Baby by Surprise

by Karen Rose Smith

  They had each other undressed in less than five minutes. After Grady threw back the covers, she slid in. The bed was humungous. Yet when he followed her and propped himself on his side, she wanted to be right there with him, at his pillow, her body touching his, her hand nestling in his chest hair.

  They kissed, hard and wet and deep.

  He broke away and rasped, “The past few weeks were like torture, foreplay without any satisfaction. I’ve wanted you again since that first night.”

  And she’d wanted him. But she found she wanted him in a different way now.

  Oh, gosh! She had fallen in love with him!

  The breath left her body. She felt dizzy with the idea of it. Then he was kissing her again and the startling flash of insight wound itself around their passion and hid itself in her desire. Grady awakened every womanly longing and some she didn’t even know she had. His hands couldn’t seem to get enough of touching her. His lips and tongue brought her to new heights of awareness about the desire they shared. She was breathless with anticipation until he touched her between her thighs. Her orgasm shook her as soon as his thumb made contact with the most sensitive spot on her body.

  On her side, she held on to him, feeling as if a whirlpool were spiraling her away. He held on to her for a few moments, and then lifted her leg over his hip, thrust inside her, and the spiraling began all over again. His heat made her hotter, the length of him filling her surged through her to a new height of pleasure. His thumb on her nipple sent her spinning. Grady’s kiss captured the sound of his name that echoed in her heart.

  When the climax was over and the last ripple of pleasure had tingled away, when she lay wrapped in his arms, she was more terrified than she’d ever been. Her feelings for Grady rocked her and she didn’t know what she was going to do about them. How could she pretend this had just been a physical encounter? She suspected that’s what he wanted. He’d said he’d wanted her since the first night they’d met and the past few weeks had been like foreplay.

  Could she handle simply being parents with benefits while loving him…knowing his feelings were only tied up with desire and his child?

  “Stop thinking,” he murmured to her, and his breathing became heavy and deep.

  She couldn’t. Not when she was truly in love for the first time in her life. Not when the man she loved might not love her.

  Three days after Christmas, Grady threw clothes into a suitcase, unsettled more than he wanted to admit. Christmas Eve with Francesca had shaken him to his core. They’d experienced sex at its finest.

  Afterward, he’d been rattled. Parents with benefits was a great idea, but what did it mean?

  Francesca had seemed as rattled as he was. When they’d awakened the next morning, they’d eaten breakfast and he’d taken her home—her Christmas present in the back of the truck—without talking about the night before. She’d planned to have Christmas dinner with Vince and Tessa and Emily and Jared. He’d planned to have Christmas dinner with his family. Neither of them had known what to say or do next.

  Now he was going out of town and that wasn’t going to help any of it. He wanted to talk to her about custody and that was going to be damn hard.

  He picked up the phone on the nightstand, staring at the bed, remembering what had happened there. He had to call her and tell her he was leaving in the morning.

  She answered her cell phone on the second ring. Had she been waiting for him to call? Why hadn’t he phoned her before today?

  Because he didn’t know if he could trust another woman. Because he didn’t know if he wanted to be more than a dad. Because Francesca had pulled away from him on Christmas morning, and he knew she had her own issues to deal with.

  “Hi,” he said, and waited.

  “Hi,” she said back, without taking the conversation any further.

  “I called because I have to go out of town—to Dallas.”

  “This is sudden.”

  “Yes, it is. A friend of mine from college has a ranch there. There was a fire on his property. He’s thinking about selling and doesn’t know if he should or not. Anyway, he asked if I’d help him figure things out.”

  “You’re good friends?”

  “Yes, we are. We see each other a few times a year, whenever we can get away. Liam is going to stay here while I’m gone to watch over the place.”

  “He’ll take care of the horses and Shadow?”

  “Yes. He’s great with horses, and he and Shadow are pals.” He supposed he could have asked Francesca to watch Shadow, but that hadn’t occurred to him.

  When she seemed to have trouble finding something to say almost as much as he did, he admitted, “Christmas was intense for both of us. Space might be good.”

  “It might,” she agreed.

  “When I get back, I have an appointment with a lawyer about a custody agreement.”

  After a moment’s pause, she replied, “I guess I should see a lawyer, too.”

  Lawyers. Was that really the way he wanted this to play out? What other choice did he have? He had to protect his rights, didn’t he? And his child’s.

  “We could probably do this without them, but I’d like something official, something in writing.”

  There was another long pause. “Because you don’t trust me?”

  “Frannie—”

  “It’s okay, Grady, I understand. You want to be a father and you don’t want anything to interfere with that.”

  She made it sound so cut-and-dried.

  “How long do you think you’ll be gone?” she asked.

  “Probably until after New Year’s.”

  Was she thinking about New Year’s Eve? A new year? The two of them raising a child?

  “Have a safe trip, Grady.”

  “I will. I’ll let you know when I get back.”

  They didn’t have anything else to say so he added, “Take care of yourself.”

  “I will. Goodbye, Grady.”

  He didn’t like the way that sounded, yet he had no choice but to say, “Goodbye, Francesca.” He hung up the phone.

  His world definitely felt as if it had shifted sideways. Maybe this trip would give him the clarity he needed. If it didn’t—

  He’d keep his appointment with the lawyer when he got back and make becoming a dad official.

  When Francesca wasn’t at work, she could distract herself from thinking about Grady now that Gina had moved in. Grady had called a few times since he’d returned from Dallas two weeks ago after he’d spent a week helping his friend. But he hadn’t come over to visit and he hadn’t invited her out to the ranch again. Making love with him had ended the idea that they could be parents with benefits. They were more. At least there was more on her part. Apparently there wasn’t on Grady’s.

  As Francesca went to the mailbox on the porch, she felt a wash of nausea. Lunch hadn’t agreed with her. A cold wind tossed against her as she retrieved the mail and stepped inside the foyer once again.

  It was Saturday and Gina was home with her. Her new friend was unpacking a box of books and loading them onto a bookshelf in the living room as Francesca entered.

  Suddenly she felt sharp cramping in her abdomen. She took a deep breath.

  Gina studied her intently. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not sure.” Crossing to the sofa, she sat, letting the letters and magazines in her hand fall into her lap. The pressure in her tummy eased.

  To distract herself, she flipped through legal-size envelopes until she froze at one that was just a little thicker than the rest. A lawyer’s address was in the upper left-hand corner.

  She tore it open. “The day of reckoning has arrived,” she murmured when she could think again.

  “What?” Gina asked.

  “There’s a letter here from Grady’s lawyer. I’m pretty sure it’s a custody agreement.”

  “You have a lawyer now, don’t you?”

  “I saw one last week for a consultation. He said if I received any documents I should bring
them in to him.”

  Deserting the box of books, Gina came over to sit beside Francesca on the sofa. She pushed her black curls away from her brow. “What does the agreement say?”

  Francesca skimmed the letter and gave a cursory glance to the other papers beneath, the tight feeling in her pelvis worrying her. She read them quickly. “It’s a joint custody agreement giving me physical custody. It says until the child is a year old, visits are at my discretion. But then at age one and after, Grady has visitation at least two weekends a month until the child is five. Then we’ll renegotiate. It’s fair, but I just—” A stronger pain gripped her middle, twisted sharply inside her. She leaned forward, now knowing exactly what was happening and afraid to admit it.

  “Francesca!” Gina cried, putting her arm around her, “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m having contractions. I shouldn’t be. It’s too early!” She automatically checked her watch to time the contractions. “Can you get me my phone? It’s on the kitchen counter.”

  Gina ran to the kitchen and brought the phone to her. Francesca dialed Jared’s number. She was so grateful when he answered. “Jared, I’m in labor.”

  “How long between contractions?”

  “About five minutes.”

  “Is anyone with you?”

  “Gina.”

  “Have her drive you to the hospital. I’ll meet you there. Grab a bottle of water and drink that on the way.”

  The tight pain in her abdomen widened out this time until she had to grit her teeth.

  “Francesca, are you having another contraction?”

  “Yes,” she finally managed to say.

  “How close?”

  “That one was about four minutes.”

  “Call 911. Now. I don’t want to take any chances.”

  Gina must have been able to hear Jared because she went to the landline and dialed 911.

  Francesca closed her phone and tried to remain calm. She told herself their neonatal unit was the best in West Texas. As Gina explained to the dispatcher why they needed an ambulance, Francesca opened her cell phone to call Grady. She felt something wet between her legs.

  This could happen much more quickly than she ever imagined. They might not be able to stop her labor. She speed-dialed Grady, not sure if she wanted him to answer or not.

  He did. “Francesca?” His question seemed wary, as if he suspected she’d received the custody agreement.

  She couldn’t discuss that now. She couldn’t think about it now. “I’m in labor. I don’t know if we can stop it. The baby’s too early—” Her voice cracked.

  “Where are you?” he asked in a clipped voice.

  “Home. Gina called an ambulance.”

  “What can I do?”

  Hold her in his arms. But she answered reasonably, “There’s nothing you can do. If you want to come to the hospital, I’ll make sure Jared keeps you updated.”

  “Updated, hell!”

  She heard noises—horses whinnying…a door slamming. “Tell Madison I want to be in with you. Don’t you need a coach?”

  “Emily is going to coach me.”

  “Well, she can move over and give me a quick course.”

  There was more than one reason she didn’t want Grady in that delivery room. “Grady, because the baby will be premature, there could be problems.”

  He went quiet and she heard the crunch of tires on gravel. “We’ll deal with whatever happens.”

  She was grateful for his support. The distance between them didn’t feel quite as cavernous.

  But then he asked, “I am this baby’s father, aren’t I, Francesca? The baby is actually premature, isn’t he? Because if—”

  She hung up on him.

  Grady rushed into the hospital, sick at heart. Why had he asked Francesca if he was the father? His doubts had surged again when she’d said the baby was going to be premature. But this was Francesca, not Susan. Francesca didn’t lie.

  Still, he didn’t know what she was thinking now. His vulnerability unnerved him. He didn’t know if the custody agreement was a good idea or a bad one. He didn’t know anything where she and the baby were concerned. He just knew he wanted them both to be all right.

  He had to stop for a pass to the maternity floor, then headed straight there. As he approached the nurses’ desk he spotted Tessa pacing. She looked worried, a deep-down worried that made his gut turn over.

  “Where is she?” He wanted to know.

  Tessa gestured down the hall. “Emily’s with her and Jared, of course. They thought it might be better if I waited out here. Jared might have to do a cesarean, depending on how it goes.”

  A cesarean. Jeez.

  “I want to see her. I have to see her. I said something I shouldn’t have when she called me.” He started down the hall.

  Tessa caught his arm, studied him for a good long moment and then said, “You can’t go in there like that. You have to get suited up. Come on.”

  Five minutes later, Grady felt…weird. He was wearing a scrub gown, scrub shoes, a cap on his head and a mask. But he didn’t care what he looked like.

  Tessa escorted him to the birthing room. When she opened the door, her gaze met Emily’s. She explained, “It’s Grady.”

  Emily and Jared exchanged a look and they both nodded. However, Francesca, who was panting through a contraction, shook her head, her damp hair matted around her face.

  Grady had to convince her to let him stay. He went over to the bed before anybody could say he shouldn’t.

  Emily moved aside and he took Francesca’s hand. Without preamble or explanations he said, “I shouldn’t have asked you what I did. I know better. I do, Francesca.”

  She stopped panting, took a few normal breaths and focused on Jared. “Do a DNA test when the baby’s born.”

  “No!” Grady protested. “I believe this baby’s mine. Why do you think I want the custody agreement?”

  “You want the custody agreement just in case. You don’t trust me. You never will. I get that, Grady.”

  “We both need to work on trust,” he determined. “But for the moment, believe me. I trust this baby is mine. Now tell me what’s happening and don’t leave anything out.”

  Francesca still seemed wary, but she nodded her assent. As Jared began to explain that they were monitoring the baby’s heart rate carefully, as well as all of Francesca’s vital signs and contractions, another contraction rippled through her.

  She squeezed Grady’s hand and pursed her lips together as her face turned red.

  “Scream, for God’s sake, Francesca. You’re having a baby. Let it out.” He couldn’t imagine her trying to hide the pain, especially not from him. She’d tried to hide her pain all of her life and it was about time she let some of it go.

  She gave a yelp, but it wasn’t at all what Grady had advised.

  Jared said to Francesca, “Look at me.”

  She did.

  “With the next contraction, I want you to push harder than you’ve ever pushed. I want you to yell and scream and holler if you have to, but I want you to get this baby out.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Just do what I say, Francesca. Don’t try to be a doctor now.”

  Emily, on the other side of the bed, rubbed her friend’s arm. “Do what Jared says, Francesca. You know he’s good.”

  Just then, Dr. Saxby came in the door with a team from the NIC unit.

  “You’re scaring me,” Francesca said to all of them.

  Emily pushed her friend’s damp hair away from her cheek and Grady wished he could be the one to do that. But he’d messed up his chances with that for a while, maybe for a lifetime. He wasn’t sure where they were headed. He just knew they all had to come out of this room in one piece.

  Emily assured her, “We’ve assembled a team that’s best for you and your baby.”

  Grady could see on Francesca’s face when the contractions started again, and this time he moved close to her, bent down beside her and assured
her, “You have the strength to do this for you and our baby. Come on, Frannie. Give the biggest yell you’ve ever given if you have to and push him out.”

  The next five minutes were hazy and traumatic. Francesca let out a yell like he never imagined she could. The baby slid into Jared’s hands and at once he handed him off to the neonatologist and his team. They quickly inserted a tube down his throat, attached him to an IV and took him away in what looked like a plastic bubble.

  Francesca had raised herself on her elbows, looking after him. She seemed frantic to know what was going on. Grady heard the word hypoglycemia. He heard IV glucose. He heard the lungs aren’t fully developed.

  Then he saw Francesca’s tears and he knew this had to be one of the hardest moments in a woman’s life, when a baby she’d just brought into the world had to be taken away from her, and she didn’t know if he’d live or die.

  Grady put his arm around her, but she tensed and pulled away.

  “He’ll be fine,” she said through her tears. “He’ll be fine.”

  Emily crossed to Grady and clasped his elbow. “We have to deliver the placenta, Grady. Maybe you should wait outside now. I’ll try to get Francesca calmed down and send her to her room. By then we might know better how the baby’s doing.”

  “What exactly is wrong?”

  “When a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes has a blood sugar spike, the baby responds to that blood sugar by producing high levels of insulin. As soon as he’s born he’s no longer receiving the extra glucose from the mother, so the levels of circulating insulin still in the baby can cause hypoglycemia. That’s when blood sugar falls too low. Your baby requires treatment with an IV solution of glucose until the insulin and glucose levels have stabilized. He also has a breathing problem because his lungs aren’t fully developed. But we’re hoping over the next couple of weeks that will resolve itself, too. We have everything under control, Grady. Really. Now let us finish with Francesca, then maybe you can see her without that outfit on.” Emily squeezed his arm.

  When Grady’s gaze met Francesca’s, she looked away.

  Fear gripped his heart. Would their son live or die?

  Chapter Eleven