Bittersweet Catastrophe (Second Chances #2.5) (19 page)

That’s when it hit me. That was Liberty’s ringtone.

I gripped the counter, a sense of dread creeping through my veins, and when I lifted my head and gazed out the window, that’s when I found her. She was lying in the sand in an unnatural position, her hair blown across her face and a hand covering her stomach.

My heart plummeted.

No.

God, please no. Don’t let her be gone. Not yet.

I slid the back door open so hard that glass shattered everywhere, then ran as fast as my feet would carry me. Falling to my knees in the sand beside her, I didn’t know what to do. I swept her hair out of her face and crushed my mouth against hers, praying that she was still here with me. I felt faint breath slip past her lips, but it was shallow and labored.
Thank God, she isn’t gone yet.
I grabbed the phone laying next to her, still playing the same damn song, and saw that it was Maddie trying to call her. Pressing ignore, I quickly dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“My…my wife is pregnant, and I just found her unconscious on the beach,” I choked out, my fingers shaking uncontrollably as I tried to hold the phone to my ear.

“Sir, can you please tell me if she’s breathing?”

“Yes, she’s fucking breathing! Just send an ambulance and tell them to get their asses over here!” I dropped the phone in the sand as the woman on the other end of the line continued to call out to me.

“Baby, I’m here. I’m right here. Open your eyes for me.” I held her in my lap and, with trembling lips, crushed my mouth to hers again. “Please, baby, I need to see them. Let me see those beautiful eyes.”

Minutes later, I heard the ambulance pull up, and medics flew to her side.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to step aside so we can assist your wife.” They carefully took her from my arms and lay her across the gurney. “Do you know how long she’s been unconscious?”

I shook my head, keeping my eyes locked on Liberty, but unable to produce any words.

“How far along is she?”

“Seven…seven months,” I choked out.

“And does she have any other previous conditions?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, fists balled up at my sides.
She shouldn’t have waited.
Goddammit, she shouldn’t have waited!
“She has breast cancer,” I said, and when I opened my eyes, I found both medics staring back at me with grave expressions on their faces.

They loaded her into the back of the ambulance, and I climbed in next to her, holding her hand the entire way there. Minutes felt like hours as we made our way to the hospital, and when we finally pulled up to the emergency room, they quickly wheeled her off down the hall, breaking my hold on her. As I stood there, feeling the distance steadily grow between us, I couldn’t shake this feeling that I needed to prepare myself to say goodbye. But how do you say goodbye to the one person who defined the greatest part of you? I wasn’t ready for that…I’d never be fucking ready for that.

I sent Maddie a text to let her know where we were and asked her to let Liberty’s parents know as well. I couldn’t bring myself to call them. I was already on the verge of falling apart and knew the second I heard her mother’s voice on the other end of the line, I’d fucking
lose it. 

Sinking down into the nearest chair, I hunched forward with my elbows on my knees and dropped my face in my hands. A few minutes passed by before I felt a small hand on my shoulder and soft voice utter, “Shayne.”

I looked up, and Maddie was standing there with tears brimming her eyes, and I found myself gravitating toward her open arms. A violent sob tore through my chest, causing my knees to buckle unsteadily, but somehow, this tiny woman managed to keep me from falling. I was thankful she’d shown up when she did, and she held me tighter, allowing me to release all of the pent up emotions that threatened to split me clean open. I didn’t give two shits if it made me look like any less of a man with the way I was carrying on. That was my fucking wife in there, fighting for her life!

“Oh, Shayne, I’m so s-sorry.” She rubbed soothing circles across my back and held me there until I was ready to let go.

“Have you heard anything from doctors yet?” Hunter came up beside her, and she leaned into his side.

I ran my hands down my face, attempting to rein in my emotions. “No, I haven’t heard anything. They took her back as soon as we got here, and for all I know…” My fist flew up to my mouth, trying to keep it together.
For all I knew, she was gone.

“Mr. Thompson?” A doctor dressed in blue scrubs approached us, and I felt my heart sink with every painstaking step he took.

“Is she okay?”

“Your wife’s stable right now, but I’m going to need you to come back with me. The rest of you will have to wait here.”

I nodded, following him through the corridor, where two nurses were waiting for me with scrubs and a surgical mask. “What are these for?”

“I have good news and bad news.” I quickly slipped the scrubs on, and he led me over to a sink to wash my hands as he carried on. “Your wife’s blood pressure is very high and putting the babies at risk. It looks like we’re going to have to bump up her C-section a few weeks earlier than planned.” The corners of his mouth slowly curled up, and I wondered what he possibly had to be happy about. “The good news is that your wife is awake, and it looks like somebody’s going to become a father today.”

My heart stopped momentarily, and the room started to spin around me. I had to grip the edge of the sink to keep from falling flat on my ass.
Did he just say what I thought he said?
“I…uh…come again?”

The doctor chuckled under his breath and led me back to the operating room where Liberty was. She turned her head to the side, and my beautiful girl smiled so wide, it brought a whole new wave of tears to my eyes.

She was okay. Everything was going to be okay.

“Shayne,” she spoke softly.

“Hey, sweetheart.” I brought her hand up to my lips, refusing to ever let her go. “You gave me quite a scare back there.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I bent down and kissed her sweet lips. “Today you’re giving me the greatest gift I could ever ask for.”

The doctor got situated at the end of the operating table and wiped down her belly, while a nurse came over with a tray full of metal instruments. “All right, Daddy, I’m going to have you stay up there by Mommy’s head until it’s time to cut the umbilical cords.”

I gazed down at Liberty, tears trickling down her cheeks, but her smile never faltered. I continued to kiss every inch of her beautiful face, until the doctor finally announced, “It’s a girl!” My eyes shot up when I heard the sweetest sound to ever hit my ears…and boy was she a screamer! For the second time in my life, I wondered how it was possible to love someone so much, but here I had living proof. This precious little angel instantly stole a piece of my heart, and I never wanted it back.

The nurse brought me over to cut the umbilical cord, and while they cleaned Lillian up, I waited patiently for my little boy to come into the world. Liam was bigger than his sister by a good six ounces, but still so small in comparison to the babies I was used to seeing. Once I separated him from Liberty, the doctor finished sewing her up, and I was back at her side, kissing away her tears of joy. “I love you so fucking much, baby, and I’m so proud of you. You brought two beautiful babies into this world and made me the happiest man alive. I can never thank you enough for the gift you’ve given me.”

The nurses carried them over to me, wrapped up snug in their blankets, and I swore I could’ve held them both in one arm. They were just so tiny! As I gazed down at them, I couldn’t even begin to express how surreal it was to be meeting them together for the first time and finally, after so many months, getting to hold them in my arms. I was instantly filled with this immeasurable amount of love for the two of them, and that love continued to grow by the second. “Hello, my little angels.” I bent down and kissed each of their foreheads, breathing in that sweet newborn scent. “Daddy loves you so very much.”

The moment they heard me say daddy, they both looked up at me, their eyes filled with wonder and curiosity, and I couldn’t help the tearful laugh that escaped me.
Well, I’ll be damned…they already know I’m their daddy.

I sat myself beside Liberty, carefully positioning them into her arms, and as if on cue, she burst into tears. “They’re so b-beautiful, Shayne.” At the sound of his mother’s voice, Liam immediately stuck his tongue out at her, and she giggled while I brushed away her tears. “I think this one takes after his daddy. Silly boy.” Lillian, on the other hand, had quieted down and lay there softly cooing until she fell asleep in her mommy’s arms. My sweet little girl. There was no denying she already had me wrapped around her little finger.

I smiled at the three of them, watching my family grow before my very eyes, and never in my life had my heart felt so full. All of the pieces that had led us up to this very moment had come together, and the result was more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined.

Our puzzle was finally complete.

Liberty and I spent the next few days getting to know the newest additions to our family, and I cherished every bittersweet second of it. We were lucky that Liam and Lillian’s lungs were fully developed for having been delivered so early, but they still had to gain another pound or so each before they could leave the hospital. Luckily, they had appetites like their daddy, and they were growing bigger every day. I could already tell Liam was going to be a handsome chunky monkey, and his sister was quickly catching up to him.

“Handsome chunky monkey,” I laughed as I sat next to my son and held his tiny hand through the incubator. Never in a million years did I think I’d ever hear those words come out of my mouth.

“How’s our little man doing today?” Liberty’s mom stepped up beside me, placing her hand on my shoulder. Her and Mr. Davis had flown in from Buffalo on the red-eye, and since the moment they stepped through those hospital doors, they hadn’t left our sides. To be honest, it was nice to have another shoulder to lean on and someone to visit with the babies in the NICU while Liberty and I tried to catch some shuteye. My own father had been there three times today, and I had to force him to go home and get some sleep.

“He’s looking a little bigger today, don’t you think?” I grinned down at Liam, who was busy watching everything going on around him. “He’s been squirming around a lot more, too. I’m pretty sure I overheard him and his sister planning their escape just a little while ago.” I looked over at Lillian, who had fallen fast asleep after I’d gotten a chance to hold her.
My sweet baby girl.

“That wouldn’t surprise me. I used to catch Liberty and AJ plotting to run away all the time. They’d pack their suitcases and march outside, making a big to do about it. Then I’d hop in the car and slowly trail behind them while they walked around the block and came straight back home.” She chuckled softly to herself and turned to me, smiling. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, hon.”

“I wish I could’ve gotten to know her brother. He sounds like someone I would’ve gotten into trouble with as a kid.”

“He was definitely a troublemaker, all right.” She tilted her head to the side, as though she were studying me. “You know, I see a lot of him in you.”

“Are you trying to insinuate that I’m a troublemaker, Mrs. Davis?” I smirked, goading her.

“Oh, please, call me mom.” Her arm came around my shoulder, and for the first time in years, I remembered what it felt like to have a motherly figure around. “What I meant was that I see how you are with my daughter, and it reminds me so much of my AJ. That boy was the center of her universe, and he was fiercely protective of his little sister. He would have moved mountains just to put a smile on her face, and I know you would, too. That’s just the kind of man you are. You have a good heart, Shayne, and I’m glad my daughter was lucky enough to have found you. She’s been through so much already, and I know she still has a long road ahead of her, but,” she paused, throat clogged with emotion. “But I’m happy that she has you there to be her rock. It takes a strong man to stand by and watch the woman he loves go through something like this, especially when there’s nothing else you can do but be there for her.”