Chapter 24 #2
“Nothing. Vic said I’ll feel better in a few hours when the IV does its thing.”
“I sure hope so.”
She offered a feeble smile. “Be careful what you wish for, huh?”
“No kidding.” He continued to stroke her hair, wishing there was more he could do to comfort her.
“It’ll be worth it, though. Whatever we have to go through.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
“Of course I feel that way. I wanted this my whole life.” Her eyes filled. “Everything I have now… It’s what I’ve always wanted.”
He leaned over the bed to kiss her.
She made a face and turned away from him. “You can’t kiss me when I have puke breath.”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, you can’t. You’re never going to want to kiss me again.”
“Now that is just not true, and you know it.” He touched his finger to her lips. “These are my favorite lips to kiss.”
“When they don’t stink like puke.”
“Any time. All the time. For better or worse.”
“You’re the best husband I’ve ever had,” she said, her eyes heavy with exhaustion.
“I’m the only husband you’re ever going to have.” He kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, love. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Take care of my son.”
“I will. Don’t worry about a thing. Just rest.”
Mac carried Liam into the exam room, where Victoria was attaching Maddie to the various monitors. Nerves fluttered through him as he stressed out about what they’d reveal.
Maddie held out her arms for Liam, and Mac carefully transferred him to her.
“Your heart rate just slowed considerably.” Victoria glanced at one of the screens. “That’s the cure. You need more babies in your life.”
“Two more babies and that’s it,” Mac said. For Maddie’s benefit, he added, “Here’s a newsflash. Abby isn’t sick. She’s pregnant.”
Maddie gasped. “What?”
“You heard it here first.”
“That’s incredible! They stopped trying and boom! I’m so excited for them.”
“I am, too. I just hope she’s not going to be sick like this the entire time.”
“Some moms are,” Victoria said. “It’s awful, but they get through it.”
“Like Laura.” Maddie shuddered. “I don’t know how she went through that twice.”
“Luckily, she got three kids out of two pregnancies,” Mac said.
“True.”
“And she would probably tell you that she’s so busy with three little ones that she rarely thinks about how sick she was having them,” Victoria said.
“For sure.” Maddie stroked Liam’s downy soft dark hair. “It’s a good thing babies are so cute. They make it easy for us to forget pregnancy and delivery.”
“The fathers never forget.” Mac shuddered at the memory of Maddie delivering Hailey in the midst of a tropical storm with the island’s only doctor on the mainland. Thank God David Lawrence had been home for a visit and had come when Janey called him.
Maddie reached out to him. “Don’t think about the bad stuff.”
“Kind of hard not to when you’re in the clinic, attached to monitors in the middle of the night.”
“An abundance of caution,” Vic said. “I don’t see anything to be worried about so far.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” Maddie said.
“I’m wondering if what you’re feeling is caused by anxiety and not pregnancy.”
“How do you mean?”
“After what you went through with losing Connor, it’s only natural that you would be concerned about it happening again. That fear can manifest itself in physical symptoms like the ones you’re describing.”
“But she didn’t have this when she was pregnant with baby Mac,” Mac said.
“True, but this time around is more complicated due to the multiples and the fact that it’s her fifth pregnancy.”
Mac looked to Maddie for answers. “Do you think it could be stress, hon?”
“Possibly. I think all the time about losing Connor and how there was no sign of trouble before he was just…gone.”
Victoria patted her arm. “I understand that fear. I truly do. But you’ve had three successful pregnancies, which puts the odds very firmly in your favor.”
“I know.”
“Try to get some rest while you can. I’ll be back to check on you after a while.”
After Victoria left the room, Mac stood at the side of the bed looking down at Maddie and Liam and wondering if he’d missed the signs that she was unusually stressed out. “Did I miss this?”
“Miss what?”
“That you’ve been so worried about losing the babies that you’ve given yourself heart palpitations?”
“I haven’t been sitting around stewing about it, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with my heart pounding because I dreamed about it happening again.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up when that happened?”
“Because. It was just a dream, and you work so hard. I don’t want to disturb you.”
“Madeline…” He shook his head in disbelief. “After all this time, how can you think I wouldn’t want to be disturbed if you’re upset or worried or freaking out or anything?”
“I knew you’d want me to wake you up.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“Do you think I can’t see how exhausted you are after working a million hours a week to get the Wayfarer done in time for the season? And now you’ve got the marina to deal with, too. I don’t know how you do it all.”
“Look at me.”
She looked at him with those caramel-colored eyes, and as always, his heart fluttered.
“If you are scared, lonely, anxious, horny—middle of the night or middle of the day—you wake me up or call me, and I’ll come running.”
She laughed even as her eyes went shiny with tears. “Leave it to you to toss horny in there.”
“I mean it, Maddie. It kills me to think I slept through you having a panic attack about losing these babies. Don’t let that happen again, you hear me?”
“I think the whole island can hear you.”
“Maddie!”
Liam let out an indignant squeak and then settled once again into sleep.
“Hush,” she whispered. “I hear you, and it won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me.”
“Don’t scowl at me.”
“I’m not scowling.”
“Yes, you are. Knock it off and kiss me.”
“I’ll do you one better.” He walked around to the other side of the hospital bed, kicked off his shoes and climbed in next to her, wrapping an arm around her and Liam.
“Much better,” she said, smiling at him.
That smile rendered him powerless to resist her—not that he ever wanted to resist. With a hand on her face to turn her in his direction, he kissed her sweet lips. “I want to hear about every worry, every fear, every concern.”
“Those words all mean the same thing.”
“Don’t edit me. I’m being serious here.”
“I know you are.”
“Share the load with me, Madeline. That’s what I’m here for.” He kissed her again, more intently this time, tossing in some tongue as his fingers tangled in her hair.
“Um, excuse me, but are you actually making out in front of my son?” Adam asked from the doorway.
“He’s asleep,” Mac growled. “Go away.”
“I’ll just collect my impressionable child before you can corrupt him.” Adam lifted Liam out of Maddie’s arms. “Thanks for keeping an eye on him. Looks like you’re feeling better.”
“I am, thanks. How’s Abby?”
“She’s sleeping.”
“You’ve got your son,” Mac said to his brother. “Now go away.”
“How can you stand him?” Adam asked Maddie.
“It’s not easy, but someone’s got to do it.”
“We’re all very thankful that you manage him for us.” With the baby snuggled into his chest, Adam left the room, laughing at his own joke.
“You’re supposed to be on my side at all times, especially when my siblings are taking jabs at me.”
“Where is that written in the marriage doctrine?”
“Under ‘thou shalt not team up against your husband with his siblings.’”
“I never would’ve agreed to that clause. Ganging up on you with your siblings accounts for half the entertainment in my life.”
“You think you’re so funny.”
“I know I’m funny. Now shut up and kiss me some more.”
Since there was nothing he’d rather do, he wrapped both arms around her, slid one leg between hers and kissed her with the kind of gusto he usually saved for the privacy of their own bedroom.
But after hearing she’d been stressed out and enduring it alone, he wanted to remind her of how very much he loved her.
He kissed her until his lips were numb and his cock hard and throbbing between them, only stopping when alarms sounded on one of the monitors.
Victoria came running into the room, saw them wrapped up in each other and started laughing. “Well, that’s one way to get your heart rate up.”
Maddie buried her face in Mac’s neck. “This is mortifying.”
Mac laughed so hard, he shook with it. He loved her so damned much, and he’d never had more fun doing anything than he did getting her heart rate up.