Mine to Lose (26 page)

“When I tell you, I want you to push,”
the doctor instructs. We nod in unison, squeezing each other’s hands.

“You can do it, baby,” Mom encourages
with excitement.

“Ok, Langley, push,” he says.

Reid stays near her face, stroking her
hair and kissing her cheeks. He doesn’t know what to do, because she gripes if
he does nothing, and gripes if he does it wrong. Poor guy can’t tell whether
he’s coming or going, and I have to admit, it’s entertaining.

“I love you,” he says as she pushes. “I’m
so proud of you.”

“Shut up,” she grunts through the
contraction and I can’t help the laugh that bursts out. “You, too.” She glares
at me. Reid and I exchange teasing glances, but we both fear the wrath of Lang
if she catches us.

“You’re doing great Langley. One more big
push and your baby will be here. You ready?” the doctor asks, giving her
motivation.

She’s been at it for a while and she’s
exhausted, but if anyone can do it, my sister can. She made us swear not to let
them pull the mirror out because she doesn’t want to see her
business
,
as she called it. All she wants is to hold her baby when she comes out. In a
few minutes, my beautiful niece will make her entrance, and I can’t wait to
meet her.

“When you’re ready Langley, I want you to
give me one more big push, okay?”

Lang nods and prepares for it, grunting
and pushing until she exhales, moaning in exhaustion. We’re so consumed with
encouraging her we didn’t notice baby Theron made her grand entrance until we
hear her sweet, deafening wail. We all look to see a goo-covered little angel
screaming, her jaw chattering as they walk her to a table to clean her up.

“Is she okay?” Langley asks of no one in
particular, but I walk over to look at her flailing arms and legs.

I look over at my sister and smile so
big, my cheeks hurt. “Ten fingers and ten toes. She’s perfect!”

Lang’s head falls back and she starts
crying while Reid and Mom fuss over her. I sneak out of the room, unnoticed, to
find Ryan sitting in the waiting room. When he sees me, he gets to his feet and
hugs me.

“You’re an uncle,” I say kissing him in
excitement. “She’s beautiful, Ryan. You have to see her.”

“How’s your sister?”

“She’s great,” I say as I flop into a seat
and slump down, exhausted.

“Wanna take a walk?”

“Not really,” I huff out with a laugh.

“C’mon,” he says, pulling me up. “I’ve
been sitting for hours now, I need to move.”

As we walk, I tell him about Lang’s
delivery and how she kept snapping at Reid. Ryan’s shocked that she didn’t hit
one of us, because it’s in her nature to be demanding when she’s uncomfortable.
We end up in front of the nursery, the same place I stood a year ago when I
lost our baby. Only this time, it doesn’t hurt. We stand side by side looking
at all of the sweet faces in front of us.

“You laugh at your sister, but I think
you might actually be worse,” he reminds me as he wraps his arm around me.

“No way,” I argue. “She was pretty
awful.”

“How ‘bout this, when the time comes,
I’ll just let your mom and your sister take care of you in there?” He nods back
in the direction of the delivery room.

“Hell no. I fully expect you to be
present and accounted for, whispering how awesome and beautiful I am.”

“Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah.” I face him and smile. “You have
about seven months to get ready.”

I turn away to go back and check on my
sister, leaving Ryan frozen in place with his jaw wide open.

Totally worth the wait.

There are so many people
I want to thank for helping to make this a reality. First, a huge thanks to the
bloggers and readers who have read
Being There
and
Mine to Lose
-
without you, I’d have no one to share my stories with. Also, to the amazing
writers who have bled before me and paved the way for others - thank you for
showing a humble and kind spirit that sets an example for us to follow.
Madeline Sheehan, Syreeta Jennings, Emmy Montes and Claribel Contreras - you
ladies kept it classy and created a place where so many could learn and grow.

To the
Best Peeps Eva
,
thank you for checking in and helping to keep me on track. Kim Greny, Toria
Walker, David Broom, Donna Broom, Autumn Red, Erin Spencer of
Southern Belle
Book Blog
, Lisa Karafa of
Penny for My Thoughts Book Blog
and Jenn
Beach of
Back Off My Books
- your suggestions, questions, edits and
everything in between were exactly what I needed. I am beyond grateful to every
single one of you.

Amy Queau, Claire Riley,
Stacey Lynn - you three are rock stars. I
just
have to say thank you for
your critiques and notes. I’m sorry I’m such a
bitch
, but it still makes
me smile. Brittainy C. Cherry - you have an infectious enthusiasm for
everything you do and I love it. Kelsie Leverich and A. Meredith Walters - the
two of you make me fan-girl, but I also learn so much. Thank you for sharing
with the class. I am so blessed to have all these amazing women because they
are
Bad-Ass
.

To my
SIPs
, I
love you and every acronym so much. Lisa - you started a dialog with me and it
has grown into a friendship I value more than I can express. Jenn - I laugh
everyday, because intentional or not, you do that to me and I love you for it.
My wifey, Kim Stedronsky - we have Elvis, Viv and Top Gun. You are my
Kimotherapy and I’m pretty sure you are the writing soul mate I didn’t know
existed.

Kari Gardner, the
bestest bestie that ever bestied, I love you so much and I’m glad you came into
my life all those years ago. (FYI, there are no squirrels in these parts.) To
Naomi Ashwood - thank you for pushing me to do what I’ve always wanted. Had you
not put a book in my hand two years ago, I might have just kept dreaming. And
to the fellas at The Herb Café (Slim & Walt) - you made me blush, even when
no one could see it.
(Gotta love the Rap-Special-Wednesday.)
To my
editor, Jenny Sims, you can be my person.

To my family, the
T-10
,
I love you all! Dea - I look forward to our dates, and FYI, you are my Lang. I
have the most amazing and supportive parents, ever. I am truly blessed. Thank
you Mieshaw and Da for reading my books and telling me what you think. Your
opinion means the world to me. Always and forever.

To my precious angels,
my daughters, you are
my dream
and I love you both so much. You are the
reasons I was put on this earth and I’m happy God gave me the girls I always
wanted.

And last, but never
least, my husband Spence I love you more than words. You get me, quirks and all
and I love growing old with you. I am the luckiest girl in the world. By the
way, you are Ryan, Drew and all the others, rolled into one. I don’t need a
book boyfriend because I have you.

Mine to
Steal

In life
and business, Trey Miller has always been the good guy. Nothing wrong with
that, since it’s gotten him everywhere he has needed to be. His startup company
is a success and growing so much that he is gaining the attention of larger
corporations.

By all
accounts, Trey has it all, but the one place he fails is love.

He thought
he might have had something with Emogen Kane, but she was taken before he even
had a chance. Now, he hides behind work, unwilling to take any risks in the
love department.

When Trey
finds himself vying for a huge account against Faith Young, he knows he’s going
to have to play it tough to win. Faith is smart, attractive and rumor has it,
she lands every account she goes after.

When Faith
is thrown into his path at every turn, Trey starts to feel that it is more than
a coincidence. Seeing Faith with her boyfriend douses the flame that he was
starting to feel, until he realizes that the guy might not at all be what he
seems.

Trey let go once, but
he’s determined to win it all this time. Does he have it in him to roll up his
sleeves and get dirty? And if he does, will he finally end up with the girl?

Other
Titles by T.K. Rapp

Being There

When Cass Howard was young, she
never dreamed she would have the perfect job, living in New York, with an
amazing man by her side.

That’s a good thing…because none of
that ever happened.

Drew Alexander was the one person
who knew Cass better than almost anyone, and the friendship that developed in
high school carried them to college. Despite the distance, their bond grew
stronger, revealing to each of them what they meant to each other. A series of
fleeting moments and a string of failed relationships helped them realize that
what they really wanted, what they
needed
, was each other.

But that was five years ago, and
sometimes things just don’t work out.

Now twenty-five, Cass finds herself
living in Houston, working at a small publishing house as an editor. By most
accounts, she appears happy, however she has managed to avoid a true
relationship, opting to channel all of her energy on work, despite protests
from her best friend.

The only thing that can drag her
away is the annual girls’ weekend, which comes at the best possible time,
because Cass has just learned life-altering news.
With the most recent blow to her
life looming overhead, will the getaway with her closest friends change her
outlook on life? Or will her inability to put the past behind her stifle any
chance she has of moving on? Will she ever be able to open up and let those who
love her be there for her?

Available on Amazon

About the
Author

T.K. Rapp is a Texas girl born and raised.
She earned a B.A. in Journalism from Texas A&M and it was there that she
met the love of her life. He had a contract with the U.S. Navy that would take
them across both coasts, and ultimately land them back home in Texas.

Upon finally settling in Texas, T.K.
worked as a graphic designer and photographer for the family business that her
mom started years earlier. She was able to infuse her creativity and passion,
into something she enjoyed, but something was still missing. There was a voice
in the back of her head that told her to write, so write, she did. And,
somewhere on an external hard drive, are several stories she started and never
finished.

Now at home, raising her two daughters,
T.K. has more time to do the things she loves, which includes photography and
writing. When she’s not doing one of those, she can be found with her family,
which keeps her busy. She enjoys watching her kids in their various sporting
activities (i.e. doing the soccer mom thing), having Sunday breakfast at her
parent’s house, singing out loud and out of key or dancing like a fool. She
loves raunchy humor, gossip blogs and a good book.