“If you get pregnant again, the first thing I’m doing is having an elevator installed. I really thought this would go away quickly.”
“You and me both. When the doctor said it could be over at twenty weeks, I thought that would be me. I’ve never been this sick in my life!”
“Hopefully this all means you’ll have an easy delivery. It wouldn’t be fair at all if you had such a hard pregnancy, and then the delivery was awful as well.” He got onto the stairs first, making sure she was behind him. He was so afraid she’d fall.
When they got to the bottom of the stairs, he turned to her and held her close. “No more climbing stairs until after that baby comes!”
“But I need to help decorate!”
“You can tell me where you want everything and I’ll do it. Make me a diagram.”
Jean frowned. “Don’t cut me out of this. I have got to entertain myself somehow. Maybe decorating a nursery doesn’t sound entertaining to you, but it does to me.”
“How about I let you help me decorate the downstairs for Christmas, and I do the nursery according to your specifications? I’ll take pictures and even Skype you while I do it so you can show me where you want things.”
“Are you going to be like this through every pregnancy?”
Dillon shrugged. “Depends on how sick you get!”
“I guess that works. Do you have Christmas decorations and stuff already?”
“Nope. Nothing. My uncle thought Christmas was a waste of time.”
“Well, it’s always possible that Lisa will be here before Christmas, so I need to make sure we have everything just right.”
“Perfect!” Dillon hoped she would really concentrate on doing things downstairs, because he didn’t want her to risk her health for their child. More than she already was anyway.
Chapter Ten
Less than a week before Christmas, Jean was wrapping the last gift for Dillon, and she started to feel a tightening in her belly. She knew Braxton Hicks contractions were a possibility, but she was high risk because of her condition and how little weight she’d gained, so she called the doctor, just to be sure.
After explaining the situation to the receptionist, she was put on hold and very surprised when Dr. Foster came onto the phone. “Jean, are the contractions getting closer together?”
“They seem to be. They’re not super strong, but I just want to be sure.”
“Is Dillon home?”
“No, he’s at work. Why?”
“Call him and have him take you to Piedmont. I’ll meet you there. I might go ahead and take her. You’re close enough to your date, and it looks like she wants to come.”
“Okay. I’ll call him. It’ll probably take me about an hour to get there. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all,” Dr. Foster said.
Jean took a deep breath, walking to the kitchen to talk to Mrs. Stevens. She was supposed to use the intercom and not move from room to room without an escort, but she rarely listened. She hadn’t fallen yet, and the baby was apparently ready to come. “Mrs. Stevens, I’m having contractions. Would you please get my hospital suitcase and put it in the entryway? I’m about to call Dillon.”
Mrs. Stevens smiled and nodded. “Of course I will. I want you sitting, though!”
Jean nodded, wandering back to the living room and sitting down. She called Dillon. “Hi, you.”
“Hey, Jean. How are you feeling?”
“I’m having these strange cramps in my stomach. They seem to be spaced pretty evenly apart…”
“You’re in labor? It’s too soon! She’s not due for a couple of weeks!”
“I talked to the doctor, and she wants us to meet her at Piedmont. She said it’s not too early, and we should go ahead and go.” Jean was excited to finally have the baby in her arms, and her body as her own again. It felt like she’d been pregnant and constantly watched for years, and not just eight months.
“On my way.” Dillon sounded panicked to her ears, and she worried.
“Be safe. You getting into a wreck because you’re in a hurry to get me to the hospital is counterproductive.”
Three hours later, Dr. Foster walked into the room again. “You’re not progressing. This isn’t false labor, but it’s not going anywhere. I don’t think you’re strong enough to keep doing this. Let’s talk about a c-section.”
Dillon froze. “What are the risks?”
“It’s surgery, but we won’t knock her out. She’ll get an epidural that will numb her, and she’ll be awake for the whole thing. Once we have her scrubbed up and all ready, we’ll bring you in. You can hold her hand, and you’ll be one of the first to hold the baby.”
“I’m not sure we want her to have a c-section. We planned for a natural delivery.”
Jean pulled herself up in the bed. She was feeling punier by the minute. “I think Dr. Foster’s right. I don’t think I’m strong enough to go through labor.”
Dillon was shaking. “Is there any chance she won’t make it through a c-section?”
Dr. Foster moved closer to Dillon. “I know you’re worried for your wife, and I understand that completely. I have never lost a patient in the middle of surgery, but it is major surgery and something could happen. She’s better off if we go ahead and take the baby now, than if we let her try to deliver and we have to take it later. This is the best option for your wife and for the baby.”
“Can we talk about it for a minute?”
Dr. Foster nodded. “You can. I’ll check on my other laboring mama and be back in a few minutes.”
Dillon moved to Jean’s bedside, taking her hand in his. “I can’t lose you.”
“I think Dr. Foster is trying to say there’s less of a chance of you losing either of us if we do the c-section. I’m sorry, Dillon, but I think she’s right. I feel so weak. We’ve babied me through this whole pregnancy, and I haven’t been able to exercise. I’m fifteen pounds underweight. I’m not strong enough.”
He drew a deep breath. “Then I guess we’re doing a c-section.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. “I love you, Jean. I don’t want to risk losing you or the baby.”
“Are you just saying that because you’re overwhelmed by the moment? Or do you really mean it?” He’d never said he loved her before, but she loved him so much. If he took it back later, she would be devastated.
He grinned. “I mean it. You know I do. Do you think I’d have been so careful with you for the past eight months if I hadn’t been in love with you?”
She put her arms around him and pulled him down for a kiss. “I love you too, Dillon. Now we just have to get through the next couple of hours.”
“Are you ready to hold our little girl?”
“I’m ready for the pregnancy to be over. Yes, I want to hold her, but I want to stop feeling so awful every minute of every day.”
“Then let’s do the c-section. You seem positive that it’s what you want.”
“I’m very positive. I’ve read a lot about this possibility. Some women choose c-sections going into it.” She shrugged. “I’m not going to be any less a mother if they cut her out of me than if I went through labor and delivery.”
“It’s settled then.”
When Dr. Foster came back in, they gave their consent and things moved quickly. Dillon was outfitted with what he called a spacesuit, a paper outfit from head to toe. Then they wheeled her out of the room and into a surgery room.
Jean sat propped in her hospital bed, sore, but feeling better than she’d felt in months. There were good pain pills buzzing through her system, but she was no longer nauseated. For the first time in months, she felt like she could eat without the fear of vomiting.
Dillon was sitting in a chair beside her bed, holding the baby. “She’s so beautiful.” It’s all he’d been able to say for close to an hour.
“I want to hold her,” Jean said, looking over at him, tears stinging her eyes. There was nothing like seeing a tall, strong man holding a little girl with su
ch a look of love on his face.
Dillon was obviously reluctant to let her go, but he carried the baby to her. “She seems to know my voice.”
“You’ve been reading to her since I was six weeks pregnant. I hope she knows your voice by now.” When the baby was in her arms, Jean stared down at her. She was sleeping peacefully. “She’s tiny.”
Dillon nodded. “Just over five pounds, but the doctor said she’s healthy.” He leaned over and kissed Jean’s forehead. “You did so good!”
“Do you only love me because of Lisa?” she asked, wondering aloud what she’d been wondering since he told her he loved her.
He shook his head. “I loved you before I knew you were pregnant. I didn’t think you were ready to hear it yet, so I stayed quiet. Somehow you drew me in from the first moment I saw you. You looked so scared and so serious, and then there was this secret little smile on your face. I felt my heart starting to melt at that moment.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. You were so nervous and so shy, and I wanted to wrap you in bubble wrap to keep you safe so no one could ever hurt you again.”
Jean felt her lower lip tremble with the force it took not to cry. “You seemed so angry with me at first about how much I was working.”
“I was jealous of your job. I wanted you to spend all that time with me.”
She stared at the baby in her arms. “And now we get to start again with her. Are we ready for this?”
He nodded emphatically. “We really are. We love her, and we love each other. What more can anyone ask for in life?”
Jean raised her lips to his, happier than she’d ever imagined she’d be. Her baby was healthy and her husband loved her. Was there more to life than that?
Dr. Lachele looked at the display on her phone and swiped her finger across the screen to answer it. “This is Dr. Lachele.”
“Hey there. It’s Jean.”
“Hi, Jean! How are you feeling?” Dr. Lachele had been worried about Jean since she’d heard about her pregnancy issues. She was thrilled there was going to be another Matchrimony munchkin to add to her wall, but she hated that Jean was going through so much to get her.
“Very sore but happy. Lisa was born yesterday evening. She’s got ten fingers and ten toes, and she’s absolutely perfect. We had to do a c-section, but she was worth it.”
“You need to text me her picture. I have to add her to my munchkin wall. And I’ll send you her quilt. I meant to have it to you before she was born, but the munchkin came early!” Dr. Lachele sighed happily. Another baby for her to love. That was the most rewarding part about her job. So many babies were born to the people she matched, and they all became her munchkins.
“I will. And Dr. Lachele? Thank you for everything. I’m married to a man I love and no longer alone. You’ve made me very happy.”
Dr. Lachele smiled. “I’m so glad. I knew he’d get you out of that shell you’d built around yourself. Dillon was the man you needed all along.”
“He was. You should see him with the baby. He’s so in love with her, it’s scary!”
“I can’t wait to come visit. And Jean?”
“Yes?”
“Be happy. Always be happy.” Dr. Lachele could think of no one she wanted happiness for more than she did for Jean. The girl had been alone for too long.
“I am. I’m so happy, I can’t even express it.”
Stay tuned for an excerpt from the next book in the series:
***Excerpt of FROM NOW ON by Raine English, Magnolias and Moonshine Series, Volume 14…***
Excerpt From Now On
by
Raine English
Chapter 1
“Smile, ladies!” Travis Holt looked into his camera’s viewfinder and frowned. “Aw, come on. You can do better than that. We’re losing light. Pretty soon the sun’s gonna disappear behind that canopy of pecan trees and we’re done.”
Whitney Adams could tell by his tone that he was losing more than light. He was about to lose his patience too. They’d done this Atlanta Belles photo shoot every June for the past five years, using the pictures of her salon and spa staff for a life-size poster that was hung at her yearly charity event, which happened to be a little over a week away. There was no time to waste. Travis had to get the shots he needed today.
Whitney nudged Dixie, and her best friend let out a small sigh as she shifted her weight onto her other foot. They’d been out there a long time, and after working all day, it was no wonder everyone was having trouble looking happy.
“Are we all set?” Whitney asked, glancing over at her staff. They were a good-looking group, even when exhausted.
When all ten women nodded, Travis instructed, “Say cheesecake.”
They said it in unison and then erupted into laughter, which delighted Travis as he snapped shot after shot. “It’s a wrap,” he said happily a few minutes later.
As they traipsed across the lush lawn of the two-acre property that sat in the center of Atlanta’s trendy Kirkwood neighborhood, Whitney studied the rear of the nearly eight-thousand-foot Queen Anne Victorian house full of historic charm, with its massive wrap-around porch and stained glass windows. She hadn’t for one moment regretted her decision to move her salon from its original tiny storefront location to the most desirable area of town. Within walking distance to dozens of great restaurants and shops, it hadn’t taken long for Atlanta Belles to gain in popularity, and when she added the spa last year, everything exploded. Walk-ins were unheard of now, as they were usually booked at least a month out. Life was good, and once Whitney paid off the loan she’d taken out to renovate the inside of the house, she hoped to be in a position to purchase the property. Although Marshall Porter was an ideal landlord, her dream had always been to not just be a business owner but a homeowner as well. And this property could kill two birds with one stone, seeing as the salon and spa were on the first floor, and she lived on the second.
Upon opening the back door, they were greeted by Clarice, Whitney’s lemon-and-white Papillon. The little dog, weighing no more than nine pounds, danced around the group.
“You must be starving,” Whitney stated after glancing at her watch and discovering it was well after eight p.m. She scooped the dog up into her arms and scratched one of her huge butterfly-like fringed ears. Clarice responded by licking Whitney’s nose.
“Thanks for a great photoshoot, ladies. See y’all in the morning.” As she headed up front toward the reception desk, she turned around and said with a laugh, “And don’t overindulge tonight. We’ve got a super busy day tomorrow.” Friday nights in Atlanta were hopping. Her entire staff was single, aside from Augusta, the Belles’ esthetician, and Whitney had no doubt most of them had plans to hit the town tonight.
She tucked Clarice under her arm as she flipped through the appointment book, and let out a gasp when she came to tomorrow afternoon. “Allie,” she said, trying hard to keep her voice even. “When did you book this appointment with Cash Galloway?” Her tone rose in pitch when she said his name.
Dixie, who’d been on her way out the front door, spun around. Her mouth hung open as she stared at Whitney.
Allie sheepishly came up to the desk, her face a bright red. “I don’t know. Sometime earlier today. He said he wanted an appointment with you as soon as possible. We’d had a cancellation a few minutes earlier, so I booked him. Did I do something wrong?”
Whitney shook her head and tried to maintain her calm. All the while, her heart thundered and visions of his handsome face flashed through her mind. Dixie was beside her now, her arm around Whitney’s shoulders, helping to keep her steady. “No, no, Allie, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just I know him and um… I haven’t seen him in a long time.” Whitney’s voice sounded strange to her own ears, as if she was in a tunnel with no end in sight.
Dixie pushed her down into the receptionist’s chair. “I think it’s best if you sit.” Then she turned to the rest of the staff, who were all staring at Whitney, and sa
id, “Y’all go on. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
After they left, Travis came out of the break room carrying a tripod and a backpack full of camera equipment slung over his shoulder. “Whit, ready to grab some dinner?” As he neared the desk, his brow furrowed. “You okay? You don’t look so great.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m going to have to pass on tonight. I have a migraine coming on.”
His deep brown eyes relayed understanding. “Is there anything I can do? Anything I can get for you?”
He was a great guy, and while they usually went out Friday nights, all she wanted right now was to be alone. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine. I just need some sleep.”
He nodded. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
After he left, Dixie grabbed a chair from the waiting area and set it down beside Whitney’s. “I can’t believe Cash is back in town. And I really can’t believe his nerve…letting you know by getting a haircut. You should nip his ear with your scissors.”
Turmoil raged inside her. “I’d like to do more than nip his ear.”
“And well you should. But you’re too nice. Even after everything he did, you’ll exude your usual Southern grace and charm. I know you too well. You don’t have a vengeful bone in your body.”
She shrugged. “He did what he thought was best for his future.”
Dixie scowled. “A future that for nine years included you. Y’all were planning a wedding, for goodness’ sake. At least he didn’t leave you stranded at the altar. I’ll give him that much.”
Memories came flooding back, and she blinked quickly to keep the tears that burned beneath her lids from streaming down her face. Cash had been her first and only love. She’d met him her freshman year of high school and had fallen for him immediately. No surprise. He was gorgeous, smart, funny, and kind. Cash possessed every quality she’d wanted in a guy and then some. But he was also ambitious, so much so that it ended their relationship. The pain that she’d felt over seven years ago after their breakup shot through her like it had happened yesterday.
Anxious in Atlanta: At the Altar Book 12 (A Magnolias and Moonshine Novella 11) Page 8
