Page 37 of Key Lime Kisses
“He’s having our baby now—likenownow?” What happened to it would take longer than the doctor’s shift?
“We’ve got—” Shea didn’t finish that sentence, a groan building in his chest that morphed into a scream of pain and ended with his shouting, “it burns!”
Somewhere through that the anesthesiologist snuck out and the doctor came in.
Shea held my arm for dear life as they praised him for doing well and directed him when to push and how. It felt like hours, his pain making every second drag out, but in actuality it was only twenty minutes later when we heard the most gorgeous sound in the world: our baby’s first cry.
“He’s here,” Shea cried tears of joy as they brought our babe to his chest. “He’s so perfect.”
I looked down at our beautiful boy.
“He’s soyou.” I kissed his forehead. “He’s you.”
Chapter Twelve
Shea
I had never imagined a more harrowing ride home, even though Weston drove incredibly carefully. I sat in the back, never taking my eyes off of our precious son. He was so tiny, all tucked into the carseat. I reached out for the thousandth time and stroked his cheek. He cooed and his eyes fluttered open, then shut again.
“We’re here,” Weston said suddenly as the car came to a stop. “Welcome home, my boys.”
“Welcome home, Westley,” I whispered.
Weston came around to the back and took out the carseat, then offered a hand to me. Mindful of, well, everything, I climbed out gingerly and followed him.
“And you’re sure the dogs will be okay?” I asked.
“We’ll see,” he said. “I’ve done everything I can to make the introduction smooth. They’ve had lots of time in the nursery, they’ve seen our nieces and nephews, and I brought a bunch of stuff with Westley’s scent on it.”
The dogs were overjoyed to see me after three days away, but quickly became curious about what Weston was carrying. He shooed them back, then carefully set Westly down on the couch.
“Sweetie,” he said, patting the cushion.
Sweetie Pie jumped up eagerly and sniffed cautiously at Westley. Then she licked him on the cheek, turned, and jumped onto Weston, tail wagging eagerly. She barked and Westley woke up crying; Sweetie turned back to him quickly and started nuzzling him, before Weston could even pull her away, the baby had stopped crying.
“What a natural mother!” I said.
“What a natural father,” Weston said, resting a loving hand on my back.
One by one, the ‘pie puppies’ sniffed the newest member of the family. Weston said he was thrilled by every single reaction.
Westley started to fuss, so I sat down on the couch to nurse him. By the time Weston had the baby seat stowed away, Sweetie had joined my on the couch and her head was resting on my leg, as if supervising nursing was her job.
Shepard jumped up on my other side and mirrored her, followed by Apple, then Banana Cream. Weston laughed and quickly took a picture.
“Wait, where will I sit?” he joked.
He picked up Banana Cream and sat down, then plunked the pup back on his lap. Soon, Westley was asleep in my arms, surrounded by four sleeping dogs. It looked like Weston had dozed off too. A wide grin spread across my face as I settled back, looking at my big family.
To think, less than a year ago not a single one of them was in my life. I kissed Westley on the forehead, then freed a hand to pet Sweetie, before settling back contentedly.
I reminded myself to thank my brother for convincing me to bid on that pie.
