by Kaylee Ryan
“Off.” Reaching behind her, I release the clasp and pull it from her arms. Rising to my feet, I offer her my hands and help her stand. She braces herself on my shoulders while she steps out of her yoga pants and panties.
My beautiful wife is standing before me, naked, ready to give birth to our son. I place my hands on either side of her belly. “I love you, Walker. Mommy and I cannot wait to meet you.” I kiss her belly one last time before standing. Bringing my hands up, I cup her face. “I love you. Thank you for loving our daughter, for giving me our son.” I kiss her lips and she grimaces. Rubbing her back, I let her lean on me until it passes. “Let’s get you in this gown so we can meet our son.”
We get her changed and in bed. The nurse is hooking up her IV when another contraction hits. “Babe, that was only like three minutes,” I say as soon as it passes.
“Yeah,” she sighs in relief.
“I’m going to go get the doctor.” The nurse scurries out of the room.
What happens next is a flurry of activity. The doctor comes in to check her, which I’m still not a fan of. Funny that it never bothered me with Misty. He says she is fully dilated and tells the nurse to bring in the delivery crew. McKinley and I had already decided we were going to be the only two people in the delivery room. It’s something we want to share together.
Two more nurses enter the room with a small incubator looking contraption. Overhead lights drop out of the ceiling and McKinley’s legs are placed in stirrups that come out of the bottom of the bed. Everything happens so fast, and before I know it, she’s pushing.
“McKinley, you didn’t have time for an epidural. I’ve giving you something in your IV to help with the pain, but I’m afraid it’s not near as effective. When you have a contraction, I need you to push as hard as you can and stop when I tell you to stop. It’s going to be painful, but I know you can do this,” the doctor tells her.
“Push,” he says from between her legs. McKinley latches onto my hand and pushes. “Dad, lift her leg and pull it back to her chest,” he instructs me.
“Baby.” I look to McKinley. Her face is flushed and covered in sweat. She’s beautiful.
“Just do what he says, Evan,” she snips. I don’t say a word because, one, she is not getting the good pain meds and, two, I can’t do this for her. If I could take her pain and have our son, I would. Instead, I’ll let her scream, yell, and cut the circulation off in my hands from her grip. Whatever she needs, I’m here.
This goes on for about fifteen minutes. Every time she has a contraction, another nurse and I hold her legs and she pushes.
“You’re doing great, McKinley,” the doctor tells her.
McKinley grabs my hand with an iron grip, so I know it’s another contraction. With each leg pulled to her chest, her hand squeezing mine, she bears down and a scream rips from her throat. My heart breaks. I hate she’s in so much pain. Then a scream altogether different echoes through the room.
“Congratulations, it’s a boy.”
Aaron Walker Chamberlin.
The doctor lays him on her chest and I can’t speak. My beautiful wife and our son, yet another moment I will never forget. Leaning down, I kiss Kinley on the forehead. “He’s perfect, baby. Thank you. You were so strong, so good. I love you.”
Eyes brimming with tears and a wide grin, she looks up at me. “I love you too, Daddy.”
McKinley and I are sitting on her bed, Walker in her arms. My arm is around both of them. “I can’t wait for Lex to meet him.”
“I know. Your mom is on her way. Aaron went to pick my parents up at the airport.”
“Yeah, she texted me. I asked her if she would text us and let us know when they’re here. I want Lex to come back before anyone else. I want her to meet him and know she’s special to us.”
This woman, I fall more in love with her every day.
“Daddy,” I hear Lex say.
I jump for the door and greet her. I give Kinley’s mom a hug. “Thank you. We will just be a few minutes. Kinley wants to give Lex some time with him.”
“No rush. She’s been talking about this for weeks. We will have all the time in the world to spoil both of our grandkids. You take all the time you need.”
“Hey, baby girl, you ready to meet your little brother?”
With a serious look on her face, she nods. “Awon Alker.”
“That’s right.” I walk over to the bed and take my seat next to McKinley. Lex settles on my lap and looks at him, a grin on her lips.
“I wove him.” She leans over to kiss him.
“Gently, sweetheart. He’s still really little. We don’t want to hurt him.”
“I not. I wove him.” She gives me a look like I’m crazy. My daughter is so much like her mother.
“Mommy ouch.”
“Yeah, mommy ouch is all better. I love you so much, Lexi, and now we also have a little brother to love,” McKinley explains. “You want to hold him?”
My eyes go wide, but McKinley doesn’t pay any attention. “You have to sit really still and let Daddy help you, okay?”
Lexi nods and becomes still as a statue on my lap. McKinley places Walker in our arms and Lexi giggles. “Baby,” she exclaims.
She’s still for maybe a minute before she squirms. “All done,” She announces, causing Kinley and I both to laugh.
I take Walker and lift him from her lap and hold him over her head. She slides down between McKinley and me, giving her momma a big hug and a kiss. I snuggle my boy close to my chest and take it all in.
My wife.
My Daughter.
My son.
What more could a man ask for?
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With You Series
Anywhere With You
More With You
Everything With You
Stand Alone Titles
Tempting Tatum
Levitate
Just Say When
Emphatic
To my husband and my son, I love you. I spend hours locked away writing and you are nothing but supportive. Thank you for supporting me in following my dream.
I love the Indie community. I’ve met some amazing people during this journey and I am grateful for each and every one of you!!
Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative Covers, your ability to read my mind, and produce a kick ass cover is astounding. I love your face, cover girl! Thank you so much for the amazing cover!
Mac Robinson, thank you for agreeing to be the face of Southern Pleasure. I wish you much success and best of luck with your future endeavors.
Golden Czermak; Thank you for doing what you do. Your pictures make a kick ass cover, just saying.
Tami Integrity Formatting, you never let me down. You make my words come together in a pretty little package. Thank you so much for making Southern Pleasure look fabulous on the inside!
Kim Ginsberg, thank you for proofreading you’re the best!
Jennifer from Proof This, thank you for proofreading, you too are the best!
Kaylee 2, Jamie, Stacy, Lauren and S Moose thank you so much for taking the time to read Southern Pleasure and give me your honest feedback. The time you take from your families to read for me, I appreciate more than you know. You ladies hold a special place in my heart.
Give Me Books, thank you for hosting and organizing the release of Southern Pleasure. I appreciate all of your hard work getting this book out there.
To all of the bloggers out there . . . Thank you so much. Your continued never-ending support of myself, and the entire indie community is greatly appreciated. I know that you don’t hear it enough so hear me now. I appreciate each and every one of you and the support that you have given me. Thank you to all of you! There are way too many o
f you to list . . .
To my Kick Ass Crew, you ladies know who you are. I will never be able to tell you how much your support means. You all have truly earned your name. Thank you!
Kaylee (2) Not much new I can say. You are a constant beam of support and the friendship that we have formed is something that I will always cherish. Thank you for being you! I hope that you fell in love with your country boy just as much I did.
Last but not least, to the readers. Without you none of this would even be worth the effort. I truly love writing and I am honored that I am able to share that with you. Thank you to each and every one of you who continue support me, and my dream of writing.
With Love,
Table of Contents
Dedication
1 ~ Evan
2 ~ McKinley
3 ~ Evan
4 ~ McKinley
5 ~ Evan
6 ~ McKinley
7 ~ Evan
8 ~ McKinley
9 ~ Evan
10 ~ McKinley
11 ~ Evan
12 ~ McKinley
13 ~ Evan
14 ~ McKinley
15 ~ Evan
16 ~ McKinley
17 ~ Evan
18 ~ McKinley
19 ~ Evan
20 ~ McKinley
21 ~ Evan
22 ~ McKinley
23 ~ Evan
24 ~ McKinley
25 ~ Evan
26 ~ McKinley
27 ~ Evan
28 ~ McKinley
29 ~ Evan
30 ~ McKinley
31 ~ Evan
32 ~ McKinley
33 ~ Evan
34 ~ McKinley
35 ~ Evan
36 ~ McKinley
37 ~ Evan
38 ~ McKinley
39 ~ Evan
40 ~ McKinley
41 ~ Evan
42 ~ McKinley
43 ~ Evan
44 ~ McKinley
45 ~ Evan
46 ~ McKinley
47 ~ Evan
48 ~ McKinley
49 ~ Evan
50 ~ McKinley
51 ~ Evan
52 ~ McKinley
53 ~ Evan
54 ~ McKinley
55 ~ Evan
56 ~ McKinley
57 ~ Evan
58 ~ McKinley
Epilogue
Contact Kaylee Ryan
Other Works by Kaylee Ryan
Acknowledgements
