Epilogue

EPILOGUE

GREER

NINE MONTHS LATER

We were dead to the world asleep when my phone rang with the annoying ringtone Austin had assigned to Sandra's number. For some reason, he thought it was funny and fitting to have Baby Shark bellow out at the highest volume every time she called. As it turns out, our little girl had her throwing up for a solid twelve weeks.

"Sandra? Is everything okay?" I asked, both of us popping up in bed.

A soft grunt followed by a soft moan came from the end of the phone. "Greer, she's on the way. You two better get her soon. Room 1402. My last labor was only three hours."

Austin climbed out of bed and turned back before entering the bathroom. "Ask her how far apart the contractions are?"

I nodded as I followed. "Austin wants to know how far apart your contractions are."

She released another grunt, as what I assumed was a contraction gripped her. "What is he, a fucking doctor?" she growled, making me laugh.

I was aware pain could bring out a totally different side of a person, but no matter what she said, we'd be indebted to her for the rest of our lives. But I also knew better than to antagonize her.

"Okay, forget I asked. 1402. Got it. We're on the way."

When the call ended, I tossed my phone on the edge of the bed and hurried into the closet to get dressed. We'd been preparing for this day for over a month. We'd planned and had everything ready to go in case we got the call in the middle of the night. It seemed like babies really liked making their entrance into the world in the wee hours of the morning.

My husband was standing in our closet, jeans half on, sans underwear, cut abs and muscles on display, grabbing his new shirt off the hanger. Looking at him always distracted me. If we had a disagreement, all he had to do was take his clothes off and soon, all was forgiven.

Sliding into this shirt, he caught me staring. Again. "What did she say?" he asked around his smile.

"Uh, she's a bit stressed right now," I said, pulling on my own jeans. "But she wanted to know if you were, and I quote, ‘a fucking doctor' now."

He barked out a laugh as finished the buttons. "I'm so glad we chose her."

I snorted. "I think she chose us."

When it came time to choose our gestational carrier, there was no other choice than our favorite flight attendant, Sandra. She and Bill, along with their two kids, were like family to us. And when she'd offered to help us have children, it had been a serious offer. I received weekly emails from her after we returned, offering to be our ‘Baby Mama' as Uncle Dreamboat called her.

"You ready?" he asked, stepping into his shoes.

"Yes, let's go."

I finished buttoning my shirt as we trailed through our new home to the garage. I'd sold our high-rise, four-thousand-square-foot penthouse love nest for the suburban life. Our equally large home in the Crestmore community gave us everything we needed. There were neighbors we knew and help with the baby if we needed it. Aidan and Marcus lived around the corner and were a phone call away. And if we needed a doctor, Simon and Jackson were three streets over. Not to mention Patrick and Cole lived three doors down. It was the perfect place for us to raise our family.

I closed the door behind me and climbed into the new Escalade. Buckling in, I turned to look in the backseat as he started the car. "Do we have everything?"

Car seat, check.

Baby diaper bag, check.

Austin put his hand on my thigh as he waited for the garage door to go up, immediately calming my nerves. "Yes, and if we forgot anything, Patrick has a key. He'll swing by and pick up whatever we need."

I nodded and took a calming breath. "You're right," I nodded as the reality of what we were about to do set in. When we came home, we'd be a family of three. "Let's go get our girl."

"You know everything is going to be fine, right? It's not going to happen again."

I put my hand over his. "I know."

Austin leaned over and kissed me, then pulled out of our garage. When he'd cleared the neighborhood, he drove like a bat out of hell. The usual fifteen-minute drive to the hospital took seven in the middle of the night. "You know you can't drive like this when we get her in the car, right?"

Austin laughed but didn't reply. He was humoring me, and I was okay with that.

After parking, we headed inside. The urge to sprint to the room was real, but Austin put his arm over my shoulder. "If you run, you'll get us arrested by security."

"Yes, but we're having a baby. Shouldn't there be some leeway there?"

Usually, I was the calm one. The one that settled him down. The more mature one of the two of us. But this time, the tables had been turned. He was the calm one under pressure, and I was the nervous one. But I guess those feelings were normal when you had so much on the line.

The elevator ride up to the maternity floor took three days. The wall placard outside the elevator pointed us to the right for the maternity ward. Austin took my hand as we hunted down the room. Thankfully, we didn't have to search long, because when we got there, the nurses were coming and going.

"You must be the new dads," one nurse asked.

"How did you know?" I asked.

She chuckled. "You have that look like you're about to jump out of your skin. And she showed us your pictures when she got here to make sure we could find you."

Austin laughed and responded to her as I marveled at how calm they were. I'd have to tell Dominick's father how wonderful his staff was.

"Come this way," she said, snapping us back to reality.

The blip blipping of the heart monitor greeted us as Bill stood beside Sandra, holding her hand. I glanced at the monitor and took in the consistently sharp jumps on the display.

"How are you feeling?" Austin asked, leaning down.

"Like I'm having a ba—by," she quipped, then blew out a labored breath.

One of the nurses put her hand on my shoulder. "It won't be long. Let's get you cleaned up and in gowns."

"Yes, ma'am," Austin replied, heading for the door. He grabbed my hand as we followed her, knowing I probably needed it.

"Is everything going okay?" I asked her as she opened the blue paper gowns for us.

"She's doing great. The baby's heart rate is perfect for delivery. You two can stand on the other side and watch from there."

Nodding, we followed her back in and stood where we were told. Sandra reached for my hand as Bill motioned Austin to his side. He kept his eyes on where he was walking, then took her other hand.

"You two are gonna help me push," she said before another contraction hit. "Just do what they say, and we'll get your daughter here."

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, emotions growing inside me.

Austin took Sandra's other hand in his left and stretched his right arm across the back of the bed, leaning toward me. I took his upturned hand with my left one and held hers with my right.

Holding on as long as we could, we watched as our friend gave us the most precious gift. At three-forty-five a.m., Charlotte Wentworth-Rowan entered the world, crying and melting her daddies' hearts on the spot. She was immediately given to Sandra while the medical staff tended to her.

"Would you like to cut the cord, Dad?" the doctor asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

With her cord clamped, the nurses took her to check her vitals and to weigh her. Austin and I followed and stayed right by her side as they checked her out. We watched as another nurse put a tiny hospital band around her wrist, then did the same to me, then to Austin.

I looked down at ‘Baby Girl Rowan' on the label as uncontrolled tears filled my eyes again. The nurse put a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "Make sure not to remove these until you're home," she added. "No mix-ups allowed."

When the baby was swaddled and wearing her little pink cap, the other nurse handed her to me.

"Here you go, Dad. Hold her like a football. I'm sure you know how to do that," she said softly, placing our eight-pound baby girl in my arms.

I chuckled as Austin stepped over and encircled us in his arms. He leaned in and kissed my cheek as I held her close to my chest. Tears filled my eyes as I memorized everything about her.

"I love you," I whispered to him before leaning down to kiss her.

"And I love you," he replied. "Now I'll have a part of you forever."

More tears escaped as Austin reached over and wiped them away. "Greer," he scolded, "don't get the baby wet."

I smiled and got a hold of myself.

Looking down into the drowsy bluish-green eyes, all goopy with antibacterial gel, I spoke to her for the first time. "I love you so much. Welcome to the world, Charlotte. I'm your papa," I whispered to her, kissing her forehead.

"And I'm your dad," Austin added, kissing her on the top of her head.

We stood there together, oblivious to the world around us, counting her fingers and rubbing a gentle finger over her face. I kissed her little forehead again before handing her to him.

"Your turn, Dad," I said, handing her gently over to him. Austin cradled her in his big arms as she made little baby noises. She blinked sleepily at him as he spoke to her. "You are so loved, sweetheart. We're going to protect you and love you. And when you're old enough, we're going to teach you about football and take you to see the monkeys and sea turtles in our favorite place in the world."

I glanced over my shoulder at Sandra and Bill, my heart filling with gratitude that I'd never be able to repay. I walked up beside the bed, took her hand, then gave her a kiss on the head. "Thank you," I whispered to her, overcome with emotion. "I can never repay you for what you've given us."

Sandra looked at me with exhausted eyes. "Yes, you can, Greer—by being happy. You and Austin deserve that. You've spent so much time alone. Take that baby girl and give her all that love the two of you have to share."

I nodded and looked back over at Austin. He was still talking to her, making me smile.

For the longest time, I was sure he'd hate me forever. And I was so glad he didn't. This life we had was more than I ever dreamed of.

Glancing up at me, he gave me that same smile that had wrecked me all those years ago. "Get in here, Papa," he said, holding out an arm for me.

As I walked toward my husband and our daughter, I was filled with an immense sense of love and happiness. I looked down at Charlotte, who was asleep again, worn out from being born.

We were going to have a beautiful life, and I was so grateful to have them.