Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Although they were only a few weeks into the semester, Paisley felt good about everything. For the first time in her life, she was building relationships with many people surrounding her. Her players and students. Other faculty members. Friends she had made in the community.
Most of all, with Sawyer.
Adding a physical dimension to their relationship had definitely changed things between them.
It had brought them closer together. The closest she had ever been to anyone was Maggie, during her years at Baylor, but even then, it was a coach/player relationship.
What she had with Sawyer was something she was experiencing for the first time.
It was hard to use the word love—especially since she had zero experience with it—but that’s exactly what she felt.
She loved Sawyer Montgomery.
He was right, though. Their relationship was still new.
Both of them were a bit fragile because of their pasts.
Hers, from growing up in the foster care system, keeping a wall up to protect herself from being hurt.
He had loved before and lost his fiancée in a very tragic way.
Sawyer hadn’t allowed himself to get close to anyone ever since Elizabeth’s death.
Paisley should be glad that she was the first, but she worried that he still might not be ready to move on.
She had gone online and looked up Elizabeth. Found that her last name was Pope. Read about the hit-and-run and how Elizabeth was respected by her colleagues in the public defender’s office and beyond.
Paisley worried that she wasn’t good enough for a man such as Sawyer.
She did her best not to compare herself to a dead woman, but it was hard.
Elizabeth Pope had been bright. Beautiful.
Going places. Next to such an accomplished woman, Paisley wondered if she truly fit with Sawyer because she was so different from Elizabeth.
She had talked about these demons with Dr. Linda this past week, sharing with her therapist that she was in a relationship with Sawyer and that they had gotten serious.
Dr. Linda had pointed out that it had been several years since Sawyer had gone out with other women, much less committed to seeing one exclusively.
The therapist had told Paisley that she needed to live her life and let Sawyer make his own decisions.
Not to push him away because she felt inadequate.
Dr. Linda said their relationship would hinge on honesty and communication, and Paisley had finally agreed she would try to keep thoughts of Elizabeth Pope to a minimum.
Especially when she was with Sawyer.
He was going over to West’s house at noon to watch the Cowboys play the Eagles, along with a few other friends.
Autumn had asked Paisley to have lunch with her, just the two of them.
She liked all the women in the circle of friends she had made outside of HHS, but she felt Autumn had a little more insight into her than the others did.
She called in the pizza order they had agreed upon and picked it up on her way to Autumn’s house. Her friend greeted her at the door, looking a little tired—and very large.
“I’ll take that for you, Paisley.”
“I don’t want you even carrying a pizza box,” she joked. “You look like the baby will be here at any moment.”
They went into the kitchen, where Autumn got plates and Paisley poured iced tea for them.
“Ironically, tomorrow is my due date,” Autumn informed Paisley. “It would be interesting to be laboring on Labor Day.”
The two women sat at the kitchen table, and she asked a few questions about what it was like to be pregnant.
“They say each pregnancy is unique. Kelby and I had different experiences. Same with Darby. Morning sickness may vary from literally occurring in the mornings to suffering it late at night. Some women never experience it at all. Supposedly, every woman’s pregnancies can vary from baby to baby.
I know my mom said that she was so sick that she couldn’t keep anything down for the first four months when she was pregnant with West. Yet when she had Summer and me, she didn’t experience a day of nausea. ”
Autumn sipped her tea. “No one seems to remember to tell you about the awful heartburn, though. I had experienced heartburn before, but I’ve had it several times in these last few months.
They say that’s a sign your baby will come out with a headful of hair.
It’s hard to wash your feet when you get as large as I am.
Sleep has also gotten harder the last couple of months.
I just can’t seem to find a comfortable position.
Also, I have to get up and pee three times a night.
Minimum. I suppose that’s good practice for getting up to check on Sarah Elizabeth. ”
“I think it’s great that you’re naming the baby after your two grandmothers.”
“I checked with Summer—and West—before I did so. They didn’t have a problem with it. Eli and I settled on Sarah Elizabeth instead of Elizabeth Sarah. It just seemed to have a better flow to it. We plan to call her Sarah.”
Paisley couldn’t help but be happy at hearing that. The less she heard the name Elizabeth, the better.
“It’s nice that your baby will be close in age to Kate. And Darby’s baby. She told me they’re going to name him Sam, after her dad.”
Autumn smiled. “Uncle Sam was one of the kindest souls you could meet. It’s a shame he won’t be here to get to know his grandson.
Mom and Dad will do their best to step in and serve as a kind of grandparent to Darby and Sawyer’s kids.
” She eyed Paisley with interest. “Speaking of Sawyer, the two of you seem pretty cozy these days.”
She felt herself blushing. “We’re seeing one another exclusively.”
“Do you see a future with my cousin?” Autumn asked.
“We’re trying not to take things too fast, but if I did ever marry, I would want it to be a man just like Sawyer. No,” she corrected. “I would want him to be Sawyer.”
“Well, it’s obvious that he’s crazy about you, Paisley. My cousin is cut from the same cloth as his dad was. He’s the full package. I’m so glad Sawyer came back to Hawthorne.”
Sawyer had told Paisley that he had burned out from the job he held in Dallas.
She knew it was because of how Elizabeth’s death had affected him.
He’d poured so much of himself into his career—and it had almost broken him.
She suspected he had come back to Hawthorne, not only to heal emotionally and physically, but to try and leave memories of his fiancée behind.
Though insecurity still filled her, she needed to trust that Sawyer was ready to move on, else he wouldn’t have asked her out to begin with, much less gotten as serious as they had.
They placed the remainder of the pizza in the fridge, and Autumn took Paisley upstairs to see the nursery.
It was large and inviting, done in light pinks and soft grays.
She learned that Kelby was responsible for the artwork, which included a mural of animals from Noah’s ark on one wall.
On another wall, Kelby had stenciled Sarah Elizabeth.
They returned downstairs, and Autumn put her hands on her belly, pausing.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m not sure,” her friend said. “I had some Braxton-Hicks contractions this past week. They were irregular, though, and when I moved positions, they would stop. I’ve been feeling small contractions for a few hours now.
I just thought it was more of them same.
Now, I think they may actual be real ones. ”
Autumn winced. “Paisley, I do think I’m in labor.”
“We should call Eli,” she said quickly. “Get you to Triple H.”
“That would be a good idea. Would you mind going to our bedroom? There’s a carry-on standing by the dresser, all packed for my hospital stay.”
“I’ll get it now,” she said, hurrying to the primary bedroom and collecting the suitcase.
Paisley was returning to the kitchen when she heard Autumn gasp, “Oh!”
Rushing to her, she saw her friend standing next to the kitchen’s island, a puddle of water beneath her.
Autumn grinned. “My water broke. I’m officially in labor.”
Panic filled her, but Autumn placed a hand on Paisley’s forearm. “Don’t worry. We’ve got plenty of time. First babies usually take their time coming, unlike subsequent kids. I’m going to get out of these damp clothes before we go anywhere.”
“Where’s your mop?” she asked. “I’ll clean up the floor while you do so.”
Ten minutes later, they were in Paisley’s SUV. As she drove Autumn to the hospital, her friend called her husband.
“Hey, Eli. What’s the score? Are the Cowboys winning?”
Paisley couldn’t believe how calm Autumn sounded. Then again, it seemed to be in Autumn’s nature to be serene and nurturing.
“Ten points? That’s great. Listen, I hate to pull you away from the game, but you need to meet me at Triple H. My water just broke. We’re going to have our baby today.” Autumn laughed. “At least I hope so. By tomorrow, for sure, though.”
She couldn’t make out what Eli was saying, but it was obvious he was very excited by the noise coming from Autumn’s cell.
“No, don’t go home. I’m with Paisley. She’s driving me to the hospital now.” Autumn paused. “Yes, she got the suitcase. I’ll see you soon.”
“I couldn’t help but overhear you saying the baby could come today or tomorrow.”
Autumn nodded. “First babies take their time. I could be in labor ten, twenty hours. At least I’m not having to bring two at a time into the world, like Mom did. I still don’t know how she managed, especially since West was a toddler at the time, and she already had her hands full with him.”
As Autumn fired off a few texts, Paisley pulled up into the circle at ER. A nurse emerged, and Autumn blithely informed the woman that she was in labor, causing the nurse to rush back inside and return with a wheelchair.
While the nurse helped Autumn from the car, Paisley said, “I’ll go park the car and bring your bag inside.”