SEAL's Baby (Navy SEAL Secret Baby Romance) (37 page)

“Hi,” I smiled.

“Oh, Lizzie,” she sighed.
“You look perfect.”

“Thank you.”

“Where’s my grandson?”

“He’s sleeping,” I said
gesturing towards the little cot next to the bed. “Thank you for taking him
last night.”

“Of course,” Louisa
nodded. “You needed your beauty sleep.”

  
We both moved towards the crib at the same time. Daniel was
sleeping face up with his chubby, little hands in fists on either side of his
head. His hair was a deep brown like Dylan’s, but I knew that the blue of his
eyes were closer in color to mine.

“He’s a handsome fellow,
isn’t he?” Louisa said fondly.

“He is,” I nodded. “He
takes after his father in that way.”

  
“I would say he’s a pretty good mix of both his parents,” Louisa
said gently. She looked towards me and took my hand. “I’m so happy that you and
Dylan decided to have the wedding in Bastrop and to get married here, in our
home.”

“It was the only place either
one of us would even consider,” I said. “It’s our home.”

  
“I only wish that Derek had been alive to see this,” Louisa said
with a catch in her voice. “And to meet his grandson.”

  
“I wish that too,” I nodded squeezing her hand. “Dylan and I tell
Daniel stories about his grandfather all the time.”

Louisa smiled
affectionately. “I have a few stories I could share with Daniel too.”

  
Maddie interrupted us as she walked in. She was wearing a lilac,
wrap dress and she had white peonies in her hair. Daniel stirred in his sleep
and then his eyes blinked open irritably.

“Hey,” Maddie said when
she saw us. “It’s almost time.”

  
I nodded to her as Daniel let out a little cry. I reached for him
immediately. He clung to me, but a few short seconds later, he quietened down. He
looked at me intently as though he could barely recognize me.

  
“Hi, little man,” I said as I rocked him back and forth. “I know
mama looks a little different today; I look different to me too.”

  
Maddie came forward and ran her fingers through Daniel’s soft,
brown hair. “He is such a little cutie,” she sighed. “He’s enough to make a
girl start thinking things.”

  
I winked at Maddie as Louisa extended her arms to take Daniel.
“I’ll get him dressed and bring him down,” she said. “Why don’t you take a
moment before Maddie brings you down?”

I sat down on the bed and
Maddie came to sit beside me. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

I laughed. “Is it crazy
that I actually feel a little nervous?”

  
Maddie smiled. “A little … especially considering how perfect you
and Dylan are together. I mean seriously, that boy is amazing.”

  
“He really is isn’t he?” I nodded. “He’s made these last few
months so easy on me. He changes diapers, he gets up for the three a.m.
feedings, he sings to Daniel every night before bed, and he still manages to
make me feel like the most precious thing in the world.”

“That’s how you know
you’ve got a good one.”

“I didn’t really need the
proof though,” I said. “I knew that years ago.”

“Does that mean you’re
ready?” Maddie asked with raised eyebrows.

I smiled excitedly and
took a deep breath. “I am ready.”

  
We walked down the stairs where my parents were waiting to walk me
down the aisle. Maddie gave me a kiss on the cheek and then rushed off in the
direction of the lake. My parents kissed me on the forehead and then I heard
the music start up.

  
With another deep breath, I started walking with my father on one
arm and my mother on the other. There were no more than twenty people sitting
in front of the arch but I couldn’t focus on anyone or anything. All my nerves
melted away as my eyes fell on the man standing just underneath the arch.

  
Dylan looked so handsome that I forgot about everything else. His
black tuxedo made him look like he had stepped out of a James Bond film. He
came forward and extended his hand to me in a gesture that conveyed more than
it appeared. We stood opposite one another under the arch with our hands joined
and our eyes fixed firmly on one another.

  
I didn’t hear the priest’s words. All I was aware of was Dylan’s
blue eyes fixed firmly on mine. The only words that did register were the ones
I had been waiting for this whole time.

“I now pronounce you
husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

  
Dylan pulled me to him forcefully and kissed me so hard that I
felt that kiss all the way down to my toes. I heard the small gathering erupt
into laughter and applause but Dylan didn’t let go of me.

  
“We did it, Lizzie,” Dylan whispered to me. “We made it.”

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PHYSICAL

By
Erin Wes

This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are
products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not
to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual
events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Copyright
© 2016 Erin Wes

CHAPTER
ONE

KYLE

The headache was always the same. It would
just hit me out of nowhere. Today I was sitting at my desk trying to finish up
some paperwork before my sister showed up to take me to the doctor. She was
insisting on going with me like I’m twelve. I didn’t want to go and I didn’t
want her to go with me…until once again the crushing pain descended down on me.
It pulsed like a slow heartbeat and each time the veins dilated and the blood
rushed through, it brought with it a new wave of pain, each one worse than the
last. I couldn’t sit still… I had to get up and pace from one end of the room
to the other and back again. It was so intense that I honestly looked at the
big glass window behind me and for just a second, I thought about shoving my
head through it. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but nothing does when the
pain is this bad.

 
As
I paced up and down, my vision got blurry as my eyes began to burn and pour
water out of them. I was at least grateful that I was at work when it happened
and not out driving to a job. It hit me once on the I-635 on my way out to a
jobsite. There was nowhere to stop until I got off the freeway and the whole
time, I was clutching the wheel with one hand and wiping the water out of my
eyes with the other. It was one of those situations where you just know:
this is it, I’m fucking dying right here on
the 635
. I just knew that I was going to die. It had been just my luck that
my sister was joining me on the jobsite that day. I work for her husband,
Michael. He and I are both architects, and he owns his own business in Dallas.
Sarah is a stay-at-home mom most of the time, but when we’re short-handed and
one of us needs an assistant, she fills in. I was forty-five minutes late that
day and she called and texted me four times before I got there. The last time,
I finally answered, and when she asked me where I was…I literally had no clue.
I’d gotten off the freeway and pulled onto some side street in a residential
area and paced up and down the street. Luckily, no one called the cops. I told
Sarah about the headache while I was still recovering and in a vulnerable state
– that’s why I have the doctor’s appointment today.

When I’m smack dab in the middle of the
pain, going to the doctor sounds like a fine idea. But once it’s gone and my
thoughts clear, I change my mind. Sarah knows me too well. She grew up looking
after my stubborn Native American dad and me. She actually called the doctor
and handed me the phone. Then, she stood there and listened. When she heard
them try to give me an appointment for next week, she said, “He can’t wait that
long!” So rather than deal with my sister, who can be quite pushy, they got me
in this afternoon. Right now, this fucking pain is so bad that it can’t be soon
enough.

“Hey, Kyle!” The sound of my
brother-in-law Michael’s booming voice ripped through me like a knife to the
skull.

“Shh! Too loud,” I whispered, holding my
head in my hands.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You look
like hell. Are you crying?”

“My head!”

“Okay…”

“It hurts.”

“Damn, man! Sit down. You’re pale as a
ghost. You look like you’re gonna pass out.”

“Can’t…can’t sit still.”

“Fuck! I’m calling Sarah-”

“No!” I pushed it out through my gritted
teeth. “Don’t call her. I have a – an – I’m going to the circus…fuck, I mean
the doctor.”

“Yeah, you’re going to the circus alright
– in an ambulance.” He pulled out his phone and I stared at him. I wanted to
tell him no again, but I couldn’t remember about what.
What is his name? Fuck! Why can’t I think?

“Yes, my name is Michael Penner. I need an
ambulance sent to 546 Amon Carter Blvd. It’s the Penner/Styles building and
we’re on the third floor…I’m not sure. He said his head hurts, but he’s white
as a ghost and he’s saying crazy things…no, he’s not mentally ill. No! He
doesn’t have a weapon. He’s not threatening anyone. Shit! He’s sick, isn’t that
what ambulances are for? Okay…thank you.”

I could hear everything he was saying, but
the words were like bouncing around inside my skull. They wouldn’t settle down
long enough for me to grab hold and make sense of them. I kept moving though.
Somehow, that made me feel better. My sister’s husband is back on the phone.
Why the fuck can’t I remember his name? What
the hell is wrong with me?
“Sarah, something is really wrong with
Kyle….Yes, it’s a headache again, but this one is different…He’s pacing all
over the place…He won’t sit down…He’s not making sense, Sarah. I’m not putting
him on the phone. I called an ambulance.”

I felt myself falling, but I forgot that I
was supposed to put my hands out. The last thing I saw was the desk right
before my already aching head slammed into it.

*******

My eyes felt heavy, like they were taped
shut. I had this panicked feeling in my chest like I was going to be late for
something and I needed to wake up. I pulled at them and I tried to lift my arms
so I could rub the sleep out of them. My arms wouldn’t move, I felt like I was
tied down. The panic in my chest got worse and I suddenly felt like I couldn’t
breathe. An alarm was going off. I thought it was mine, until I heard Sarah’s
voice.

“Nurse! His oxygen sats are falling
again!”
She’s yelling…my fucking head
hurts. Why is she yelling? She’s calling for a nurse. Did I go to the doctor?
“Nurse!”

“Calm down, Sarah, she’s coming.”
My dad…Shit…if Dad’s here, it’s a lot worse
than a doctor’s appointment. Fuck!
Another sharp pain raced through my
skull.

“He could suffocate by the time they drag
their lazy asses in here!” That’s my sister – always looking out for me. I
waited for the pain to pass and tried my eyes again. The screeching alarm had
stopped, at least, and I felt like I got a good breath in. I felt the air hit
my left eye as the lid fluttered up slightly…and then the right one. Everything
was blurry, but they were open, kind of. I was looking out through watery slits.
It was like I was underwater and staring up at everything. There were machines
and tubes hanging up over my head. I tried to turn slightly, but that was a
mistake. That brought back the pain and that fucking loud alarm again – and
Sarah’s screeching.

“I’m right here, Mrs. Penner.” That one
was unfamiliar. It must be the nurse Sarah keeps yelling about. The alarm
stopped and the pain began to subside. I cracked my eyes open and to see the
watery outline of a middle-aged woman’s face looking down at me. “Well, look at
that, you’re awake. Can you hear me, Mr. Cloud?”

“Kyle!”
Oh Jesus, Sarah stop yelling!
I blinked my eyes, trying to clear
them, and I felt someone wipe the edges of them with a towel or something. I
was able to focus them slightly. Sarah’s face was there now on the other side.
She looked like she’s been crying.
There’s
Dad now leaning in over her. Maybe I’m on my deathbed.
“Kyle, can you hear
us?”

I’d
have to be deaf not to.
I tried to say it out loud, but for
some reason, the words came out all jumbled up. They were more like random
sounds. Sarah looked at the nurse, and I heard the older woman say, “Don’t
worry honey, he’s still medicated. This is normal after brain surgery.”

Brain
surgery? What the fuck? I’m dreaming. That’s what this is. It’s a weird, bad
dream.
Sometimes when I finally fall asleep after the
headaches, I have weird dreams. This has to be one of them. I tried to move my
head again. If this was a dream, I should be able to do that… My head didn’t
move, but a strange sound came out of my chest. “Kyle, honey are you in pain?”
Sarah again.
Yes…I’m in pain
. Once
again I tried to form the words, but even to my own ears, they sounded like
some weird foreign language.
What the
hell is wrong with me?

“I can give him another dose of morphine,
and then I’m going to let Dr. Grant know he’s waking up.”

Morphine?
I must definitely be on my deathbed. They’re giving me the good shit
.
“Kyle, can you blink if you can hear me?” Sarah again. She just can’t let
anything go. I closed my eyes. It felt so good that I almost went back to sleep
and left it at that…but Sarah was waiting. I opened them again. That time it
was a little easier. Sarah was still above me.
I think she’s crying. Dad, too. I wonder if I should pray or something.