Heart and Snow (Texas Highlanders Ice Hockey) (21 page)

“Cody, do me a favor. Stop gawking at me, and call my parents. I forgot to call them earlier.”

He wasn’t sure how long it was to make the phone call. He called her parents, and her brother, and left a message for her sister in Italy. He called his dad, but only got his voicemail. He sent a text message to him, and went back to Jo.

By the time he came back, Jo’s contractions were pretty regular, about every five minutes or so, now. But they were progressively getting worse. All he wanted to do was make it all better for her, but he couldn’t. At some point, Jo opted into the epidural, and he very nearly passed out at the sight of that huge needle going into her back.

“Oh, fuck me, this shit hurts!” Jo groaned as the next contraction took her.

After that, he concentrated on his wife’s face, on making sure she was comfortable. Because if he looked down where the action was, he was fairly sure he’d probably vomit on her.

Lost didn’t describe the feelings inside Cody as the doctor swept in, checked on Jo, and pronounced her ready to give birth. From there, it was a whirlwind of activity, of screams and curses. Through the whole thing, he concentrated on his wife, on her grimaced face, on wiping away the sweat from her brow as she worked through the next contraction.

It wasn’t until he heard the wailing cry that he realized they’d made it through.

Jo peered up at him through bleary eyes, exhausted. He brushed the hairs sticking to her forehead out of the way and leaned down. He whispered against her forehead. “How you doing, sweetness?”

“That was the most painful experience of my life. I think I might be done with one kid, baby.”

He laughed. “Yeah. Maybe.” Worry furrowed his brow. She looked so tired, her tan skin pale and her eyes bloodshot and puffy. “How are you feeling now?”

Her body shivered. “I’m cold.”

“I gotcha.” He said, reaching for a blanket but the nurse beat him to it. She helped Jo get comfortable and pulled the blankets up.

“Keep those on her.” She instructed. “We’ll work on getting her cleaned up and switched over to a more comfortable bed just as soon as we can.”

*~*~*

A few minutes later, another nurse appeared, this time holding a swaddled little bundle in her arms. Cody stared at the small package, nervous as hell.

“Wanna say hi to our little princess here?”

Jo nodded and tried to sit up, but the nurse shook her head. “No, just relax. I’ll put her down for you. Here.” She situated the bundle on Jo.

Cody leaned on the bed, over Jo so he could see the wrapped baby better. His first look surprised him. The baby’s skin was splotchy, flushed and flaked with white particles. Her face was smaller than his palm was. Her eyes were open, but didn’t really focus on any one thing. Instead, they darted everywhere, wonder in every movement.

“She’s gorgeous.” Jo’s tired smile didn’t reach her eyes, but he could see the happiness in there.

“She is,” Cody agreed. “What’s the white stuff?”

“It’s called
vernix caseosa
. It’s mostly the shed skin cells and secretions from the glands.” The nurse said. “It’ll come off during her first bath. We just wiped her down now so you guys can hold her for a few.”

“Can I touch her?” Cody asked.

Jo looked up at him, surprise and confusion in her expression. “Of course you can, Cody. She’s your daughter.”

The word froze him. Daughter. He had a daughter. This baby belonged to him. It came from him. He reached out hesitantly, and rested a couple fingers on the baby’s head. She was warm, a light dusting of blonde hair so fine he was afraid rubbing her head would make them fall out. He pulled back and straightened up.

That was a baby. That was his baby. His and Jo’s.

“Do you want to hold her?” The question came from the nurse, but he glanced at Jo. She smiled encouragingly.

“I don’t… I mean, I never…” Where were all his words? It seemed his brain cells linked to speech had taken a hike.

“It’s not hard,” the woman replied. “Just put her head in the crook of your elbow so she doesn’t get shuffled around. Use your forearm to support the rest of her body. And hold her close. She likes tight quarters. It reminds her of the womb.”

He did everything she said, as carefully as if he were handling glass. The baby was much lighter than he’d expected. He suddenly panicked, afraid he might drop her. Jo rested her arm on his bicep. “Baby, you won’t drop her.”

Did he say that out loud?

“Yes.”

Shit. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Cody.” He slid his gaze from the adorable creature in his arms to his wife laying in the bed. “You’re doing great.”

He settled on the edge of the bed, so he sat next to Jo. The two of them just watched the baby sleep. He frowned. “Jo? Baby?”

“Yeah?”

“What are we naming her?”

The two of them looked at each other, both surprised that for the last nine months there had been no talk of names at all. How was it they’d discussed everything else except a name?

“Hannah?” Jo blurted. He glanced at her. She shrugged. “What do you think? It just popped in there.”

Cody looked down at the baby girl and tried it out. “Hannah.”

Yeah. That was perfect.

Dedication

To my family,

who hopefully won’t tell me that they read this book.

To my friends,

who will ignore my request

and tell me anyway that they read this book.

Acknowledgements

There are a whole host of people I need to thank. Publishing truly is a crazy team effort. I’m paranoid that I’m going to forget people.

Thanks to my family for putting up with me while I wrote this book. I swear, I don’t just play games all day on the computer. I’m really working and this book is proof.

Thanks to Team Awesome, for being, well, awesome. You guys bring light into my very dark world.

Thanks to the chat rats for putting up with my whiny ways and whipping me into shape when I needed to make my word count.

Thanks to Studio Smexy for the awesome stock image on the cover.

Thanks to my editor for making me look smarter than I am.

Thanks to my beta readers, who helped me really polish this book.

I’m sure there are many more people who deserve my thanks, but it’s getting super late at night and I’m getting loopy. Please know, even if I didn’t name you here, I’m still so, so grateful for all the work you helped me with and will help me with on future books.

Love,

Suzan

About the Author

Suzan Butler is a romance author with a penchant for Dr. Pepper, ice hockey, and world domination. She lives in Texas under a not-so-secret identity with two monsters, writing books and planning the next step in her evil plans into the twilight hours of the night because that’s when it’s quiet in the house.

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O Christmas Three

A novella featuring one of the Texas Highlanders...

Garrett and Brianna Zane have the perfect marriage on the surface. They share everything from love to their wildest sexual desires with ease. So when Brianna confesses she wants a threesome with his best friend Leobardo Vasquez, it awakens feelings Garrett has long tried to forget.

But the smoldering attraction between Leo and Brianna is hard to deny and even harder to dismiss when it’s all he can think about, especially when the three are trapped together in Leo’s cabin during a snowstorm. Seducing Leo will test their relationship, reveal old secrets, and maybe tear them apart. While there may be room for Leo in bed, there may not be room for a third in their marriage.

~*~*~

Off Her Game

Penalty Number One: Men

Making time for men and relationships doesn’t fit into Valerie Chase’s game plan. This crisis-counselor-turned-cocktail-waitress knows the score—Men are a distraction. But when a certain hockey player tempts her wild side, part of her wants to indulge in a little harmless fun.

Penalty Number Two: Desire

As the star center for the Texas Highlanders, Darren Moran's good looks and deadly determination make him a fan favorite. But after the previous season’s disaster, the last thing he needs is to let some woman crawl under his skin. But… Valerie is different. She brings out the best in him—both on and off the ice—and he’s not about to lose her.

P
enalty Number Three: Passion

When the game moves to the next level, Darren and Val have got to call timeout. An unplanned romance is a game-thrower, a sinful temptation that neither of them can afford. After all, there’s no way to have order in matters of the heart when the penalties tally up to an ejection from the game.

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signing up for Suzan’s mailing list
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