Gray by Shaw Hart
Fourteen
Nora
Five Years Later…
“That’s it. One more push,”the doctor urges me and I glare at her.
She’s said just one more push at least ten times now and I’m about to lose it. Gray squeezes my hand, helping me breathe and I try to focus on finally getting this baby out of me.
“Never again,” I hiss at him and he nods solemnly. “I mean it. You’re never getting that dick anywhere close to me again.”
“Got it.”
I take a deep breath and focus on the increasing need to push, bearing down as another contraction hits me.
“Fuck!” I scream, gripping Gray’s hand so tight that I would be surprised if he doesn’t have a few broken bones.
He doesn’t complain though. He just keeps pushing my hair away from my face and telling me how incredible I am.
We’ve been married for four years now and are about to have our first child any minute now. I think both of us were a little apprehensive about becoming parents. We haven’t exactly had the best role models but we’ve watched Rooney, Harvey, and Ames all start their own families and decided that it was time.
We’ve built a surrogate family here at the shop and with our friends, and I know that we have a pretty great support system. If we ever need anything, I know that we’ll have people that we can call on.
Gray and Jasper have only grown closer over the years and I actually love hanging out with Evangeline on family trips too. They’ve been married for a few years now and are expecting their first child any day now too. I know that Gray is hoping that our baby and his cousin get along.
Jasper and Evangeline still live in Rosewood and while we’ve been back a few times over the years, we prefer to take trips with them to other places. The last time we were back in Rosewood, we ran into my dad and it was not a pleasant trip. Since then, we’ve had Christmas in Pittsburgh with everyone else. Evangeline and Jasper both get it and are happy to fly up here to see us or travel somewhere new with us each year.
“I can see the head. Just bear down and give me one big push, Nora!”
I snarl at the doctor, bending forward as I do what she says. I can feel a burning sensation and I swear it hurts like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Then the pressure is gone and I sag back against the hospital bed, breathing heavy.
Gray and I both hold our breath, our eyes locked on the doctor and the tiny bundle in her arms until a piercing wail breaks the tense silence and I let out a relieved breath.
“Congratulations! You have a very healthy baby boy.”
The doctor rests my baby on my chest and I can’t help the tears that escape, rolling down my cheeks.
“You did so good, Nora,” Gray whispers before he kisses my head. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
We take a moment to admire our newborn baby boy before I hear raised voices outside the door.
“Want me to keep them out?” Gray asks and I laugh.
“I’m not sure that you could.”
The door opens then and Rooney and Sayler come rushing in. Harvey, Coraline, Ames, Maxine, Cat, Ender, Banks, and Palmer all come filing in right after them and I smile. I’m not surprised when Mischa, Indie, Atlas, Darcy, Sam, Max, Zeke, Trixie, Nico, and Edie come in next, each carrying so many balloons and stuffed animals that I’d be surprised if the gift shop had any left.
“Have you called Jasper yet?” I ask Gray and he looks at me like I’m crazy.
“When would I have done that?” he asks with a laugh and I sigh.
“Hormones.”
“I know,” he says, kissing my cheek and then our baby’s head.
He takes a step back as Coraline and Sayler come over. I see Gray move over to the corner of the room and make a call, presumably to Jasper and Evangeline. Rooney and Harvey are both trying to calm their own kids and I laugh out loud at the chaos that seems to follow our family.
They’re loud and noisy, but I love them all and I know that they love us and would be there for us no matter what.
“So… what’s his name?” Sayler asks and I grin, looking over to Gray as he joins me at the side of the bed again.
“Sawyer. Sawyer Weston Mackelroy.”
The girls coo over him and I let them take a turn holding them. Gray must see me getting tired because he shoos everyone out after about an hour and places Sawyer back on my chest.
“You’re a rock star,” he says and I can hear the awe in his voice.
“Thanks. We should get you fed, huh boo?” I ask Sawyer and he buries his face against my breast.
As Gray helps me get settled with our baby, I smile. I don’t know why we were worried about being good parents. With a dad like Gray, our kid is going to be just fine.
I can’t wait until he’s older and asks us how we met. I’m going to tell him that we fell in love when we were kids and that there was only each other for us.
He’s going to know that his parents were meant to be.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
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Did you miss the original Eye Candy Ink series? You can read the boxset here.
Grab the next book in the series, Ender, here!
Are you curious about Gray’s brother, Jasper? Then check out his book, Always, here.
Are you curious about Nora’s brother, Niall and Everly? Then check out his book, Fighting Fire With Fire, here.
