Carter: Denver Royalty (Book 2)

by Sheridan Anne

  “How’re my babies?” Cassie asks as she gets down on her knees beside me and places both hands on my ever growing tummy.”

  “Good,” I tell her with a smile as I dig through my handbag and pull out the latest ultrasound picture. “Here,” I say handing it over. “This was last week.”

  Her whole face melts as Elle peers over her shoulder. “Wow, this one is sucking his thumb,” she sighs before talking directly to my stomach. “Can you guys hurry up and break out of there? Your Aunty Cassie is dying to meet you.”

  I giggle as the babies react to her voice and start moving around, though, it really could be any reason for them to move. Carter picks up Georgie and gives her a tight snuggle, but she starts whining and gets thrust straight into my arms. “Hi, bubby,” I coo as I attempt to make her comfortable around my tummy.

  The whining stops straight away as she looks up at me with her big eyes. A massive grin takes over her face which is then followed by the cheekiest little giggle that melts my heart. “Oh, you are just the sweetest thing,” I tell her. “I bet you’ll be breaking hearts all over the place when you’re grown up.”

  “Great,” Sean groans. “I’m going to need a shotgun.”

  I roll my eyes but honestly, I doubt he’ll need one with all her uncles around. It’s going to take one hell of a brave boy to risk stealing Georgie’s heart. I look up at Carter to find his eyes already on me, watching me with awe as I cradle his niece. He gives me a knowing smile and I feel my face heating up. Fuck me, I’m so in love with him.

  Food is eventually brought down to the picnic rug and we all dig in. Carter sits before me, using my legs as a backrest as I run my fingernails through his hair, making him practically fall asleep.

  Georgie sits in the middle of the rug with all her aunties and uncles surrounding her, watching as Sean attempts to feed her. The baby moosh is pretty much going everywhere except for her mouth. Cassie can hardly handle it and shoves Sean out of the way with a packet of wipes at the ready. She cleans her up and takes over the feeding process.

  Carter grabs a chip and launches it across the picnic rug at Logan who’s falling asleep and using Elle’s lap as a pillow. “Wake up,” he says.

  Logan grunts and flips off Carter without bothering to open his eyes. I can just imagine Carter rolling his eyes at his brother, either that or launching himself across the picnic rug and handling matters himself.

  Carter’s hand comes up and takes hold of my hand that sits on his shoulder. He laces our fingers together before gaining everyone’s attention. “We have some news,” he says.

  They all look our way with curious glances and notice our hands in each other grasps. “Oh, shit. You two finally worked things out,” Jax smiles.

  “About fucking time,” Cassie grunts.

  Carter turns and looks up at me with a knowing smile before turning back to everyone else. “Actually… that’s not quite it,” he says.

  They all grunt and look at us like we’ve lost our minds. I watch as each and every single one of them glances at our hands before looking back at us with stumped looks on their faces. “Then what the hell is it?” Logan asks as he pushes himself up off Elle’s lap.

  I can’t help but chuckle as I hold up my left hand and turn it around so they can all see the rock that sits perfectly upon my ring finger. “We kind of got engaged,” I smile.

  Cassie instantly screams, scaring the shit out of Georgie who bursts into tears. Cass swoops her up into her arms while sobs take over. “I’m just,” sob “so,” sob “freaking happy.”

  Logan looks at Carter like he’s a stranger.

  Sean looks at him like he knew all along.

  Jax grins like an idiot.

  And Elle smiles like it’s the sweetest thing in the world.

  Cass starts getting to her feet while trying to juggle Georgie and wiping the tears and snot off her face using her sleeve. Charming. Carter gets up and helps pull me to my feet just in time for Cass to come barreling into me. She wraps her arms around me and we give Georgie a best friend sandwich. “Tell me this isn’t a joke? Did he really ask?”

  “Yeah,” I tell her with a smile taking over my face while Carter gets hugs and back slaps from everyone else. “He did. We’re going to be a real family.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” she says with fresh tears coming to her eyes.

  Jax comes up behind her and wraps his arms around the three of us. “Congratulations,” he says.

  I smile up at him when I get more pain shooting through my back. “Shit,” I groan with a cringe.

  “What’s wrong?” Cass asks.

  “Nothing,” I say, pushing out of their arms. “I just need to sit down.”

  Jax helps me get back into my chair and I shuffle Carter’s jacket around behind my back to help soothe the pain. It disappears and eventually everyone calms down and finds their spots on the picnic rug while Logan disappears to find some drinks to celebrate with.

  “I must admit,” Cass says. “I’m pretty surprised.”

  “You and me, both, sister,” I tell her. “But apparently my ass is just too good to pass up.”

  “Got that right,” Carter grunts.

  Logan returns with a case of beer and an orange juice for me. He passes it over and I twist to take it from him, making another pain shoot through my back. “Fuck me,” I grunt. This shit just won’t give in.

  “You ok?” Carter asks, placing a calming hand on my leg.

  “Yeah,” I cringe. “I just keep getting this awful pain in my back.”

  “What?” he asks, wide-eyed. “You didn’t tell me you were having pains.”

  “Because it’s nothing,” I say.

  “It’s not nothing,” he demands. “You could be going into labor.”

  “No,” I say. “It’s my back that hurts not my stomach and besides, it’s too early.”

  “Are you sure?” he questions.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” I tell him. “If I was going into labor, I’d know it.”

  “Hmmm, I don’t know,” Elle says. “I’m pretty sure back pains are a sign of labor.”

  The next few minutes are spent in a massive group debate over the topic of labor pains, but it’s cut short when the pain shoots through my back again. “I’m checking Dr. Google,” Cassie finally says, having enough of the back and forth.

  We sit in silence watching as she searches with Jax looking over her shoulder. Her eyes roam all over her phone as she skims through the information. The silence kills me and Carter takes hold of my hands, realizing the topic is making me way too nervous.

  “Ok,” she says, looking up at me, as calm as a cucumber. “You’re actually having contractions. It’s time to go to the hospital.”

  “What?” I demand. “Are you shitting me?”

  “Fuck,” Carter grunts as he starts looking around for his things.

  The picnic lunch goes into a flurry of movement. People shuffle around, grabbing their things, discussing who’s going in what car and before I know it, they’re all rushing up to the house, leaving me sitting in the damn chair I can’t get out of. “Hey, fuckers,” I call to their backs. “You guys aren’t having any babies without me.”

  “Fuck,” Carter grunts again, rushing back to me and helping me out of the chair.

  “I’m not ready for this,” I tell him as we make our way back up to the house.

  “You’re so ready for this,” he says. “You’re going to be a great mother.”

  “Of course, I’m going to be a great mother,” I grunt. “What I mean, is that I’m not ready to push these babies out. I’m fucking terrified.”

  He wraps his arm around me as we make our way back through the house. “You’re going to do great and if you can’t handle it, there’s always drugs to cheer you up. You’re going to be so amazing. I’m sure it’s going to be awful, but at the end of the day, you’re going to have two beautiful little babies in your arms, sucking the life out of your tits.”

  “Fuck, Carter,�
�� I groan. “You were so close to making me feel better.”

  He chuckles as he helps me up into his truck. “Call it like it see it, babe,” he grins.

  He kicks over the engine with Jax and Cassie climbing into the backseat. I look out the window and watch Sean buckling Georgie into his truck with Elle and Logan getting in with him. Geez, this is going to be a family affair, but I honestly don’t care.

  We get halfway there and my nerves haven’t stopped. Shit. This must honestly be the scariest shit in the world. I mean, how the hell are these babies going to squeeze out of my vag? It’s going to fucking hurt. What the hell was I thinking?

  My breathing comes faster and Carter reaches across the console to take my hand. “Calm down,” he soothes.

  I look over to him. “I don’t want to shit on the table.”

  “What?” he grunts.

  “A lady at work,” I start, trying to slow my breaths, “She told me a friend of hers was sick and when it came time to push, she shit all over the nurses and doctor. Practically redecorated the whole birthing suite.”

  “Fuck,” he laughs. “That’s not going to happen to you.”

  “You don’t know that,” I say before looking out the windshield. I sit in silence the rest of the way, trying to calm myself. “Oh, shit,” I grunt. “You need to call Bobby.”

  “Don’t worry, babe. It’s handled,” he says, nodding to Jax in the backseat who pulls out his phone.

  Carter brings his truck to a stop outside the hospital and helps me out. I look up at the hospital in fear. “Ok,” Carter says. “This is it, we’re going to have some babies.”

  “Ok,” I say, letting out a breath. “Let’s do this, shit.”

  Chapter 23

  Brianna

  I step into the birthing suite with Carter at my side and take a look around. A bed takes up the center of the room, with a shit load of machines connected to it. A shelf is off to the side, stacked with all sorts of medical stuff and a fucking bath sits in the corner of the room which I’m assuming is used for water births.

  It hits me that this is truly happening. In the next few hours, I’ll be pushing two babies out of my lady taco. Fuck me. What was I thinking?

  I walk deeper into the room as the rest of our family follows in. I find the dressing gown on the bed and pick it up. I head off into the connecting bathroom and start stripping while I listen to everyone making themselves comfortable in the room.

  I think if I really want every here for this and decide I do. Sure, it might be a little awkward at times, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. These guys are my family and I love them, besides, their endless banter is sure to keep me distracted through the pain and I’m pretty certain they’ll all head out when it’s time to push.

  I strut out of the bathroom in my hospital gown, not bothering to cover up my ass as I’m about to lose every ounce of my dignity anyway, so, I figured it really doesn’t matter anymore.

  “You ok, man?” Carter asks. I look over to find his eyes on Sean and it hits me. This is the same room Sara was in during her labor. Shit. This must be awful for him.

  Sean cuddles Georgie into him and gives Carter a sad smile. “Yeah, I’m ok,” he says. “This is a happy day.”

  I give him a nod, wishing I could cross the room and give him a big hug, but that’s actually a lot harder than it sounds. So, I indicate to Cassie to do it for me.

  A girl who looks to be my age comes in wearing a nurse’s outfit and takes an interested look around at the hundreds of bodies squished into the room. Her eyes come back to me with a friendly smile. “Hi, Brianna, I’m Gigi, I’ll be your midwife today,” she says. “Now, you believe you’re in labor?”

  “Yes,” I say and then tell her about the back pains.

  “Ok,” she smiles. “That sounds about right. Now I’ll need to examine you to confirm you’re actually in labor. Do you need the room to be vacated or are you good to go?”

  I look over at everyone before looking back to Gigi, “I’m good. They can all turn away.”

  “You sure?” she questions.

  “Yep,” I smile, “If they don’t, I’m sure Carter will kick their asses.”

  “Carter?” she questions, looking over at everyone and blushing when she realizes just how attractive the men I have in the room with me are. Carter raises his hand and gives her a nod.

  I point him out as well. “That’s him. The babies’ Daddy. My fiancé.”

  “Excellent,” she smiles as the butterflies’ swirl through my stomach at being able to call him my fiancé. Gigi looks back to me before getting started on my examination. A moment later, she confirms I am indeed in labor and gets a round of cheers and applause from every person in the room.

  “Well, this is going to be a fun day,” she murmurs to me as she goes about connecting a heart rate monitor around my stomach to track the babies. She then checks my blood pressure and heart rate before draping a blanket over me and making sure I’m comfortable.

  The contractions continue and steadily get worse, but so far so good. They haven’t been too bad and I was right in having everyone here. They keep me distracted from the pain though I’m not sure if it’s actually them keeping me distracted or the fact they’re grilling Carter on details about when he bought my ring and why the hell it took him so long to ask.

  Gigi comes and goes, checking the machines and examining me to keep track of how far along I am which only makes me realize just how long we’re going to be here. I groan each time and continue playing Farm Heroes on my phone.

  Everyone starts growing tired and sleepy but are woken up when a lady screaming from down the hall grabs their attention. “Shit,” Jax grunts with wide eyes as he looks to Cassie. “You’re never having babies, not if it’s that bad.”

  “Shut up,” she says. “That’s what drugs are for. She’s just being a hero.”

  I roll my eyes as another contraction comes on. I cringe and clench my teeth together. “Shit, this hurts,” I say as Carter squeezes my hand.

  “Do you want me to get the midwife?” he questions.

  “No, not yet,” I say. “I can handle it a little longer.” Carter has been trying to convince me to use the gas or get the epidural for the past hour, absolutely hating seeing me in pain, but Cassie’s words hit me. Am I trying to be a hero? No one is going to judge me for getting something to ease the pain.

  When the next contraction comes on, I give in. I’m no hero. “Fine,” I groan. “Get me the gas.”

  Relief comes over his handsome face as he presses the button for the nurse.

  Gigi comes in and gets shit sorted. I suck hard on the bastard and my pain instantly fades to the background. “Fuck me, this is good,” I tell him.

  “I bet,” he says as Gigi notices Georgie fast asleep in Sean’s arms. She sighs as she takes her in. “She’s beautiful,” she tells him before leaving the room.

  She appears moments later with a baby crib and a blanket and offers it to Sean to put Georgie down. “Thanks,” he murmurs, making Gigi blush again and scrams out of the room.

  I get into a great routine of sucking back the gas with each contraction and start feeling a little light headed, but it also feels great and relaxing. “You have to try this,” I say to Carter who looks at me with interest.

  “Are you getting high?” he questions with a chuckle.

  “I don’t know but it takes the pain away. It’s so good.”

  “I bet,” he says.

  “I’ll give it a try,” Logan grins, standing up and practically rushing across the room to get his hands on the gas. I gingerly hand it over as Sean groans and lets him know he’s being an idiot. He takes a big suck of the gas, followed by a few more. “You’re right,” he laughs. “This shit is good.”

  Logan turns to Jax and holds it out, tempting him to get in on the action. Jax being Jax just can’t help himself and shoos Cassie off his lap in his rush to get to it. He does just as Logan did and soon the two idiots are laughing like a
bunch of school girls, totally high on gas.

  Next, Cassie and Carter decide to get in on it and the four of them supply us with enough entertainment to get through the next few hours.

  Logan gets up and crosses the room to the supply closet. He pulls open the door and finds a spare pillow. With a smile, he grabs it and makes his way back across the room, only he doesn’t go back to his seat, he stops at the bath, drops the pillow and climbs right in. He gets himself comfortable and grins up at Jax before patting the space beside him. “Want to cuddle?” he smirks, raising his eyebrows.

  “Do I ever,” Jax, laughs before climbing in beside him. They get cozy in the bath and share a pillow while playing games on their phones, making Sean roll his eyes.

  Carter gets jealous and climbs in the bed beside me while still holding my hand through the contractions. I instinctively snuggle into his chest and feel a million times better, even though I’m in the world’s worst pain.

  The door is flung open and in walks one of the biggest idiots I know. “I hope you’re not having these babies without me,” Bobby says as he struts in like he owns the place.

  “Ah, if it isn’t my womb-mate,” I smile as he walks over to me and gives me a great big hug.

  Bobby takes a look around the room, taking in the boys in the bath and the goofy as fuck look on Carter’s face. “Shit, you guys look as high as kites.”

  “That would be because they are,” I say, holding up the gas.

  “Well, shit,” Bobby grins. “Let me have a try,” he says before taking it out of my hand and giving it a go.

  The boys and Cass instantly start giggling again, bringing on another round of stupidity for my entertainment.

  “Shit,” I sigh, just as I finally get comfortable. “I need to pee again.”