Finding Forever (Living Again #4) (38 page)

Aubrey had started preparing her body for the procedure. They would basically make the baby in a dish and then put it inside her. They chose to use three of Lacey’s eggs, full well knowing that meant she could end up with three babies. The doctor didn’t seem to think that was likely, though, and said in cases like those usually only one, if any, resulted in a full term baby.

It was nerve wracking. He didn’t want Lacey to know how terrified he was that this dream wouldn’t happen for her. He knew how badly she wanted her own baby; their baby. A few weeks from now, they would do the procedure on Aubrey and would then wait anxiously to see if any of them took. The worst part was, even if one or more did take, that didn’t mean they were out of the woods. That was just the beginning of hoping and praying for a healthy baby. Lacey wouldn’t admit how scared she was about the whole thing, but she had talked a lot about what the risks were for her sister, and what if something happened and it affected her sister’s ability to have her own children. He knew she wasn’t used to things going the right way, so he took her concerns as valid.

“Wow,” Lacey said, breaking through his thoughts. The movers had gotten a lot done already, and the family room was already set up, as well as the dining room. She walked through to her favorite part—the kitchen. That had been completely her domain and she had gotten to pick it all out. He had been in charge of their master bathroom, and he was damn proud of it. He couldn’t wait to use every state of the art thing in that bathroom with Lacey. The thought of it put a smile on his face.

“What are you smiling about, GQ?” Lacey bumped him playfully.

“You better watch yourself, Mrs. Tucker,” he said, looking around the room at the movers going in and out. “Or I’ll take you in the bedroom and you can show these movers just how loud you can call out my name.”

Lacey blushed beet red. “Brantley Tucker,” she whispered, looking around.
“You like it,” he continued, his lips next to her ear. “In fact, I’d bet money that you’re turned on right now.”

She smacked his chest, but he didn’t mistake the heat in her eyes before she turned away. “Let’s go see something
other
than the bedroom.” She turned away, muttering to herself about creating a monster.

Lacey held onto Aubrey’s hand, smoothing her hair off her face with the other. Her stomach was in knots and would be until this was all over. Aubrey’s face was crumpled in pain, and she was breathing like she had run a marathon.

She looked over her shoulder at Brant, standing behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear, “It’s going to be okay, Doc.” She breathed out, trying to keep herself from panicking. She had never seen someone in so much pain before.

Jacob sat on the other side of the bed, Aubrey’s other hand squeezing the life out of his. He murmured to her every few minutes. She had been here for what seemed like days but had really only been hours. How long was this going to take?

Aubrey had gotten pregnant the first try with Lacey’s eggs. When they had gone to the doctor and heard the words ‘She’s pregnant’, Lacey had bawled her eyes out, as had Brant and Aubrey. They had sat on pins and needles all through the first trimester to make sure that the pregnancy was going to hold. At the end of it all, they had one perfect baby in there. After all of the doctor’s appointments, ultrasounds, and baby showers, here they were. It was time to meet their baby.

Aubrey had gone into labor at thirty-nine weeks. They had opted not to know the sex, knowing that it didn’t make any difference. This was their baby; Lacey and Brant’s. She had two eggs left, so it was possible for them to do it again in the future, but they weren’t sure if they were going to. They would cross that bridge when they got there.

The contraction passed, and Aubrey relaxed, her eyes closed. “I’m so sorry,” Lacey whispered, soothing her sister with a cool washcloth.

She blinked open her eyes. “No being sorry,” she said weakly. “I’d do anything for you.” In what seemed like seconds, her body was curled up again as another contraction ripped through her. “Go. Get. Doctor. Need. To. Push.”

Lacey looked wildly at Brant, who took her cue and ran right for the door. Jacob met Lacey’s eyes across the bed, and he smiled. It was almost time. She was going to meet her child, thanks to her sister. It wasn’t lost on her that over the last two years, she had been forced to learn that she had to rely on others sometimes and not just herself.

In what seemed like moments, the room was a flurry of activity. Brant had come back with a nurse, who had deemed Aubrey ten centimeters and ready to push. The nurses and doctors were aware of their situation and that Lacey and Brant were really the parents, so as soon as their child was born, he or she was going directly into the arms of Lacey.

“Okay, Aubrey, when you feel your next contraction, you’re going to start pushing,” Dr. Blaise announced, sitting on a stool at her feet. She looked over at Lacey. “Ready for this, Mom?”

Mom. A word she hadn’t been sure she would ever hear. A lump the size of Texas formed in her throat. She nodded, blinking back the tears that were ready at any moment. She was going to be someone’s mom now. She already loved this baby, and couldn’t believe in a short time she would hold her own flesh and blood.

Aubrey pushed, and Lacey held onto her leg, still holding her hand with the other hand. Brant stood behind her. Every time she looked at him, he looked like a deer caught in headlights. She knew this had to be completely overwhelming for him, seeing her sister give birth to their baby.

“That was great,” Dr. Blaise complimented. “You really made progress. A few more pushes like that and we’ll have a new baby!”

Lacey fought the urge to jump up and down. She thought of the nursery she and Brant had spent months decorating. She had picked out the prettiest crib in an ivory wood with a matching dresser. Brant had bought her the most amazing antique rocking chair, and her friends and family had filled the room with outfits, toys, and diapers. For the last month, Brant would find her sitting in the room, taking in every detail. After today, she was going to see her baby in that nursery, in the house they loved.

Aubrey bore down again, shaking Lacey back to attention. A scream ripped from her throat, and Lacey looked at Dr. Blaise with alarm.

“All’s okay,” she whispered. “Baby’s crowning. Want to see?”

Lacey leaned over and saw her baby’s head, and it took everything she had to not fall to her knees at the sight. He or she had a head full of dark hair. It resembled hers right after her treatment. At this point, her hair was almost to her chin in a cute bob, and it was growing faster every month.

“You’re doing so great,” Lacey cooed, dabbing Aubrey’s head with cool water. “I’m so proud of you, Aubrey. I’ll never be able to repay you for doing this for me.”

“One more,” Dr. Blaise said. “And we should have a baby. I know you’re tired, Aubrey. You’re almost done.”

Aubrey smiled, her eyes closed, and Lacey felt her squeeze her hand twice. “I love you,” Aubrey whispered.

Lacey leaned over, hugging her sister as much as she could. “I love you too, Aubrey.” Another contraction took hold of her and she gripped her tighter.

“Push! That’s it, Aubrey! Give me one more long one and we’ll have the baby!” Lacey looked right in time to see Dr. Blaise pulling the shoulders free one at a time, then the rest of their baby came rushing out.

“It’s a… GIRL!” Dr. Blaise announced, suctioning out her mouth and holding her up for Lacey and Brant to see.

Lacey gasped, tears instantly blurring her vision. She and Brant had a daughter. Dr. Blaise cut the cord and wiped her down, then handed her directly to Lacey.

Lacey looked down at her newborn daughter, crying openly. Her dark hair was matted to her head and her eyes were squeezed shut, but she was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She opened her mouth and screamed, letting the world know that she indeed had arrived.

Dr. Blaise laughed. “Well, we know she has a good set of lungs.”

Brant crouched next to her, his finger touching their daughter’s face. “She’s so beautiful,” he croaked out. Lacey looked up at her husband and saw the same tears mirrored on his face. They were parents. She leaned over so that he could get closer to their baby, and he leaned his forehead against hers as they both looked down at their newborn daughter. Tears dripped down their faces and fell onto her baby blanket.

“We have a daughter,” Lacey said, reaching one hand out and touching Brant’s face. He looked up at her.

“Lacey,” he said. “I thought I was happy the day I married you. This… it’s just…”

“I know,” she said. “It’s something entirely different.”

Dr. Blaise interrupted. “I need to let the nurses check her out and weigh her. You can have her right back, I promise.” Lacey noticed that she was also wiping tears from her eyes, and that floored her.

Lacey hugged Aubrey as Brant followed the nurse to the little baby warmer in the room. “Thank you, Aubrey. Those words aren’t enough for what you did for us.”

“Yes it is,” she answered. “Seeing you with that little girl just now, that’s all the thanks I need. She has no idea how lucky she is to have you and Brant for parents.”

“And lucky to have you as her Aunt,” Lacey said. The baby cried, and she walked over to them.

“This healthy little girl is seven pounds, three ounces and 20 inches long. She’s perfect, Mom and Dad. Nice job.” The nurse bundled her in a pink blanket and handed her back to Lacey.

Lacey and Brant sat side by side on the small couch in the room, soaking in every feature of their new baby.

“Who does she look like to you?” Lacey asked, watching Brant as he looked at her small fingers.

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to use your mom’s name if it was a girl?”

“What do you think?”

“I think that Kathryn is the reason we are where we are right now,” Brant said, putting his arm around her shoulders. “So, I think it’s only fitting that our daughter symbolize the very person that not only put you on this earth, but brought us together.”

Lacey looked down at her daughter, nestled snugly in between her and Brant. She looked up at her sister and Jacob, who were watching them quietly. “Kathryn Aubrey Tucker,” she announced. “She’s always going to know that her grandma and her aunt were the reason she’s here.”

Lacey sat in the rocking chair of the nursery, looking around like she had for so many months. But this time, Kathryn, or Katie as they had taken to calling her, was asleep on her shoulder. Max, Sophie, and Maggie lay on the floor on either side of Katie’s crib, where they always were. They were her protectors, and acted like it was their life mission to protect that baby.

Lacey turned her face and kissed Katie’s smooth cheek. It had been three weeks since she had been born, and as exhausting as it was to have a newborn, she was happier than she had ever been in her life. Seeing Brant as a dad made her fall in love with him in a totally different way, and their relationship had never been stronger. He told her constantly how thankful he was that she had given him a child, and how proud he was of her.

Lacey’s every three month checks at the doctor had shown that she was still cancer-free. The medication she took to try to keep it that way sometimes made her muscles ache, but she would gladly take that if it kept her healthy.

“Doc?” She heard Brant calling her. He was just home from working, which meant that he was sweaty, dirty, and all cowboy, just the way she liked him. Lacey often wondered if he really was happy here at the ranch, but he continued to say that it was rewarding.

She knew he would know where to find her once he didn’t see her in the living room or kitchen. She didn’t want to yell and wake up Katie. A sleeping baby was a happy baby. As she predicted, moments later he stood in the doorway. Also as predicted, he was wearing jeans that rode low on that sexy waist of his. He had removed his boots when he entered the house, and apparently his shirt, too. His taut muscles flexed as he gripped the door frame.

“That’s so not fair,” she whined. “I’m holding our sleeping baby, and you walk in here like that, all GQ-like.”