Chapter 30

30

DAPHNE

A fter pacing the waiting room for almost an hour, I finally sat down, stressed, exhausted, and worried. Rachel was in active labor and they'd let me stay with her after I'd brought her in, but eventually, the nurse had suggested that I should leave and let her get some rest between contractions.

I'd been hesitant to go, but my friend had assured me that it was okay. I hadn't wanted to go too far though, which was why I was still here. I wasn't planning on leaving this hospital anytime soon either. At least not until Eric tracked Jake down, but probably not until after the baby was born.

My palms were sweaty, my heart racing, and my knees numb. If they track Jake down.

Where the hell is he?

Despite my brother's assurances that they were doing everything in their power to find him, I was worried as hell. It was very unlike him to disappear, and completely unlike him ever since he'd found out that his wife was pregnant.

The worry was like a living thing inside me, chewing its way through all my organs. Sliding my hands into my hair, I bunched it between my fingers, inhaling and exhaling deeply. As I sat there staring into space, the door suddenly opened and my heart jumped into my throat when Sterling walked in.

With his black hair damp and the bottoms of his jeans soaked, he'd clearly been outside but he smiled when he saw me, evidently not too worried about being wet. "We found him. Jake's here. They've already taken him to Rachel's room."

Relief crashed into me, so intense that it sucked the air right out of my lungs and I slumped over. "Thank God! I was so worried. Where was he?"

"Benson," Sterling said, those dark eyes locked on mine as he lingered in the doorway for a moment before he started toward me. "His truck broke down and he was waiting for a tow. The storm knocked out their reception, which is why none of us could get a hold of him, but he's okay."

"Thank God," I repeated, tracking Sterling's movements as he crossed the room and sat down in the chair directly next to mine.

We were the only two people in the waiting room. There were at least a dozen other chairs he could've chosen, yet he'd decided to sit as close to me as he could get. My heart soared while my brain kept trying to remind itself that we weren't getting ahead of ourselves.

Either way, I turned to smile at the guy. My insides felt all warm and tingly when he returned it. "Who found him? Eric?"

"Nope, I did," he said, settling in with his arm on the shared rest between us so that it was pressed against mine.

Sparks shot through me at the contact, and I briefly wished we hadn't both been wearing long-sleeved shirts. I was craving skin contact, but this was hardly the time or the place. "You went out there in the storm to find him?"

"Of course, I did," he said easily. "We might not be as close as we once were, but the guy is still my friend and he's having a baby. Nothing would've stopped me from finding him and dragging his ass over here, but especially not just some rain."

Gratitude took hold of my heart, making it swell to epic proportions. "As Rachel's best friend who is still as close to her as we once were, thank you. I know how much it means to her and it means the world to me too."

He smiled, lifting his hand to give mine a soft squeeze. It lingered there for a moment. Then he sighed and pulled it away. "How is she?"

"About to have a baby," I said, missing the feeling of his hand on mine already, regardless of how brief the contact had been or how new it was that he touched me that way at all. "She's pretty much exactly like you think she is, but having Jake here is definitely going to help. Thank you for finding him."

He inclined his head at me, leaning back in the chair and looking around the room. "Is there a cafeteria in this place? Or somewhere we can grab a coffee?"

"I'm not actually sure," I said, realizing that I hadn't even thought about it. "Coffee would be nice now that I know Jake is safe, though. I was too stressed about him, Rachel, and the baby to find out before, but I guess we're in it for the long haul now. Unless you're leaving?"

"Nope," he said, folding his hands over his stomach and stretching his long legs out ahead of him. "I'm here until she's born. Then I'll help Eric to get Jake's truck sorted, and then I'll come back if they need anything before they're discharged."

My heart gave a weird squeeze. "I guess you really are back, huh?"

"Yep."

For now, anyway , I thought, but I didn't say it out loud. We were all very aware of the fact that he wasn't staying, but at least he would be here for the birth. Rachel and Jake would both appreciate that.

"Should we go find that coffee?" I asked, already scooting to the edge of my chair. "I'm sure there has to be some somewhere. This is a hospital. I don't think it could operate without caffeine being available twenty-four hours a day."

"Let's do it," he said, standing up and reaching a hand out to help me stand. I didn't need it, but I took it anyway, twining my fingers through his and holding on tight for the brief moment I could.

Sterling didn't let go of my hand right away either. He held it until we left the waiting room, and when he let go, he did it slowly. Almost like he was reluctant to.

Just down the hall, we found another waiting area. It was larger than the one we were in, with a few more people milling around it. Against the wall was a refreshment station with a coffeemaker and some cups next to it.

I grinned. "Yahtzee."

Sterling's hand brushed against the back of mine as we made a beeline for it, and it happened again while we were fixing our coffee. As we walked back to our own waiting room. Sat down.

Every time his skin touched my own, it was like a bolt of electricity shot through me, making my heart skip a beat and goosebumps rise wherever he had brushed against me. I found myself sticking close to him, leaning more toward his side even as I sat still next to him, willing another casual touch to happen.

"Have you ever thought of having kids?" I asked as we sipped our coffee.

Those glittering dark eyes found mine, capturing my gaze and keeping it pinned to his. "Sure. With the right person."

My heart skipped a lot more than just one beat. Did he really just say that while looking so intently at me ? What does that mean?

We hadn't really spoken about what had happened between us yet, and all day, I'd been trying to keep my expectations realistic, but suddenly, my imagination ran away with me. It happened before I could stop it.

I knew it was silly, but I wondered if there was any chance that he wouldn't go back to New York City. Is it possible that he might decide to stay here, with me, forever?

Probably not, but those eyes were still on mine and I'd already determined that my logic was broken today. "The right person, huh? You haven't found her in Manhattan? Is there really not anyone waiting for you back there? Not even a maybe?"

He shook his head slowly from one side to the other. "Not even almost. How about you? Have you ever thought about it?"

"Sure," I said, borrowing my next words from him. "With the right person."

A slow grin broke out across his lips. "You haven't found him here?"

"Not even almost," I murmured, feeling like staring into his eyes was putting some kind of spell on me. "How many would you like?"

"As many as the right person would let me have," he said quietly. "At least two, though. Growing up as an only child was fine, but if it's at all possible, I would like for my child to have a sibling. Or two. Maybe three."

"Four kids, huh?" I chuckled, but the sound was nervous because I was suddenly wondering if I would be open to having four babies with him.

The answer was right there, though. I didn't even have to go looking for it in the deepest recesses of my brain. Hell yes!

I loved kids. I couldn't think of anything better than having four of ours running around my house. Well, perhaps not my house that I was living in now. There wasn't enough space, but certainly in a house with rooms for each of them and a nice yard where they could play outside.

The thought brought a flush to my cheeks and Sterling smiled as he lifted an eyebrow. "I could handle four. You?"

"Yes," I breathed, but the fact that I couldn't even get my voice to work properly snapped me out of my trance.

Averting my gaze to the sludge that passed for coffee around here, I could feel him still staring at me, grinning. He nudged my elbow with his own. "Four kids. That would take plenty of practice. A lot of tries."

For just a moment, I wondered if he was going to ask me if I'd like to start practicing with him, but he wasn't that much of a cliché. When I nodded, he just chuckled and took a sip of his own coffee.

He winced. "That's awful."

"Terrible," I agreed, but I wrapped my fingers around my cup anyway and lifted it back to my lips. Lost in thought, I finished the sludge and set the cup aside, deciding against having more. Eventually, I drifted off, falling asleep with my head on Sterling's shoulder.

"Keep your hands off my baby sister, man," Eric joked when he walked in, waking me up and making me feel like a flaming hot iron rod had been snapped up my spine as it straightened completely.

"Where is she?" I asked, blinking hard when it felt like my eyes were refusing to focus correctly. "Wait, I mean, how is she?

"Fine, as far as I know," he said, dropping into a chair on the other side of the coffee table. "My guys are working on Jake's truck. We collected it from the diner in Benson and we're hoping to have it ready for him by morning."

My brain still wasn't quite back online, but I nodded at my brother as I yawned, glancing at the empty cup on the table. "The coffee here sucks, but I'm going to need more. Can I bring you guys some?"

They both nodded and I got up, leaving them alone as Sterling leaned forward, clearly about to talk to my brother about something. I knew better than to think it would be about us, so I left them to it, knowing that they had their own things going on.

An hour later, Jake finally walked into the waiting room with a giant grin on his face. "She's here, folks. Elizabeth Grace Garrison has officially entered the world. Would you guys like to come and meet her?"