Forever's Affection (Forever In Luck Series Book 3) (26 page)

Hanging
up, she let out a big breath, scooched over closer and fell against him. “Hold
me, please.”

He
wrapped his arms around her and put a kiss on her head. “What happened?”

“She’s
dead.”

Oh
boy, he needed to be sure here. “Who is?”

“Mama.”

They
sat in silence for a long while as he rocked them back and forth.

“I
was thinking we should get married right here.”

Hold
up. “Sweetheart, your mom died. What happened?”

She
shrugged. “I don’t know. Those men came and told me I had to call this number,
and when I did, it was the Boulder Police Department telling me there had been
an accident and that Mama didn’t survive the crash.”

Holy
shit…her words rolled around in his head banging into one another. Did this
mean what he thought it meant? It did, didn’t it…? The words went back and
forth, back and forth.

“How about the Fourth of July, right
here, if we can find an official to do it.”

Pulling
her in tighter, he hugged her and held her. “Dani, are you okay?”

Silence…
Looking up at him, she said solemnly, “I don’t want to tell Junie until after I
talk with the attorney and everything is said and done.”

Pushing
them on the swing, he nodded. “I understand. I feel like I should say something,
but I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry sounds right, but honestly, it doesn’t
feel right.”

Pulling
his hand up and putting a kiss on it, she held his arms about her. “How about
saying this, Dani, everything will be alright. She can never hurt you or Junie
again. I love you and will take care of the two of you forever. We’re going to
be married the Fourth of July come hell or high water, so start packing because
I’m moving you and Junie to our new house tonight.”

Kris
allowed himself to smile, because as much as this was a sad moment, it was a
happy time in their lives too. Standing, he got down on one knee and took her
hands in his. “Danielle Reed, you are the very best thing to have ever come
into my life. Let go of the past and marry me. Everything will be alright,
you’ll see, because I’ll never let anyone hurt you or Junie again.” Reaching in
his pocket he pulled out a little box. “It’s not a ring, but we’ll get you one.
I saw this and wanted you to have it.” Opening the box he said, “Please say
yes, so we can pack your things and bring you and Junie home tonight.”

She
laughed,
then
cried, clapping her hands to her mouth
when she did. Smiling widely, she reached for the box and looked at him amongst
her tears. “Kris Albrecht, you’re such a romantic. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Lunging
for her, he kissed her deeply. “You like it?
It’s
cool
isn’t it? Look, see, it lights up.”

Unable
to contain her joy, she said with enthusiasm, “Now this is what I call love! A
light up bobber! So we can fish…at night…in the dark.” She couldn’t stop
laughing.

Shaking
his head, he corrected her, “It’s better than that. When a man buys his girl
something like this, it means
true
love for sure.”

“You
better believe it.” Standing, she held out her hand for him. “Let’s go tell our
family. Then I’m going to kick Nik’s ass at horseshoes.”

On
his feet again, he pulled her to a stop and looked into her eyes. “You okay?
I’m worried about you.”

Going
up on tiptoe, she put a light kiss on his lips. “Worry not. On so many levels
I’m relieved, but when it’s all said and done is when I’ll truly relax. Tonight
though, I want you to hold me tight and make sweet love to me. Then in the
morning, I’ll make you a bowl of cereal and you can kiss me before you head out
the door to work.”

Wrapping
his arms around her waist, he pulled her in tight. “A regular old Leave It
To
Beaver life, huh? Sounds nice, I like it.”

Putting
a kiss on his lips, she answered him. “You bet, but the best part is, it’s
real, it’s ours, and it’s for forever.”

Epilogue

Eight months later…

“
Pushpushpushpushpush
, hold it, hold it…”

“
Ahhhhhhh
,” Dani hollered, then grunted, falling back and
letting out the deep breath she’d been holding. Gasping, she struggled to get a
few more breaths in before the next contraction hit.

“Here
we go, Dani, grab those knees, on the count of three give it all you got. One,
two, three,
pushpushpushpush
, hold it, hold it… keep
pushing and holding, there you go, now you got it, good girl.”

Falling
back Dani, gasped for breath. “I need ice chips.”

Reaching
for the cup, Kris dug the spoon in and loaded it with ice. “Open up,
sweetheart. You’re doing great. I’m so proud of you.” Eyes closed, she lay
savoring the ice as he wiped her face with a cool, wet cloth.

“This
child has your shoulders,” she responded with a snarl.

Trying
not to laugh, he played it safe and took Jake and Nate’s advice, he apologized.
“I’m sorry, honey.”

Her
face took on the pain she was feeling, “
Noooo
, I’m
not ready!”

“Dani,
here we go” the midwife said. “Grab those
knees,
on
the count of three give it all you got. One, two, three,
pushpushpush
,
hold it, hold it… keep pushing and holding, there you go, baby’s coming, we can
see a little of the head. Dark hair Dani, lots of dark hair. Take a rest.”

Dani
fell back and closed her eyes. Wiping her face again, Kris leaned over and put
a kiss on her forehead.

“It
won’t be long Dani, only a couple more pushes” the midwife said with
encouragement. “Soon you’ll know if it’s a boy or girl. You’re doing great.
Here we
go,
knees up, push Dani, push. Keep going,
keep going… Dad you want to look?”

Kris
leaned over and took a peek.
Holy shit.
You really
could see the top of the baby’s head and it really did have lots of dark hair.
Oh God, please, let everything be alright.

Dani
fell back and started to cry. “I can’t do
this,
I
don’t want to do this. I want to go home.”

Kris
got in there and talked her through it. “You’re doing it sweetheart, the baby’s
almost here.
Just a little bit more.”

“Why
did I go all natural?” she sniveled, “I should have listened and went with the
epidural.”

Brushing
her hair out of her face, he talked softly. “You wanted the least intervention,
remember?”

“I
was stupid!” she stamped out.

He
kissed her on the forehead. “No, you just wanted the best for the baby.” The
pain was starting, he could tell by her face.

“I
can’t,” she whimpered.

“Yes,
sweetheart, you can. Come on, I’ll help you.” Putting his arm around her, he
helped her sit up.

“Dani,
knees up and out, push, let’s go, this is it,
pushpushpushpush
,
hold it, hold it, here we go, pant Dani, pant, heads out, pant, okay together,
pushpushpush
.”

The
baby came out with a whoosh and they quickly put it on Dani’s tummy as she fell
back, the nurse rubbing warm towels vigorously all over the baby. “It’s a boy!
Dani, it’s a boy!”

Lifting
her head and looking,
Dani,
started crying as she
wrapped her arms around their son. Then grabbing one of Kris’s hands, she damn
near broke it when she squeezed it hard.

“OWOWOWOW!
What…oh God,
you said I’d be done!” Dani started grunting and straining and the baby was
immediately taken to the warmer.

Scared
out of his mind, he asked frantically, “What’s wrong?”

“We
need another table in here now,” the midwife said loud and forceful. “Push,
Dani, push.”

A
call was made and the door burst open with a flurry of activity, more nurses,
another table, another warmer.

Kris
watched in confusion.
Wait,
what the hell…

“Dani,
you’re not done yet,” the midwife said. “You’ve been keeping a surprise from
us, young lady. Let’s go, grab those knees,
on
the
count of three give it all you got. One, two, three,
pushpushpushpush
hold it, hold it… keep pushing, keep pushing, there you go, good girl.
Rest.”

Kris
looked over at the warmer when he realized he could hear his son crying for the
first time. Had he been crying all along and he hadn’t heard it? Stunned, he
turned to his wife and felt her exhaustion.
Two babies?
Really?
Then it hit him. Hot damn, twins! How cool was
that? Grabbing a damp towel, he wiped Dani’s face.

“Alright,
Dani, here we go,
pushpushpush
, keep going, keep
going, you can do it, you’re doing it, hold it…”

Dani
grunted long and
low,
and it reminded Kris of the bull
they had on the farm. Getting into it, he realized he’d been pushing and
straining right along with her the whole time. Whew, this was hard work!

Falling
back, she glared at him when he stood wiping his face with the cool cloth.
Quickly grabbing another wet towel, he mopped up her face,
then
gave her some ice chips, all the while she lay glaring at him. Leaning in, he
gave her a peck on the lips. “I love you, sweetheart,” he said sheepishly.
“Just think, it’s like one of those two for one
sales
you girls go on and on about.” Then he tried charming her with a smile as he
prayed she didn’t kill him.

“Again
Dani, give it all you got.
Pushpushpush
, there we go,
baby’s coming down nicely, keep pushing.”

Dani
fell back, and started crying again, so he knew it was getting close. Getting
in there he tried cheering her on. “You can do it
sweetheart,
you are so beautiful, I’m so proud of you.”

“But,
but we only have one crib,” she sniffled.

Wiping
her eyes, he answered her softly, “Don’t worry, we’ll get another. No worries,
sweetheart, let’s do one thing at a time.”

“I
can’t do this!” she bit out angrily, her face scrunching up as she cried out
loudly.

“Let’s
go Dani, this is it, pull those knees back and out, help her out Dad, come on,
pushpushpush
… We can see the head Dani, take a look Dad,
here we go, the baby’s crowning, pant Dani, pant,
here
we go, push a little, shoulders…”

The
baby was out with a whoosh and was on Dani’s stomach in a flash. Another team
of nurses stepped forward, one rubbing the baby all over when it started to
cry.

“What
is it?” Dani asked, as she held the bundle of blankets and towels, gasping to
catch her breath.

“Dad
you want to look and see?” the midwife said with a smile as she prepared to
clamp the cord.

Reaching
in Kris parted the blankets on the screaming bundle and started to cry
himself
. “It’s, it’s a boy. Two boys,” he said weakly,
biting down on his lips, trying to be strong and failing miserably. Swallowing
the lump in his throat, he looked at Dani with wet eyes. “Thank you…for this.”
Leaning down, he kissed her. “I love you so much.”

Reaching
up, she caressed his face. Then with a sweet smile, she said. “Happy
Valentine’s Day, Daddy, we need another name.”

Damned
if he didn’t feel more tears coming on. Lifting his arms one after the other,
he wiped his face on the sleeves of his biceps. “You want to stick with what we
had or go for two new ones?”

She
squeezed his hand. “I still like Kurt, we could do Kurt and
Kole
,
or if you want to skip the K’s we could do Aiden and Austin, or Chase and
Chance.”

“Kurt and
Kole
.
You’re amazing.
Do you realize what you just did?”

Looking
over at the screaming bundles, she said, “Yeah, it’s going to be pretty crazy
for a while.” Turning back to him, she said with bright eyes and a beautiful
smile. “You did say you wanted a family. You have a wife and three children
now. Wait till Junie sees she has two brothers.”

Laughing,
he nodded. “One for each of you, she’s been practicing with her dolls for
months. She’s going to be a little mama for sure. I can’t believe we didn’t
know. It must’ve been all the hopping up and down in the shower that did it.”

Dani
laughed and smacked him. “It explains how my bladder could be used as a
trampoline, while my kidney was involved in a boxing match all at the same
time. I guess we should’ve gone with a little intervention and had the
ultrasound.”

Looking
across the room, the two of them watched as the nursing staff weighed,
measured, and attended to their sons. “I’m just thankful you made it full term,
I think your tall stature bought them more time,” Kris said, giving her hand a
squeeze. “It looks like they’re almost
done,
they’re wrapping
them up now.”

“Oh
my gosh
, look, two blue blankets with two blue hats,”
Dani said excitedly.

Walking
over, and putting one in each of Dani’s arms, Kris watched as she laughed and
started to cry. Kissing them each on the head, she loved them as they squeaked
and wiggled. Smiling through her tears she looked to him and he kissed her.

“You
ready to hold your boys, Daddy?”

He
sure the hell was. This was so perfectly overwhelming and he loved it. Nodding,
he carefully lifted one of his boys into his arms and he felt his eyes water.
He was so small! Crooking his other arm, he held it steady as Dani placed their
other son in it and his heart about burst with pride as he stared at the two of
them. It was the strangest of things to be standing their holding them, because
as he did, he could hear the voices of
he
and his
brothers as kids goofing off and teasing one another. Man, he couldn’t wait to
take his boys on their first tractor ride. He was the luckiest man on the face
of the earth right now, and every day with this woman just got better. Looking
to his wife, he said, “I love you.”

“Excuse
me,” one of the nurses said. “I hate to interrupt you, but some visitors just
arrived and are dying to get in here. Should we ask them to wait in the family
lounge or let them join you?”

His
face took on a devious smile and he glanced down at Dani. “You ready,
sweetheart?”

“You’re
going to rub this in aren’t you?”

Oh
yeah, he was. “Damn right I am.”

Rolling
her eyes as she shook her head, she responded, “You’re going to be impossible
to be around. Be nice.”

Had
she lost her mind with all that pushing? Looking from his boys to her, he
answered her flat out, “Like hell I will. No way am I passing this chance up.
I’m the man, baby.” Turning to the nurse, he said with a grin, “Bring them in.”

Walking
across the room, the nurse opened the door and his family rushed in, Linnie and
Jules screaming at the sight of him holding two babies. Smiling from ear to
ear, he looked at Nate and Jake, each with a baby girl in their arms, and said
with total male arrogance, “You slackers, this is how it’s done.”

*****

Thank You!

Thanks
so much for reading. I hope you have enjoyed Forever’s Affection. If you did,
I’d love for you to:

-Consider
posting a review at
Amazon:
Forever's Affection

-Email
me at
[email protected],
I’d love to hear from
you.

-Lend
the book to a friend through the Kindle lending program.

-Watch
for Book Four coming out later 2014.