The Key West Anthology (62 page)

Harper

I gripped the sides of the bed and concentrated on the ceiling. There was a darker spot in the paint that looked as if they had painted over a deeper shade of blue. It was a great focal point for now. It was either that or kill my husband.

“It’s almost over,” a perky young nurse said from my side. She truly had no idea what she was getting herself into. And if she didn’t take her happy-go-lucky attitude down a notch, I would be forced to do it for her. “Breathe,” she said, and I growled. Yes, I fucking growled because she was testing my restraint. I was fucking breathing. I was also in pain beyond my wildest dream, and my back felt as if it was going to split in two.

“Breathe, Harper,” she said in what I guessed was supposed to be her stern voice, and my cup of tolerance had runneth over.

“I am breathing. I’m hurting like a bitch, and your perkiness is driving me insane. Take it down a notch.” I turned to face her as the contraction began to fade.

She had shoulder-length blonde hair, and I swear she was barely over four feet tall and couldn’t have been much younger than myself. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and she seemed unsure if she should attempt to speak again.

I shifted in the bed enough to get a better view of her. “I truly don’t mean to be a bitch, but I think you and I need to have a little talk.”

She nodded without so much as a whispered okay.

“I need you to know that I am not a bad person. I am just a cranky pregnant lady. Ask my husband just how awful I am. He has lived in hell since the first moment I began throwing up from these two little intruders. It’s probably a good thing we had twins, because I know I will never, and I do mean never, go through this again. I wasn’t meant for pregnancy, but I know the outcome will be worth it.”

I chanced a look at Easton. He sat there silent, and I could see a small semblance of a grin pulling at his lips. The man knew me well.

Turning back to face the nurse, I continued, “I like straightforward, to-the-point directions. Don’t coat it with sweetness, because right now in my current state, I can’t tolerate sweetness. So if you need me to shift or push, then just say it. Don’t follow it up with ‘you’re doing great’ or ‘there you go, Mommy.’ And please just get me something for this pain before I kill someone.” I didn’t take my eyes from her.

The nurse shifted and took a step back from me. “Okay, no sweetness, no happy motivational comments. You, um,” she stuttered, “you want something for the pain?”

“Yeah,” I said as I watched her back away, nodding.

After she exited the room, Easton chuckled. Turning to face him, I stared him down. “What the hell is so funny?”

“You scared the hell outta that girl, you know that, right?” he said, still chuckling.

“Tell me she wasn’t getting on your nerves too,” I challenged him.

“Well, honestly, I think she was just—”

I held up my hand to stop him. “Don’t even finish that sentence.” I could feel an approaching contraction and gripped the side rail of the bed once more. “Damn,” I said through gritted teeth. “I am so gonna murder you,” I told him as he stood and leaned over me, rubbing my back. The contraction was peaking, and my heart rate picked up and my chest ached. “I mean it, Easton,” I assured him but couldn’t follow through with the rage. It hurt too damn bad.

“I don’t give a shit if you hit me, kick me, or cuss me out. I’m here, right at your side, whether you want me to be or not. Deal with it.” I closed my eyes tightly. “We made these two little people together, and we’re gonna bring ’em into this world together.”

I am not a crier. I never allowed myself to fall to those levels, at least not when anyone could see. But the pain was so extreme, the hope of holding back was impossible.

The monitor to the left began to scream as I yelled out in pain. Then all hell broke loose. I looked up through my tear-filled eyes to see a scurry of activity. My perky nurse came running into the room, followed by a doctor and two more nurses.

I looked over at Easton, and his face was full of worry. Suddenly I felt dizzy, as if I had tunnel vision. Everything grew hazy, and my arms and legs began to tingle. My cheeks grew numb, and my eyes felt heavy.

“Harper,” he said as he gripped my face. “Baby, talk to me.”

“I don’t feel right,” I whispered just before everything faded to black.

***

Easton

“What the hell is going on? What’s wrong with her?” Panic hit me as Harper grew limp.

“We need you to move back, sir.” The nurse with the short, blonde hair gestured to the empty space behind her. She had to fucking be kidding me.

“What’s going on?” I asked again as I took a step back and watched the doctors analyzing the readouts of the machines and the monitors above. Harper’s body began to shake, and I rushed forward to take her hand.

“She’s seizing,” the doctor said as a rush of activity began. “Call the OR. Tell them we’re bringing her in.”

“What?” I asked, but no one was listening. No one was telling me what the fuck was going on. My stomach tightened as Harper’s body went lax, and her head fell to the side, a small amount of drool glistening on her chin.

The moment they pulled back the covers to move her and the blood on the sheets beneath her came into view, I hit the floor. My whole world caved in around me as the tears began to fall.

I don’t know how long I sat there. How long I cried into my hands as they wheeled my wife away. But a hand on my shoulder surprised me, and my body jerked in reaction.

I looked up into Jett’s worried eyes and lost it all over again. My body shook as he knelt before me and locked eyes with me.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said.

I shook my head, because I didn’t know that. I had no idea what was going on, because no one would tell me.

“Yes, it is,” he stated with certainty. “Come on,” he said as he tried to help me up.

“No, I can’t leave.” I started to panic once more.

“We’re not leaving,” Jett said as he pulled me to my feet. I then noticed Harper’s parents and the nurse from earlier were standing in the doorway, all of them looking worried. “We’re going right down the hall to the waiting area. Everything is gonna be okay.”

I nodded as I stepped past Jett and walked toward the doorway. I was in a daze. I couldn’t stop seeing the look in Harper’s eyes right before she fainted. She looked so scared, and I’d promised to always protect her. I swore she would never be scared again. I couldn’t help feeling like I had failed her.

***

I sat with my head in my hands just ten feet away from the operating room door with Harper’s parents sitting at my side in silence. The tension was thick. Jett had gone back to Quinn’s side as the baby was crowning. I could see he was torn. He knew he had to be there for the delivery of his child, but he didn’t want to leave without knowing what was going on with Harper.

When the sound of the door opening filled the silence of the waiting area, our eyes turned to the doctor as he approached.

“Mr. Black?” he said.

“Yes?” I stood and took two steps, closing the distance between us.

It was as if time stood still, until a smile covered his lips. Instantly, I felt as if a thousand tons had been lifted from my chest.

“Your family is doing very well, all three of them.”

My knees grew weak as Harper’s parents sobbed in relief. “Would you like to meet your daughters?”

“Yes,” I said in a rush. “More than anything.”

I followed closely behind as the doctor led me through the doors and down a long hallway. The sound of our shoes on the floor was all I could hear.

When the doctor paused just outside another set of doors, he turned to look back at me. “Your wife is very groggy, and that has a lot to do with the medication we had to administer. At Harper’s insistence, it had to be pushed very quickly in order to assure her safety and that of your daughters.”

“What exactly happened?” I asked.

“Amniotic fluid embolism. It’s very uncommon. We did have to put in an arterial catheter to monitor her blood pressure, as well as give her a transfusion. But with medication and a few days of monitoring, I believe she’ll be just fine. Happy and healthy and perfectly capable of loving those sweet girls the way they need to be.”

I nodded as I allowed my eyes to wander toward the door my wife and daughters were behind. Knowing that something could have happened to any of them made my chest ache uncontrollably.

The doctor pushed open the door, and they immediately came into view. I took in a deep breath and walked toward the woman who held my heart in her hands. She smiled up at me and reached for me, her eyes fluttering.

Leaning over, I placed my lips to hers and took a moment to just feel her against me. I needed the reassurance that she was really here.

“You scared the shit out of me, baby,” I whispered, and she kissed me before pulling back to look at me once more.

“I’m sorry. I promise I’ll never do it again.” She winked. “Did you see them?”

A soft cry filled the room, and my heart raced with excitement. I stood tall, watching as two nurses bundled up each of my daughters and began walking in our direction.

They held them down toward Harper and placed one in each of her arms. I took a seat at her side and put one hand on each of their backs, holding them securely.

I would give my life for Harper. She was my world. But in that moment, I fell in love all over again. Not only did I fall for Harper once more, but I fell in love with the two mini versions of her. They were beautiful. And in less than five seconds of meeting them, I knew I would do whatever it took to protect them and give them everything they could ever dream of.

“So what do you think, Daddy? We’ve gone through so many name options but never could decide,” Harper asked as she watched me closely.

“That’s because you never liked my suggestions,” I said with a raised eyebrow.

She smiled even bigger. “I liked them, I just had to be difficult. You know me.” That I did. It wouldn’t be right if she didn’t give me a hard time. “I just didn’t want to decide until we saw them, because I knew the moment they we here, we would just know.”

And she was right. Seeing their sweet little faces made it clear. “Faith and Hope,” I whispered, and Harper nodded in agreement.

And just like that, my stubborn wife had given in and allowed me to name our daughters.

Avery & Kade

Avery

“Have you checked on Willow?” Kade asked as he sat down in the chair next to me.

I took the coffee he held out and brought it to my lips before sipping the sugary goodness. He chuckled as I lowered the cup to my lap.

“Yes, Mom said she just finished eating and is falling asleep in her swing.”

He smiled at me and seemed to wander off mentally for a second, imagining our sweet little girl doing just that. Willow had her daddy wrapped around her finger, and it was truly the greatest thing I had ever witnessed.

Kade linked his fingers with mine and lifted our hands to his mouth, where he kissed my knuckles lightly.

We’d gotten a call around five this morning that they had to take Harper in for an emergency C-section. Jett was a mess, torn between Harper and Quinn, who were both in labor.

Now it was just a waiting game. We all sat in the waiting area for news on Harper’s condition, but Quinn was doing great.

Jett came out less than an hour ago to tell us all he was the proud daddy of a seven pound, two ounce baby boy named Tucker Jett Jameson. Using Quinn’s maiden name as his son’s first was a great idea.

The tension was thick as we all sat around waiting for any news on Harper and the twins. No one had any answers, and everyone was getting antsy. Callie sat just three feet away with her legs bouncing nervously. Jude placed his hand on her thigh, and she immediately looked up at him. He winked, and I looked away, feeling as if I was spying on some intimate moment between them.

The clicking of shoes as someone approached down the long hallway caught our attention. We looked up to see Jett and Harper’s sister Alex rushing toward us.

“Does anyone know anything?” she asked. She looked lost and defeated, as if she was running on empty. Her husband Cole was walking up behind her, holding their son in his arms, and just to his side was their daughter Maddi.

“Nothing yet,” Callie offered.

Alex closed her eyes tightly as if fighting off tears. Cole stepped up to her side and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close. “Everything is gonna be all right, darlin’.” That husky Southern voice of his gave me chills.

“Have you talked to Jett?” Kade asked, and she shook her head. “Well, you have a nephew. Quinn and Tucker are both doing great.”

“Tucker,” she repeated. “They used Quinn’s maiden name.”

“Alexis.” We all turned around to find Ms. Jameson standing in the doorway with Mr. Jameson just to her side. She and Alex rushed toward one another and shared a hug.