The Reality Bride's Baby

by Lorana Hoopes

  Laney tried to make out the shapes on the screen as the doctor performed the ultrasound but it was all just fuzz to her.

  “Laney, the baby is still breach but his heart rate has been down for eight minutes. His lungs should be developed enough from the steroids we’ve been giving him that I think it would be better to take him now than chance leaving him with whatever is going on in there.”

  Laney mashed her lips together and grabbed Tyler’s hand. “Okay. Whatever you think is best.”

  “Can we have a moment to pray before she goes?”

  Dr. Johnson nodded and stepped back giving them space.

  “Lord, we pray for your hand to be on this surgery. Please protect Laney and the baby and guide the doctor’s hands. Give us peace about the procedure. We place our trust in you. Amen.”

  “Amen,” Laney echoed.

  “Mr. Hall if you’ll follow the nurse, she will get you into scrubs, so you can join us in the operating room.”

  Tyler leaned down and kissed Laney before following the nurse out of the room. The doctor unlocked the brakes and then pushed Laney’s bed out of the room and down the hallway. Once again, she had to close her eyes to the blinding overhead lights.

  When the temperature shifted, Laney opened her eyes to find they were in an operating room. Several doctors or nurses dressed in full scrubs set instruments on a tray. A man’s face appeared above her.

  “Hi, Laney, I’m Alex, your anesthesiologist. I’m here to monitor you but I also play the music. Do you have a favorite artist?”

  “Toby Mac.” Laney’s teeth chattered with the words. Why was it so much colder in here?

  “We’ll get you a blanket in a minute and warm you up,” Alex said. His face disappeared and Laney heard clicking on keys. Soon Laney heard the familiar tune of “Eye on It.” Then the staff transferred her to the cold metal table and Laney shivered again.

  “We need to give you the numbing shot and then I can get you a blanket,” Alex said as he came into view again. “Let’s sit her up.”

  Multiple hands helped Laney to a sitting position, but it was not a comfortable one.

  “I need you to lean just a little farther forward while I give you the anesthetic. do the shot and Be as still as you can.”

  Laney stretched down as far as she could, trying to ignore the nausea that bubbled inside her. She felt a sharp prick and then a burning sensation. “Is it supposed to burn?” Her teeth were still chattering.

  “For a second, you should be warming up in a minute.”

  They helped her lay back and Laney tried not to focus on the cold. She wondered when Tyler would arrive.

  Tyler felt like an alien in the scrubs. They were foreign and much bulkier than his normal attire of jeans and a chambray shirt.

  The nurse handed him a surgical mask. “You’ll need to wear this. It’s a sterile room and we can’t take the chance you might be sick.”

  He pulled the mask over his face hating the warm air it forced him to breathe but willing to do anything to keep Laney and the baby safe.

  When she appeared satisfied he was as germ free as he could be, the nurse led him out of the room and down the hall to the operating rooms. She pushed open the door and Tyler’s feet stuck to the floor.

  He blinked at the sight in front of him. There was a blue curtain set up above Laney’s belly covering the surgery about to happen below. That was disconcerting, but it was her upper body that bothered him even more. Her splayed-out arms made it look as if she were tied to a cross instead of the bed. An image of how Jesus must have looked at the crucifixion flashed through his mind and the room began to spin.

  “Are you all right?” the nurse asked turning to him.

  Tyler took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting to see her like that. Is she okay?”

  “It’s to keep her from tugging on the curtain or bumping the doctors while they work. Women think they would keep calm but a C-section isn’t a walk in the park.”

  Tyler nodded and continued into the room. They had placed a chair for him beside Laney’s head and he grabbed her hand as he sat, glad he couldn’t see the actual surgery from this angle. He was not squeamish about most things but watching your wife get cut open might do it.

  “Okay, we are ready to begin.”

  “All right,” Laney said after a deep breath.

  “I have to say, you are the calmest person in this situation I have ever seen,” the anesthesiologist said.

  Laney turned to look at him. “What good would it do to get worked up? I have no control. God is in control of this situation.”

  Tyler smiled and squeezed her hand. Even in a challenging situation, her strong character shone through. Her grip on his hand tightened and her face scrunched. Was she in pain? Hadn’t they given her some numbing agent?

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I think so. It doesn’t hurt exactly, but it feels like someone is tugging out my insides out.” Her eyes squeezed shut. Tyler wished he could take away the pain or whatever she was feeling but he was helpless. All he could do was watch and pray.

  Suddenly the cry of a newborn filled the air and Tyler nearly jumped to his feet.

  “It’s a boy,” the doctor Dr. Johnson said and held him up over the curtain for Laney and Tyler to see. “He looks healthy but since he’s so early we want to take him in for monitoring. Dad, if you want to go with the nurse you can. I’ll finish up with Laney and check on your son shortly.”

  Tyler’s heart flipped in indecision. Did he go with his son or stay with his wife?

  “Go. I’ll be fine,” she said and forced a tight smile. She was being so brave and he hated leaving her but her words gave him the strength to follow the nurse out of the room and to the NICU.

  The nurse placed his son on a scale. “Just under six pounds. That’s pretty good for a preemie.” Tyler marveled at how tiny he was. Little arms barely bigger than his fingers waved back and forth. She jotted the number down on a chart and then measured the baby as well. “Nineteen inches is quite long too. He would have been quite a large baby had he been born at term.”

  Tyler nodded trying to be a good student and watch everything she did but he just wanted to hold his son and know that everything would be okay.

  After the measuring, the nurse showed him how to bathe the baby. Tyler’s hands shook as he helped hold his son. He seemed so fragile and small. Could he break him? Hurt him?

  Dr. Johnson entered as the nurse was bundling the baby in a blanket. “Laney is doing fine. She’ll be in recovery for a few hours. You’ll be able to be with her in a little while. Have you guys decided on a name for the baby?”

  “Matthew. His name is Matthew Aaron Hall.” Nancy hadn’t been too excited when they’d told her they were naming the baby Aaron as she claimed it was more her intervention that got them together but she accepted it when they explained their daughter (whenever they had one) would bear her name.

  “That’s a wonderful name. The pediatrician will have to run some tests on Matthew just to make sure everything developed as we’d hoped but you’ll be able to hold your son soon.

  It took over an hour for the pediatrician to complete all the tests Matthew needed, but she handed him the baby with a smile on her face. “I’d like to keep him for a few days for observation, but he appears as healthy as can be. I’d say God was watching out for your family.”

  Tyler couldn’t have agreed more.

  Chapter 7

  Laney stared down at her son in her lap. She couldn’t believe they were finally getting to go home. Though Matthew had tested well, he’d had a little trouble nursing the first few days, so they’d ended up staying a week in the hospital. Still, it was much shorter than the five to six weeks she had thought she might be staying just ten days ago.

  The wheelchair stopped just outside the front doors, and she waited for Tyler to pull up with the car. She’d always wondered why they wheeled mothers out but now she knew. It had taken a
ll her strength to get up and walk after the surgery and while each time had gotten a little better, she was still stiff and sore. It would be another few weeks before she walked normally again.

  The car pulled up and Tyler hurried out and grabbed the carrier from her lap. Immediately, she felt as if a piece of her was missing and she forced herself not to grab the carrier back. They had kept her from her son the first few hours as she was in recovery but since then he’d been with her every minute of the day. Not having him in her arms felt foreign.

  When he had the baby’s car seat securely fastened in the back seat, Tyler came back for her. He held out an arm and she grasped it as if it were a lifeline in the ocean. He was her strength right now and she needed to lean on him to make it the few feet to the car. Even so, she still grimaced in pain as she climbed into the seat and buckled the belt loosely across her belly.

  “Is it bad?” he asked as he started the car.

  “It’s not great,” she admitted, “but it was totally worth it.”

  Tyler drove five miles under the speed limit the entire ride home. His shoulders hunched over the steering wheel and Laney fought to keep from laughing. This carefree man had been transformed in front of her eyes to an eighty-year-old man afraid of every vehicle on the road. She supposed this went with parenting; the insane desire to protect your children at all costs and the maddening fear that something would happen to them anyway. But it certainly wasn’t something her friends with kids had warned her about. Labor? Yes. Recovery? Yes. The overwhelming, almost suffocating fear that something would take your child away? No.

  It struck her then how much God must love them. If she felt this much love for her son and they were God’s children then He must love them at least as much if not more.

  “What are you smiling about?” Tyler asked as he opened her door.

  “I was just thinking about how amazing God is. He gave up His only Son to give us life. I’ve always known it but I don’t think I’ve ever truly understood it until right now. We are so blessed.”

  Tyler placed his hands on her face and stared into her eyes. “We are indeed and I am so glad He brought us together.” As if he feared causing her pain, he barely placed his lips on hers and gave her a tender kiss. “Now, how about we take our son inside and show him his room?”

  Laney’s eyes widened. “You got it finished?”

  “Took me all night, but I did.”

  “Then, yes. I want to see it too.”

  “Wait here.” He left her leaning against the car while he rescued the car seat. Then he offered her his other arm and together they made a very slow journey into the house and to the nursery.

  Laney’s eyes teared up at the sight of the room. Tyler had painted the walls a soft blue and hung pictures of horses around the room. Wooden letters spelled out Matthew’s name above a dark brown crib and changing table and near the crib sat a plush leather rocker.

  “Why don’t you try it out?” He helped her sit down and then unbuckled Matthew from the carrier and handed him to her. “There’s a monitor above his crib so we can hear him but also so you can call for me if you’re in here with him and need help.”

  “Tyler, this is amazing.” Laney could not believe how blessed she felt at this moment. After years of running from herself and her insecurities, she felt loved and whole and complete.

  Well, not exactly complete. There was a hope in her heart that one day Matthew would have a little sister but that dream could be fulfilled down the road. For now, she would bask in the glow of motherhood and the love of a wonderful marriage that all started with a cup of spilled coffee, an old friend, and a reality TV show called ‘Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy.’

  The End!

  Author’s Note

  First off, let me say how glad I am that you read this book. I usually put my epilogue in the book, but my publicist thought offering an extra special deal to you for purchasing would be a great idea and I agreed.

  This epilogue really took ahold of me though. Laney’s pregnancy story is practically my own with my first son Spenser. I really did fall at work and am not sure what I tripped on. All of the details of being hooked up to the monitoring machine and having to go to the hospital by ambulance were also true.

  The big difference? My husband was actually deployed overseas when this happened. He would have missed the birth of his first child, but due to my forced hospital bed rest, I was able to get with the Red Cross and bring him home on emergency leave. I really believe God’s hand was in all of that.

  And if you’ve enjoyed reading this author’s note so far (and really, how could you not?) I am offering, for today only, a page where you can sign up for my weekly newsletter for the low, low price of absolutely nothing.

  Included in this weekly newsletter is many wonderful things like pictures of my adorable children, chances to win awesome prizes, new releases and sales I might be holding, great books from other authors, and anything else that strikes my fancy and that I think you would enjoy.

  Even better, I solemnly swear to only send out one newsletter a week (usually on Tuesday unless life gets in the way which with three kids it usually does). I will not spam you, sell your email address to solicitors or anyone else, or any of those other terrible things.

  Join me here and receive a free novella as my thank-you gift for choosing to hang out with me. It’s fun and entertaining. I promise.

  Prayers and blessings,

  Lorana

  Not ready to say Goodbye yet?

  The Cowboy’s Reality Bride is the first book in the multi-author Blushing Bride series. While each book written by a different author in the series will be a stand alone, I have decided to make mine a series. If you are reading on Amazon, the numbers may look confusing, but just know that my books will twine together.

  With that in mind, the next book in the Blushing Bride series will be The Producer’s Unlikely Bride (yep, I figured out ho to make that opposites attract thing work, but only because Justin was dislikable in this book).

  The book opens after the Maui season ends and we see Justin at his worst. Don’t give the guy too hard of a time yet. He’s had a past, but when his future pairs him with a romance author who always sees the glass half full, it might be too much for him.

  The Producer’s Unlikely Bride

  A reality dating show host who no longer believes in love.

  Justin Miller is tired of hosting Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy. No, what he’s tired of is seeing other people find love especially with his past. He wants nothing to do with romance and can’t believe his luck when he gets stuck with a romance writer in a cottage at the beach.

  She thrives on romance. If only she could find her own.

  Ava McDermott believes in love. She should as she writes romance novels for a living, but she can’t seem to find her own happily ever after. And she certainly isn’t going to find it with the plastic Ken doll host she’s stuck with. The time at the cottage was supposed to be relaxing and allow her to write.

  The double edged bargain….

  These two have only one thing in common. The ability to help one another, but can they keep to the rules or will their fake relationship turn into something more?

  Read on for a taste of The Producer’s Unlikely Bride….

  The Producer’s Unlikely Bride preview

  Justin ran his fingers through his platinum blond hair. Every hair had a place, and it was integral that all of his lay in their right place. He wasn’t looking for love - that ship had sailed a long time ago - but he was looking for a new job and the way to do that was to look perfect on this one. A reality show host had to ooze perfection and charm. Things Justin had in in spades which was why he’d had the job for a decade.

  And ‘Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy’ paid well, but dealing with all the happy couples… Yes, that was the issue. It hadn’t been so bad when only one of the couples lasted, but watching Tyler and Laney buck the system and find love even when it seemed impossible had rem
inded him of his own failed… No, he would not walk down that road again. The past need to stay there. Firmly locked behind a metal door with a dozen deadbolts.

  He regarded the mirror one more time, and when he was satisfied that he looked as good as he could, Justin sprayed a liberal coating of hair spray across his hair. It was the last show of the Maui edition, and the salty ocean breeze always ruffled his hair. Tonight, he wanted it to stay in place. One more spray wouldn’t hurt. Just for good measure. When he had given his hair another coat, he placed the can down on the dresser, winked at his reflection, and then headed for the door.

  Carl, the current Cowboy bachelor, would be waiting nervously at his bungalow as he had been every night. Justin wished they had never chosen him. Calling him indecisive was putting it mildly. Every time there was a ceremony, the man practically broke out in hives and spent half an hour waffling over one girl or the other with Justin who had to pretend to care. It didn’t really matter who Carl picked. Once reality hit and they left the show, most couples didn’t make it longer than six months. Tyler and Laney were the exception - not the rule.

  He knocked on Carl’s bungalow, unphased when the door opened and Carl, a sweaty, blotchy mess, greeted him by pulling him into the room. He clung to Justin’s hand as if it were a life vest in the ocean. Cold, clammy wetness seeped into Justin’s palm, and he bit his lip to keep from yelling at the man.

  “Justin, I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t know if I can go through with this. Cara and Destiny are both great. I think I love them both. How am I supposed to choose?”

  With as much tact as he could muster, Justin eased his hand from Carl’s grip. The desperate need to run it down his pants to wipe off the sheen filled him, but he would not do it. He could feign empathy for a little longer. “You’ll do it the way you’ve done it the whole show, Carl. You’ll go with your gut. Choose the one you have the best connection with.”