Chapter 54
Iturn my key in my front door, then frown to find it already unlocked. Ever since Edith laid everything out with Mason, she’s let all of us in a lot more. It’s a false sense of peace because I know she could be stripped away from me at any moment. But for now, it’s been nice to have her more comfortable and opening up.
She and I haven’t been intimate, but I’ll be damned if I haven’t taken advantage of knowing how much she appreciates getting her aches and pains rubbed away.
The guys and I have been taking turns to stay the night over here since we’re getting closer to her due date, and tonight is my turn. I’ve been comfortable in my old bedroom at my parents’ house, but I do miss my home. Mainly because she’s here after agreeing it would be best not to worry about finding somewhere new until after our little girl is born.
She said she was worried that one or more of us would back away after we find out the baby isn’t ours, but she’s never been more wrong. Honestly, I hope that little girl isn’t mine. Not that I wouldn’t love her dearly and be thrilled, but I need Edith to know I’m here for her. I’m afraid if the baby is mine, she’ll always have that doubt rooted deep inside of her.
Walking into the house, I look around for the woman I want, but can’t find her anywhere.
“Edith? Sweetheart? Where you at, honey?” I call out, then stand still, waiting for a response.
“Bedroom.”
I’m shocked when it’s Griffin’s voice I hear, not expecting him here tonight. I don’t care, but I thought he was helping Mason over at the ranch with an electrical issue.
Pushing the door open, my mouth falls open when I see what’s going on. I attempt to back out quickly, but Griffin shakes his head quickly. “It’s not really what it looks like. Well, I mean, it is. I’m fuckin’ her, but not really.”
Edith chokes out an embarrassed half laugh, half sob, which makes Griffin’s head fall back on a groan.
He’s sitting on the edge of my guest bed, pants around his ankles, and Edith is leaned forward very obviously with his dick buried inside of her. But, and it takes me a second to realize it, she’s not totally enjoying it.
“What the hell is happening right now?” I ask both of them. Griffin runs his hand up her back and hugs her to him.
“You okay for a minute?” he asks breathlessly, and she nods, wincing as she settles back against him. She’s wearing a dress, so her body is hidden from me, but I notice her panties on the floor by their feet.
“Edith is having Braxton Hicks. Pretty regular ones right now, actually. She called her doctor and we’re supposed to monitor them, but we did research.” He waggles his brows at me, and I want to smack him. “Turns out, there’s a good chance she might be headin’ toward actual labor, so when I read out things we could do to encourage it to happen—”
“Sex.” It’s all she says, and I bite my lip to keep from laughing.
His eyes close for a moment, then he looks at me. “So, apparently, sex is one of those things. I’ll be honest, I was hopin’ to get her all laid out and play with her a bit for our first time since you know, but she just… got on.”
“Griffin,” she cries out, then leans forward to hug her stomach. “Why is this so freaking painful? I don’t want to do this!” she sobs out, and my humor completely fades away.
Hurrying over, I drop to my knees and brush away loose strands sticking to her sweaty face. “Sweetheart, are you sure these are Braxton Hicks? How often are they happening?”
“They are,” she bites out. “They’re random, and the doctor said until they’re actually evenly spaced out, I shouldn’t come in.”
“Are you sure you want to be doing this right now? You don’t look comfortable.” I throw an apologetic look at Griffin, but he waves me off. Focusing on her, I add, “I could give her another call. How many of these contractions have you had tonight?”
Blowing out a breath as the supposed false contraction ends, she sits up straighter, then moans as she rotates her hips out of pure desire. “Not many, but they’re a lot stronger than the ones I’ve had over the past few weeks.”
Nodding, I sit back on my heels and search up how to know if you’re actually in labor. She’s been having these for the past month, but this seems like more.
“I need some chips.” Both Griffin and I snap our heads up to stare at her as she attempts to stand up. I laugh when he lets out a loud groan as she removes herself from him and leaves us in the bedroom to find her snack.
Ignoring the flash of his cock as he tucks his hard on away, I let my eyes fall to the screen of my phone and scroll through everything.
“I’m gonna die from blue balls. It’s happenin’. Fuck havin’ a baby. I need you to take me in.”
I snort at his complaints I have no sympathy for and ask, “Seriously, how quickly are these coming? Have you let Mason know?”
“I didn’t even get a chance. I read the word sex, and she was like, ‘Yes, that!’” He mimics her in a high voice and we both bark out a laugh.
We both shoot to our feet when we a chair being dragged through the kitchen and I just know she’s about to climb up to grab the chips from the cupboard above my refrigerator. Hurrying to find her, I stop her just as she’s lifting her leg. “I’ll grab them. Why don’t you sit?”
With her hand supporting her back, she eases herself into the chair while I show her different bags until I finally pick the right one. Dill pickle. Fucking gross, but I keep my opinion to myself.
As she dives in, I send a quick text to Mason.
I don’t know for sure, but I think she’s having contractions. Real ones, not the fake ones.
There in ten.
Door is open.
Turning off my screen, I squat down in front of her and watch as she shovels in a chip with a loud sigh. Thankfully, her morning sickness seems to have completely gone away in the last two months, so her weight has finally started to go up in small increments, making her doctor extremely happy with her.
“I’m going to start setting timers so we can see how long is between each one.”
“I’m having one right now,” she says nonchalantly, popping another chip into her mouth. I narrow my eyes, but I notice the tightness around her eyes, clueing me in that she’s not comfortable.
“But you’re eating chips,” I say slowly, not wanting to sound like I don’t believe her. She reacted strongly to the previous one, so this just seems odd.
Shrugging, she gives me a half smile and mumbles around her mouthful. “They’re really good.”
Laughing at how fucking cute she is, I set a timer and set my phone on the table. Gripping her knees, I study her as she eats chip after chip. My mind starts spinning because of what might be happening and a question pops into my head. “Are you nervous?” I blurt out, but I want to know. I don’t want her to be scared, but I fucking am and I know the guys are as well.
The chip she has halfway to her mouth falls to her lap as she looks at me. “I’m really freaking scared.” Her lower lip trembles and I wish I could take my question back. With regret riding me hard, I rub my hands up and down her thighs in a soothing gesture.
“We’ll all be right here with you. You’ll be incredible, and I’m sure she’s going to be super sweet the moment she’s born. My mom said when she had me, then Julia, it was like every scary moment floated away as soon as we were in her arms.”
A lone tear falls down her cheek as she smiles. “Do you think so? I want to have her right now so I can meet her, but I also wish I could keep her inside forever because I know she’s safe there.” With a wobbly lip, she adds, “And I’m afraid it’s going to hurt.”
Pushing up to wrap my arms around her, I kiss the corner of her mouth lightly, then her cheek and nose. “Maybe a little, but I think you’ll be focused on doing what your body needs from you. We’ll make Mason run around for everything you need and keep us entertained. Maybe we can make a game of it. How many times will he yell at a nurse?”
Her giggle is watery, and for the first time, she peers up at me with no hesitation or worry. She’s totally open to me and I wish I could eat up every second of it. I want to pour out my heart to her, but I know this isn’t the time. Maybe a distraction will help.
“You want to hear my Julia story?”
Nodding her head quickly, she grins. “Yes, please. I’ve loved hearing about her. Will you tell me a funny one?”
Tapping my fingers on my lips, I pretend to think hard. “A funny one. Alright. I don’t know if it’s super funny or if it was something you had to be there for, but when Julia was about three years old, she was fighting our parents about wearing clothes.”
Humming in approval, Edith leans back in her chair and starts munching on her chips again as I share my story.
“So, my mom had a bunch of ladies over for the afternoon. Maybe it was for a book club or something? I don’t really remember. I was only five or so at the time. Julia had snuck up to her room, and no one noticed. You should know that the kitchen table was in full view of the stairwell at that time, so when my sister interrupted them, everyone got their fill of what my mom was about to deal with.”
Edith’s eyes open wide just as Mason walks into the kitchen, but he doesn’t interrupt us. He just lifts his chin in greeting and sets his keys on my counter.
“What’d she do?” she asks excitedly.
Grinning, I shake my head slightly. “She had snuck into her room and stripped out of all her clothes, including her pull up. They were still trying to potty train her, the stubborn ass. Apparently, someone had left the bathroom door open, and she proceeded to grab a wad of toilet paper and shove it between her butt cheeks. So, Julia, with a ball of paper shoved up ass crack, came running to the top of the stairs and screamed, ‘Look mommy! I’m a bunny!’ and proceeded to hop around in a circle, making what she thought were bunny sounds, but actually sounded like a donkey.”
Mason snorts as Edith bursts into laughter. Covering her mouth, her words are slightly muffled. “Oh my God, that’s precious! You need to call your mom and tell her that one. I bet she’d love it!”
Laughing with them, I assure her I will later. “It was pretty hilarious because mom flipped out and ran up the stairs so fast, she missed a couple and tripped her way up to hide her. I don’t think she’s ever been more mortified.”
“I bet!” she laughs out, then sighs. “I love that story. Do you think she’s going to do anything funny like that?” Her hand rubs over her stomach, and she looks down in wonder.
“If she ends up belonging to Fin, you can count on it,” Mason teases, then feigns shock when Griffin smacks him on the arm lightly. I hadn’t seen him come into the room, but I’m glad they were both here to listen to Edith’s laughter.
She inhales sharply through her nose, then drops her head down, face hidden behind her hair. “Another one,” is all she can grit out, so I check my timer and see we’re at about six minutes since her last one.
We wait silently, but on edge as she breathes through it. As soon as she relaxes, Griffin and Mason are moving in a flurry. “How much time since the last one?” Griffin asks as Mason bites out, “Where’s her bag we packed? It has everythin’ in it. I’ll put it in the truck.”
“Guys,” she says gently. “It’s not a real contraction.”
Tilting my head to the side, I study her and give her a sympathetic smile. “Sweetheart, I think that was. We’ll time out a few more, but if they’re coming like this, I think we need to get you to the hospital sooner rather than later. When did you call your doctor?”
“This morning,” she whispers, her anxiety picking up as she realizes she might actually be in labor.
Picking up my phone again, I hit the number for the Labor and Delivery department I had programmed in months ago, then fill in the nurse who answers. Listening, I jot down a few notes and share with everyone what she said.
“Okay, so they said we’re looking for contractions between four to six minutes that are regularly coming on. For now, if we aren’t sure, she wants you to lie on the couch or bed with your feet up and keep sipping water. Main thing she said was that if you couldn’t talk through a contraction or your water breaks, we need to head in immediately.”
“Water sounds good,” she breathes out, then holds her hands out for me to stand. I keep an arm around her as she slowly makes her way toward the living room, but right before she leaves the kitchen, she pauses and looks down.
All of our eyes fly to where she’s looking, and I see a trickle of fluid running down the inside of her leg.
“Is that…” I ask her, tightening my hold on her shoulders.
She glances up at me with fear and panic. “I felt a pop.”
“I’ll grab her bag,” Mason hollers, already running into the bedroom.
Griffin hurries over to stand in front of her. Taking her face in his hands, he grins widely, then presses a hard and fast kiss to her lips.
“Okay, darlin’. We’re gonna do this thing, yeah?”
Nodding with her face still pressed between his palms, lips puckered, she sucks in a harsh breath to stem her emotions. Then she’s shaking her head no with conviction. “No, I c-can’t.” It comes out broken and I can’t stand her worry anymore.
Turning her to me, I wrap my arms around her and murmur, “We got you, baby. It’ll all be worth it and we’re all here for every moment. I love you so much and I can’t wait to meet her.”
Whispering after Griffin slips away to start the truck, her voice cracks when she asks, “Will you love her even if she ends up not being yours?”
“I’ll love her just as much as I do you. Don’t let that be a worry right now. I’ll show you after.” I kiss her softly, letting my tongue peek out to taste her lip, wanting more of her, but I know we’ve got to go. “I want it all with you.”
She takes a shaky breath, then lets me help her to the truck with Mason following behind, a pink suitcase in his hand.
Fuck, we’re about to have a fucking baby.