The Heart's Game (The Kelly Brothers, Book 4) (21 page)

The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to be born in a toilet.

No, it’s not my daughter. It’s Mike and Jason’s
. “I’ll try not to push, then.”

Three more nurses rushed into the room. One of them opened a closet to reveal a baby warmer, while the other two cut away the pants of her
áo dài
. The nurse who brought her to the room strapped a monitor to her belly and started typing information in the computer. It was a well-orchestrated dance, one the nurses had performed more than once, and some of Jenny’s fear ebbed. Even if her daughter was born this second, the team would know what to do.

The nurses at her sides draped a sheet across her lap and then helped her bend her knees. One of them moved to the foot of the bed. “She’s crowning.”

Before she could ask if that meant what she thought it meant, another contraction slammed into her. A ring of fire burned between her legs. The primal urge to push threatened to overwhelm her. Every muscle in her body quivered from fighting it.

The door slammed open, and Dr. Davis ran in, half gowned. “The little girl decided to make an early appearance, eh?”

“During her engagement ceremony, no less,” Jason said from the doorway.

The nurse who roomed them handed Mike a gown and a set of gloves. “Since you’re the father, put these on. It’s the only way they’ll let you go near the baby.”

Jenny searched the room and noticed that the nurses gathered around the warmer were wearing similar gowns and gloves. Everyone was taking special precautions for her daughter.

She inwardly winced every time she referred to the child inside her as her daughter. It wasn’t hers. And yet, after all these months, how could she
not
be hers?

Dr. Davis finished tying on her gown and sat down on the stool at the foot of the bed. “Okay, Jenny, at the start of the next contraction, I want you to push.”

Finally, they were going to let her do something about the pressure.

Dan took her hand and kissed her cheek. “You can do this.”

She gave him a hesitant smile. He may have thought she could, but her strength was already zapped. The idea of pushing out a whole baby from such a small opening terrified her.

Another person in a blue gown and mask stepped into the room. “Am I too late?” he asked.

Jeez, it was turning into a three-ring circus. How many more people could they fit into this tiny room?

“Dr. Glanville, you’re just in time,” Dr. Davis replied. “We’re crowning, and I have a feeling this little girl will be out in one to two pushes.”

The other doctor checked out the warming stand. “We’re ready for her over here.”

I’m not ready for this. I’m not ready to let her go.

The next contraction interrupted her thoughts and blurred her vision in a sea of black and white stars. She heard the distant command to push. Dan and one of the nurses supported her back while she bore down. Fire flared through her veins. So hot. So intense. So breathtaking and dizzying at the same time. She poured every ounce of her strength into that push.

And then a clammy rush of relief followed.

As her vision came back into focus, Dr. Davis was delivering something to the blue-gowned people gathered around the warmer. Mike stood behind them, his camera angled down to record what they were doing. A weak cry rose from the noise.

“Congratulations, Jenny,” Dan whispered by her ear. “She’s here.”

“She’s so beautiful, Jenny,” Mike added, his eyes never leaving his daughter.

The crew of blue-gowned people started to move. Dr. Glanville pulled away to say, “We’re going to take her down to the NICU and get her ready to go to Children’s. Her father can come with us.”

The warmer rolled out of the room, completely barricaded by the army of nurses. Mike followed, and the room started to clear out.

They never let me see her
.

The realization punched her right in the center of her chest. She’d given birth to her daughter, and she hadn’t been allowed to see her, to hold her, to reassure herself this wasn’t all just some bad dream.

She turned to find Dan staring at the door with grief tugging at the corners of his mouth and a wistful light in his eyes. He still held her in his arms, still held her hand in his, but his attention was focused on the child who’d been whisked out of the room before they’d even had a chance to know her.

Worry nagged at her insides. “Was the gastroschisis worse than we thought?”

“Not at all, Jenny,” Dr. Davis replied from her position at the foot of the bed. “In fact, it was one of the smaller ones I’ve seen.”

“So she’ll be all right?”

“I’ll defer to Dr. Glanville on that one, especially since she’s a few weeks early, but I can tell you I’ve delivered babies with larger defects, and they turned out just fine.” The doctor stood and removed her bloody gloves. “You got through this like a champ. No tears or anything.”

The praise did little to comfort her. She still wanted her daughter back.

Dr. Davis left, leaving only the nurse who’d roomed them behind. She typed away at her computer, not saying anything to them as she charted.

Jenny turned back to Dan and stroked his cheek. “Did you get a glimpse of her?”

“Barely.” He gave her a weak smile. “She has a head full of dark hair.”

“Pretty normal for Vietnamese babies.”

He nodded and stroked her hair. When he met her gaze, an unspoken promise passed between them, one full of love and hope. It soothed the ache in her heart and gave her something to cling to in the coming years.

Next time, it will be ours
.

Dan was here for her, both now and forever, and in that moment, she was finally able to let go of the regret that she’d carried throughout her pregnancy.

A soft knock came from the door, and Jason peered in. “Are you decent?”

Part of her wanted to laugh. She was still wearing the top part of her red
áo dài
from the engagement ceremony.

Dan pulled the covers up to her waist. “Come on in.”

The door opened, and the gentle roll of a wheeled cart followed.

“We thought you’d like to see the baby before we leave,” Jason said.

They brought the plastic incubator up to the bed, and Jenny’s eyes welled up with tears. A tiny baby rested inside. A blanket covered her stomach, but it couldn’t hide the abnormal bulge of bowel underneath. Tubes ran from the baby’s nose and arms, and the soft frantic beep of a monitor announced every rapid beat of her young heart.

And yet, despite the reminders that this was a special-needs infant, she couldn’t have been more beautiful. Jenny studied her face in awe, noting the almond shaped eyes and full lips. A pair of midnight black eyes blinked up at her as though the infant knew she was her mother. And the connection Jenny both feared and longed for formed.

“May I touch her?”

The nurse twisted open one of the side ports and nodded. “Just be gentle.”

Jenny reached in and stroked her daughter’s head. The hair was as fine as silk, dark and thick. She continued down until she got to the infant’s hand. Immediately, her daughter clamped around her finger, and tears welled up in Jenny’s eyes.

“I didn’t think I’d ever fall in love with a woman,” Mike said from the other side of the incubator, “but one look at her and I was gone.”

Dan stood up to see better and then dropped another kiss on Jenny’s cheek. “She’s as beautiful as her mother.”

Jenny’s gaze never wavered from her daughter and the tiny hand gripping at her finger. “Have you picked out a name for her?”

“Camille,” Mike replied, his voice choking up.

“Be good and come home to us soon, Camille,” she said softly before she withdrew her hand.

The nurse twisted the port back into place and headed for the door.

“We’ll send you pictures on the way over,” Mike promised before following the team.

Jason gave her a hug. “Thank you again, sis. You’ve given the world to us, and you have no idea how grateful we are.”

“I have an idea.” She returned his hug and settled back against the pillows. “Keep me posted.”

“We will.” Jason left, and it was back to her, Dan, and the nurse in the room.

The nurse finally stepped away from her computer. “Let me get you a clean gown to change into.”

When she disappeared into the bathroom, Jenny said, “Have I told you how much I love you today?”

“No, but we could try doing a Vulcan mind meld so we won’t have to waste any time with words.” He grinned, his eyes crinkling. “I love you, Jenny, and I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you.”

“I love you, too, Dan.” She tucked her head under his chin and rested her hand over his heart. “Thank you for being everything that you are.”

“Only for you.”

Chapter Seventeen

Dan tugged at the mustard yellow Starfleet shirt and searched the crowded convention lobby for Jenny. As much as he hated being dressed like Captain Kirk today, it was totally worth it after yesterday. A little over four months after having Camille, Jenny had been smokin’ hot dressed in Princess Leia’s gold bikini. He’d fought the urge to punch the endless stream of geeks who ogled his wife at the San Diego Comic-Con. The only thing that kept his jealousy in check was the knowledge that at the end of the night, he was the one who’d be making love to her.

Of course, there’d been a couple of quickies thrown in during the day to satisfy his own desires.

But since she’d agreed to dress as Leia to his Han Solo, he now had to dress as Kirk to her Uhura. At least the role play kept the first leg of their honeymoon interesting. As soon as Comic-Con was over, they were headed to Maui for the second leg of their honeymoon.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, followed by the sound of Uhura from the original series saying, “Come in, Captain.”

He pulled it out to see a text message from Jenny.

“
It seems we have an alien life form on board
.”

He clicked on the picture attachment, and the image of a positive pregnancy test filled the screen.

His head swam, and he stumbled back a step. As soon as her OB gave them the green light, they started trying to conceive, but he didn’t expect her to get pregnant so quickly. The same mixture of joy and dread and apprehension rushed through him like the last time, followed by one difference.

This time, he actually looked forward to finding out he was going to become a father.

“Dan?”

The sound of Jenny’s voice pulled him from his haze. She stood in front of him, her short red dress clinging to every tempting curve of her body. He pulled her into his arms and let everyone around them know she was his by his kiss.

“I take it you got my message?” she asked when he finally pulled away.

He nodded. “When was that picture taken?”

“Just now. That’s why I was running a bit late this morning.” She grinned up him, her dark eyes dancing with joy. “Are you ready for the next part of our voyage together?”

“Absolutely,” he replied before he kissed her one more time.

***

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Thanks for reading
The Heart’s Game
. I hope you enjoyed it!

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• You’ve just read the fourth full-length book in The Kelly Brothers series. The other books in the series are
  The Sweetest Seduction
  ,
  Breakaway Hearts
  ,
  Fallling for the Wingman
  , A Seductive Melody
  (coming Fall 2014),
  In the Red Zone,
  and
  Here All Along
  (both coming in 2015). I hope you enjoy them all!
  

   
  

• And, just for this series, I have a special website featuring more information on the Kelly Brothers, playlists, recipes, and other extras just for readers. Please check it out at
  www.thekellybrothers.cristamchugh.com
  .
  

Thanks again,

Crista

Books by Crista McHugh

The Kelly Brothers