Edge of the Heat 7 (18 page)

Emma gripped the edge of the bed and let out a scream as she felt her baby being born. "Catch her, Craig!" she screamed.

Craig ran to the end of the bed, a frantic look on his face, as Emma screamed and her body did its work. A nurse sprinted in, yelled down the hall for the doctor and joined Craig at the end of the bed.

Emma took a few seconds to breathe, face smashed against the raised head of the bed, then turned around slightly to see what was going on. A baby cry sounded, harsh and loud in the tiny room. Tears fell from Emma's eyes as she saw her husband cradling their first baby, looking down at her like she were a miracle straight from heaven. Which of course she was.

The doctor and two more nurses rushed in, one of them taking the baby from Craig, the other clamping and cutting the cord so she could take the baby to be weighed and measured while they prepared for the other twin to be born.

Craig hugged her with one arm and cried onto her neck. "She's so beautiful Emma. She looks just like you. Red hair and blue eyes." Emma's tears flowed harder as she felt her body bearing down again, taking over.

"Ok, people, we've got another baby coming," the doctor said and Craig squeezed Emma's shoulder. She could do this. She
was
doing this.

Forty seconds later, a second baby's crying filled the room and Emma dropped to the bed, her hard work done. Craig disappeared for a few moments, then came back, carrying a tiny, red-faced bundle of absolute perfection. He beamed at her, tear tracks shining on his face.

Emma held her arms out for her baby, still trying to catch her breath. "Is this our first baby?"

He nodded.

"What about our second?"

"She's perfect too. And just as beautiful. But she's blonde."

"They're fraternal," Emma whispered, ever so lightly caressing the baby in her arms on her tiny cheek.

Craig disappeared again and came back with the second girl, also swaddled in a pink blanket. Emma watched as the tiny bundle waved an irate fist at her daddy and wailed. "Which is which?" she asked Craig. They had names picked out, but she didn't know how to choose who got what name.

"This is Winter, for sure," Craig whispered, his voice light and full of wonder.

Emma looked down at her bundle of fat baby cheeks and long lashes over closed eyes. Then she had Summer. Perfect, beautiful Summer.

The door burst open and Hawk rushed in, his hair mussed and his suit jacket off. "Sorry I didn't pick up your call," he started, then stopped as he saw the babies.

He clapped Craig on the back. "They're gorgeous, Dad, congratulations."

Craig didn't even look up. He nodded, his eyes plastered on the perfect package of baby in his arms.

"Thanks Hawk," Emma said lightly, trying not to disturb Summer. "Where's Vivian?"

"Ah well, that was the problem. She went into labor too. She's right down the hall."

Emma stared at him, her eyes wide. "The babies...?"

"She had them already. It was super quick. Two boys this time. Broin and Camden. Brown hair, blue eyes. Broin was six pounds, eight ounces, and Camden was six pounds, four ounces."

Emma felt more tears come. "Identical or fraternal?"

"Fraternal this time."

"When can we see them?"

***

Emma held her babies in her arms as her husband walked by her side and the nurse pushed her bed towards the recovery unit. Summer and Winter had both nursed like champs and fallen asleep. She wouldn't let anyone take them. They were staying with her.

The nurse pushed her bed into her recovery room, and although she'd originally asked for a private room, she could tell by the size of it that this wasn't one. Curtains surrounded what had to be another bed with another mother in it. Oh well, the hospital was full right now. She'd just head home as soon as possible. She had her babies. That was all that mattered.

The nurse positioned her and locked her bed and tried to take the babies one more time. "No thank you," Emma said. "I want them with me."

The nurse left the room, leaving them alone for the first time since the birth. Well, almost alone. She smiled up at her husband. He brushed a lock of hair off of her forehead and gave her a gentle kiss.

Emma heard the curtain pull back next to her bed and she broke the kiss, looking up.

Hawk stood there, a smile on his face. "We asked them for the same recovery room, I hope that's OK."

"Of course!" Emma cried, her eyes falling on her sister, who also held two babies in her arms. Two perfectly handsome baby boys who already looked like their father. Emma felt waves of happiness radiate up her body and spill out as tears. Cousins. Built-in-best friends. With big sisters/older cousins to show them the ropes and protect them and take care of them.

She finally had her big family.

And it was better than she ever imagined it could be.

This time makes up for all
, she thought, knowing that not one second of any of the hell she'd ever been through in her life mattered. This was what mattered. Her babies, her sister, her husband, her brother, their spouses, all their friends, her nephews, her nieces, and her godson. Life was good to her. And it always had been.

<<<<<<<< The End >>>>>>>>

Author's note: Oh I SO enjoyed writing this story! Thank you so much for requesting a Heat 7. I missed these guys a ton. :) I hope you enjoyed meeting Knox Rosesson. He will be the hero in my next book. He reminds me a lot of Hawk, although he's more rowdy like Craig, and boy, does he have a lot of SECRETS.
Preorder or buy here.

P.S. If you haven't read the
Hide Me Series
, that is the series where West Shepherd is the hero and the scene where Craig has to go help him and Katerina is in Hide My Soul, although he's also in the earlier books a bit too. That series is a bit darker than the Heat series, just so you know.

Another Author's Note: You may have seen me talk about starting a new pen name - well, I scrapped that idea. There were a lot of reasons for it, the biggest one being I am going to start writing in serial format (shorter books, more often, with cliffhangers) and I didn't want to shock my current readers with that, but it would just take so much time away from writing to do that. I decided to just hope you guys were OK with it. Thanks for understanding! I will still try to keep all my prices just as competitive as they are now, so most books will be .99 I'm sure.

FREE BOOK OFFER!

To get an exclusive free book and be the first to hear of my new releases via email,
click here
.
http://www.lisaladew.com/

About the Author

Lisa became a full time author in the summer of 2014, fulfilling a childhood dream. She lives in the Inland Pacific Northwest, and is married with 2 sons. She is a U.S. Army veteran, plus former paramedic, 911 calltaker/police radio dispatcher, and volunteer firefighter. Her husband is also a veteran, and a retired police officer. Connect with her on her facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/LisaLadewAuthor
or email her. [email protected]