Butterflies in Honey (Growing Pains #3) (51 page)

Or the strange thoughts bordering on
hallucinations…

“Who would you like to witness the birth?”
The nurse asked in a no-nonsense voice. She was ready to kick some
people out.

“Ben’s freaking out—not him,” Krista said
weakly with closed eyes.

When Krista opened her eyes Ben was still
staring at her in horror. Marcus was trying to drag him out of the
room.

“Is she okay?” Ben asked in a small voice.
“Is something going wrong?”

“No, dear.” The nurse started to help Marcus
usher him out. “She’s about to have a baby. Everything is looking
good.”

Ben was shaking his head as he was moved
backward. “Check her again. Something is wrong. That
can’t
be normal.”

“Man, I’m glad I got the gay card. No kids
for me unless they are born in a test tube!” Marcus said as the
door was closed.

The next three hours saw Krista with one leg
on Sean, one on Kate, the nurse giving pushing instructions, and
Jasmine and Cassie either holding her head or standing by. Another
nurse came and went to help or give a pep talk on how well she was
doing. Pushing made the pain less, so she did so with all her
might. Everything she had went into it.

Three grisly hours later, and it was nearing
the end.

“Annnnnndddd here’s the head!” the nurse said
after one of the many strong pushes. Krista was so tired, she could
barely keep her eyes open between each contraction.

“Almost there, baby. I am so proud of you!”
Sean said softly, his eyes dripping with love.

“Bet you’re glad for this to be over,” Kate
said, looking at Krista’s crotch.

“Bet you’ll never forget you spent three
hours staring at your friend’s woo-haw,” Krista laughed
tiredly.

“Doesn’t count,” Kate said as she waved a
hand dismissively. “This shit is too extreme. Although, I can’t
imagine Sean is all that excited watching the ruin of your fun
factory.”

Sean said, “She is giving life. She created
and is now delivering part of me. How could I not view this as the
most holy of moments?”

All the women fell silent at his words. The
nurse looked up at him with glistening eyes. “That is the most
beautiful thing I have ever heard a father say.” She looked at him
with adoration.

The moment was interrupted by the return of
searing pain.

“Okay, now…
push
!”

Krista did. She pushed. She pushed and
pushed. She strained with it. She shook her head to stay awake
between times, and then pushed again.

Finally, after years and years, the nurse and
her helper got exceedingly energized. “Okay, here we
go
!!”

A large object squeezed out of Krista’s body
with a hot, stinging sensation. Suddenly, she was emptied. “
It’s
a girl
!”

Krista had a second of gratitude before she
heard the most angelic sound in her life. Her new baby girl cried
for the first time. Tears came to her eyes and she looked up at
Sean. He was looking down at her. For the first time in memory, he
was freely crying. Unabashed tears dripped from his eyes. He
smiled, looking more handsome than Krista had ever seen him.

In fact, a quick look told her everyone was
crying. Even Kate, the hard ass, had tears in her eyes. It was
crazy to think that a being came out of her. It was
extraordinary.

The screaming baby was taken to the corner of
the room to be weighed, measured, washed, etc. Sean stood halfway
between his two girls, unsure which way to go. He looked at Krista
like a puppy who was asking permission to go outside.

“Make sure she’s alright.”

He nodded, a huge smile crossing his face.
The nurse was explaining something about tears and stitches and
afterbirth. Krista didn’t care. Recovery she could handle. She was
glad everything worked out successfully.

Epilogue

Sean took to parenting much better then
Krista. They were in the hospital for two glorious days. Nurses
helped them at every turn, including how to handle a crying baby
and how to breastfeed. It was totally awkward having Sean sit in
for the breastfeeding mini-lessons, but he was eager to be in every
part of his daughter’s new life. He wanted to be the parent he
never had.

Speaking of his parents, they didn’t give a
crap about his marriage. They didn’t care about his upbringing.
They didn’t care about being parents themselves. But they were all
over their grandchild.

His mother and father sat in Krista and
Sean’s living room, civilly waiting patiently for the other to be
done holding and playing with their new granddaughter. It was
apparently the first time they were in the same room without
fighting in over two decades. Each had brought a mountain of gifts.
His father already paid her way through college via a newly opened
bank account in her name.

Krista had no idea they had that kind of
money. No idea.

Then there was Krista’s mom and dad.
Over
the moon.
Absolutely beside themselves with glee. They were
currently in talks of moving to L.A. to be closer to Krista and
Sean. To their family.

Samantha was furious.

Sean was ecstatic.

Krista took to parenting like a fat kid takes
to vegetables. She hated being cooped up inside. She hated losing
her independence. Her hormones raged—one minute being overly
depressed, and the next, high on life. She didn’t know how to quiet
the baby—named Sophie— and she didn’t know how to hold her.
Basically, she didn’t know what the hell she was doing. Despite the
clichés she had heard, mostly from men when she thought back on it,
mothering wasn’t something that came naturally. You had to learn
it. Some women did have a maternal instinct, sure, but just as many
didn’t. Krista was one of the latter.

She asked and received advice from any mother
she could. She talked to strangers on the street. She formed a bond
with the most unlikely of people. She was now a part of a worldwide
organization larger and more comforting than any other—the mothers’
circle. Having a baby granted her admittance to this social club
she didn’t even know existed. They formed a pact together that was
more solid than any sports team she had ever played on. You
wouldn’t fall far without someone trying to catch you. When that
wasn’t Sean, it was surely another mother, regardless of how well
Krista knew her.

While Krista struggled with parenting, Sean
slid into it gracefully. If anyone had that maternal instinct, it
was him. He took two weeks off from work to be home with her and
the baby. He did the hours she did. They were both exhausted, but
Sean held them together. He cooked while Krista fed her. He cleaned
while Krista fed her. He calmed Krista down when she cried about
being a slave to feeding her—Sophie having commandeered Krista’s
boobs. He held the baby when she was fussy, or when Mommy was fussy
and hormone riddled, and gave Krista time off when she needed to
nap. He was a godsend.

Krista cried when he had to go back to work.
But she got the hang of it. She wouldn’t lie and say she ever
became a better parent then he. She never did. But they had always
made a solid team, and parenting was no different. Their
relationship flexed and changed. Krista still loved Sean like
crazy, but it paled in comparison to how much she loved her little
girl. They had to struggle to keep their relationship whole and
sound in the shadow of the devotion to their new baby.

But they did it. Neither of them would ever
say die. They would never give in to failure. They had some tough
times. Times when Krista didn’t want to see his face. Times when
Sean thought Krista wasn’t trying as hard as she should. But they
talked it out. Or hugged it out. They worked through it. Their love
for each other came back in full force and grew to exponentially to
include their love for their daughter, their family, and their
friends. And, together, they thrived.

The End

***

More by K.F. Breene:

Into
the Darkness (Darkness Series)

Sasha has grown up with
one surety: She’s not normal.

She sees things in the
darkness that no one else can see. Mysterious men cloaked in
shadow, moving through the night. The problem is, pointing out
invisible people is a fast track to a padded cell. Orphaned at age
five, Sasha quickly learns an important survival tip: keep her
mouth shut and stay out of the spotlight.

Until one night,
everything changes. She and her boyfriend, Jared, find themselves
stranded on the wrong side of town. Suddenly, the men she was
convinced were hallucinations, are very real. And very
dangerous.

As a new world opens up
around her, she meets him. The Boss. An alpha leader who entrances
her mind and tugs on her body. Primal and sexual, his people have a
different set of rules. And they don’t always play nice.

As danger rises up around
her, her differences may be the only thing that saves her life. She
must embrace what she’s tried so hard to hide, while resisting the
person her body craves most. Sasha has finally found her shadow
men, and they will change her life forever.

***

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