An Unplanned Life (Unplanned Series)
Read An Unplanned Life (Unplanned Series) Online
Authors: Beth Rinyu
Also by Beth Rinyu
The Exception to the Rule
An Unplanned Lesson
Drowning in Love
An Unplanned Life
Beth Rinyu
An Unplanned Life Beth Rinyu
Copyright © 201
3 by Beth Rinyu
First Printing, 201
3
This book is a work of fiction, the characters, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by Cover it! Designs
Editing and Formatting by BZHercules.com
Quotes from
Love You Forever
, by Robert Munsch, reprinted by permission.
ISBN-13:
978-0615903798
ISBN-10:
0615903797
Acknowledgments
A very special thank you to…
Robert Munsch, for allowing me to use those famous lines from my favorite children's book
Love You Forever
. It means so much to be able to incorporate such a wonderful book into my storyline. Stephanie Lane, for putting in all of those “long hard” days sitting on the beach and pre-proofreading for me. Beth from BZ Hercules Editing & Consulting, for her final attention to detail in fixing all of my “small little” mistakes. Amy Queau, for reading over sections and giving me honest feedback to help me perfect them! And last, but certainly not least, all of you guys who have been waiting patiently for more Dailan and Nicole ... the wait is over! Enjoy!
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all of my
Dailan O'Maley lovers who encouraged me to bring him back to life in the pages of a second book.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Nicole
I quickly sat up in my bed when I saw 6:18 flashing on the digital clock. A million thoughts raced through my mind.
What if she’s been up crying for me and I didn’t hear her? She didn’t wake up in the middle of the night, either. What if somebody had come in and kidnapped her?
I swung my legs over the bed and rubbed my tired eyes as my feet hit the hardwood floor
. I rushed into her room. She was still fast asleep. I stood over her crib, measuring every breath that my beautiful baby girl took. She looked like a cherub with one hand placed above her head and the other touching her rosy cheeks. The little strands of her platinum blond hair that were finally coming in were sticking up all over the place. Finally, at ten-months old, Ella Rose O’Maley, the up all night party girl, was actually sleeping through the night. I stood there for a few more moments, thinking back to the day she was born.
It was a hot July day
, exactly two weeks after Dailan and I had celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary. I wasn’t due for another week, but had been feeling slight contractions all day long. Then, at dinnertime, they became much more regular and much more intense. I tried to stay calm. I looked in the backyard at Dailan and Ryan having a baseball catch. I called my mom and explained to her what I was feeling.
“Well, how far apart are they?” she asked
“I don’t know, like every five minutes. Ouch!” I screamed into the phone as I felt another one coming.
“Where is Dailan?” she asked with panic in her voice.
“He’s outside with Ryan.”
“Well, for heaven’s sake
, go and get him! Your father and I will meet you at the hospital.”
“But
, Mom, I’m not due for another…..o-u-c-h.” I dropped the phone and hunched over in pain.
“Nicole!” Dailan shouted as he walked into the house
and rushed over to me.
“Dailan, I think I need to go to the hospital.”
I checked into the hospital and was informed that I was too far along for an epidural. I cried upon hearing that news. I wasn’t one of those women who wanted to experience real childbirth - I was a wimp; give me the drugs!
“I can’t do this
, Dailan, I can’t.”
Dailan laughed
. “What are you laughing about?” I snapped.
“I’m sorry, but you can do it
, Nicole. You have no choice,” he said, trying to sound a little more sympathetic.
“Where’s Ryan?” I asked
, looking around and not seeing him.
“He’s off somewhere with your mom and dad.”
I squeezed Dailan’s hand tightly as I felt another one coming on. “It hurts so bad,” I said as tears streamed down my face.
He looked at me with compassion.
“I know, beautiful, but it will be over with really soon and you will have a beautiful baby.” He kissed me on the head and gently rubbed my back.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my doctor enter the room
. “Hi, Nicole, how are you feeling?” she asked.
I didn’t answer – I couldn’t
. I was sure that the look on my face said it all. She quickly examined me and confirmed that I was ten centimeters dilated.
“Well
, the labor is the worst part and you’ve already been through that.”
The worst part
? Really, was she joking? Somehow, the thought of squeezing out a human being didn’t seem to be too enjoyable either! I guess what they say is true about childbirth; that eventually, you forget the pain. Because if I had remembered it hurting this badly when I had Ryan, I would have never have had another.
“Are you ready to push
, Nicole?”
I
nodded. Dailan kissed me on the head. I pulled him closer. “Don’t let go of my hand, Dailan. I’m scared.”
“I’m right here
, beautiful; you can do this, baby,” he whispered in my ear. I squeezed his hand tightly and bore down as hard as I could.
“Come on Nicole, you’re almost there, one more good push,” my doctor said.
I looked at Dailan, still squeezing his hand tightly. “Come on, Nicole. You can do it.”
I closed my eyes and pushed with all my might
. The pain I was feeling just moments ago washed away as soon as I heard the cries of my newborn baby.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor said as she held her up and smiled.
I looked up at Dailan. I had never seen him look as emotional as he did at that very moment. “I love you so much, Nicole,” he said as he kissed me over and over on my head.
“I love you too.
” I waited patiently for her to be cleaned up and given to me. It was instant love the minute she was placed in my arms. I knew right then, that if I had been given this moment with Ryan, I would have never been able to give him up.
“She’s so beautiful,” I whispered as she cooed, seeming so content in my arms.
Dailan softly caressed her face with his hand. He was unable to hold back the tears as he looked at her. “Thank you so much, Nicole.”
I
looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek. “Ella Rose O’Maley,” I said.
Dailan nodded in agreement
. I kissed her on her head and handed her to Dailan. His smile lit up the room as he held her for the first time. The tears flowed down my face just watching him with her. “I love you so much, baby girl,” he said as he kissed her on the head. He was unable to take his eyes off her. “She’s perfect,” he said as he sat down on the bed next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder while we both sat silently and stared at her.
“Wow!” Ryan exclaimed as he walked into the room with my mom and dad right behind him
. He ran over to the bed to examine his new sister.
“
Do you want to hold her?” Dailan asked. Ryan nodded. He took a seat in the chair next to my bed as Dailan placed Ella in his arms.
“She’s so small!” Ryan said.
“Do you think we should keep her?” Dailan joked.
“Yeah, she’s really cool,” Ryan said
.
My mother anxiously took Ella from Ryan’s arms and looked her over intently as tears flowed down her face
. I signaled for Ryan to come over to me. He walked over to the bed and I pulled him closer until he was sitting next to me.
“Do you like your baby sister
, Ryan?” I asked.
“Yeah, a lot
.” He smiled.
I kissed him on the head and squeezed him tight
ly. How I had wished that I had held this sweet little boy from the minute he was born. “I love you so much, Ryan.”
“I love you too,” he responded back
, making me feel like there was never any time lost between the two of us.
I stared down at Ella and thought back to how much my life had changed in such a short time
. Two years ago, I had just found out that my son that I put up for adoption eight years prior was the nephew of the man I loved and I had just become engaged to that man. Now, here I was; married to the love of my life, with my son and a 10-month-old baby – I was never happier, but my life wasn’t always that way…