Page 74 of Dirty Money
She caught Clara smiling as she took the baby from the doctor and helped her father hold her in his arms. They watched as he looked down at his new baby girl. “Hi there, honey.”
With his words, the baby stopped crying and snuggled into her father’s chest. “She knows your voice,” Aulora whispered. “How cool is that, Dad? She already knows you and she loves you.”
Tears began to flow down his cheeks and he looked at Aulora. “I’m so damn sorry. You’ll never know how sorry I am, Aulora.”
She nodded and ran her arm around him, leaning her head on his shoulder and looking at her new sister. “I forgive you. Don’t apologize for that again. It’s in the past. This family has a new future and it’s starting back over with this little princess right here.”
Clara’s loud sob had them both looking at her as she said, “This is just so beautiful!”
Aulora pushed at her father. “Take your baby and go introduce her to her mom.”
She kissed the baby’s head then gave Clara a nod. “I’ll leave you three to get better acquainted then I’m coming back in here to hold my baby sister for a very long time, okay?”
Clara gave her a nod and a smile. “You better. I love you, girl.”
Aulora smiled. “I love you too, Mom.”
As she left the hospital room her sister had just been born in, she caught sight of Weston, leaving the bathroom. He looked at her and came to her, holding out his arms. “I need a hug!”
She was more than surprised by his actions. Weston was the typical strong guy. He was always in control of his emotions. But there he was, practically shaking in her arms.
They swayed back and forth as she lent him some of her reserves of strength. She was unaware she had any but she found some. “Weston, it’s going to be okay.”
“I miss him, Aulora.”
The pain that filled her heart was almost more than she could bare. But her man needed her to be there for him and she’d be damned if she let her emotions get in the way of what he needed from her.
“I know you do, baby.” She ran her hand over the back of his head as he leaned on her shoulder, burying his face. “If you need to leave here, I’ll go with you. I know this is hard for you.”
Suddenly, he pulled his head back, looking at her with red-rimmed eyes. “No! No way! We’re staying. I’m meeting that baby! I just needed to share that with you. I miss him. I miss what could’ve been. But I want to be a part of your family, Aulora. I do.”
She smiled and tugged him back into her arms. “Okay, then we’ll stay. I get it now. And I think it’s healthy for you to stay and see her.”
Sniffling and pulling himself up, he gained control over himself, wiping his eyes and laughing a little. “What a girl I am.”
“Don’t say that,” she chastised him. “You have a valid reason for your actions.”
“Enough about me,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “Did you hold her yet?”
“I kind of did. I took her from the doctor and put her into Dad’s arms. I thought it would be best if they got a little time alone together. You and I can go in later and get to know the newest member of the pack.”
“That was thoughtful of you,” he said as he took her hand and led her to the elevator. “Let’s go to the cafeteria and get something to eat and you can tell me how the whole thing went. I want it all. And I want to know how you felt every minute of it.”
She laughed as they got onto the elevator. “I felt like there’s a ton of pain that goes along with having a baby. That said, there’s more joy than anything else. I found myself thinking that having a baby is a lot like anything else. Anything worth having takes blood, sweat, and tears for you to truly appreciate it.”
“That’s one way of thinking about it,” he said as they got off the elevator and found the cafeteria. He pulled a couple of ham sandwiches off a cold tray and grabbed a couple of bags of chips. She picked up two bottles of water and they went to the cashier to pay for their lunch.
Finding a seat, they sat and started eating their little lunch.
“You know Clara told me something while I was with her.”
“Oh yeah, I bet she did,” he said with a chuckle. “Women in labor can be real chatterboxes. So, what were her words of wisdom?”
“That you and I would make great parents.” She leveled her eyes on him and watched his body language tell her he wasn’t about to fall for what she’d said. Not yet anyway.
“And we will. Someday. When you’re ready.” He took a bite of his sandwich.
Aulora watched him. His response wasn’t what she’d thought it would be. She kind of thought he’d agree wholeheartedly and ask her if she was ready to get started on the baby-making. When he stopped talking and only ate, she began to wonder if he wasn’t quite ready for a baby.
