Chapter twenty-one Grady #2
When we get to the baby swing, I spin her around to face me and prepare to deliver the most important speech of my life.
“Scottie…the first time we sat together under a tree, all I wanted to do was kiss you. The second time I got you under a tree—this tree to be exact—I finally did. But now, I want to push our baby girl in this swing under this tree and watch her grow into the tire swing when she’s old enough for that too.
” Scottie’s eyes are filled with tears, but I keep going.
“I want to marry you under this tree if you want that too, but all I care about is not wasting anymore time, baby. We found each other again on purpose, and our daughter is going to experience love and family better than you could ever imagine. That’s what I want for my life, for our life, Scottie.
So, I guess the question is, are you going to let me give it to you?
Are you going to trust me enough to fall?
Because I fell for you a long time ago and I don’t ever want to stop falling in love with you.
I want you in my life forever—as my wife. ”
“Oh my God.”
I drop to one knee and pull the ring from my pocket that I’ve had in there all day. “Scottie Daniels…” She laughs at my use of her maiden name. “Will you marry me?”
With a trembling lip, she nods before whispering, “Yes.”
That familiar intensity lifts from my chest as I slide the three-carat emerald cut solitaire diamond ring on her finger. Standing back up to my full height, I frame her face in my hands. “I love you.”
“I love you more,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. And there, under the tree, we seal our future with a kiss—a future we never imagined could be ours.
***
A Few Months Later
“All right. This is it. This is where we beat Dallas and bring the Carrington Cove Cup to Smells Like Sugar,” Penn says as we huddle around in preparation for the last game.
Scottie is a few days past her due date, but she insisted I still play in the games and take Penn up on his offer to play on his team to try to dethrone Dallas. And we are so fucking close. One more competition and it’s over.
Astrid jumps up and down. “Oh my God! I can’t believe we’re so close!” She looks past me and sticks her tongue out at Dallas and Willow, who are glaring in our direction.
“Isn’t Willow your best friend?” I ask her before taking a sip of my water.
“Not today, she’s not, Grady. Not today.”
Chuckling, I glance over at my fiancée, making sure she’s okay. Scottie is sitting in a chair under a big beach umbrella, trying to keep cool, even though it’s hotter than Satan’s asshole out here.
The past few months have been intense, and not just because of the heat wave rolling through the East Coast. As soon as Scottie hit her third trimester, she’s been miserable.
School is out for the summer, and she’s officially on maternity leave now, thank God.
But that means that she’s been more than eager to give me a mile-long to-do list of things that need to be done before our daughter arrives.
Having her move in with me has been incredible because I get to go to sleep and wake up next to her, but when people warned me about the hormones and mood swings that were waiting for me as my fiancée approached her due date, I had no idea just how powerful they could get.
“Scottie is okay, Grady,” Astrid says, catching me looking over at her for the hundredth time since the games started.
“I know, I’m just worried about her swelling. She’s been complaining about it all morning and she said that her back has been killing her.”
“All normal things at the end.” My sister puts her hand on my shoulder. “She’s in the shade, Chase is over there right now, and in a few minutes, we will be one step closer to winning this thing and then you can take her home, okay?”
I nod and glance down at my watch, noting that we have less than five minutes until they announce the next event. “You’re right.”
“Citizens of Carrington Cove!” Timothy shouts over the microphone as the crowd turns to face him and quiets down. “It is time for the final competition of the games!” Applause rings out among everyone.
“Grady!” Chase yells, racing over to us.
“The final competition will crown this year’s winner from our final two teams: Catch & Release and Smells Like Sugar!”
“Grady!” Chase shouts again as he stumbles to a stop in front of me.
“What’s up?”
“It’s Mom. I think…I think the baby is coming!”
“Our final game is an egg and spoon race,” Timothy continues, but my mind doesn’t even process what he’s saying anymore as Chase stands in front of me and his words sink in.
“Shit.” I spin to my sister. “Astrid, I have to go.”
“What? Now?” she whines. “But we only have one more game…”
“Scottie is in labor.”
Her eyes bug out. “Oh my God! I’m going to be an aunt!”
“Yeah.” I lean forward and kiss her on the cheek. “Good luck, sis! Beat Dallas’s ass and I’ll call you from the hospital!” I yell over my shoulder as I run after Chase, back over to my fiancée.
“Grady,” Scottie says as she winces, pushing herself up from her chair. “I think this is it. This pain in my back…it won’t let up.”
Grabbing her hand, I help her stand and then lead her out to the parking lot behind the boardwalk, hoping the traffic isn’t a nightmare to get through.
People come into town from all over to watch the games, and normally, I’m all for it.
But right now? I wish we lived somewhere else so I could get this woman to a hospital as quickly as possible.
“How far apart are the contractions?”
“A few minutes,” she says, groaning as we keep walking, Chase trailing behind us. “Ow, shit. It hurts!”
“Fuck. Chase, go start the truck and get the AC going.” I toss him my keys as he nods and races to my truck. “It’s okay, baby. We’re gonna get to the hospital as soon as we can.”
“I’m sorry you had to leave the games,” she cries as I hear my truck start in the distance.
“This is way more fucking important, baby. We’re about to meet our daughter.”
Scottie freezes in her steps. “Oh my God. Grady, I think she’s coming right now.”
“Fuck, really?”
“It hurts! Everything fucking burns down there.” She squeezes my hand so hard that I’m afraid she might break my fingers.
“Okay, hold on!” I bend down and pick Scottie up, walking as fast as I can to the truck. “Chase! Call 9-1-1! The baby is coming now!”
“Holy shit! Really?”
“Don’t cuss, Chase!” Scottie screams at her son as I open the back door to my truck and lay Scottie down on the back seat.
I have no towels, no gloves, nothing that would help with what’s about to happen. So, I strip my shirt from my body, ask Chase to do the same, and lie one under Scottie’s butt as I lift her dress and see blood already staining her underwear.
“Yes, we need an ambulance,” Chase says as he stands on the other side of the door, talking in the phone and giving the operator as much information as he can.
“God, Grady! She’s coming!”
I strip Scottie’s underwear from her body and toss them to the floorboard of the truck, peeking between her legs to see my daughter’s head beginning to crown. “Do you need to push, Scottie? I see her head.”
“Yes!”
“Okay, push baby. Do what feels right.”
Scottie screams as I watch her body do one of the most miraculous things I’ve ever witnessed.
I’ve pitched games in front of thousands of people, played a sport professionally for twelve years, and won a fucking World Series—but nothing will ever compare to the experience of watching my daughter come into the world.
With sirens wailing in the background, Scottie gives me one more push and I catch my daughter in my hands, bringing her up from the seat and right onto my chest as she cries and Scottie joins her.
“Oh my God,” Scottie breathes out before pushing up on her elbows to see her.
“She’s here, baby. She’s here.” I smooth my hand over our daughter’s back and then reach for Chase’s shirt to wrap around her as I hear the ambulance pull into the parking lot.
“You did so fucking good, Scottie. Holy shit, she’s perfect.
” Tears cloud my vision as I hold this little miracle in my arms.
“Let me hold her, Grady,” she says through her own tears as I press a kiss to the top of my daughter’s head and then hand her over to her.
Chase peeks his head around the corner, and when he sees the blood and details of childbirth, his face goes white. Luckily, I catch him before he faints and hits the ground. “Easy there, son.”
“Is he okay?” Scottie shouts before looking down at our daughter. “Hello, baby girl. My goodness, you were in a hurry to get here, weren’t you?”
“Excuse me, sir?” A paramedic gets my attention from behind me. “Is this where the mother is?”
“Yes! The baby is here. They are both doing good,” I say, trying to keep my emotions in check.
I just delivered my daughter in the back of my truck, in a parking lot, with no preparation whatsoever.
And suddenly, I’m sliding to the ground to sit next to Chase so neither one of us passes out or throws up, because that would just make Scottie so fucking happy and put the cherry on top of this perfect yet crazy day.