I nod and feel like I might be sick. I’m ruining Kip’s life. He had a magnificent life, and he added me and I ruined it. I bend over at my waist as another pain hits me.
“I’m calling your doctor, Peyton.” The nurse says as she rushes out of the room.
Kip holds me in his strong arms. “Calm down, baby. I can see you beating yourself up over what just happened. Stop that. It’s not your fault and I can see you blaming yourself. Calm down and think about something else. I know, let’s talk about your next book. I think a sequel to your first one. Everyone lives happily ever after in the next one. No ups and downs, only ups.”
The adult diaper I have on gets soaked in a second and I know what’s left of my water just came out. I grab Kips’ hand. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry.” The tears swamp over and I’m crying.
He pulls me against his chest. “Shh. It’s going to be okay. You don’t need to cry, baby.”
The door opens, and the nurse comes back in followed by my doctor. “What do we have here?” Dr. Love asks.
“My water finished breaking,” I say through sobs.
“I need you to calm down, Peyton,” she says in a soft voice, but I can’t seem to. She turns to the nurse. “Go ahead and give her some morphine.”
Kip sits up. “No! I don’t want the baby all drugged up. I’ll calm her down. You do what you need to.” Kip’s hand touches my chin, and he takes a tissue and wipes my tears. “You have to stop this.”
His eyes look deep into mine and he strokes my shoulders. Lightly, he massages them as he continues to look into my eyes. I blink and take in a deep breath. “Kip, I can’t.”
One finger touches my lips. “You can. Look at me, baby.”
As I look into his eyes I can see something in them that connects me to him. Eerily, I calm down. I sniffle and he holds a tissue up to my nose. I blow it and he smiles. “Thank you, Kip.”
“That’s what I’m here for, love.”
My side of the bed is laid back and the doctor checks me out and her frown tells me what I pretty much already knew. “You’re in labor, Peyton.”
I nod. “It hasn’t been a whole week. What are his chances?”
She pats my legs and smiles weakly. “Let’s not get into that. The pediatrician will have to tell us that once the baby’s born. Did you two ever agree on a name?”
Kip jumps in. “Paxton David Reed-Dixon.”
“Cute name,” she says and jots something down on my chart. “Okay, well, we have to move you up to labor and delivery. Kip, you’ll be brought some scrubs to put on. We’ll all have to be sterile since the baby is premature and we can’t take any risks.”
A male orderly comes in with a wheelchair. I suppose since the process has begun and can’t be held back anymore that I’m a little more free to move around. “Here we go,” the man says with a smile.
I climb out of bed. A thing I haven’t been allowed to do for nearly a week. My legs are a little wobbly as I get up and the doctor and orderly quickly help me so I don’t fall.
“When can I go?” Kip asks as he watches me.
The doctor turns back. “An orderly will come and bring your scrubs and once you change he’ll wheel you up to labor and delivery. See you up there, Kip.”
I look over my shoulder at him and smile. “See you soon, Daddy.”
He smiles and waves, but I can see the worry in his eyes. “I’ll be right there as soon as I can, love. Remember to be calm.”
I nod and they take me out of the room. My hands are in my lap and I notice they’re shaking. They better hurry up and bring Kip up to me. It seems I need him like I never have before.
Kip
Out of the elevator we go, the orderly pushes me down the long hallway. We come to the door of the labor and delivery room Peyton is in at the same time a slurry of scrub clad people flood into it before we have a chance to.
The orderly pushing me waits a second and the last person to go into the room turns to us. “I’m going to have to ask you to wait here.”
“But I’m the father. I want to be there,” I say and am left speechless as the door is shut and I’m left not knowing what’s happening. I look up at the orderly. “Can you please find out what’s happened?”
He shakes his head. “I’m afraid I’m in the same boat you are. If they say wait here, then I have to wait too. I’m not sterile. Most likely the baby has been born already. That’s usually the case if they don’t want anyone else coming in the room who isn’t essential.”
I listen hard to hear the cries of the baby and none come. My heart is barely beating as I wait. “He’s alive thought, right?” I ask.
“I would suppose so,” the orderly tells me. “It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to send in a team for a baby who wasn’t.”
With a nod I swallow hard as I find a knot has formed in my throat. “I really wish I could go in there. Peyton must be a mess.”
The orderly smiles, “I have to tell you that the two of you are the talk of the hospital. It’s like you were made for one another. I have a good feeling about this. I think things will all work out.”
“I wish I had that feeling. I just have a ton of fear.” My hands I fold over the other in an attempt to steady the shaking.
The door opens and I jerk my head up to find Peyton’s doctor. “Kip! Good, you’re here. There about to take the baby to the neonatal intensive care unit. He’s a nice three pounds which is more than we thought he would weigh. He is needing help to breathe, but he can breathe on his own some.”
“His chances of survival?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I’m no pediatrician, Kip. I can’t tell you that. I can tell you that Peyton is doing well. She’s stopped crying and had no need for stitches as there was no reason to perform an episiotomy.”
“She’s stopped crying?” I ask. “So, she was crying?”
“Well, yeah. She kind of freaked that you weren’t going to be there to see the baby be born. He was crowned when we got up here and the little thing slipped right on out once we had her laid back out. You can go in and see her as soon as they move the baby.” She takes a step back as the door opens.
In a closed, clear little incubator my son is wheeled out of the delivery room. They stop just for a second to let me see him. I stand up and press my hand to the side. I wish I could touch him, but I assume that will be some time away.
“Hi, buddy,” I whisper. “You stay with us and get strong you hear me?”
“We’ll be getting you to the NICU in a few hours, sir. We like our parents to spend as much time as possible with the newborns,” the pediatrician tells me.
I give him a nod and they hurry off with him. Dr. Love takes my arm and looks at the orderly. “Let’s get him in there, shall we?”
I sit back down in the wheelchair as I feel weak as a kitten after seeing my baby like that. He resembles his mother and myself with all the lines running into his body.
Peyton turns her head to look at me as they take me in. “Did you see him?”
“I did. A little cutie don’t you think?” I say with a grin.
“He’s kind of wrinkly, and on the red side, but yeah, he’s a cutie. What do you think about him?” she asks as she moves the top of her bed up a little.
“I think he’ll be just fine. I have faith.” I take her hand in mine as they put me right up next to her.
“We’ll have you back in your room soon,” Dr. Love tells us. “After tomorrow you both will be released and you can finally go home. As long as things continue to improve.”
My heart lurches as I think about how long I’ve wanted to go back home. But it was supposed to be a good thing. Leaving my son in here is not a thing I planned on or ever wanted.
“I’m sorry, Kip,” Peyton says and I can see the glimmer of tears starting up again.
“No! You are not to act like this is anything you had any control over. We have to be strong for him now. All that weakness you’ve been feeling while you try to blame yourself
has to be stopped. No more of it. Do you understand me?” I ask with the sternest face I can muster.
Peyton swallows and takes in a deep breath. “Okay, Kip. Thanks for reminding me what I need to keep my mind on.”
Keeping us both strong is all I can think about right now as my mind seems to be on the edge.
What will we do if he doesn’t make it?
Peyton
Two weeks have past and Christmas is near. My family had to go back to Texas since they had stayed as long as they could away from their jobs. Today Max and Lexi and their children are coming.
I haven’t formally met them yet. Kip has told me stories about them though and I feel like I know them already. Their twins were born early and Kip thinks they might be able to help us feel better about Paxton.
Since he’s been born, he’s gained a pound and doesn’t have to have a breathing tube anymore. He still has one IV in and sleeps most of the time. He’s eating on his own though and soon they’ll let me feed him straight from the old breast.
I can’t believe how excited I am to get to do that. It’s not something I ever thought about doing before. Kip and I have been reading everything we can get our hands on to take the best care of our little preemie we possibly can.
Our little boy has blue eyes like his daddy’s. They tell us they could change later, but I hope he keeps them. His little head is the size of a small apple and every once in a while he makes a little cooing sound.
Kip has gone to the airport to pick up his friends. I waited here as there are five of them, three in car seats.
My phone rings and I see it’s the young woman from the airport, Rachelle. I talked to her once after we met, but it’s been a while. “Hi there,” I answer.
“Hi, Peyton. How are you doing?” she asks.
“I’m good and you?”
“Good too. I’m going to the hospital tomorrow to visit a friend and thought maybe I’d go at the same time you’d be there seeing your little boy. I can’t wait to meet him,” she says.
“That would be great. I’m going up there about nine in the morning. I’d love to see you again.”
“Good. So everything is going good with the baby, no complications?” she asks.
“He is making steady progress so far. Once he reaches five pounds we can bring him home. I have to admit though, I am terrified of taking care of him on my own. Some friends of Kips are coming to stay the week with us and they have a baby I’m going to practice on,” I say with a laugh. “You know what, you should come on Christmas Eve. We’re having a party and I’d love you to be here.”
“Then I certainly will be,” she says. “So, I’ll meet up with you tomorrow morning. I’m super glad you and Kip made it all work out.”
“Yeah, me too. He’s pretty awesome. He brings me something every single day. Flowers, jewelry, books, he’s a sweetheart. I think he’s going to be an awesome dad too.”
“That’s great. I’m happy for you guys. I’ll see you tomorrow then, bye.”
As I end the call I can hear noise coming from the garage and go out to find Kip has pulled in and people are spilling out of his truck.
“Here she is,” Kip says as he holds out his arm, gesturing to me. “My baby momma.”
I roll my eyes at his little joke and bat at his shoulder as I approach him. “Stop that. How was the trip?” I ask the pretty blonde lady, who must be Lexi, as she unstraps a wiggly little boy from his car seat.
“Almost bearable,” she says as she places the three year old who must be Zane on the floor. “I have never been happier to have a private jet. The baby cried for the first forty-five minutes and Zoey threw up. She’d found a bag of candy from Halloween and had hidden it in her little backpack. The stinker was secretly eating it and then her tummy started to hurt and Kablooey! She puked all over the seat.”
I extend my hand. “Peyton, nice to meet you, Lexi.”
She looks at my hand and pushes it aside and gives me a hug. “Come on now, girl. We’re from Texas, we hug.”
I laugh and hug her back. “Wasn’t sure if you were as Texan as I am.”
“One hundred percent,” she says with a laugh.
On the other side of the truck her husband, Max, lets the little boy’s twin sister, Lexi, down and she runs straight to Kip. “Hunky Kip, pick me up.” Her little arms are open wide and her smile matches.
Kip picks her up, and she runs her arms around his neck and buries her face in it. “Did you eat a bunch of candy you naughty girl?” he asks her.
“Uh huh and I got sick and barfed it all up too. I won’t do that again,” she says.
Lexi gestures to the tall, well built, and very handsome dark haired man who stands up, holding the five-month-old, Zakk. I smile and say, “There’s my baby.”
Lexi laughs. “That’s my hubby, Max, holding your training baby.”
I walk up to him and hold my arms out. “May I?”
Max smiles at me. “Ready to get right to it, huh?”
I nod and the little boy comes right to me and pulls on a piece of my hair, putting it right into his mouth. I pull it away from his little fist, gently and turn to go back into the house. “Who’s a cute baby?” I ask him as if he’s going to tell me.
I hear Lexi from behind me. “She is great, Kip.”
Kip chuckles. “I know.”
I think we will all get along just fine!
Kip
A silver glow surrounds Peyton as she pounds away at her laptop. We’re in bed and she’s working on her next novel. This one is about Lexi and Max’s love story. She found all their trials and tribulations fascinating and immediately asked for their permission to make a fictitious tale out of it.
They’ve been here three days and tomorrow is our big Christmas Eve party. I have the twins’ ponies hidden in a barn at the very back of the property and I’m going to have Santa deliver the adorable things to the twins tomorrow night. There are sure to be squeals of delight.
Peyton stops for a second and looks at me. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. They let me feed Pax on my very own today.”
“I wanted to be there for that,” I say a bit disappointed. “Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve dropped everything and came.”
She gives me a frown. “He was hungry right that very minute. He isn’t like a grown up that you can tell to wait. He was wailing like a banshee. Anyway, it was nice.”
I run my hand over her very large breast. “So, it’s official. I have to give them up and let him have them.”
“Yep. Sorry.” She leans over and puts her lips to mine. My body heats in an instant and I have to push her gently back.
“You are off limits for another three weeks, three days, and four hours.”
Her smile makes me smile even though I am a bit frustrated. “You have it down to the hour, how sweet.”
“I do and you might want to mark the calendar. That’s a Tuesday, January the fourteenth and I’ll be bothering you at approximately three in the morning.” I run my fingers over her delicate collar bone and conjure up the picture I have of her in my mind.
Draped in white lace, she’ll be lying on our bed, waiting for me to make her mine all over again. Only at that time, she’ll be my wife. I have a secret plan to marry her on that day at midnight.
Everyone will be here. We got our marriage license last week and I’ve been putting her off on picking a day or a venue. She thinks I’m having cold feet and not pushing me about it.
Our wedding rings are ready at the jewelry store and I’ll pick them up that day, but in secret. Our parents will be here to take care of the baby for the night, so we’ll have all the time we need to get to know one another intimately again.
I foresee an all-nighter, and perhaps into the morning, since we can’t begin until three in the morning after all.
She snaps the computer shut and snuggles down in the bed. “If Max and Lexi can make it through all the things they did, and the twins made it through being born early, then Pax will
make it too. I just know it. I just know the bad times are behind us, Kip.”
As much as I love optimism, I don’t like tempting fate. “Sure, it’ll be good.” I lie back and turn over, away from her. I have a hard time cuddling her without wanting to take her.
She sighs and turns away too. I suppose she has the same problem I do. I can’t wait to be able to touch her again. It seems like forever and this living almost like siblings is awful.
Peyton
Since we’ve been home, and the baby is no longer inside me, it seems Kip wants little to do with me. I mean he’s nice and helpful, but he never wants to kiss. He hugs me every now and then, but it feels like a platonic hug and always he’s quick to let me go.
I have to wonder if he’s blaming me for the baby being born early and his band mates hating his guts. Bobby went on one of those celebrity shows and spilled the beans about the band breaking up and raked Kip over the coals. Oh, and me too. He never said my real name, only calling me Yoko. He was a real ass and I wish like hell he would stop being like that.
He and Kip were friends since they were in seventh grade. He’s just being selfish and acting as if it’s all my fault. The hard part is I agree with him. That makes me even madder. I hate it when pig-headed men are right.
Kip would be thinking of nothing but strutting his stuff all over the stage if it wasn’t for me. He acts like that isn’t the case but it is. I catch him messing with his guitar and writing little songs all the time, so I know the bug is still in his brain to make music.
Rachelle and I had lunch after I introduced her to my little man, Paxxie. Kip hates that I call him that. He says it sounds like a girl’s name. But I can’t help it. It just comes out of me. I call Lexi and Max’s baby, Zakk, Zakkie, all the time. It must be one of those idiosyncrasies that I have.
We ate in one of the little cafes in the hospital and she left. I’m on my way back up to make one more check on my little man before I go back home. As I step off the elevator I nearly run into Bobby.
Montgomery Billionaire Series Page 88
