Page 44 of Dare to Embrace
“The contractions are intensifying,” Lacey said.
“I see baby number two,” Dr. Livingston added. “I want you to push, Lacey.”
Lacey bent forward, squeezing her eyes shut, scrunching her nose, and grunting loudly.
I stood slightly behind Dr. Livingston so as not to get in her way. From where I was, I had a decent view, but at the moment, all I could see was nothing. Dr. Livingston had her hands inside Lacey.
Lacey let out a scream of all screams as she pushed, and then before I knew what was happening, baby number two was in Dr. Livingston’s hands.
Chills blanketed my body.
Holy fuck!
Seeing things from this angle certainly made my pulse race for the finish line. But nothing hit me harder than the sudden realization that I was a father.
Me, Kade Maxwell, was a father. It was at that moment that the light bulb brightened. This shit was real.
I’d had plenty of time to wrap my head around becoming a father and to figure out what I would do when my babies came into this world. All that suddenly went out the window because as I saw the tiny newborn with dark hair, my knees became weak. The room began to spin.
I blinked several times as the sounds around me faded to a distant hum. I listed to one side. I heard someone say something but couldn’t make out her words. I shook my head hard when a cold hand landed on my arm.
“You need to sit down, Mr. Maxwell,” one of the nurses said.
I swallowed an elephant. “I’m good.”
“I need to push again,” Lacey said in a tired voice. “I don’t think I can, though.”
My eyes widened as I focused, or tried to, on my wife, who seemed blurry from where I stood.
The nurse left my side and raced back to Lacey.
I blinked again, and Lacey came into better focus.
She was breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, and looking like she needed nine months to recover.
Hunching over, she squeezed her eyes shut as her face glowed red and then pushed.
Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling gripped me, and the room blurred.
The babies, my babies, cried behind me.
I wanted to move. I wanted to turn around to see them, but I was worried if I did, I might pass out.
I took in short breaths and blew them out while the nurses and doctor did their jobs.
When Lacey let out a bloodcurdling scream or grunt or some fucking sound that I felt down in my bones, I swayed too far to the left as the room went dark.
* * *
Something burned my nostrils as I jolted awake.
“Mr. Maxwell,” a female voice said as she tapped my face lightly.
My eyes watered, and I pinched my nose.
The brunette nurse waved a small capsule under my nose. “Are you okay?”
I glanced around. I was still in the delivery room. Dr. Livingston was talking to Lacey. Becca was fiddling with the monitor, and the babies weren’t anywhere in sight.
