Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 10) (29 page)

Zoe walked her out onto the huge patio balcony where the other women were and introduced her to everyone. Summer could feel the curious stares coming her way and knew the others must be wondering about what had happened to her in Jordan, or maybe why she’d stayed away from events like this in the past, but everyone was so warm and friendly that her initial nerves didn’t last long.

She sat next to Taya for the first little while but after a few of the women made a point of coming over and talking with her one-on-one to say hello, she felt completely at ease.

Part of her felt like she owed them an explanation as to why she hadn’t come to team functions before now, but a baby shower was no place to ruin the mood by telling them about her stillbirth and resulting marital problems. Not that she would ever tell them until after she became friends with them.

She was so thankful that dark period was behind them now, and that Adam and her were better than ever. These last few months had flown by and things were still going great. Their communication lines were better than ever and Adam had been home a lot, so that all helped.

Celida, the FBI agent married to Tuck, came outside with another platter of food. Little tea sandwiches cut into coffin and bat shapes, and a tiered stand of the cupcakes Taya had brought, decorated with black icing and pink sprinkles.

Summer grabbed herself a glass of non-alcoholic punch and returned to her seat just as Zoe began unwrapping the gifts. Baby Bauer got a zombie bear from someone and all the other necessary things for taking care of a baby, but the best gift was one Zoe opened near the end.

Her eyes went wide and she laughed as she held up a little black onesie with a frog skeleton on the front and the words
My Dad Can Kick Your Dad’s Ass
beneath it.

Zoe squealed and hugged it to her chest. “Oh my God, where did you find this?” she asked Carmela, Vance’s fiancée and also Cruz’s sister.

Carmela shrugged, laughter in her golden brown eyes. “I have my ways.”

“Yeah, it’s called Google,” Marisol, Cruzie’s better half, said dryly between sips of wine.

“It’s so perfect,” Rachel, Evers’s girlfriend agreed. “Bauer’s gonna love it.”

Zoe set the onesie aside when her cell rang. She spoke for a few moments, then hung up. “That was the man himself. The guys are all down in the clubhouse getting everything ready. Y’all ready for more food?”

Taking their drinks and the desserts with them, they all headed down to the bottom floor as a group. When the elevator doors opened and they all poured out into the clubhouse foyer, the scent of grilling burgers made Summer’s mouth water. Which was a nice change of pace, since she hadn’t been all that hungry recently.

She trailed behind while the others walked out of the open French doors and onto the patio where some of the guys were assembled. At the door she paused, shading her eyes with one hand as she scanned the grassy lawn. She spotted Adam immediately, helping Vance set up lounge chairs over to one side of the yard.

Her heart turned over and her belly fluttered. A big, sappy smile spread across her face as she stood there watching him, admiring the flex and play of his back and shoulder muscles beneath his collared shirt. Even after all these years together, the sight of him still turned her inside out.

As though he sensed her stare, he paused and turned his head to look her way, an easy smile curving his mouth when he saw her.

Stepping up beside her, Taya nudged her hip gently. “I wish I had my phone out to take a picture of your face just now,” she said, sipping at her white wine. “That was a look of total adoration you were giving him.”

Summer shrugged, feeling suddenly emotional. “I’m just so happy.”

Taya slid an arm around her waist, gave her a friendly squeeze. “Well you deserve to be. And it looks good on you, by the way.”

“Thank you.” She was still smiling as Taya walked away.

Glancing over at Zoe, she found the mom-to-be over by the grill standing next to her man. Bauer was grinning at whatever she’d just said, both his big hands framing the swollen mound of her belly.

Summer smiled to herself, her heart beating a little faster at the sight.

She sat with Adam while they ate, talking with Taya and Schroder and then Vance and Carmella. Everyone was so friendly, she was glad she came.

“How are you, anyway?” Schroder asked her before he took a big bite of his second burger. Just like Adam, these guys could
eat
.

“I’m doing pretty well, I think,” Summer said, then looked to Adam for confirmation. She’d been keeping a regular schedule of two appointments a week with her therapist. Adam came with her when he could, and the sessions were definitely helping her deal with what had happened back in Amman. Though she’d never completely get over watching Mark die the way he had. “Yes?” she asked him.

“You’re doing great,” he said, one hand curling around her waist.

“You totally are,” Taya confirmed. She cocked her head, narrowed her eyes slightly. “You look different, too,” she murmured. “I dunno. Content.” She nudged Schroder.

“She does,” he agreed absently, polishing off his burger loaded with an obscene amount of bacon as Summer smothered a laugh.

She glanced at Adam, shared a secret smile that the others didn’t seem to notice. Which was perfect because neither one of them was ready to share their news.

They spent the rest of the evening visiting with the other couples and by the time things began to wind down, Summer felt like she was part of the family.

After talking to the other girls for a while she went in search of her husband, found him talking with Tuck and DeLuca. When they got up and excused themselves she sat in Adam’s lap and looped an arm around her husband’s neck, then leaned down to rest her forehead against his. “Adam?”

“Hmm?” he murmured, hands resting protectively atop her still-flat abdomen and his lips nuzzling the side of her neck.

She was more than ready to go home and have him all to herself for the rest of the night. To get the message across, she leaned in and pressed her breasts against his chest. “Take me home.”

He gave a low chuckle and gathered her close for a slow, thorough kiss that left her breathless. “Anything you want, doll.” He got up, gripped her hands and helped her to her feet.

Hand in hand, she stole another glance at him as they walked up the lawn toward the patio, shared another smile with him. She knew exactly how lucky she was to have him at her side, to have him walk with her through the rest of this life.

They’d gone through hell but their marriage had survived it all and she’d been given the unexpected gift of a second chance with her husband.

And in doing so, she’d wound up falling in love with him all over again.

Seven months later

Okay, this hurt every bit as much as she remembered. No,
more
.

Summer whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as another contraction hit. They were coming so fast now, one right on top of the other with no break.

Panic and fear kept threatening to overtake her, her mind whispering that something might be wrong, that something might
go
wrong. The labor had started unexpectedly last night around ten, two weeks before her due date.

Stop it. It’s not like last time.
She wasn’t alone and the baby was fine. He or she had just decided to come a little early, that was all.

The pain just built and built with no letup, her uterus cramping like a vise. She gritted her teeth, gripped the backs of her knees and bore down, pushing with all her might. It felt like she was trying to move a concrete bowling ball out of her body, rather than a baby.

The pregnancy had come as a total shock. A month after returning from Jordan they’d started talking about the possibility of looking into the adoption process again, had decided they might start the paperwork later this year. Neither of them had even thought of using any protection since the doctors had told them years ago they would never get pregnant without intervention.

And yet here she was, against all odds, having a baby they’d conceived on their own.

And it freaking
hurt
.

“Adam,” she cried when she could breathe again. God, she didn’t know if she could do this, it hurt so bad. She was so glad he was here with her. He’d been a rock through everything, hadn’t left her side since they’d arrived at the hospital.

He shifted position, leaning closer to tighten his arm around her shoulders and released her left thigh to cup the side of her face in his hand. His pale blue eyes were full of sympathy. “I know, doll, this part sucks. But it’s almost over. You’re doing great and I’m so damn proud of you,” he finished, his voice slightly rough as he grabbed a damp washcloth and gently wiped her face with it, the coolness giving her the only shred of relief she’d felt over the past six hours.

She shook her head as another contraction began to build, but it didn’t stave off the inevitable. Things had progressed so fast, the medical staff hadn’t been able to give her an epidural and though they’d tried five times to get an IV into her, her veins had kept jumping all over the place. So once again, unfortunately she was doing this cold turkey.

“Don’t let go,” she panted. Two hours of pushing had all but exhausted her. She barely had the strength to lift her head.

“I won’t,” he vowed. “I’m not going anywhere.” His strong, solid arm gripped her tighter, his other hand sliding down to hook under her left thigh, pulling it back for her so that she didn’t have to waste precious strength.

Everything funneled out except the pain as her body twisted from the inside out. The terrible pressure was indescribable.

It was terrifying but there was nothing to do but get through this now and she just wanted it over as soon as possible. She could hear the steady blip of the baby’s heartbeat from the monitor they’d set up beside the bed, knew that at least it was still alive and well.

She gasped and panted, struggling to escape the pain and pressure. It felt like she was on fire down there, like she would be torn apart at the seams at any moment.

And then, with one final push, she felt something pop through. A high-pitched scream tore out of her as she felt her flesh tear.

“The head’s out!” the doctor told her. “Just one more good push, Summer, and the baby will be out.”

Come on, baby
, she told it, bearing down for one last push. They didn’t know the sex, had wanted it to be a surprise at the end of all this. After everything they’d been through, they just wanted a healthy baby.

She dimly heard Adam’s low voice in her ear murmuring words of comfort and encouragement, clung to them and his strength while she bore down for the final time.

Her entire body shook, her teeth bared and eyes squeezed shut. A roar of agony and desperation exploded from her throat.

She felt the baby slip free.

The pain stopped instantly. Summer opened her eyes and scrambled up onto her elbows, heart pounding as she stared between her legs. There was no crying. Why wasn’t the baby crying?

“It’s a boy,” the doctor announced with a smile.

He was
smiling
. A smile must mean everything was okay, right?

Summer heard his words but was too busy worrying about why he wasn’t crying yet. Then the doctor suctioned the baby’s little mouth and an outraged cry filled the room, his little legs and arms flailing.

The doctor looked up at Adam with a smile and Summer felt the relief flood through her. “You want to cut the cord, dad?”

Adam was at the foot of the bed in an instant, and cut the umbilical cord. By the time it was done Summer already had her arms out, reaching for her son. She took the baby from the doctor and automatically cradled him to her chest.

She stared down at him, fought away the images from last time that filtered into her brain and drank in the sight of her son. His skin was pink, not red, and he was much bigger than A.J. had been. His little eyes opened a tiny bit. He seemed to be trying to focus on her face.

A wave of pure love washed over her, so powerful it took her breath away. She blinked to hold back the sheen of tears that flooded her eyes. “Hi, Sam,” she whispered to him. He was a tiny miracle, entrusted to her and Adam.

A nurse injected something into her thigh but she barely felt the sting, all of her attention focused on her precious newborn son.

Adam moved in behind her and bolstered her so that her back was to his chest. She leaned back into his embrace and looked up at him, exhausted but thrilled, and found him gazing down at her with tears in his eyes. “You did it,” he whispered. “And he’s perfect.”

****

Adam couldn’t take his eyes off his son as a nurse took him to be weighed and checked over. He followed them, watched everything with an eagle eye. He’d thought he was prepared for the birth and what to expect, but the truth was, nothing could prepare you for something like that.

Seeing Summer suffer that way had been damn hard, especially since there was jack he could do to help her. Now he understood what she must have gone through the first time, alone, knowing that even when she did give birth there would be no happy ending. But she’d done amazingly well and now little Sam was here and he could hardly believe it.

His wife was so damn brave and amazing.

He smiled when the weight appeared on the digital scale, snapped a picture. “Seven pounds, three ounces,” he called out to Summer. She didn’t answer, occupied with the doctor, delivering the placenta.

When the nurse was finished checking Sam over and wrapped him in a blanket, she handed him to Adam. For a moment he was terrified of dropping or hurting him, which was stupid because he’d held Libby—Liberty Raven Bauer—Bauer and Zoe’s daughter, plenty of times over the past few months.

But this was
his
child, and it was completely different.

A huge lump formed in his chest when she placed the little bundle in his arms. Jesus, he was tiny. “Hey, little dude,” Adam whispered roughly, all choked up as he stood there cradling his little son. It felt surreal, the enormity of his responsibility as a parent hitting him hard. “Happy birthday.”