| Excerpt:
Nine months later.
“One more time, Bree, you can do
this!”
Brianna looked down between her legs at
the doctor, who was encouraging her to push a living human being out of
her body. She huffed and pushed, feeling like her insides would soon
fall out. The pressure never ceased.
“Agh!” Breathing hard, she stopped. Her
back, among other things, was killing her. The baby was breech, and for
that very fact, she had to work twice as hard delivering it. Thank God
her doctor was a saint.
Her mother was in the room with her,
wetting a washcloth and wiping the perspiration from her forehead. Never
in a million years could she picture ever wanting to do this. How
women now days popped babies out like nothing was beyond her. If she had
to abstain from sex for the rest of her life to avoid this, she would
consider the trade.
“Brianna, look at me. You need to push
hard on the next contraction.” Dr. Leslie Stewart patted her on her
thigh, trying to get her mind to focus on the task at hand. “You do not
want me to interfere.”
Brianna took a deep breath and pushed
when the doctor said, and finally the pressure subsided. The living,
breathing creature was out of her body and started crying with a little
help from the doctor. Brianna knew from the first time Dr. Stewart told
her she was pregnant, that the little baby girl would be the most
precious thing she ever had a hand in, and seeing the nurse wrap her
tight in a pink blanket only confirmed it. Of all the mistakes in her
life, that drunken night with Kaden was the only one that turned out to
be a blessing.
“Here’s your baby girl.” The doctor
handed her the baby, and Brianna couldn’t see through her tears.
Her mother kissed her head and smiled
down on her granddaughter as if she too thought her to be the most
precious thing. Shiloh would be her name. His gift. Kaden’s gift
to her after he walked out on her and the baby.
She couldn’t bear to think about him
now, though. She wiped the tears from her eyes, pressing her lips
against her daughter’s forehead. Now she understood why women had
several kids. Through all the pain, the sweet child you hold in your
arms was totally worth it.
They took Shiloh to the nursery and
left Brianna to rest in her room. Although her stomach still looked like
a beach ball hidden beneath the sheets, she felt a million times better.
Just thinking about her daughter made her smile, and the sweet innocent
look on her angelic face . . . Tears formed in Brianna’s eyes. There was
no denying it. Her daughter looked like Kaden.
“Honey, why don’t you get some rest?”
Regina patted her daughter’s hand, moved about the room, before she
settled into the unfamiliar space.
“Mom, will you make sure Shiloh is
okay? I just don’t want her to be alone.”
Regina smiled at her daughter,
understanding her concern. “Sweetheart, they take really good care of
babies here. She’ll be fine.”
“Mom, please.” With Brianna’s plea,
Regina nodded and stepped out into the hallway, leaving her daughter
alone.
Alone is what she needed, Brianna
decided. She spent nine months trying to get over Kaden and the way he
made her feel, while being angry with him all the same. She told him she
was pregnant the very day she found out, and he didn’t believe her.
Now she had a healthy six-pound baby
lying in the nursery as proof and her body to attest as well. He accused
her of trying to trap him, as if she planned this all by herself. She’d
only been a mere virgin when they got drunk and had sex on her kitchen
floor. She hadn’t thought about birth control, or until later, of STDs.
She had had a hedonistic logic going through her mind, and it didn’t
stop until she came, over and over with Kaden over her, deep inside
her.
She’d been stupid, but she’d never say
it was a mistake. Shiloh made her grow up, and she’d do just fine on her
own. She didn’t need Kaden in any way, shape or form. She could handle
it on her own.
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