“Here, let me get you into bed.”
His shaking body grunted as he hoisted me into the air. I curled into him, feeling his sweat coating my body as he walked us over to the bed. We tumbled to the mattress, and I began to giggle as we worked our way underneath the covers.
“I’d offer to shower, but I don’t know if I can stand,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I still haven’t caught my breath,” I said.
“Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”
I rolled over and cupped Graham’s cheek as he settled into bed next to me.
“I promise,” I said. “You could never hurt me, Graham.”
He took my hand from his cheek and brought it to his lips. He kissed my palm, over and over, until giggles fell from my lips. I scooted my body close to his, and he wrapped himself around me. I managed to toss my bad leg around his waist.
“Can I get you anything?” Graham asked. “Are you still on pain medication?”
I smiled and leaned forward to kiss the tip of his nose.
“I have everything I could ever want right here in this room,” I said. “So stop worrying.”
“I’ll always worry about you, Cindy. It comes with me loving you.”
“Then love me a little closer because right now, I can’t get enough of you.”
EPILOGUE
GRAHAM THREE YEARS LATER
“Good morning, everyone. How was breakfast?” I asked.
“Wonderful, Graham. You weren’t joking when you said Daniel could cook.”
“I’ve never had fluffier eggs before in my life.”
“Is the orange juice pressed here? Because it tastes fresh.”
“We do press it here,” I said. “But we can make other juices at your request. All you have to do is ask Daniel.”
The bed and breakfast was a hit with the town, and because it was such a hit, we were starting to get customers who were from out of town and traveling through. We had added some renovations over the three years it had been open. We expanded from the five rooms in the house and added four luxury guest houses that were scattered over the acreage of the land. If people wanted their privacy, they could pay extra to have a room, a bathroom, a living space, and a kitchen to themselves.
And those were a massive hit.
Cindy and I had gotten married a couple of years ago. It had been a small ceremony with Daniel and Nicole as witnesses. They had hit it off very well themselves. Lily was our little flower girl, and Cindy had looked stunning in her wedding dress. It was a simple lacy number that somehow fit with the outside venue we had picked, an apple orchard up in Washington State.
“Where’s Cindy?” a guest asked.
“She’s at a doctor’s appointment,” I said.
“The last one, I’m sure,” another guest said.
“Oh, yes. Our ob-gyn wants to make sure everything’s on track for a healthy delivery,” I said.
My phone vibrated in my pocket and I excused myself from the room of guests. I walked into the back room where we had installed a beautiful stone fireplace. I saw Cindy was calling and I felt a warmth spread across my chest.
Until I heard the panic in her voice.
“Graham! Graham. You have to … the hospital.”
“Cindy, what’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’m at the hospital. You have to get the bags. Leave Lily with—aaahh!”
“Cindy? Cindy! Talk to me, baby. What’s wrong?”
“I’m in labor, you idiot! M-my water broke at my appointment.”
“Okay. Don’t worry. I’m getting in the car now,” I said.
“Hurry!”
I cut the call and shoved my phone into my pocket. I whipped around and saw Daniel standing there with a grin on his face. I looked out the window and back at him, my mind swirling at a thousand miles a second.
“Sorry. Watching an ex-CIA agent flounder isn’t something you see every day,” Daniel said. “Go to the hospital. Your bags are already in the car. I’ll keep an eye on this place, and I’ll get Nicole to pick up Lily from school.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m gonna be a father!”
The guests whooped and hollered as I made one last round. I wanted to make sure everyone was okay as they tried to shoo me out the door. I made a break for the mid-sized SUV I had bought for Cindy when we found out we were pregnant, and I fiddled with my keys in my pocket.
It was time.
I was about to welcome my son into the world.
“Graham! Is it time?” Nicole asked.
“Cindy’s in labor! I gotta go,” I said. “Where did you come from?”
“I was coming to meet Cindy after her appointment. What happened?”
“Her water broke at the office. I gotta go!”
“I’ll grab Lily from school, and you call me when you have news,” she said.
I got into the car and raced into town. My heart was thundering in my chest as I raced through yellow lights. I kept to the back roads and dodged places where I knew there would be cops. I wanted to get to the hospital as fast as I could so I could support Cindy through all of this.
She had been such a trooper, despite the difficulty of her pregnancy.
It had been hard for her to take a back seat when she got pregnant. Gestational diabetes and a host of other issues forced her doctor to put her on bed rest for most of her pregnancy. She was constantly battling heartburn and had nausea throughout all three trimesters and staying away from the business had been hard for her. She loved every ounce of that place, and it put a lot of stress on her to keep away.
But it was even more stress on her when she was trying to work.
I skidded into a parking space and ran into the hospital. I slammed through doors and took steps three at a time to get to the level I needed. My chest was heaving for air, and my legs were carrying me as fast as I could go. I was rushing by nurses and stumbling into doctors as I made my way to the nurse’s desk.
Then someone reached out for my arm and slung me into the room I needed to be in.
“Graham! Graham, it hurts.”
“I’m right here, Cindy. I’m here. Where’s the doctor?” I asked.
“Right here, Mr. Anderson. I’m about to see how far along Cindy is.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Cindy started having some Braxton-Hicks contractions in the doctor’s office, and I told her to wait it out before she left. When they didn’t let up, I went to check her to see if she was dilated at all yet, and her water broke.”
“So, not fake contractions,” I said. “How long have you been having them?”
“Since this morning,” Cindy said with a moan.
“Well, it’s obvious. She’s already nine centimeters and headed straight for ten,” the doctor said.
“But… but my epidural. M-m-my …”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Anderson, but you’re too far along,” the doctor said.
“No, no, no. No, I’m not. Give me something. I’m not doing this without something.”
Cindy squeezed down on my hand with a force I’d never experienced before. I leaned over her, blocking her view as nurses started to pour into the room. She was shaking with exhaustion, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her grip was so tight, I could feel my joints cracking and grinding underneath her strength. Though she’d had to have a C-section with Lily, the doctor had been willing to let her try to give birth the old-fashioned way this time around.
“Look at me, Cindy. Open your eyes.”
“Graham, I can’t.”
“Yes, you can,” I said. “If there is one woman on the face of this planet who can do anything, it’s you.”
“I’m so tired,” she said. “It-it hurts so much.”
“Don’t fight it,” I said.
Her eyes fluttered open as sweat dripped down her chest.
“Accept what it is, and stay with me,” I said.
“I have to push,” Cindy said breathlessly. “Doctor. Doctor, I-I have to—”