Grace Anne

chapter 25



“I don’t care, just f*cking make it stop hurting. Damn it, you said that you’d help me when this time came. If you think this is helping me, then you’re f*cking off your rocker.”

Cain looked down at his sister then over at her husband. He had to laugh. Poor Michael looked ready to run from the room. He didn’t blame him, he was a little surprised by the venom in Gracie’s voice too. He nearly said something to calm her when she grabbed his arm.

“Damn it, Gracie, that hurt. I told you that you needed to get her when the contractions started not when you were almost ready to deliver. Now there isn’t any time for an epidural.” He stepped back before she could touch him again. “You’ll be fine. Women have been giving birth for centuries and—”

“I don’t give a good flying f*ck about anyone else right now. And I couldn’t leave earlier. Trace had a football game tonight and I couldn’t miss it. His team is going—f*ck that hurts.” Michael paled again.

Cain looked at the monitor and smiled. She was peaking every two minutes now. It wouldn’t be long before she’d be able to push. He wondered what they were going to say when the baby was born. Or babies, in this case. Cain thought about all the babies now that were in his family.

Quinn and Drew had five children, a set of triples and a set of twins. They decided that enough was enough and five was the limit. He wondered how long that would last and thought by this time in a couple of years, she’d be pregnant again.

Jazzie and Nathan had two. Both single births and both boys. They were beautiful and every bit as rambunctious as their mother. She took them with her on every book signing. She claimed they were the reason her sales were through the roof. The movie was going to be released in one week.

Lilliane and Shamus had one with another on the way. Cain was happy for them both and when Shamus told him that they were expecting again, he looked like he might have invented procreation. Cain didn’t think Shamus’ feet had touched the floor since he’d found out. They would soon have three after their own set of twins.

Sin and Payton had five children. They had adopted another infant after Tonya had started walking and had been taking in older children since. The last child, Charlie, had been a problem boy since his mother had dropped him off at the police station one day and never returned. He’d been with Sin and Payton for a little over a month and seemed to be coming along just fine. Cain secretly thought he was afraid of Sin, but didn’t blame him. Cain was a tad afraid of her himself.

He and Alyssa had three children. Connor now had a pair of identical twin sisters. He loved them so much Alyssa had had to put him in preschool twice a week so she could spend time with them. Connor was very protective of his sisters.

And now Gracie Anne was having a baby. He looked at the monitor again and realized that she was having contractions about every minute. Soon now, he thought. Soon.

“All right, Grace, let’s get this show on the road,” Donald Paschal said. He was her doctor, as Cain couldn’t…well, he didn’t want to deliver his own niece and nephew.

“What the hell do you think I’ve been doing, dork-ass? Playing with myself?”

Michael burst out laughing and earned a glare from his wife.

“Ah, love, you do have a way with words when you’re trying to meet a deadline.” Michael kissed her full on the mouth. “Come on, let us show this good man how we put something together. When he says push, you push. And if you’re a good girl and do it in less than five pushes, I’ll take you to Paris for Christmas this year.”

“I hate you, you know that, right? I don’t want to go to Paris. I want you to get this monster out of me. And if you think I’m having another one, well you can just get that thing cut off. You’re not touching me again.”

Eight really good pushes later and both babies were born. The little boy came first and was named Derrick James, and the little girl was named Kimberly Guinnie. Both were very healthy and had all their fingers and toes. Cain went to the lobby to tell all the families. The cheering could be heard all over the floor.

~~~

Trace looked down at his brother. He certainly didn’t look like he’d ever be able to play with him. He glanced over at his sister, wondering if he’d be considered a sissy if he told somebody he wanted to hold her too. He was just trying to figure out the best way to ask when Sin sat down beside him and plopped Kim into his arms along with his brother.

“They’re kinda ugly, aren’t they?” she said to him.

He looked up at her to see if she was kidding.

“Of course it could be because they look like your dad and not Gracie.”

He looked at the babies in his arms. He thought they both looked like wrinkled up old apples, but didn’t think he should point that out. He hoped to goodness they got better looking as they grew into their skin. If not, he was going to spend a lot of his time defending them.

“Mom said that she and Dad were going to let me have one to keep. That I had to give the other one back.” Trace looked up at Sin. “You think she was kidding?”

Sin laughed. “I’m sure if you tried to put one of them back she’d probably brain you. No, buddy, I’m pretty sure she was kidding.” She touched Kim’s cheek. “They are so beautiful, aren’t they?”

He didn’t answer. He was too busy watching his dad kiss his mom. They did that a lot and he was getting used to seeing them together. When they’d come back from their honeymoon, they’d told him they were going to be having a baby and he’d been a little scared.

Every day for three months the bigger his mom got, he kept expecting them to send him away. But they didn’t and now he had a room of his own in a big house and his dad was home all the time. Mom, too, when she wasn’t at a runway show, whatever that was.

He grinned when Mom started crying. He knew she wasn’t upset or hurt, but happy. She smiled so beautifully when she did that and Trace was beginning to enjoy making her laugh on his own. He was very happy with his new family.

“Your grandma said to tell you to take a picture and send it to her. She said to tell you that she wished she could have been here, but Grandda is sick with the flu still.”

Trace looked up at his dad as Sin slipped away.

“You like them?”

Trace grinned. “They’re okay. They sort of look like Grandda when he takes off his shirt in the summer, don’t they?” He knew it would make him laugh and he wasn’t disappointed. His mom looked at him and winked. Trace felt his heart swell with love and pride.

“Sort of, now that you mention it. Though I think they have more hair.”

Trace nodded and kissed his sister on the head. “Dad, when we get home, do you think I could possibly sleep in their room? I want to make sure there aren’t any noises that’ll wake them up and scare them.”

His dad nodded then rubbed his hand over his head. “That’ll be fine, son. I’m sure your mother will appreciate it.”

Trace looked down at his newest family and grinned. He was going to have so much fun with these two and he couldn’t wait until he could tell them all about their new family.

He kissed them both on the head again and went to the bed where his mom was. She didn’t even stop talking to her brother, but pulled him up in the bed with her and hugged him. Trace thought there was nothing better than being hugged and hugged her right back. Life was suddenly good.