Only You (34 page)

“We’ll be ready,” he replied. The doctors bade them goodbye and left the room.

***

Shane glanced at his watch. It was four fifteen, and the surgical team was running behind. Camden lay ready and waiting to be wheeled to surgery, her room filled with everyone she loved and held dear. In the hours that they had together while waiting, Shane had pushed her wheelchair to the NICU, and they’d been able to see Lauren. She was the most beautiful baby he’d ever seen. Camden had cried, and Shane had promised her that it was not the last time she would see her daughter.

Camden’s entire family had arrived the previous night while she was in labor. Even Javier and Melia had come, just like it was a chemo day. Melia had baby Aiden with her, and Shane and Camden had laughed heartily when she handed the toddler to Javier so she could go to the vending machine. Javi hadn’t known what to do, staring at the baby like he was an unstable bomb.

Molly and Jack had doted on Camden,
frequently telling her how much they loved her. Brody had started his good-natured teasing, trying to lighten the mood in the room, and eventually that had led to everyone sharing funny stories about growing up with Camden.

Finally, the doctors had entered the room, ready to take Camden into surgery. Shane felt that sinking feeling again as they began to wheel her bed into the hallway. He ran to the side of the bed, catching them as they reached the nurses’ station.

“Wait!!!” he yelled. Dr. Hyler nodded for the surgical team to halt their movement. “Sunshine, I just wanted to tell you to fight. Fight for all your worth. Lauren and I will be waiting for you. I’ll always wait for you. It’s only you, baby. You are it for me.” He kissed her passionately, in front of everyone, mindless of her hospital gown or her bald head. He thought she was gorgeous, and he loved her unconditionally. She was his heart. “I love you, Camden Elisabeth Shepherd,” he whispered.

Tears fell from Camden’s eyes as she met his mesmerizing blue gaze. “If I don’t make it, Shane, Eric and I made videos for you and Lauren.”

“Don’t talk like that,” he interrupted. “We’ll watch them together.”

“Shane, just promise you’ll watch them,” she pleaded.

“We’ll watch them, Sunshine. Anything you ask,” he murmured.

“I love you, Shane Hunt.”

“I love you, too, Sunshine. I’ll see you when you wake up.”

They kissed once more before the team began moving the bed toward the operating theater.

As he watched the distance between them grow, Shane yelled down the hallway. “Fight for us, Camden Shepherd. You fight for us!”

***

Epilogue

Shane's head snapped upright at the sound of the doorbell. He closed the refrigerator and hurried to the foyer. When he reached the door, Shane threw it open and grinned.

"Hey, beautiful!" He met the smiling face of a stunning redhead who was currently holding the most adorable toddler in the world. The woman's eyes sparkled, and she laughed as the blonde-haired girl that was cradled in her embrace began holding out her arms for Shane. He smirked and happily took the girl from the woman.

"Hi bugaboo!" he cooed to the girl. Looking back at the woman, he remarked, "Thank you so much for watching her this weekend. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

The woman grinned. "It was my pleasure. I always love watching her, and you know I don't mind lending you a hand." The woman leaned in and placed a kiss on Shane's cheek while caressing the baby's back with her open palm. "We've got to stick together, you know." She winked at him.

Nodding with his head, Shane told her, "Everyone is already out back. Brody's manning the grill, so I'd stay on the other side of the yard if you aren't a fan of explosions or third degree burns." Shane laughed at the image. "You can go socialize while I finish in the kitchen."

The woman's face softened. "Are you having a hard time today? I can't believe it's been two years."

Shane's solemn gaze met hers. "Me either. Sometimes it seems like yesterday, and other times it seems like decades."

"You'd think it would get easier, wouldn't you?" She chuckled.

"You'd think, but it doesn't."

"Are we going to watch another video?" she asked, a smirk on her face.

"We have to...Eric's orders. There is one marked for every year until Lauren is 30 or something."

The woman laughed. "I look forward to it. Last year's was kind of funny."

Shane snickered, remembering Camden's recording from the prior year. He hoped this one was less embarrassing than that one, but Eric wouldn't tell him what was on the video.

"Go on back. I'm going to put her in the playroom and finish with the appetizers and drinks. Tell everyone we'll be out in a few minutes."

The woman nodded and headed to join the large group assembled in the back yard.

***

An hour later, the living room was crowded with two dozen people. Molly, Jack, Brody, Javier, Melia, Stella....the whole gang was gathered, and every eye was glued to the captivating green eyed girl on the screen.

Camden's laughter echoed through the room from the television, and Jack's eyes watered. "Lauren, what I have to say to you is absolutely important, so I need you to listen closely." Camden leaned forward, looking into the camera like she had the best secret in the world.

"I hate to tell you honey, but your father is way hotter than your new husband!" Camden lifted a glass of wine into the air and laughed, obviously tipsy. Her glistening blonde hair tumbled around her shoulders. She mumbled something frantically to Eric, who was apparently on camera duty, and the image suddenly shifted and zoomed to the dance floor, where a tuxedo-clad Shane was dancing with Molly. "I mean, Lauren, have you seen that ass?!?"

Everyone watching the video erupted into laughter, except for Lauren, who turned beet red and groaned. She paused the video and turned to look at Camden, who was currently laughing heartily, her blonde head tucked into Shane's chest. "Mom, seriously!? Your grandkids will see this!"

Camden giggled and sank into Shane's embrace. It had been more than twenty years since they
defeated cancer, and his strong arms were still her favorite place in the whole world. She had done as he said, and she'd fought the cancer with all the strength she possessed. With the help of the surgery and the high dose chemo, she'd been declared cancer free before Lauren was six months old.

"Oh please. I said far more traumatizing things at your brother's wedding
," Camden teased. Shane chuckled, knowing that was, in fact true.

"I second that statement," Lauren's brother JJ piped in, grimacing in remembrance of even more things his mother had said about their dad while at HIS wedding.
Camden apparently became loose-lipped when drunk. Alex, Lauren's other brother, nodded his head vigorously and mumbled his agreement around the food in his mouth. Her sister Kaiya was too focused on Lauren's daughter Skyler to comment.

"It's been two years since Lauren's wedding. You'd think she'd have gotten over it," Brody stage whispered to the room.

"Her dad sure hasn't," Javier laughed. "Walks around like someone died." Melia smacked Javi's arm in reproach.

"He took my baby girl away from me," Shane complained. "You just wait, Javi. When Bella gets married, you'll be the same way!"

"She's got a point, though, Lauren. Have you taken a good look at your old man's ass?" a voice called from behind Lauren, and she cringed.

"Uncle Eric, that's gross!" Lauren's husband Tyler pulled her into his chest and kissed her forehead in amusement. She used her hand to push a stray lock of his red hair from his brow and smiled at him.

"I'd listen to your Uncle Eric, Lauren. He has excellent taste," Molly advised, her eyes twinkling. "Has he ever taken you to the movies? I don't know how he does it, but he always picks films that are full of the most gorgeous men. Do you kids still say eye candy?"

"Grandma!" the four Hunt kids chorused in horror.

At that moment, Skyler's grandma, red hair an exact match of her son's, turned to Kaiya. "I'd love to get to hold my granddaughter sometime today," teased Tyler's mom, Tanya. Kaiya frowned and clutched Skyler closely.

"You had her all weekend," Kaiya whined at her.
"I know because I saw you drop her off with Dad when you got here." The woman laughed and looked at Lauren and Tyler.

"Well, it looks like you two better get started on another. There aren't enough babies to go around." Lauren blushed at the insinuation, but Tyler grinned knowingly at his mom.

Lauren looked around the room, bursting with the people she loved most in the world. Her heart was filled to overflowing with the outpouring of love she had received her entire life. She'd been surrounded by her parents' tight knit group of family and friends, never lacking support, love, or laughter. And although she found some of her mother's videos embarrassing over the years, she was thrilled her mom was still around to make new ones.

Every once in a while, her dad would take some of the old videos out, and he and Lauren would watch them again, just like they did the first time when she was growing up. Camden had made everyone wait to watch them until Lauren was whatever age was listed on the DVD label, so they would be "appropriate". Lauren would watch her dad's eyes moisten, his silent tears a mixture
of remembered grief and the joy of knowing Camden had beaten cancer, and she would hope to one day have a man that loved her in the way Shane loved Camden.

She looked at Tyler, her "gorgeous ginger", and grinned. The wait had definitely been worth it. She squeezed his hand to let him know that it was time, and he pulled her in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and cleared his throat.

"We have an announcement," his deep voice rumbled. The room quieted as everyone focused on the celebratory couple. Tyler locked eyes with his mom, and the corner of one side of his mouth lifted into a smirk.

"Mom, about having enough babies to go around..." His sentence trailed, allowing everyone's minds to reach the correct conclusion before he yelled, "We're pregnant!"

Everyone started to cheer and holler words of congratulations, but Tyler lifted his hands into the air and motioned for silence. As the room quieted, Lauren's voice relayed the rest of their news.

"With twins!"

Shane gazed at Camden, grinning from ear to ear. They grew lost for a moment as they looked into each other's souls, remembering the fantasies that Shane had weaved once upon a time, when they weren't sure of the future. It was a future that they had seen come true. They had spent twenty-five years together, loving and laughing, and they loved each other more than ever. They had everything they had ever desired, and they planned to enjoy it until they were old and gray.

Leaning forward, Shane whispered a promise he'd said often over the years, bringing Camden's traffic stopping smile to her face.

"Only you, Sunshine." He grinned before placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Only ever you."

###

That's not the last you've seen of Camden and Shane! They'll be back this year in Brody's story. Check out the Coming Soon section for details!

About the Author
:

Kaleigh James has always loved storytelling. Whether read in a book, heard around a campfire, or performed on stage, she knew she wanted to be a part of telling stories that would change people's lives, if only for an hour or two.

Sidetracked by life, Kaleigh focused her efforts on being a good wife and mother, but her dream to tell stories never went away. She found her heart in theatre, but the hours weren't conducive to raising a family, so she went back to work in corporate America.

Her husband never stopped urging her to write, so Kaleigh made a New Year's Resolution on January 1, 2013 to finish a book before the year was finished. She wants to thank you for reading the result of that resolution, and she hopes you'll continue to enjoy many of her stories for years to come.

Kaleigh lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband of twelve years and their three beautiful children.

Kaleigh can be found online at the following sites:

Website

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Coming Soon from Kaleigh James

Always You
(Shepherd Family Saga, Book 2)

Coming in 2014

Brody Shepherd's fledgling construction company is finally off the ground and getting steady business. He doesn't have time for a serious relationship, and truthfully, he doesn't want one. He enjoys playing the field. Lately, though, his game is off, although he doesn't want to admit that a certain blonde may be the reason why.  

Stella Klein is the go-to party planner of the rich and famous. Her celebrity clientele causes her to travel frequently to exotic locations. She made the mistake of falling in love with her best friend's boyfriend, so Stella has been planning A LOT of parties to stay away from her hometown. While away, she's decided to dip her toe back into the dating pool, and she hits gold with David Harris. He's attentive, successful, smart and funny. Too bad he isn't Brody Shepherd.