Niki's Challenge (18 page)

“
Hey, Nita and Thomas.
Daddy’s here. I missed you so much. Can’t wait to see you.” He felt
a few more kicks before they settled down. Standing, he gazed at
her. Putting his hand around her back, pulling her close, he kissed
her forehead and rubbed his chin on the top of her head.

“
A little over two weeks to
go.” He rubbed her stomach. “Thanks for waiting for me.” Most of
his things had been shipped and were stored in one of the spare
bedrooms. He wanted his car and drove up with the last of his
things.

“
I needed my coach.” She
pulled him inside, smiling.

“
I needed my woman.” He
took her hand and noticed the cell phone. “You talking to
somebody?”

“
Oh, I was talking to
Rissa.” She placed the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“
You two are so cute,”
Rissa said.

“
You should’ve hung up and
not listened.”

“
Maybe, but that wouldn’t
have been any fun. Bye.” She disconnected. Tony laughed as Niki
frowned at the phone.

“
She gets me all the time.”
He wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. They walked toward the
family room. She limped a little from sitting in one place for so
long.

“
Sit down so I can massage
your feet and legs.”

Niki smiled in delight. Tony’s
massages were one of her favorite treats from him.

“
Thanks.” She took his hand
and sat carefully on the sofa. “I was on the phone for a little
while and my legs hurt.” She sat on the chair and lifted her leg to
the stool while he went into the half bath to wash his hands. Her
stomach tightened for a few seconds and then stopped. It’d been
happening all day, but it was bearable, so she ignored
it.

“
Ready?” He threw the paper
towel in the trash and took the warming oil she preferred in his
hand.

“
Yeah.” She maneuvered in
the chair to get comfortable. He poured the oil in his hand and
rubbed it on her calf. Niki moaned through another round of stomach
tightening, focusing on his hands instead. Tony placed a kiss on
her calf and took the other leg. By now, her stomach cramps were
harder, more noticeable.

“
Tony?”

“
Hmmm?” He focused on her
leg and missed the grimace that crossed her face.

“
I’m having
cramps.”

He frowned. “Cramps? Like, having the
baby cramps?” His eyes widened as he stood. “It’s too
soon.”

“
Don’t tell me, tell them.
I think they waited for you,” Niki argued. “I’m ready to drop this
load, if they’re ready to come. Let’s go.” She wanted to see and
hold her babies. From all the stories she’d heard, she had a smooth
pregnancy, and being a little early was common with
twins.

A new pain ripped through her. Her
face crumpled. Grabbing his phone, Tony punched the speed dial
number for the doctor. After telling his office what Niki was
experiencing, he headed to the bedroom and grabbed her packed
bag.

“
Breathe, Niki.
Breathe.”

“
I am breathing,” she
snapped, as she stood slowly. Liquid ran down her leg. They both
stood still and watched the puddle form on the hardwood
floor.

“
Arrrghhh!”

Her scream of pain broke the paralysis
and he flew into action. His car was still in the driveway. He sat
her inside and took off. On the way, he called her Nana and his
parents. He asked them to get the word to everyone else.

“
Breathe, Niki...remember
the exercises?”

“
Tony...shut up, okay.” She
panted and grimaced through another contraction. “I wasn’t joking
earlier; these babies must’ve been waiting for you. All of a
sudden, everything hurts and is happening so fast. That hadn’t been
the case ‘til you showed up.”

Not having a comeback, he silently
held her hand. He wished them to the hospital faster than they were
moving. Relief swamped him when he saw the brightly lit building
ahead. Taking a deep breath, he watched her breathe through the
pain. Parking haphazardly, he assisted her from the car, grabbed
the bag and walked behind her into the emergency room. After one
look at his panicked face and Niki’s grimace, the admitting nurse
yelled for assistance and within minutes, they were in a birthing
room.

“
Niki, are you sure you
want an epidural?” her doctor asked. Both the doctor and Tony
backed up at the look of venom on her face.

“
Give me the fucking
epidural now,” she screamed as another contraction gripped
her.

Tony walked towards the bed, but
stopped when she pinned him with a look so feral; he decided to
stay where he was until she calmed down. They asked him to leave
the room as they prepped her for the shot. It was embarrassing how
quickly he moved out the room into the waiting area with Nana Bea,
Nana Rita, Jack and Gene, Rita’s friend.

“
How’s she doing?” Rita
asked, noticing his heated face and off color.

“
They’re giving her an
epidural now.” He wiped his brow and collapsed into a
chair.

“
An epidural...she said she
didn’t want one,” Bea said. “They slow down the delivery. She
wanted it over fast.”

Looking at Tony, they waited for his
explanation. He shrugged, not wanting to get into Niki’s savage
transformation. “She changed her mind.”

Rita laughed. “Those contractions were
kicking her ass, huh?”

“
Pretty much.” Tony smiled
tightly, still uncomfortable around these women.

“
I bet she wasn’t too nice
to you either.” Rita sat near him.

“
Nope. She’s definitely not
feeling any love right now. But that’s to be expected. The babies
are pretty big,” he offered as an excuse.

Reaching over, Rita patted his hand.
He looked at her in surprise. She smiled. Theirs had been a rocky
relationship the past few months. She’d barely tolerated him. As
long as he spent time with his woman, he didn’t care. It did bother
Niki. She loved both her grandparents. Short of disappearing, there
wasn’t much he could do.

“
It’s past time for us to
bury the hatchet,” she told him. “You make my granddaughter happy
and that’s all that matters. Besides she has a lot of me in her and
that’s payback enough.” She laughed and slapped his leg.

“
Thanks. It’s been hard on
her. She loves you.” He included them all in his glance, before
looking toward the birthing room.

“
Relax, they’ll come get
you.” Rita smiled at Gene, who’d moved to sit near her, and then
back at Tony, who still looked down the hall. Just then, a nurse
walked out and called his name. His grin stretched across his face.
He ignored the mocking jabs from Nicole’s relatives. He was about
to have his babies. As he reached the door, he turned and glanced
at the women who’d help shape Niki into the strong woman she’d
become. Moving quickly, he reached them.

“
Why don’t you come with
me, watch the miracle.”

Nana Bea leaned close to Jack, her
mouth in a tight line. “No thanks. You did it, so deal with this on
your own. I know how that child gets with pain.” Tony nodded in
acceptance, a smile lingering on his lips. He looked over at Nana
Rita, thinking the tough old bird would have on her gown by
now.

“
That’s sweet of you. But
you and I just reconciled and if you insist I head into that room
with a woman out of her mind, all bets are off.” She recoiled and
shook herself. “We’ll see her after.”

“
After the babies are
here,” Nana Bea agreed, sitting upright with a smile. He shook his
head and walked into the birthing room, alone.

****

Tony opened his eyes and the glare
from the overhead light had him blinking fast. “What?” His head
hurt, his vision blurred as he stood and looked around. Niki was on
the table. Wobbly, he took a step and almost ran into a
nurse.

“
You passed out.” A nurse
said as she walked across the room holding one of his
babies.

“
I did what?” His heart
pounded as he stood and moved slowly to Niki’s side. Sweat covered
her brow. She looked tired but happy.

“
I’m sorry. I missed it.”
He rubbed her arm as his eyes filled. He’d driven across country
for the big event and passed out. His stomach dropped as his
failure to be here for her and his children registered. How could
he have missed the birth of his children? What happened?

“
It’s okay. You’ve been
overextending yourself and it caught up with you.” She rubbed his
hand. “The first one was a girl; the second one’s coming in a few.”
He perked up knowing he hadn’t missed it all.

“
You have a son, Niki and
Tony,” the doctor said passing the baby to the nurse. “He’s fine
and looks good. As soon as we clean them up, we’ll bring them
over.” The doctor went back to working on Niki. She exhaled and
looked at Tony.

“
Finally, It’s done.” Niki
smiled at the babies the nurse handed them. Anthony Thomas Brunson
and Larissa Juanita Brunson had arrived safely into the world. Niki
and Tony were exhausted but ecstatic as they shared their joy with
their family.

“
Not everything,” Tony
said. Leaning down, he gave her a kiss, absolving her from all the
cussing during labor. She pulled his head close and thanked him for
his patience.

“
How would you like to have
the same last name as all the rest of us?” She looked up at him
holding his daughter.

She laughed. “As far as proposals go,
that one sucked.” He winked and kissed his daughter’s cheek. “But,
I guess I might as well.”

“
As far as accepting
proposals go, that was great.”

She smiled.

“
Thank you,” he whispered
as tears filled his eyes. “I love you.” His eyes held a promise for
their future.

“
I know, baby. I know,”
Niki whispered.

Erosa Knowles has a love for the
written word. She lives in the Southwest with her husband and son.
Her favorite pastimes are reading and people watching. Coming from
a large family, most of her stories incorporate extended families,
realizing it takes a village to raise a child.

Please visit her website:
www.erosaknowles.com for other books. The following excerpt is from
Have I Told You Lately? Book one of the Men of 3X CONStruction
series. www.menof3xconstruction.com.

Have I Told You Lately by Erosa
Knowles

Book one of the Men of 3X
CONStruction series
.

Chapter 1

The loud crunching noise and
subsequent spin happened so fast, Cherise’s heart missed a couple
of beats. Now that her car stopped, the organ banged double time
against her ribcage. She placed her palm against her chest to keep
it from breaking free.

The 2008 blue Accord spun in the
middle of Fifteen Mile Road just past Big Rapids Senior High.
Fortunately, it was the middle of the day and school hadn’t let out
yet. The weather was unseasonably warm, not bad for a Fall day in
Michigan. Ferris State, her destination, was a few miles down the
road. Close, but not close enough.

Cherise covered her face to keep from
breathing the dust from the deployed side air bag and pushed open
her car door. The highway shoulder lay a couple of footsteps away.
She shivered in the breeze of a speeding car. There was little
shade; perspiration ran down her face and chest, irritating her
eyes further. On wobbly legs, she moved to the side of her car and
pitched forward. She flinched as a calloused hand took hold of her
left arm.

“
Don’t touch me.” The
hoarseness of her vocal cords surprised her

A short, balding, older white male
stood near her. Nausea and pain competed for her attention as she
inhaled. Her heart dropped as she glanced at her mangled car and
stood on the precipice of a major anxiety attack. After a year in
therapy, she’d returned to finish her degree, confident in her
ability to use the tools she’d learned to live as normal a life as
possible.

Grappling her reserves, she pushed
down the overwhelming fear threatening to choke her. There’d be no
relapsing today or any day. Like a skilled surgeon, systematically
she went through her cognitive restructuring drills. Her fingertips
tapped the side of her car in concert with her pounding heart.
Swallowing past the dust in her throat, she glanced up.

“
Sorry, didn’t mean to
frighten you.” He paused. “I’m Blake, by the way. Are you okay? Do
I need to call an ambulance?” He squinted from the sun and
waited.

She labored to breathe. If she didn’t
focus on her drills, she’d have a full-blown attack. And that
wouldn’t make anyone’s day. Ignoring him, she got busy with her
exercise. “A car accident is a normal occurrence,” she murmured.
“People survive them every day, I will survive—“

A callused hand shook her shoulder.
“Miss, I asked if you were okay.”

“
Do-not-touch-me.” She
spaced each word evenly as she bared her teeth and glared at the
older man who entered her private space.

He dropped his hand as if she had two
heads and was on fire. Both hands lifted, palms forward he
backpedaled and then turned toward the F250 truck that had
sideswiped her.