Page 34 of Dare to Live
Kade and I did want to know the sex of the baby. We wanted to prepare the baby’s room and get things ready.
Butterflies took flight as my gaze bounced around from the screen to Dr. Gardner to Kade.
Kade’s gaze was glued to the ultrasound machine.
Honestly, I couldn’t tell a darn thing on that screen. All I could make out was static and gray matter.
Every now and then, Dr. Gardner pressed a button on the machine.
“So,” I said to break the silence and calm my nerves. “How far along am I?”
Dr. Gardner’s focus was on the screen. “One second, Lacey.”
Maybe there wasn’t a baby inside me.
“What’s wrong?” Kade asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
I held my breath.
Dr. Gardner pointed at the screen. “Well…” He sighed. “First, you’re definitely about three months along by the size of the fetus.” He drew an outline on the screen. “See?”
Relief coursed through me as my heart rate went from zero to a hundred. I was pregnant. So that was good news.
“But?” I asked.Please don’t give us bad news.
I could clearly make out a tiny speck on the screen but honestly couldn’t see anything more than that. I squeezed the life out of Kade’s hand, or maybe he was the one gripping my hand so hard.
I blew out a breath and eyed Kade. His mouth was open, fear leaping off of him. My chest rose and fell as I tried to stay calm.
Please let everything be okay with the baby.
I’d done a ton of research prior to my visit, and I’d learned that I would be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat at eight weeks, and the doctor had just told us I was three months along. So…
“Is there no heartbeat?” I asked. I hadn’t heard one yet.
The color drained from Kade’s tanned complexion.
Dr. Gardner fiddled with the machine, turning a knob. When he did, theboom, boom, boomresonated.
Kade and I sighed together.
OMG!This was real. Before that moment, I’d come to terms with being pregnant. I had all the symptoms, but hearing a heartbeat was… I didn’t know how to describe the feeling. It was intense and overwhelming. I couldn’t stop the tears.
Suddenly, butterflies fluttered in my stomach like they were having a party in my honor.
“Then what is it?” Kade asked, a deep crease forming in between his brows.
Dr. Gardner set his dark gaze on me then Kade. “Well, you’re going to be the proud parents of not one baby but three.”
Kade reared back.
I gasped.
Kade’s jaw hit the table. “There’s three!”
Dr. Gardner nodded then proceeded to show us all three fetuses. “You two are having triplets.”
What in the world?“Triplets?”
