Remember Me: Oakville Series:Book Two (13 page)

T
ODAY WE
leave our paradise and it has been nothing less than perfect. This is definitely my idea of heaven. We’ve spent our days laying by the pool or on the beach relaxing and drinking virgin frozen appletini’s or doing a little shopping. Breakfast and dinner are spent out in a quaint little beach front restaurant down the street. Our nights are spent making love anywhere and everywhere we can think of. So far, my favorite has been on the beach in the moonlight. Even though I am having so much fun, I’m anxious to get home to our friends. I can’t wait to share our wonderful news with them all. We’ve decided to wait until after our first doctor’s appointment just so we know everything’s okay. Kyle insisted on packing our bags while I relax by the pool. I’m seriously thinking about having one of these put in at home. I really could get used to this.

“Amber, sweetie, wake up. It’s time to head out. We have a big day tomorrow,” Kyle says just above a whisper in my ear.

“Sorry, I fell asleep. I’m so tired lately.”

“Don’t be sorry. Our little guy takes a lot of energy from you. You rest whenever you need to and never apologize for it,” he says as he kisses my forehead and helps me up. This is one of the reasons I am so in love with this man. He’s sweet and considerate. I have a feeling I am going to be one very pampered woman for the next eight months or so. Sadly, we say goodbye to our paradise, but promise to come back again before the baby comes. I spend most of our drive home sleeping. No matter how hard I try to stay awake and keep Kyle company, I just can’t do it. As soon as we pull into the drive, I wake up noticing Paul’s truck is here.

As soon as Kyle turns the car off, I see Paul and Holly come out of the house. My door flies open and I am being pulled out of the car and hugged tightly by Paul. I can’t help but to laugh. All of these big bad tough guys are all a bunch of softies.

“I’m so happy for you guys! I can’t believe I’m gonna be Uncle Paul!” he says excitedly.

“What are you doing to my girl, dude? Put her down now before you hurt her,” Kyle yells playfully at a laughing Paul. Paul gently puts me back on my feet and takes off toward Kyle. He picks Kyle up the same way he did Holly and me and I start to laugh so hard, we’re crying. Kyle is trying to get down but the more he fights, the tighter Paul holds him.

“You better put me down before I have to kick your ass and embarrass you in front of the ladies.”

“Okay. Okay. Congratulations. I’m really happy for you. I know this is something you have always wanted.”

“If you boys are done with all the mushy shit, we’d like to eat,” Holly says as she puts her arm around me. “Oh, and grab the bags on your way in,” she tells the guys before guiding me into the house.

Just like I thought there would be, a feast is laid out on the counter. All of my favorites from the bar, including the scallops I love so much. After I got out of the hospital, Clark and Marty learned how to make the scallops the way I like them. They are now a menu item. It is so thoughtful of Holly and Paul to do this. They are both such wonderful friends. Without them, we wouldn’t have gotten through half of the shit we have.

“I thought it would be nice for the four of us to celebrate the newest Connor. Plus, I really missed you guys,” Holly says with teary eyes.

“Isn’t it me that’s supposed to be emotional with all of the hormones?”

“Real funny. I am just so happy for you. And I am excited to be an aunt and godmother.”

“What makes you so sure you’d be our baby’s Godmother?” I ask her teasingly. Of course we would ask Paul and Holly to be our child's Godparents. That’s a no brainer. I just like to give her shit. By the look on her face, she knows this is one of those times.

“Amber Lewis Connor, don’t you dare joke about something as serious as this.”

“Sorry, of course we would chose the two of you. I just like to tease you. Especially when you are a pushy bitch and you don’t wait to be asked,” I tell her as I laugh. She smiles as she sits me in a chair at the counter. She then starts to make me a plate of food. Even though to most everything would look just fine, I can see a sadness in her eyes as well as hear it in her voice. Something we were talking about hit a nerve with her. She won’t talk about her past before she came to Oakville. When I asked her, she said she wasn’t ready to dig it up enough to explain it. I can respect that. She’ll tell me in her own time. I just worry about her. I also asked Paul if he knew anything about it. Not so he’d tell me, but so she had someone to go to that knew about whatever haunts her sometimes. Luckily, she has confided in him.

I’ve been a nervous wreck all day long. We are on our way to our first doctor appointment and I should have made the appointment for first thing this morning. I just want everything to be okay with the baby.

“Stop worrying, princess. It’s not healthy for you or the baby,” Kyle says for the hundredth time. I know he’s right, but so many bad things have happened to us it’s hard to believe that we will finally have our happy ever after this easily.

“I know it isn’t. I’m trying not to. I really am.” He squeezes my hand.

“Don’t you think if something were wrong with our baby you would feel it? You are the one he’s connected to. If something is wrong, you will know before anyone. Now, do you have any bad feelings or truly think there is something wrong with our baby?” I never looked at things that way. He’s right, though. I would have some sort of mother’s instinct right? Honestly, I have felt great aside from the bouts of morning sickness. I smile over at him. How does he always know exactly what I need him to say?

Sitting on the examination table in only a paper gown, I glance over at Kyle. Looks like the tables have turned and he’s the one who’s nervous now. When the door opens and Dr. Monty walks through, I see why Becky recommended him. As if this weren’t uncomfortable enough, I’ll now have a gorgeous man inspecting my vagina. I quickly glance over at Kyle and he has a look on his face that says, “This guy is not touching you down there!” This should be a very interesting appointment.

“Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Connor. I’m Dr. Monty.” Even his voice is hot. He keeps eye contact with Kyle as he introduces himself and moves to shake his hand first. Kyle visibly relaxes a little bit.

“Let’s get the unpleasant part over with first. After we finish, I’ll send you over to have an ultrasound so you can both get a glimpse of your baby,” he says with a smile while he puts on a pair of gloves. And just like that, the tension is right back in the room. Kyle holds my hand through the entire exam and only growls twice. I’m very proud of him. During the breast exam, I really thought he was going to lose it, but he didn’t.

“Okay. Go ahead and get dressed, Amber. A nurse will come and get you both in a few minutes. After the ultrasound we’ll all meet back up in my office.” He smiles at me and walks over to Kyle to shake his hand before he leaves. I quickly get dressed and impatiently wait for the nurse. When the door opens, we both jump up, ready to see our baby. It makes the young, bubbly nurse giggle.

“I guess I don’t need to ask if you’re both ready. Follow me,” she said with an amused smile on her face. We follow her down the hall and into a huge room. There’s an exam table next to what I assume is the ultrasound machine. On the wall is a gigantic TV screen. There are two other women in the room waiting. One slides a chair next to the exam table.

“Mr. Connor, you can sit here. Mrs. Connor, hop up on the table and lay back,” Nurse Bubbly says. We do as we’re told. One of the other nurses comes over to lift my shirt up and unbutton my shorts. She squirts a generous amount of warm gel on my stomach and begins to move the wand around. Our eyes immediately focus on the large screen in front of us, waiting to see our baby. When it appears, we are in complete awe. I can’t stop the tears that start to flow down my face. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. At first, it was like looking at a fuzzy black and white television. But then the image became clearer. I can make out feet, legs, hands, and arms. He or she is wiggling around as if it’s doing a little dance for the camera. We are so focused on the image in front of us, we don’t realize one of the women hurrying from the room as the other two whisper to each other.

When I see something is going on, the nurse that left is back with two more women in tow. Immediately, I start to panic. I look at Kyle and see the worry in his eyes too. All of the nurses are still huddled together, speaking in very hushed tones. If they don’t start talking to us, I’m going to lose it.

“Is there something wrong?” I ask, my voice laced with fear.

“Just a moment, Mrs. Connor. We just need to be sure of something.” They continue their whispered conversation while looking at the screen and I can’t help the anger and frustration bubbling up inside of me. I start to open my mouth to let these women have a piece of my mind when Nurse Bubbly appears. She places her hand on my shoulder and smiles down to me.

“Amber, there’s nothing wrong. But there is something you need to see,” she says, pointing to the screen. “This is baby A, this is baby B, and this here, is baby C.” She looks at me warmly, allowing it to all sink in. As soon as it does, I look over at Kyle. He’s as white as a ghost and looks like he’s about to pass out. Three. Three babies. Triplets. Holy shit! What the hell are we going to do with triplets? I’m scared to death about having one, now we are going to have three. Three at once.

We are led down the hall to Dr. Monty’s office. As soon as we walk in, he stands from behind his desk.

“Have a seat,” he says, motioning to two chairs opposite himself. “Congratulations. This is the first set of triplets we’ve had in this office,” he begins. He continues speaking, but I can’t seem to focus on anything that’s being said. I’m still in shock. Dr. Monty must realize that neither of us are paying attention.

“I suppose this must all be shocking and probably needs to sink in. We can schedule another appointment when you’ve had time to get used to all of this,” he says while looking at us with an amused grin. Nodding is all either of us seems to be able to manage for a response.

We finally get out of the office and into Kyle’s truck. After a while, I notice that we still haven’t said one word to each other. I glance over and see that the color hasn’t returned to his face yet. What if he’s upset? Maybe he doesn’t want three babies at once. It is a lot to handle.

“I’m sorry, Kyle. I had no idea.” He still hasn’t said a word since the news. He pulls the truck into KC’s — where Holly has planned our announcement party — parks, and removes his seatbelt. Slowly, he turns in his seat and stares at me. My heart is racing because I have no idea what he’s going to say.

“Why are you apologizing? This is a shock, I won’t lie about that. Not because I’m not thrilled to death, though. I want to be the perfect dad. I was scared when I knew it was one. Scared because it’s my first time at this and I don’t want to mess anything up. We are at the beginner level, princess, and triplets...triplets are for people who are experts.” He shakes his head and chuckles. “I’m not upset in any way. We always said we wanted three kids. We are just gonna have them all at once. Maybe it will turn out to be easier this way in the long run. I didn’t mean to scare you. It just took a while for it to sink in and the shock to wear off. How do you feel about it all?”

“About the same. I’m definitely shocked but excited and scared all at the same time. I do know one thing...we aren’t alone. We will have so much help from our wonderful friends. These babies will be spoiled, no doubt. For once, I’m not going to worry. I’m going to enjoy being happy.”

“I say we both do that. No more worrying until we have a reason to worry. Now, let’s go shock the shit out of all of our friends.”