Page 43 of Sudden Summer

“You’re doing it, sweetheart. God, you’re doing it, Michaela. She’s almost here. Just breathe. You’re doing amazing,” Stone encouraged her, and I knew everyone in the room could hear the tears in his voice just as clearly as I could.

This was the part where I had to try not to cry. Because no matter how many times I witnessed this process, holding a brand new life in my hands still felt sacred.

The baby turned, and I gave Mae the cue to push one last time. A shoulder popped free, and I was holding their baby girl in my hands in the next heartbeat. I cleared the fluid from her mouth and nose, noting how pink she was right from the get go. Standing, I placed the baby up on Mae’s chest, where she let out the most adorable, strong cry.

“You did it. She’s here. Our baby is here.” Stone placed his hand over Mae’s, who was already snuggling the baby tight to her.

“I can’t believe it! God. She’s perfect, Stone. She’s really here…and she’s so beautiful.”

I sat back down on the stool, my focus shifting from my friends to the last bit of the birth we had to attend to. I watched as the baby’s cord stopped pulsating, turning an opaque white before I applied the clamps. A nurse directed Stone on where to cut while Mae delivered the placenta. If she noticed it was going on, she didn’t say a word. But I had a feeling my sweet friend was soaking in every minute with her baby.

After a few more minutes, the nurses and I had everything squared away in the room. The baby started nursing, and I stayed to make sure we got her official stats taken care of once she was done. A very sweet peanut, at seven pounds even and nineteen inches long. I repeated them in my mind over and over as I walked around the room, because I’d need them to make a newborn teddy bear for Mae and Stone.

The tradition began a few years ago with Jessie when she had Beckett. Now, each friend who had a baby would also get a newborn bear that weighed the same as their baby when they were born. It was a small gift, but I knew babies grew so quickly and sometimes moms just want to feel their littleness again.

“Alright, you three.” I squeezed Mae’s ankle and smiled. “My shift ended an hour ago, so I’m out of here. But Dr. Witten will be by in a little bit to check on you, and I’ll be back in tonight.”

“Thank you for staying,” Mae said, her eyelids drooping as she rested her head against the pillow.

“Of course! I wasn’t going to miss this little lady’s birthday celebrations. Congrats, Mom and Dad. Stone, you make sure she gets lots of rest today, okay?”

Stone bent forward and scooped the baby from Mae’s arms. “Already on it.”

I waved over my shoulder as I left the room. Forty-five minutes later, I finally had everything squared away and walked out of the hospital to my car. The familiar sting of tears pressed on the back of my eyes.

No. I wouldn’t fall apart before I got in my car. That was unprofessional and unfair to the beautiful thing I just was a part of. My own sadness, my own unrealized dreams, would not cloud my joy for my friends.

My keys trembled in my hands. Stop it, Birdie. This is ridiculous.

I pressed the button to unlock my doors, hurrying to sit down and close myself off from the world. It wasn’t getting any easier, as the years passed. I’d focused so much on my sister, so much on my career, that a chance at carrying a life through pregnancy and giving birth felt like it was slipping through my fingers.

I backed out of the parking spot, turning onto the road that would lead me back to Silver Springs. Because as tired as I was, I still needed to stop at my house. Not only to grab some more clothes—I was rapidly running out of my own at the ranch, and didn’t want to have to keep taking things from Beau’s closet—but for that special little promise I made to him. Although, I wasn’t feeling like having sexy time right now. Maybe I should just head back to the ranch.

No, I couldn’t. I wanted to get the material for Stone and Mae’s bear out of my closet. My chest felt tight as I looked down at my flat stomach. Would there ever be a day I made a bear for my own child?

Juniper. I needed to make one for her! Maybe I could use some of the fabric from the outfit she was wearing the night we met her. She was growing like a weed, and wouldn’t be able to fit in it much longer, anyway.

The stoplight in town caught me off guard. Although it was late for me to be getting off shift, it was still pretty early in the morning, and the light at this corner usually stayed green for a longer amount of time. Shoot. I flipped on my blinker, signaling a left turn.

The schedule was grueling, but I’d promised Beau I’d be ready to watch Juniper after a few hours of sleep. God, I’d fallen in love with that little girl so fast.

I needed to check my period tracker. These hormonal swings were killing me. A truck pulled up behind me, their lights blinding me through the rear view mirror. Thankfully, the light turned green, and I pulled into the intersection, turning down the road that would bring me home.

The truck followed. I thought about pulling over to let them by, the light still flooding my tiny car and making it almost impossible to see out through my windshield. Did they have their brights on? Asshole. At least I wasn’t feeling tired anymore. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

Two streets from my house, they turned down a different road, and my body finally relaxed. My street was quiet, and I felt boneless as I walked up the sidewalk, jingling my keys in my hand until I got to my door.

Twenty minutes. That’s all it would take. Just grabbing what I needed—oh! And the picnic blanket I’d shoved…in the garage? It would be better to have the waterproofing than to keep using the quilt we borrowed from Dolly on the grass in the morning. Both Juniper and I ended up cranky from the dew seeping through.

I turned to close the door—mentally adding that blanket to my list—when a shadow appeared on the other side. Before I could blink, the door was exploding back at me, and a large figure wrapped their hand around my neck and slammed me backwards into the wall. I felt the drywall crack as my head bashed against it, my vision blurring.

I needed to scream. I tried to scream, but another hand pressed over my mouth and pulled me off the wall, throwing me to the ground.

Pain burst through my right wrist, searing up into my shoulder. God…was it broken? The force of the assault dazed me. I opened my eyes, my vision blurring once more as the door ricocheted off its frame with a loud crack. Someone was in my house with me. A man. A very large man, with a mask obscuring his face…

I tried to think of something, anything, to get him the hell out of my space. My fingers could barely reach the strap on my backpack, but I moved my body just an inch and felt the fabric loop around my hand.

“H-here. Take it.”