews and firefighters swarmed them, helping them take off their equipment. Damon sucked in the cool Boston night air.
The battalion chief walked over with anger in his eyes and stared at him. “Freestone, you made the wrong call.”
All Damon was concerned with at the moment was making sure Jamie was okay. He saw them intubating her.
“Is she breathing?” he asked Craig, the main paramedic.
When Craig didn’t answer, he began investigating the equipment they were using, and then the other medic pulled out an AED and shocked her chest.
“Breathe.” He commanded her, getting on his knees and feeling emotion bubble up in his throat. Emotion he never let out anywhere besides a punch to the face of his sparring partner at the gym in the morning.
His battalion chief was next to him, his hand on his shoulder, as Damon watched the crew frantically try to get a pulse, get all the smoke out of her so she could breathe.
Shedding his turnouts, he hopped into the ambo with them. The medics worked efficiently, doing everything they could, but in the short ride to the hospital, he watched her unresponsive lips go blue. He watched her die.
When they pulled the stretcher out and ran her into the hospital, he ran with them down the hall, listening to the paramedics give their report to the doctors.
Can’t find a pulse, too much smoke in her lungs, gave her albuterol, cortisone, a plethora of other drugs.
His mind couldn’t decipher all of it. In truth, it was the first time he didn’t feel absolutely involved in the scene, but more like a bystander watching it all unfold.
As he watched them cover her with a sheet, he knew it was his fault. She’d died because he’d sent her in too soon.
He wished it had been him instead.
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Also by Taylor Hart
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Brooke’s story, The Christmas Groom
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The Last Play Series
Last Play
The Rookie
Just Play
A Player for Christmas
Second String
Snow Valley Series
A Christmas in Snow Valley: The Christmas Eve Kiss
Summer in Snow Valley: First Love
Spring in Snow Valley: The Bet
