Authors: Sandi Lynn
Brooke
Eight Months Later…
“Come on, baby. You can do it. Push!” Logan spoke as he held my hand and wiped my forehead with a cool cloth.
“It hurts!” I yelled as I pushed for the third time.
I was exhausted as I laid my head back down on the pillow.
“This kid is never coming out,” I panted.
Logan gently smiled. “Yes he or she is. Patience, baby.”
I wanted nothing more than to throat punch him, but for the sake of our child, I resisted. When we had the ultrasound, the technician asked us if we wanted to know the sex. Both of us agreed that we wanted it to be a surprise, but I knew Logan was secretly hoping for a little hockey player. He would never admit it, but I knew. To me, it didn’t matter. As long as he or she was healthy, that’s what was important.
“Okay, Brooke,” Dr. Greene spoke. “Time to push and give it everything you have. I have a golf game to get to.” He winked.
I sat up and squeezed Logan’s hand as I pushed as hard as I could.
“I see the head, Brooke. I see the head,” he spoke in excitement.
“One more,” Dr. Greene said.
“You said that two pushes ago!” I shouted as I pushed one last time and heard the crying sounds of my baby.
“Congratulations. It’s a boy!” Dr. Greene exclaimed.
I fell back on the bed. Logan yelled, “Yes, we have a son, Brooke. A future hockey player.”
When I looked over at him, he was on his knees with his hands up in the air.
“Is he okay?” I asked the nurse, who was cleaning him up.
“He’s perfect.” She smiled as she wrapped my son in a blanket and put him in my arms.
Tears started to fill my eyes as I looked at him. He was perfect and he looked just like Logan.
“He’s beautiful, Brooke.” Logan kissed my head.
“He sure is.”
“What are we going to name him?” he asked as he lightly stroked his head. “We talked about a few different names.”
“He looks like a Nathan to me.” I smiled.
“Welcome to the world, Nathan.” Logan kissed his tiny head. “Middle name?” he asked.
“He doesn’t need one. I think Nathan Jackson is perfect.”
“Me too.” He leaned over and kissed my lips.
“Want to hold him?” I asked Logan.
“Of course.”
****
Logan
I took my son and held him in my arms. As I stared down at his tiny little face, the love that poured out of me for this little guy was astonishing. I couldn’t wait to spread the good news to everyone.
“I’ll be right back, baby,” I spoke as I handed him back to her. “I have to go out to the waiting room and tell the family Nathan is here.”
She gave me a small smile as I kissed her forehead. Walking into the waiting room, everyone stood up and waited for me to say something.
“It’s a boy. A healthy eight pound, two-ounce baby boy and he’s perfect.” I smiled.
“YES!” Owen shouted. “A future heavyweight champion in the making.”
I rolled my eyes. “You wish, bro.”
He laughed as he grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Congrats. When can we meet him?” Owen asked.
After making a round of hugs, I led Owen, Brandon, my dad, and Maggie to Brooke’s room. My dad was beyond thrilled to be a grandfather as he held Nathan in his arms and I swore I saw his eyes fill with tears.
“Good work, Logan. He’s beautiful.” Brandon smiled.
“Of course he is; look at who his parents are.” I smirked.
After my family left, I made a few calls and then Brooke and I did facetime with her dad and Woo. They were so excited and hopped on the next flight to New York.
****
I heard Nathan crying through the baby monitor.
“I’ll get him, baby. You go back to sleep.” I kissed her head.
“Thank you. I’m so tired,” she sleepily spoke.
Walking into the nursery, I picked the little guy up from his crib, grabbed a bottle filled with Brooke’s milk, and sat down in the rocking chair. When I placed the bottle in his mouth, he instantly silenced. I couldn’t help but think that between me and Brooke, he was going to be a natural born skater.
“There’s this thing that your daddy does and it’s called playing ice hockey. You’re going to love the game and you’re going to be one of the greatest players in the NHL. Better than your daddy.” I smiled. “When you get a little older, I’m going to teach you everything you need to know.”
As I looked up, I saw Brooke standing in the doorway, looking as beautiful as ever.
“What if he wants to be a figure skater?” she asked.
“Don’t say things like that, Brooke. Our daughter will be a figure skater.”
“Our daughter? How do you know we’ll even have a daughter?”
“Well, we’ll just have to keep trying until we have one.” I smiled.
“Or we could end up having our own hockey team.” She walked over and kissed Nathan’s head.
I paused for a second and looked up. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”
She softly laughed as she brushed her lips against mine and went back to bed. After Nathan finished his bottle and I burped him, I laid him down on the changing table and changed his diaper before putting him back in his crib. He stirred for a moment, but as soon as I rubbed his back, he fell asleep.
Climbing into bed, I wrapped my arm around Brooke and she snuggled into me. My life could never be more complete than it was at this very moment. Brooke and Nathan were my entire existence and my world. I’d never dreamed this would happen to someone like me. I could honestly say that being in that accident was the best thing that ever happened. I thought my life was over, but the truth was that my life was just beginning. Even though I thought I had it all, I had nothing until the day Brooke walked into my life.
I held her tightly in my arms as I kissed her head.
“I love you so much, baby.”
“I love you too, Logan.”
Sandi Lynn is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who spends all of her days writing. She published her first novel, Forever Black, in February 2013 and hasn’t stopped writing since. Her addictions are shopping, going to the gym, romance novels, coffee, chocolate, margaritas, and giving readers an escape to another world.
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